I do believe that the majority of muslims is as peaceful as the majority of christians. And they have a right to protest peacefully against what they feel is blasphemy - just as christians may protest against caricatures critizizing their beliefs.

Still there is a big enough group of muslims who are not protesting in a peaceful way - and there are muslim leaders who encourage them (in fact started the troubles).

Their protest is against the fact that their prophet is pictured - not against HOW he is pictured.

The violence of their protests is proof that the critizism of the Islam shown in the caricatures is based on the reality of that religion.

Western civilization has had its long struggle to find the places of the church(es) and the state in society (imperfect as the outcome may look so some people sometimes).

Islam, which was more modern than the christian religion at some time in history, is very dogmatic now - like the christian church in the middle ages. Look at the position of the women, for instance.

Islam needs the enlightenment christianity had in the times around the french revolution - for the good of the people. And this includes the handling of critizism.