“Vicars are inherently more funny, especially to the British mind-set which sees more humour in taking the piss out of the familiar, than the exotic.”

Have to disagree, fear of causing “offence” to anyone exotic means that vicars and other familiar aspects of indiginous culture are about the only thing comedians dare take the piss out of these days (jokes about gays, women, all cultures except white christianity all countries except the US/UK, and all forms of illness/disability) are off limits. It’s not a coincidence that the rise of PC has coincided with a fall in the quality and quantity of humour in UK culture. The last thing that was genuinely funny on TV was the office and that was only broadcast as it was “ironically” un PC.

Personally, I think it’s brave and progressive for large broadcasters to address these topics. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation recently produced a sitcom called “Little Mosque on the Prairie”. From the Wikipedia entry: “While the show does derive some of its humour from exploring the interactions of the Muslims with the non-Muslim townspeople of Mercy, and the contrast of conservative Islamic views (held primarily by the characters of Baber and Fatima) with more liberal interpretations of Islam (as represented by Amaar and Rayyan), at its core the show is essentially a traditional sitcom whose most unique trait is the simple fact of being set among an underrepresented and misunderstood cultural community. Nawaz herself [the show's creator] has stated that the show’s primary agenda is to be funny, not to be a political platform. She has also stated that she views comedy as one of the most valuable and powerful ways to break down barriers and to encourage dialogue and understanding between cultures.”

http://www.cbc.ca/littlemosque/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Mosque_on_the_Prairie