Punch upward, not downward. Muslims in Europe are very much a minority (religious minority so you would actually be called a bigot if you discriminated against Muslims because Islam is a religion, not a race; you'd be called a racist if you disciminated against Arabs).
So if you discriminate against Muslisms because of their faith (as opposed to criticising the teachings of Islam with a geopolitical and historical context), generally people have the right to think that you are picking on the powerless, and are hence a terrible person. Just as you have the right to be critical of Islam (though there is a difference between expressing hatred/discriminatory sentiments for the people who are part of a particular religious group and simply being critical of something), other people have the right to call you out if your "criticisms" are actually just disguised bigotry.
A minority with very clear, presented plans to become the majority, often through tactics unsavoury and dangerous.
Here's an unsavory and dangerous group: the authoritarian far-right populists in Europe that are not opposed to corporate power and demonise Muslims, immigrants and homosexuals. Geert Wilders (PVV) ended up second place in the 2017 general elections in the Netherlands. The AfD had over 90 seats in the Bundestag after the 2017 Bundestag elections. Marine LePen (FN) was a presidential candidate in the 2016 French elections....these people represent actual dangers for the European populations because they are actual participants in electoral politics and hence have an actual influence on their societies.
Also, if you know a group of people will react violently (which again is unacceptable) maybe it's not the smartest thing to do it when you know the consequences? Offending people is not a solution.
This is sort of like the whole point of this discussion. You should be able to make fun of a fucking 1400-year old desert religion without having to fear violent reprisals. This is what European intellectuals have fought and died for in the last 300 years. If you as Muslim feel the need to react violently to a cartoon drawing of your prophet, then it's you and not the drawer who is the problem.
You're talking about an ideal world, a world that doesn't exist.
What's funny is that I'm currently taking a course in social ethics and it has a chapter on freedom of speech (It's an American book). The right to freedom of speech protects you against a tyrannical government. It's doesn't protect you from angry people. You could write an offensive article and the publisher would refuse to release it and it doesn't count as FOS. You can talk about whatever you want but there are consequences. I'm not excusing actions, I'm just stating the obvious. More than one billion muslims on the planet, some didn't care, some expressed their disapproval via social media, some marched in the streets, and some sick minded individuals committed an act of terror. Although, I'm against outrage over such stupid things, doesn't what the majority did falls under freedom of speech to you?
You cannot control every single person and people should stop blaming a large group of people by the action of individuals.
Something I want to talk about here is, why when an act of terror happens to muslims, it doesn't get the same coverage compared to an attach in Europe?
Anyone here heard of the attack ISIS did in Karrada, Iraq? In 2016, in the middle of the holy month of Ramadan, Islam's sacred month, 341 humans where killed and 246 where injured. That is the most unislamic thing to happen.
Whether it's Charlie Hebdo or Karrada, the enemy is the radicalized minority such as ISIS.
I was skeptical at first but the dust and scratches filter on that video convinced me this completely that this is a very reliable source of analysis on the issue.
Actually to concede a point to the other side here, I think you should be able to poke fun at Islam and draw a picture of fucking Muhammad without getting killed for it. But also there shouldn't be a public outcry from liberals when it happens either.
Free speech is free speech.
But again, we likely don't have the problem of Islamic extremist violence being so prevalent if we don't fuck over their countries for multiple generations.
