Despicable and rude it may be...but I am afraid I am one who thinks that as outraged as muslims might be a violent response to these events is not an answer - is never an answer.

The wide spread republishing of the cartoons however is far more of an important question. That strikes me as being inflammatory and publishers are using the free speach argument as an excuse to be seen as defenders of such a principle when all they are doing is show boating.

Salam
I too must add that you are on a loser here. The comic merits of the cartoons are up to the individual show in a free country should be published. These cartoons are not encouraging violence or illegal acts which is the only things that should preclude their publications. In fact I would go as far as to say that these cartoon should be published in every media out let in the Islamic world. You would do the Islamic a much greater service if you helped create an environment were this sort of stuff was tolerated. Also the collective punishment of all Danes due to the publication of these cartoons in a private news paper is reminiscent of the collective labeling of all Muslims as terrorist. I notice though the Christians are jumping on this even though they have reacted in a similar way to explorations of Christian symbols. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.
them

Some calm please, it wasn't like all Muslims are on the streets rioting. Few hundreds rioted, few peaceful protests, many will boycott products and majority with no reaction.

Although its a street level reaction, i am surprised why now and not 4 months ago when the cartoon was published. Also, why governments interfered?

Interesting is this just a beat up at an opportune time. The cartoons were published in September 2005.

Why the delay in the backlash. Well I have seen some things along these lines.

In December last year a group of Danish imams toured the Middle East to publicise the cartoons. With them, they reportedly took, not only the offending cartoons originally published but several other far more offensive ones that, apparently, they had themselves produced. In other words, the outrage over the cartoons has been deliberately engineered. Why, And why now?

International Atomic Energy Agency will decide In Vienna today (I think) about reporting Iran to the UN Security Council for continuing with its programme of nuclear research. If that decision should occur, the UN Security Council will get round to considering what form of sanctions to impose on Iran, Wondering who will be in the chairmanship of the Council. Denmark.

Maybe this is some bs but I am wary of coincidence. Intimidate Denmark by threat of boycott of its goods or the EU indirectly fearful of a wider boycott?

This just in

Shiek Mohammad has just call for Jihad on the infidels.

Suicide bombers have been dispatched to blow up the offending newspapers, all suicide bombers will be rewarded with 2 virgins upon them blowing themselves up with a stack of newspaper.

He has also called on the beheading of the newspaper comics, to warn future newspaper from displaying the comics.

apart from the urin and Jesus, the many panks of southpark. We have a best selling book that claim that Jesus married Mary Madeline and that Jesus' bloodline is still with us today, and the church killed people who want to release that secret to society. This is blasphemy, imagine if someone did the same to the Muslim faith, wait someone did.

Dan Brown Vs Salman Rushdie- this speak volumn about the 2 religion. One is tolerant of other religion, allows free speech, so that its followers can search for their own truth. The other religion want to control the throught of their follower, will strike at other people who don't believe in their own throught.

Perhaps in the end, it is all about control?

The Muslim world is tightly regulated and protocoled. Here in the West, we have freedom to live by our moral standards that are not institutionalised by the church. The Muslim world is starkly underperforming and feels threatened by the material success of the West.

Perhaps it is all about the will of freedom of speech against a theocracy that feels threatened.