The Periphery of the Mind

Those whacky Muslims are getting offended again. I try to be tolerant of other cultures, but the Islamic world should understand two things. 1) Our belief of freedom of expression is so strong in the Western world that we allow people to display Christ on the Cross in a bottle of urine and call it art, so why other religions be sacrosanct. 2) The depictions of Mohammed were arguably no more offensive than the anti-Israeli cartoons published in the Islamic press. I understand depictions of Islam's great prophet are blasphemy, but I also understand that it's only blasphemy to -some- Muslim sects. I'm not sure what to make about the USA siding with the Muslims in the condemnation of Free Speech. Is this a PR attempt to make Muslims happy, or a move to curtail free expresion in the states in the name of "sensitivity to others", or a genuine respect for the religions of others? I don't know.