If Christians were apt to lop heads every time Jesus was lampooned, the moral obligation would be to pile on even more ridicule until they accepted that giving offence is a basic freedom. Muslims who wish to live in the secular West need to absorb that same lesson.
By holding a Mohammad cartoon-drawing competition, Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer deliberately set out to offend the religious sensibilities of Muslims. That is clear. It is also clear that the hand-wringing over the event was a pathetic betrayal of our Western values.
It goes without saying, or it should, that those who will kill because their religious beliefs are mocked must be continually subject to such mocking. The only question is whether people are brave enough, like Ms Geller and Mr Spencer. This is not just free speech in action; it is refusing to kowtow to barbarians.