The Muhammad cartoon madness

You probably know what happened in Garland, Texas, on May 5. The "Muhammad Art Exhibit and Cartoon Contest" was attacked by two gunmen, who were killed by the police before they could cause any harm. Since then, a possible link between the two Muslim attackers and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has been sought and discussed. Meanwhile, many considered the event as yet another example of Islam's intolerance of free speech and the terrorist threat it sparks. 

This threat, of course, is real, as we have seen over the years in the attacks against Danish cartoonists who made the cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, and more recently in the terrorist rampage against the Charlie Hebdo magazine in France. There obviously are fanatical Muslims in the world who see "the insult of Islam" as a good reason to kill people. It is the job of us, other Muslims, to oppose them and call for peaceful, civilized responses to what we all consider offensive to the sacred symbols of our faith. I will give all that. 

But, on the other hand, non-Muslim Westerners should consider whether it is wise and helpful to insist on publishing such cartoons, only to offend all Muslims and provoke the fanatics among us. 

I know that the issue at stake here is freedom of speech, which is a value that I also passionately defend. But freedom of speech can be combined with either respect or disrespect to people of different faiths, and the former is arguably wiser and more helpful. We live in a world where formerly isolated cultures constantly meet each other and it is really more responsible to have this meeting through handshakes rather than poking fingers in the eye. 

That is why I fully agree with a recent New York Times editorial, which read:
"There...