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if you are Muslim in Afghanistan don't plan on any big life changes.

A man there wants to convert to Christianity and the court says that under Sharia he will be executed.  What is it with these people? The man wants to change religions.  Free people do it all the time. 

I'm told Islam is tolerant. First cartoons now this.  What's up?

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I met with Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) leaders on Friday afternoon. I didn't catch the protest before the meeting where I'm told speakers demanded that I be fired and a curse was called down on The Beacon Journal.

Though I was outnumbered about 15 to 1 in the meeting, my hosts were an agreeable lot. They disavowed violence and the curse. They patiently explained to me that Islam is a religion of peace. Many of them were from other countries and appreciated the American commitment to freedom of religion. They also supported freedom of the press. Except for one thing. They don't like pictures of Muhammad.  My explanation that the Muhammad on acid cartoon was about CNN's digital distortion of the prophet's face did not impress them. They seemed genuinely hurt by the cartoon.

I said the cartoon made a point and offensiveness was a byproduct. They felt that offensiveness was the point. 

Maybe they had a point.  When I drew it I wasn't thinking about the mostly friendly faces that were now questioning me. I was thinking of Theo Van Gogh, the Dutch film maker murdered by an Islamic lunatic, burning embassies, and threats to cut off cartoonist's heads.  All those things were done in the name of Islam.  Those things are a greater blasphemy than a cartoon. Right?

My hosts condemned the terrorists and dismissed them as a small percentage of a huge religion of 1.3 billion people.

They were thinking of their religion as they know it.  I was thinking of their religion as I see it.

I will be on WCPN 90.3 in Cleveland Monday Feb 13 at 9:00 to talk about you know who.

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Isn't it a wonderful world now that we fight with cartoons instead of bombs?  Oh, wait, we do both.

I met with the leaders of Council on American Islamic Relations, Ohio yesterday.  Discussions were constructive, as they say.  More on that later.