Many people have thoughtfully brought forward background information in an attempt to make sense of the Muslim response to Danish cartoons but there is a very important piece which no one has mentioned, the routine intimidation of the press.
It is not an uncommon thing for journalists (regardless of nationality) in the Middle East to be physically threatened for reporting something which is absolutely true but leaders of the area do not want known. And if the unwanted truth is published, the threats become a reality.
Search for press intimidation in the Middle East and see what you find. I found in just one search seven different instances of deliberate threats against Journalists in just one year in just the Palestinian territories when I clicked just one link.
Do we remember why the Danish newspaper started this contest to begin with? It was because when someone was writing a children's book about Mohammed, no one would illustrate it out of fear. Look at the cartoons themselves.
One shows a cartoonist fearfully drawing, with sweat coming down his brow. And this fear has been justified as the cartoonists responsible have been threatened. How long before another uppity journalist will dare question Islam again?
And that is where this uproar has gotten us, a place where we are allowing intimidation and threat to take our most prized freedom away from us. One freedom so important it was placed first in the Bill of Rights.
And I for one don't think we should give in.
This isn't about people who have had hurt feelings (not that there aren't), this is about deliberate and intentional intimidation of the Western media and we should not tolerate it.