Great Danes

As a career newspaperman, I share my colleagues' outrage over the behavior of much of the Islamic world in response to a few cartoons published in Danish newspapers depicting the Prophed Mohammed.
The reaction has included recalling ambassadors from Denmark, boycotts of Danish products, burning Danish flags, threats against Danish journalists and Danes in general, and on and on.
Yet nobody would raise an eyebrow if Western newspapers published irreverent cartroons depicting the Pope or Jesus or the Virgin Mary.
I came across this piece on one of my favorite sites this afternoon and think it's worth repeating here:

So it’s OK for ayatollahs to offend Western values by routinely issuing fatwas requiring devout Muslims to kill those whom they dislike (a la Salman Rushdie)!

It’s OK to preach hatred of Jews and Christians every day in Koranic schools and mosques the world over! It’s OK for Muslim newspapers to publish cartoons that portray Jews as pigs and apes, and exhort Muslims to “to slaughter them and murder them, according to the words of Allah”!

It’s OK to blast planes and buildings in the name of Allah and celebrate the mass murderers, called the “Magnificent 19” in the Islamic press, by organizing conferences in their honor!

It’s OK to praise martyrdom against the West, and encourage it by agitating the lure of 71 virgins and making hefty payments to the families of those who blast themselves!

It’s OK for Islamic leaders to demand the physical elimination of the Jews and of their state in holocaust fashion!

It’s OK for Arabs living in the West to deny their daughters education in violation of Western laws! It’s OK to rape those who dare dress with Western fashion! It’s OK to practice polygamy! It’s OK to defend women abuse and battery from the pulpit!

It’s OK for conservative Arab countries to ban Western women from driving and force them to wear chadors in public. It’s OK for their courts to order mutilation and death-by-stoning for minor offenses.

It’s OK to turn a blind eye to female genital mutilation.

It’s OK to randomly seize hostages and murder them like pigs, while praising Allah!

Let’s stop this nonsense! The West has values too that are non-negotiable. They include freedom of the press, freedom of expression, equality, and democracy among others. If Arabs want to live in our midst, they must uphold them. No exception! If they do not care to, they are welcome to return to the sand dunes that are more hospitable to their sensitivities.

And, let us never make the mistake to apologize for our values or tolerate compromises and exceptions. And shame to the weak-hearted and feeble-minded politicians and editors who offered regrets and apologies for what is nothing but an assertion of Western most cherished values. They have once again failed their people and dishonored their offices.