Hurting Muslims for Freedom

cnn: Flemish newspapers on Friday printed a series of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad, including those published in a Danish newspaper that have sparked outrage across the Muslim world.

Islamic tradition bars any depiction of the prophet, to prevent idolatry.

"Right for Satire," said a front-page headline in Het Nieuwsblad. An editorial in the newspaper called the outcry over the cartoons an attack on freedom of expression.

Another Dutch-language newspaper, Het Volk, printed drawings of the prophet by leading Flemish cartoonists and quoted renowned Belgian philosopher Etienne Vermeersch as saying that Belgian papers should publish such caricatures every week "so that Muslims could get used to the idea." Read more

db: Brave words indeed. But why do Muslims deserve this collective punishment exactly? And why is it that we choose to assert our 'freedom' in a way that makes a victim of the 'other'?