Offending Muslims

Two years ago, a Danish newspaper published political cartoons portraying the Muslim prophet Muhammad.

This eventually led to violent protests across much of the Muslim world -- more than 100 people were killed during the demonstrations, and Norwegian and Danish embassies were torched in Syria.

Some Muslim leaders issued death threats to those who dared print the cartoons.

Even many major newspapers in the United States refused to publish the drawings for fear of inciting radical Islamists.

It was an embarrassment, but it showed how far many in the West are wiling to go to appease the Muslim world.

Was this an isolated incident?

Apparently not.

Consider Gillian Gibbons, a British national who taught at a school in the Sudan. She currently sits in a Sudanese jail cell for the crime of allowing her 7-year-old students to name a teddy bear "Muhammad." She was spared the lash, but received a 15-day sentence.

On Friday, thousands of Sudanese -- many armed with clubs and knives, according to The Associated Press -- took to the streets in Khartoum, demanding that Ms. Gibbons be executed for her "crime." They chanted, "No tolerance: Execution," and "Kill her, kill her by firing squad," the wire service reported.

On the bright side, most British Muslim organizations condemned the entire prosecution, recognizing it as a gross and disproportionate overreaction.

But will the British government now have the courage to sever diplomatic relations with the Sudan -- perhaps even imposing sanctions -- over this outrageous infringement of common sense, or will it prefer a more mealy-mouthed response designed not to offend the practitioners of radical Islam?