So today is draw Muhammad day and I of course couldn’t resist putting electronic pen to virtual paper. Although I warn you now that I’m not exactly Picasso. 
I’d just like to take a moment to comment on what I feel this day is about, and what I want to bring to the discussion. As you are probably aware Muslims have a rule that you cannot depict images of their prophet Muhammad (although as I understand it the wording in the Koran could be interpreted to say that only Muslims may not depict images of Muhammad), and they take great offence when others, particularly westerners, do. In particular the incidence a few years ago of the Dutch newspaper Jyllands-Posten led to widespread outrage and death threats against the artists, the papers, and even westerners in general. This shows yet again radical Muslims inability to live peaceably with long established western ideals and rights – principally Freedom of Speech. These are rights that many of us hold very dear to our hearts, and will defend whenever possible.
Some argue that Freedom of Speech comes with restrictions. Some would argue that you do not have the freedom to offend or insult another person or their beliefs. I would argue that that is exactly the sort of thing that the right of Freedom of Speech is designed to protect – the right to say things that others may find offensive. You have every right to be offended, but you have no right to stop me from saying something that you personally feel offensive.
Just because you hold yourself to an ideal dictated to you in a book written by a bunch of backward desert dwelling goatherds does not mean that the rest of us feel the need to be held to that same standard. In fact we are perfectly within our rights to completely ignore that standard, and even hold it up to ridicule. And you may do the same about some of our beliefs – that’s the beauty of the sort of free society that we here in the west promote. You certainly do not have the right to threat us with violence and even death just because you don’t like something we said.
Just to quickly explain why I included Jesus and Dumbledore in the picture. I felt it necessary to point our that this doesn’t just apply to Muslims, it applies to others of other belief systems too, be it factual or fictional.