In this one example we see nearly the whole of the problem presented by the collision between Islam and Western liberalism. But amidst the many difficulties, two stand out. First, is the statement from imam Raed Hlayhel, "This type of democracy is worthless for Muslims." Certainly Hlayhel does not speak for all of Islam. But the worry is that if he speaks for even a tiny minority--say, 5 percent of the world's Muslims--that's still a lot of people.
The second shock is the support of 11 Muslim states for this bullying of the Danish press. It is one thing for a lone imam to try to mau-mau a newspaper. It is another to see him standing, arms linked, with foreign governments.
Trying to avoid offending them is a pointless exercise since there is virtually nothing that won't offend some of them.
The Danes have stood with us admirably in the war on terror and so we should stand with them in the face of this threat. Consult with the Danes and then call in the ambassadors of the 11 Moslem states that are trying to bully Denmark and tell them to (in appropriate Department of State language) take a flying leap.
Freedom is not a negotiable issue.
UPDATE: Minerva has a post that rightly calls this a free speech issue that Moslem states are trying to stifle. She points to a Norwegian blogger who is also on the incident. Fjordman has email addresses, too.
Strangely, Fjordman doesn't have an address for the European Union. You know, the superstate that will protect all Europeans, patent cheese smells or whatever they do, and regulate their economy to death? Yeah, that's the one. If the EU won't stand up to those who try to bully one of their own into silence, explain to me why European countries should abandon their sovereignty to this entity.
