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In response to threats from militant Islamists, such custodians of Western culture as Comedy Central, Yale University Press, and the Deutsche Oper have resorted to self-censorship. Norris, a cartoonist for the Seattle Weekly, was troubled by what she saw — correctly, I think — as the slow-motion surrender of freedom of expression, a fundamental right.
So she came up with an idea: “Everybody Draw Mohammed Day.” This may not have been a great idea — few are — but the point she wanted to make was simple enough: Freedom implies the right to criticize and caricature. This freedom is now in jeopardy because a minority of Muslims believe the majority of non-Muslims can be easily intimidated. If we all stand up for freedom, Norris thought, surely freedom’s enemies will back down.
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