Freedom of speech and clash of culture

Poor Denmark and Danish people. They hardly ever figure in any international issues and events and now all because of local newspaper (Jyllands-Posten) cartoon drawing of Prophet Muhammud in a turban depicting that of a bomb, the muslims are now burning their flags and storming their embassy and protesting. What was supposed to be a cartoon aimed to be humorous (I guess they thought it would be that way) turned out differently.

According to the LA Times

It's not the decision by Jyllands-Posten and other European newspapers to publish the cartoons that is appalling, it's the response from the Muslim world. If the Muslim outrage is really about demanding respect for others' beliefs (a valid argument), Arabs should be insisting that their own media stop the almost-daily depictions of Jews and Christians as bloodthirsty cannibals and murderers of children. One tasteless act does not excuse another. Tolerance is a two-way street.

And what of the cartoons? The real issue is not that some of the cartoons portrayed Islam unflatteringly but that the prophet's image was drawn at all. While Muslims are prohibited from depicting Muhammad, and doing so is considered blasphemy, this prohibition should not apply to non-Muslims. Demanding that non-Muslims abide by such a religious edict is tantamount to ordering them to follow an Islamic halal diet or cover their women's hair. In a world with more than a dozen major religions, no faith can prescribe such behaviors to others.

Where does one draw the line for freedom of speech and expression and the respect for other religion? There's an identity crisis happening. Remember what happened in France last year. The riots by Muslims? A clash of culture once again happening.

Btw, Iran said they're gonna boycott Danish products...well...there goes the yummy Danish cookies!