They’ll come for “The Daily Show” next: Why satirists always threaten fundamentalists

Recently we’ve seen a number of signs of the power of satire. First Egyptian satirist Bassem Youssef was forced off the air when the MBC network claimed that he might influence the Egyptian elections. Then Jon Stewart released “Rosewater,” a film about an Iranian journalist imprisoned over a misunderstanding of satire. Then the Chinese government decided to ban puns, claiming that they breach “the law on standard spoken and written Chinese” and “make promoting cultural heritage harder.” Next was the alleged North Korean cyberhacking of Sony Pictures over the satirical film “The Interview,” leading many theater chains to initially decide not to show the movie. But obviously nothing matches the viciousness of the recent massacre at the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, which left at least 10 staff members and two French policemen dead along with a number of others wounded.

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Jon Stewart (Credit: Comedy Central)