I realize that this thread and issue is supposed to be more sophisticated than that.  But, it isn't.  That's about all there is to it.

A Danish newspaper, followed by newspapers in other European quarters, published forbidden caricatures of Muhammad/Muhammed/Mohammad/whatever, because -- they are forbidden and because they can, did, and do publish them.

Muslims are offended.  Okay.  Good luck in the future, and I hope you get access to better education and some sort of political system where Muslims don't feel like their main voice is collective insanity and intolerance reminiscent of a thousand years ago.  At some point, Muslim friends and acquaintances, how about getting a fucking grip?

What you hold sacred must be parodied because it is sacred.  That is Western culture.  And we parody our own symbols and sacred cows more than any others, so we're not picking out Muslim culture to make fun of.  See Life of Brian by Monty Python if you want to see a harsh parody of the life of Jesus Christ, for example.  By contrast, Mohommad or whatever got off easy.  So far.  

But, keep pushing it, and you'll find whole new realms of parody of Mr. M. and the horse he rode in on.  He's just one more guy in history, maybe a little wiser than most, maybe not, but just as horny as any other healthy adult heterosexual male and clever enough to build an entire theology around him getting laid by as many virgins as possible while he was alive.  He's been the envy and idol of Arab males ever since.  It's all about young virgins.  He did plenty of them, apparently, and by magical insider connections to God -- which sound to me as an American much like Pat Robertson's God connections (insane, to be clear) -- Mr. M. suggested that a harem of sweet young virgins awaited martyrs who died for his teaching, Islam.  The rich fields of parody to be plowed and sown and reaped on that account are practically endless, yet there is some upset about a few cartoons.  

So a Danish newspaper, and then others, are running these cartoons.  Why?  Because they can.  And because doing so makes the point that they can.  Dogs' balls need licking, and some things need to be parodied.  In both cases, it happens because it can.  In most Muslim territory, the parody can't happen, but it does happen elsewhere, where it can.  I don't know about dogs grooming their balls in Muslim territory, but I suppose they do.

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The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter.
W. Churchill