The European press deserves credit for not only running some controversial cartoons ridiculing the prophet Muhammad but for rerunning them all across Europe. In this article titled Offending Cartoons Reprinted Molly Moore of the Washington Post Foreign Service is reporting:

PARIS, Feb. 1 — Newspapers across Europe reprinted cartoons Wednesday ridiculing the prophet Muhammad, saying they wanted to support the right of Danish and Norwegian papers to publish the caricatures, which have ignited fury among Muslims throughout the world.

I particularly liked this part of the article:

Germany’s Die Welt daily newspaper published one of the drawings on its front page and said the “right to blasphemy” is one of the freedoms of democracy.

The appearance of 12 drawings in the Danish press provoked emotions in the Muslim world because the representation of Allah and his prophet is forbidden,” the French afternoon newspaper France Soir wrote. “But because no religious dogma can impose itself on a democratic and secular society, France Soir is publishing the incriminating caricatures.”

The newspaper’s front-page headline declared: “Yes, We Have the Right to Caricature God,” accompanied by a new cartoon depicting religious figures from the Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist and Christian faiths on a cloud. The Christian is shown saying “Don’t complain, Muhammad, we’ve all been caricatured here.”

Wow thats pretty in your face stuff.

In an atypical fashion the European press made the decision to confront radical Islamists who have called for boycots of Danish products and threatened violence in the EU and to European citizens traveling to Muslim nations.

Outrage over the appearance of the cartoons in Danish and Norwegian newspapers — one of which depicted Muhammad as an apparent terrorist with a bomb in his turban — has ignited demonstrations from Turkey to the Gaza Strip, prompted a boycott of Danish products throughout the Middle East, and spurred calls for a religious decree to attack Danish troops serving in Iraq.

Kudos to the EU press not for running the offensive cartoons (and they are offensive to Muslims), but for standing up to the radical islamofascists. Muslims have a right to be angry, they even have a right to boycot danish products. They do not have the right to kill people for such offenses.

Ranting Profs agrees.

Alexandra of All Things Beautiful is angry and does not fear retribution for her post today titled:
Religious Dogma Has No Place In A Secular Society

I was shaking with fury to discover this morning that the Editor of France Soir has been fired over the Muhammad cartoon controversy. Islam scores another victory. The story as it unfolded, which I partly covered yesterday:

What are you going to do? Fire me? Threaten me with explosives? The usual Islamoqur’an bashing bully techniques seem to be alive and well, and the West has once again succumbed to the threats to our own freedom of speech and press in favor of the apology policy.

You have to read the whole piece. Alexandra as usual goes much deeper than the average blog:

Parapundit found this piece in The Forward by Danish Jew Jeffry Mallow:

It doesn’t help that Muslims — both here and in the Middle East — seem to many Danes to be demanding more than just respect. Most Danes agree that it’s unfair to depict the prophet of Islam as a mad bomber. But many public voices in the Arab and Muslim press are going further: They want Denmark and the West to honor the Muslim religious ban on any depictions of Muhammad. That raises images of imposing Sharia law on Denmark, a country that guards its freedom of expression almost — well, religiously. Besides, as one observer noted this week, Jewish religious law forbids the depiction of God, but Jews don’t boycott Italy for Michelangelo’s “Creation.”

Denmark, like France, Great Britain and the Netherlands, is finally being forced to face the question of just what it means to be an immigrant. Does it mean accepting the culture of one’s adopted homeland, keeping one’s own roots as long as they don’t violate the law? Or does it mean, “Thanks for a piece of your territory, and now I will teach you — or force you — to live by my norms”? And what’s a free society to do about it?

Mark in Mexico points out the differences in CNN’s reporting on these cartoons vs. their coverage of the vile cartoon that ran in yesterday’s Washington Post.

***Update***

The Strat-Sphere has a must read piece up as well that I generally agree with.

We need to protect the cartoonists rights to free speech – no question. The paper needs to be backed for doing nothing more than asking and printing the voices of the people. But can’t we also explain to moderate Muslims that free speech means people say dumb and hurtful things and we do not need to lash out at them? How do we explain to a region that is not use to free speech that people are free to make fools of themselves, and the rest are free to peacefully echo back the view these people are fools?

The one thing I would take issue with and it is nitpicking a bit I know is the implication that muslims are like children. We should not need to explain it to them. If they want to play in the big world sand box they need to play nice.

I completly agree and said the same thing earlier, Muslims have every right to be offended as Christians and Jews so often are here in the US and in the EU. They do not have the right to go on violent and often murderous rampages or demand that our governments censor our press.

Calling for resignations and apologies is perfectly legitimate and acceptable. Religious and non religious groups do the same thing here all the time.

More at The Anchoress who gives us some examples of the offenses Christians regularly deal with:

Britney Spears will guest star on an episode of “Will & Grace,” NBC announced Tuesday.

The pop star will appear as a Christian conservative sidekick to Sean Hayes’ character, Jack, who hosts his own talk show, on the April 13 episode, the network said.

Jack’s fictional network, Out TV, is bought by a Christian TV network, leading to Spears contributing a cooking segment called “Cruci-fixin’s.”

and Decision08 points out we should not take joy at others offenses.

I do know that Westerners, and maybe Americans in particular, because of the great penetration of our popular culture and economic and military might, make too many assumptions regarding other cultures. We need not roll over and apologize for exercising our freedom of speech - but neither should we make a fetish of thrusting it in the face of those we wish to work with…