But why do we have to respect religions at all, DeadDead? If someone chooses to believe in something, that's their choice, it doesn't mean the rest of us have to respect it. If we have to respect other people's choices, I hope you object strongly every time you hear a joke or something disrespectful about, say, lawyers or estate agents?
I, for one, am extremely offended when someone dictates to me what I should and should not “respect”. Respect is earned, not demanded...and I will decide what i respect.
Religious people demand respect purely to shut down embarrasing truths about their beliefs, and the “I’m an atheist but...’ave a bit of respect” bunch are virtue signalling, nothing less.
And, with regard to the comments about why people don’t poke fun at Islam in same way, I should think the answer is bloody obvious. There have been violent riots over the naming of teddy bears, if you remember...and a bunch if journalists were recently murdered over cartoons.
Islamic offence is often murderous. Fact. And this won’t change while privileged white Westerners are pretending that criticism of a religion is “racist” simply because most of the adherents have brown skin.
Our world will be a much safer place when Islam can be mocked without subsequent bloodshed.