{"id":870149,"date":"2026-10-04T05:26:11","date_gmt":"2026-10-04T05:26:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/870149\/"},"modified":"2026-10-04T05:26:11","modified_gmt":"2026-10-04T05:26:11","slug":"monty-python-legend-john-cleese-doubles-down-after-incidiary-posts-about-islam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/870149\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Monty Python’ legend John Cleese doubles down after incidiary posts about Islam"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cMonty Python\u201d legend John Cleese<\/a> is doubling down on his months-long string of incendiary posts about Islam after activists filed a complaint that asked Britain\u2019s counter-radicalization program to scrutinize him over the missives.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow exciting,\u201d the 86-year-old comedian wrote after learning that a member of the public had referred him to Prevent, a British government program designed to intervene when authorities believe someone may be vulnerable to radicalization or becoming involved in terrorism.<\/p>\n

The September 22 referral, first reported by Muslim-focused British news outlet 5Pillars<\/a>, accused Cleese of a \u201csustained pattern\u201d of online activity that \u201cdemonizes, dehumanizes, and collectively attributes violence and criminality to Muslims and Islam.\u201d<\/p>\n

John Cleese speaks onstage during the \u201cAn Hour with John Cleese: There Are Those Who Call Him\u2026John!\u201d session during the 2024 Dragon Con at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, in Atlanta, Ga. Getty Images<\/p>\n

It claimed his posts met \u201cseveral indicators used in PREVENT risk assessments for anti-Muslim hate and counter-extremism concerns\u201d and warned that his rhetoric could contribute to \u201cradicalization, communal tension, and hate incidents.\u201d<\/p>\n

The complainant reportedly assessed the risk as \u201cmoderate to high.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among the material cited was a July 18 repost describing Islam as \u201cthe religion of pedophiles,\u201d according to 5Pillars.<\/p>\n

The complaint also cited a March 31 post in which Cleese referred to \u201ca culture whose holy book advocates the killing of all the people they disagree with,\u201d as well as an April post describing a religious practice as \u201ca barbaric custom\u201d across \u201cabout 60 Muslim countries.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThese statements go beyond criticism of ideas and attach intrinsic criminality, violence, and moral depravity to a religious group,\u201d the complainant alleged.<\/p>\n

But Cleese called the episode \u201cAll good comedy material. For those with a sense of humor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Muslim activists in Birmingham have released a video condemning British comedian John Cleese ahead of his visit to perform in the city. The activists accuse Cleese of promoting anti-Muslim and anti-Islam views, pointing to a series of controversial comments he has made about Islam and Muslims on X. Instagram\/@deen1fied<\/p>\n

The actor has rejected accusations that his criticism amounts to hatred of Muslims, describing himself instead as \u201cIslamosceptic.\u201d<\/p>\n

He has argued that Islam, its teachings and practices should be open to ridicule just as Christianity was in the Monty Python troupe\u2019s 1979 religious satire \u201cLife of Brian.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCriticism of Islam is not racist, it\u2019s culturalist,\u201d Cleese wrote in February, citing female genital mutilation as an example.<\/p>\n

The following month, he said \u201ctraditional British values are under attack from Muslim belief systems.\u201d<\/p>\n

He then wrote that the \u201cKoran\u2019s teaching is ALL about acquiring power, killing \u2018infidels\u2019 and imposing Islam on everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

The referral does not mean Cleese has been arrested, charged with a crime or formally accused of terrorism.<\/p>\n

From left, Eric Idle, John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Terry Jones and Michael Palin are shown in \u201cMonty Python and the Holy Grail\u201d in 1975. Courtesy Everett Collection<\/p>\n

Prevent operates in what the British government calls the \u201cnon-criminal space,\u201d with referrals assessed to determine whether someone may need intervention.<\/p>\n

Cases can be closed without further action, while those deemed appropriate can be referred to Channel, a voluntary intervention program for people considered vulnerable to radicalization.<\/p>\n

There is no public evidence that Cleese has been placed in Channel or subjected to a criminal investigation. But the extraordinary complaint nevertheless put one of Britain\u2019s most famous comedians into a government system created to head off radicalization.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cMonty Python\u201d legend John Cleese is doubling down on his months-long string of incendiary posts about Islam after…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":870150,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[88,46718,47960,366842,142753,1049,965],"class_list":["post-870149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-entertainment","tag-islam","tag-john-cleese","tag-monty-python","tag-muslims","tag-united-kingdom","tag-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/870149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=870149"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/870149\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/870150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=870149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=870149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=870149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}