The Complainant lodged a complaint with the Registrar of the Commission about a joke told by a 
participant on the Rude Awakening show on Highveld Stereo, which is anchored by Jeremy Mansfield. On Thursday 23 September 2004, at approximately 08h25, the following comment was made by Graham Joffe on Jeremy Mansfield’s show: “What do you call a Bangladeshi cricketer with a piece of ham on his head? Hammed. What do you call a Bangladeshi cricketer with two pieces of ham on his head? Mohammed. What do you call a Bangladeshi cricketer with two pieces of ham and a vibrator on his head? Sheikh Mohammed.
The Tribunal held that:
- The Muslim dictate that pork shall not be eaten, is based on a deeply held religious belief based on the Holy Quran. This is not a mere superficial custom, but rather an integral aspect of Islamic belief.
- Section 9 of the Constitution prohibits unfair discrimination based on religion. The “ham” part of the joke unfairly holds a deeply held religious belief up to ridicule and, because this belief is a serious matter to Muslims – which makes it a matter of public importance in terms of clause 35 of the Broadcasting Code – it therefore constitutes unfair comment in terms of that clause.
- The question is whether the fundamental right to free speech does not outweigh the discriminatory, unfair stereotyping of this religious dictate. The Constitutional Court has held that the right to inform also includes the right to offend, subject to the limits set by section 36 of the Constitution. At times it is also necessary to shock, so that viewers remain informed as to unacceptable attitudes and conduct within the community. This Tribunal finds the informative value – and indeed the entertainment value – of the joke to be nil. If the joke is meant to be satirical, its impact is outweighed by the depth of respect that Muslims feel for the religious dictate that has been satirised.
(4) It might be asked whether this approach of the Tribunal does not unduly restrict humour. The Tribunal is conscious of the need for light-hearted programmes, and is aware that these kinds of jokes are often told in private or in smaller gatherings, or even, at times, on stage. But the public airwaves, with its wide variety of listeners, including a substantial number of Muslims, cannot be permitted to make a mockery of the very foundations of our Constitution: equality and the prohibition against unfair discrimination is a founding value, and when the very basis of these fundamental rights is mocked on the airwaves, it sets a deplorable standard.
The Complaint was upheld in terms of clause 35 of the Code.