Who would’ve thought some cartoons, depicting Muhammad in various depictions, would have caused such a furore?

Should such religious mockery be made illegal, or should freedom of speech be upheld, regardless?

I’ve always believed that people should have freedom of speech – to an extent. In many cases, people should be allowed to say what is untrue, that they might be rebutted by those who speak the truth. I say to an extent, as there are also many things which should not be said. There are personal details which are entrusted to others in confidentiality, there are matters of national security, there are many pieces of information which need to be handled by those who know how to interpret them correctly. It depends on what the matter is as to whether there should be freedom of speech, and whether there should be legal safeguards to either enforce or deny it.

When it comes to matters of religion and philosophy, freedom of speech is paramount, but so is respect for others.

But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behaviour in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 1 Pe 3:15-16

Freedom of speech is necessary that debate and discussion might take place. Yes, we should be allowed to put across our point of view, as should others be allowed to express theirs. At the end of the day, if someone has a differing opinion, then that is between them and God. Even if someone is blatantly wrong, there is no remit for Christians (or indeed anyone) to force others to comply, be it to threaten them with violence or even death. Nor is there any remit to mock others because they have differing opinions. We are to stick to the discussion in hand and refrain from name-calling.

In Denmark we have a tradition of satire and humour and some cartoonists made satirical cartoons. We have done the same thing with Jesus Christ and other religions. That’s what we do with the royal family, politicians and other public figures. We were not treating Islam or the Prophet any differently from how we treat everybody else in Denmark. Flemming Rose

Looking at some of the cartoons and what those who published them have said, it would appear they are possibly trying to make a statement about how Islam is perceived, and even might possibly actually be. This is not to say all of them say anything meaningful – some of them do appear to merely mock Islam. As such, the original publishers might possibly be right to publish some of the cartoons. However, the press who have published the cartoons to demonstrate freedom of speech are at risk of merely mocking Islam without even realising the message behind the cartoons.

I may think that Islam is putting forward a false revelation of God, but I’m not going to poke fun at it. Mockery doesn’t achieve anything and may even be counter-productive. It makes more sense to put forward the historical, biblical and reasonable arguments against it.