[talkSAFT]

All human beings have the absolute, universal right to be treated with dignity, and should be judged by others as individuals rather than part of some larger homogenous mass.

However, ideas do not have rights. That goes for religions, philosophies, political ideologies, anything. Nothing is above criticism, satire or mockery. Some individuals may take honest offence at the mockery of an idea they hold dear. Indeed, they have every right to be offended if they wish, and they also have the right to respond with words of their own. But they have no right to demand that their idea be respected at all times. No one has that right.

To me, the concept of "harm" trumps "offence" every single time. If someone says something that's liable to cause actual harm to people - i.e. perpetuating false stereotypes, inciting violence, etc - then you can bet I'll oppose it with every breath in my body. But satirising religion doesn't fall into that category. Not even close.

(If you get chance, listen to Maajid Nawaz speak on this subject; always eloquent and articulate, and leading the fight against violent god-fuelled idiots).

You've got to respect that there are (I dunno) a billion or so Moslems on Earth, and that a very large number will be OFFENDED by being called "god-fuelled idiots". I don't know what they teach them in their mosques, but I'm assuming that not all the billion or so have been brainwashed!
If you haven't had deep religion in your life (I haven't) it's hard to grasp how it can control your life. We (infidels) can't just dismiss it, because we don't understand it.
The nearest analogy I can think of is that, back in the day, if the Sports Argus had had a cartoon of Jeff Astle baring his arse to the Dingle fans, and the same fans knocked on his door, smacked him in the gob, and pinched his England caps, then I'd join the possee and set about the aggressors.

(Sorry - that's totally disrespectful - but Charlie might have smiled.)

Not all humans are the same - and you can even differentiate by Nation (or even City). We piss ourselves laughing at British humour, but many Yanks (with the same genes) just don't get it - and vice versa. A billion or so Moslems can't all be "god-fuelled-idiots". Only a very tiny minority would even condone what's happened in Paris, but the best part of a billion of them would have been OFFENDED (by the cartoon) because they felt that it was an attempt to laugh at a very large part of their life......so why OFFEND them (in Eskimo terms 6 foot of snow) just for the sake of Free Speech (much as we all love Free Speech)?