Kurt Westergaard in my view is a hero. Not because he drew the Moetoon, that was his job and he had no clue what was to happen as a result. But because he wears the mantle of free speech martyr with great dignity and courage every day. I have met Kurt Westergaard and my impression of him, is of an unusually decent man who admires the arts and good things civilization offers and would like to live his life in pretty much any way other than he does as a  result of the Islamic worlds irrational and dare I say, somewhat arbitrary rage at his drawings.

Mr. Westergaard did not attempt to placate Islam or its adherents. He stoically spoke out in countless interviews and in many countries on the importance of free speech. He continues to live under very difficult conditions when, like Salman Rushdie, perhaps he could have kowtowed to Islam and won a sort of freedom at the expense of his principles.

This makes him a hero in that his actions led to hard choices and he made the best one for all of us, yet the most difficult for himself.

Trey Parker and Matt Stone however knew exactly what they where getting into when they did the 200th episode-anniversary show a chunk of which is below.

As you can see, Matt Stone and Trey Parker ask some perhaps less than obvious but very important questions. If it is forbidden to show an image of Mohamed, then what constitutes an image? Is a line with a circle on top OK? What about if it is a drawing within a drawing like we draw a big bear and say it is a costume within which, is a drawing of Mohamed. In the interview below, both these men quite clearly explain that one must not change principles because one group threatens you. Either it is OK to criticize irrational religious belief, or it is not. And this makes them heroes in my book.

Lastly, here is the all too predictable Muslim Outrage video over even the non-showing of Mohamed in the South Park episode. It is the usual crap but is clearly a threat on the lives of the creators of South park. Skip it if you want.

One last thing that really needs saying, South Park did an episode before the Danish Cartoon where they actually did show Mohamed as the religious leader with the power of flame. There was no reaction to it at all even though that episode probably reached thousands of times more people than the Danish cartoons ever would have, had it not been for the reaction to them.

This shows you that this has nothing to do with religious sensitivities, but to a growing political threat by Islam to the west. That Muslims are to set the agenda for what is OK for us to say, do, eat and think and how we live and not ourselves. Not that this changes anything. If it was about religious sacred imagery I would still say and do still say that the most important right civilization has, is to mock irrational religious authority. However this isn’t the real issue here. It is about control. History from the Super Best Friends episode of South park, to the Danish cartoons episode, to now prove that out.

Eeyore for Vlad Tepes Blog with a huge hat tip and thanks to the stalwart Diana West.

*****   Addendum *****

It would appear that youtube removed the video threatening the lives of the men who created South park, Trey Parker and Matt Stone. I understand completely why they did it. Youtube AKA Google cannot let itself be seen as the vector for death threats. Even so, while sympathetic, I think its equally important that we, the rest of us, be able to expose the mentality in the interest of eradicating it. So you will have to be satisfied with a description as to what was on the video. basically, some opening graphix to show they do quality video work, then on to the usual jihadi ‘we want to kill you all’ music which is the only allowable kind in Islam save for the piercing shrill nauseating call to prayer from the minarets that Obama likes so much.

Then, it goes on to show stills of the people who have been killed by various Muslims for doing things Muslims don’t like and the faces of people they want to kill, which now contain the faces of the ‘Toon twins’.

It wasn’t great viewing. But it was there.

***** Addendum two *****

Here is a great video about this whole issue. featuring Ayaan Hirsi Ali H/T Liberties Alliance