Often people make the mistake of thinking the right to draw Mohammed is a simple battle between those who wish for the right to offend and the right not to be offended. This could not be more wrong. The Islamists who try to use violence to attack those who offend them have an ulterior motive. Sure, those pulling the trigger may believe they do so simply to avenge the prophet but this is the superficial motivation of the movement as a whole. The real aim of these Islamist groups is domination through fear and terror. The first step in maintaining a totalitarian regime is to silence those who would speak against you and destroy freedom of speech. But the Islamists would have a hard time doing this in one fell stroke. Instead they must attack an aspect of freedom of expression that they can gain support in. By attacking freedom of speech under the disguise of protecting the honour of Mohammed they can gain the sympathy and support of millions of Muslims and non Muslims worldwide. This may not be direct support of the violence but it does not need to be. Every comment that places blame on the victims, every voice that says ‘you should watch what you say’ and every time outrage at being offended trumps outrage of violence the attack on freedom of speech is validated and perpetuated. By picking an issue on which they can gain widespread sympathy the extremists can drive in the thin edge of the wedge to slowly destroy freedom of speech and remove the biggest block to establishing their totalitarian regime.
That is why the battle to draw Mohammed is not one of offense but one of freedom versus totalitarianism. It is the duty of everyone who values a free society to put aside their own feelings and support those who seek the right to offend. #jesuisCharlie