Hugh Hewitt has a different take on the cartoon issue.

The jihadists are the enemy, not the Muslim world. Refusing to recognize how idiot cartoonists can indeed offend Muslims who are not only not Islamofascists but also our allies and even our fellow citizens is to refuse Muslims the right to at least the same level of disgust that Christians display when they denounce stupid NBC series like The Book of Daniel or shows like Will & Grace.

(my emphasis)

I used to agree with this. I believed that Islam was hijacked by a small group of nutjobs. Then I read books like White Gold by Giles Milton. White Gold about the European slaves taken for centuries by the Muslims. The book is based on the diary of Thomas Pellow, an English slave taken in the 1600’s. His master would hang him by the feet and beat on his soles until Thomas finally agreed to convert to Islam.

I don’t believe for one minute that Islam was benign and suddenly was hijacked by a bunch of violent terrorist beginning in the late Twentieth Century. I don’t believe it was ever tolerant of other religions or points of view. I think that stuff about Andulusia is hype.

In fact, Robert Spencer at Jihad Watch brings historical evidence that Islam has never been tolerant of criticism or other views. From “a passage from Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais’ 1784 stage comedy Marriage of Figaro (adapted by Mozart for the great opera), from the famous Freedom of Speech monologue in Act V, Scene 3″:

“I cobble together a verse comedy about the customs of the harem, assuming that, as a Spanish writer, I can say what I like about Mohammed without drawing hostile fire. Next thing, some envoy from God knows where turns up and complains that in my play I have offended the Ottoman empire, Persia, a large slice of the Indian peninsula, the whole of Egypt, and the kingdoms of Barca {Ethiopia}, Tripoli, Tunisi, Algeria, and Morocco. And so my play sinks without trace, all to placate a bunch of Muslim princes, not one of whom, as far as I know, can read but who beat the living daylights out of us and say we are ‘Christian dogs.’ Since they can’t stop a man thinking, they take it out on his hide instead…”

Hugh says, “Decency, and a respect for the opinions of mankind, ought still to be highly valued.”

Should we respect all opinions of mankind? What about the opinions of these now-extinct religionists? What would India be like now had English “respected” them rather than stopping them in their tracks?

Shouldn’t respect be earned? Given acts of mindless violence committed by Muslims throughout the world, they haven’t earned mine. Beheading schoolgirls, raping and killing in the Sudan, bombing innocent people, engaging in honor killing–does that deserve respect?

Hugh is right about the crudity of the cartoons. When I first heard about this months ago, my first thought was–what do you expect from a bunch of cynical, leftist and atheistic Danes? I had no interest in supporting the cartoonists until the Muslims chose thuggery rather than civilized protest. Now I just want to poke them in the eye.

I think that others would have agreed and been sympathetic had the Muslims reacted in a civilized manner. I don’t think you can compare this to the situations about stupid television shows like Daniel or Will and Grace like Hugh does. Nobody suggested beheading the producers of those shows.

The Muslims asked for international contempt. Any of them who start rioting and hurting people over this deserve whatever measures it takes to stop them.

In the meantime, I believe that it is healthy for Europeans to finally stand up to the intimidation that these populations have been subjecting them to. I like seeing the Europeans get angry and show a little fighting spirit because I think they are going to need it in the future for other showdowns that will inevitably come. And…perhaps they will get angry enough to throw their appeasing elitist leaders out on their keisters.