Those Cartoons and Free Speech

The editor from Dutch newspaper Jyllands-Posten who made the decision to publish those twelve cartoons of Muhammad has an absolute must read op-ed in the Washington Post today defending the importance of free speech. Here's one particularly good paragraph:

Has Jyllands-Posten insulted and disrespected Islam? It certainly didn't intend to. But what does respect mean? When I visit a mosque, I show my respect by taking off my shoes. I follow the customs, just as I do in a church, synagogue or other holy place. But if a believer demands that I, as a nonbeliever, observe his taboos in the public domain, he is not asking for my respect, but for my submission. And that is incompatible with a secular democracy.

One of the better current defenses of free speech that I've read in the past few years. Read the whole thing.