I think most of us suspected that Europe would have something to awaken it to the seriousness of the dangers of radical Islamic fundamentalists. But I never would have guessed that it would come by reading the funnies.
It has been incorrectly reported that, according to Islam, Muhammed may never be depicted. That is not so (as is evident by the many depictions of him in Muslim art). However, he is only to be depicted with the utmost reverence, and there is a general preference against images in Islam overall. In a corresponding manner, the Easter Orthodox are known for their defense and use of icons--a practice which was fostered as part of their response to the Muslim charge of Christian idolatry in the use of images.
The political cartoons which sparked riots and the burning of embassies definitely depicted Muhammed in an irreverent manner. However, I believe that what caused the violent response was that the criticism expressed by the cartoons rings true. Muhammed had his peaceful period and his violent, conquering period. Both of these are reflected in the Qu'ran. Thus Islam has always had these two streams (peaceful and violent) within its tradition. The former produced a flowering of Arab culture which eventually blessed Europe with leaps forward in literature and science. The latter produced tendencies toward violent intolerance and conquest--especially among the Turks.
What is objectionable to modern Christians and other people of good will in today's society is that Islam requires of non-muslims the same devotion toward its tenants as it does of faithful believers, and will not tolerate any criticism by either. If I as a Christian in a country under Islamic law were to state the simple and obvious assertion of my own faith that Allah is not God and that Muhammed is not God's prophet, it would simply not be tolerated. Hence the great outrage at political cartoons that criticize Islam. This, despite the fact that Arab political cartoons seem to have no reservation about being brutally critical of infidels and outrightly anti-semetic.
I can only imagine what kind of response we would see if newspapers started running Jack Chick's fundamentalist gospel tracts aimed at Muslims like these. "Allah had no Son" (below)
"The Pilgrimage" (below)
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