Madam, - President McAleese may have taken her instructions from the Irish Government, but her remarks in Saudi Arabia did not represent the opinions of all the Irish people.
It is obvious that there are people in this country who believe the cartoons in question, however artistically inadequate, are legitimate tools of political comment, like those of The Irish Times. There are those who condemn the cartoons as tasteless yet refuse to condone the mayhem that has followed their publication as being a legitimate response. There are those who believe the reaction of the Muslim world has been carefully orchestrated over many months. They believe that this reaction operates in the field of politics, not of spirituality.
There are those who deplore the actions of Britain and the United States in the Middle East, but who abhor the notion of Muslim imperialism as much as they do American imperialism. There are other Irish citizens who consider it is their right and their duty to examine the claims of religion, to reject them if they consider them untrue or unworthy and to enter into public discussion on the merits of various belief systems, as appropriate.
Finally, there are people who believe that the concept of blasphemy as a social, religious or legal crime is untenable. All these people would welcome adequate discussion of this matter. Hopefully, when this happens, our President will join in. - Yours, etc,
M MacSWEENEY, Drogheda, Co Louth.