So, what do people think about this free speech/ respect of religion controversy that's flaring up over in Europe?

I am still sorting out my thoughts. On the one hand, there are some positions that I find very untenable. The most significant of these is the position of Islamic governments that have been pressing the Danish government to punish the offending newspaper. That, in my opinion, is a really terrible thing to ask, and a real infringement on the important right of free speech. The Danish prime minister's position, therefore, seems highly rational:

"A Danish government can never apologise on behalf of a free and independent newspaper. This is basically a dispute between some Muslims and a newspaper."

Another, largely most likely marginal, reaction that troubles me is that of those Muslims who take to the streets at any kind of argument to proclaim that those whom they find offensive must die. CNN reports on Palestinian responses:

Early Friday, Palestinian militants threw a bomb at a French cultural center in Gaza City, and many Palestinians began boycotting European goods, especially those from Denmark.

"Whoever defames our prophet should be executed," said Ismail Hassan, 37, a tailor who marched through the pouring rain along with hundreds of others in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

"Bin Laden our beloved, Denmark must be blown up," protesters in Ramallah chanted.

An imam at the Omari Mosque in Gaza City told 9,000 worshippers that those behind them should have their heads cut off.

"If they want a war of religions, we are ready," Hassan Sharaf, an imam in Nablus, said in his sermon.

Don't worry, Hassan Sharaf, we do not want a war of religions. Look, BBC points out to us the reaction of the Vatican. "Vatican cardinal Achille Silvestrini condemned the cartoons, saying Western culture had to know its limits."

There is a myriad of reaction arising from within Europe, handily summarized by a German website here: signandsight I got to that link from ALDaily, which is linked on my side bar.

As to whether it is proper to publish this kind of article, I find myself looking to my own faith. I would, and do, find offensive irreverant representations of Jesus. Sometimes I can take them with a grain of salt and they are funny, other times they are mean spirited and blasphemous, and these are more difficult to take lightly. Acting conscientiously, I would treat all other religions with the degree of charity that I myself desire, and so I would disagree with publishing some of these cartoons. You can find a link to the cartoons at AL Daily if you want to see them, but I won't link to them directly.

Another part of me, perhaps the unruly part, could see myself rashly making a sarcastic cartoon about pagan gods or religious figures that I do not believe exist or find overrated, like Muhammad. There is ironic truth in the cartoon wherein Muhammad urges his suicide bombers to slow down, as he is running out of virgins. (How many virgins are there? Where are they coming from?) The cartoon is confronting a clear falsehood in an uncharitable way. I can find some value in this kind of presentation, in that its confrontational nature can cause some people to think. Obviously that was not the intention of this newspaper, though, so I wish they'd never published it.