Madam, - More than 15 years ago we were treated to the spectacle of burnings of Salman Rushdie's book The Satanic Verses. This was followed by the imposition of a death sentence upon the author by Ayatollah Khomeini. Then came the stabbing and attempted murder by Islamists of the Nobel Prize-winning Egyptian author Naguib Mahfouz for his depiction of religious prophets.
This in turn was followed by an Egyptian academic, Dr Nasr Abu Zaid, being forced to go into exile after having examined the Koran, not as the word of God, but as a historical document like any other.
Now we have a chorus of protests all over the Arab and Muslim world at some cartoons originally printed in a Danish newspaper last September. This has resulted in certain police states deliberately allowing state-sanctioned marches to burn embassies as a way of letting off steam and reducing internal discontent. Anyone who has lived in any of these countries - as I lived and worked in Syria for two years - will know that nothing of even a slightly political nature occurs there without the government and its omnipresent secret police forces giving it their blessing.
I also read in your paper last Saturday that the Egyptian ambassador to Denmark said she regretted that the Danish prime minister "could not interfere with the press". The position of the Danish prime minister seems remarkably unlike that of her own President Hosni Mubarak and the Egyptian government, who routinely shut down newspapers and suppress dissent.
It seems increasingly clear that Muslim societies have huge problems with the idea of modernity as represented by the Enlightenment and the intellectual freedom that it bequeathed to us. This freedom includes the right to speak freely, to dress as one likes, to write what one wants, and the responsibility of treating women and those of other beliefs with respect and equality. It also includes the right to mock and indeed, the right in turn to be mocked oneself. Until these societies recognise this fact, then the list of writers, intellectuals and thinkers exiled, censored and killed in the Islamic world will continue to grow.
If an Islamic reformation does not occur, the recent scenes in Damascus and Beirut will continue and indeed worsen. This will make it even more difficult for people like myself, who opposed the invasion of Iraq and sympathise with the Palestinian cause, to see the evolution of a harmonious and peaceful relationship between Islam and the West on the basis of our shared values. - Yours, etc,
DAVID DOYLE, Gilford Park, Sandymount, Dublin 4.
Madam, - There might be much more sympathy for those who protest against the Danish cartoons had they protested equally loudly against those who have bombed, maimed and terrorised in the name of Allah. It is extraordinary that satirical cartooning can evoke such monumental reaction on the streets while the defilement of Islam by violence provokes virtually no response. - Yours, etc,
MICHEÁL Ó BRAOIN, Droichead Abhann Uí gCearnaigh, Co an Chláir.
Madam, - Anyone whose blood begins to boil on hearing Ian Paisley's comments about our head of state should spare a thought for Muslims across the world.
Is it not apt that Dr Paisley should teach us such a lesson of tolerance and understanding of other cultures? - Yours, etc,
CIARÁN AHERN, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14.
Madam, - I wonder how many of those protesting against the publication of the provocative cartoons in the Danish newspaper have laughed at anti-Semitic cartoons. - Yours, etc,
PETER ERIC WAHLRAB, Kells, Co Meath.
Madam, - The Muslims I know regard the Prophet Muhammad as one who conveyed to humanity the infinite compassion of God. So I can understand why they are offended when Muhammad is caricatured as some kind of pitiless suicide bomber in the Western press. Nevertheless, I think Muslim leaders should have called only for a day of peaceful protest rather than one of anger.
I'm sure many Muslims worldwide must also be outraged when they see some Islamic governments distort the teaching of the Prophet Muhammad to justify the most appalling acts of inhumanity. I'm referring, of course, to acts of sadism such as cutting off the hands of thieves and the stoning to death or beheading of individuals believed to be adulterers or homosexuals.
Perhaps a day of angry protest would be in order in reaction to such perversions of compassion. - Yours, etc,
TONY MORIARTY, Kenilworth Park, Dublin 6W.
Madam, - Muslims worldwide are outraged by a cartoon, which they consider blasphemous. What about Christians in Ireland? Recently we had a blasphemous caricature of the Last Supper, which is sacred to all Christians and at the moment the rite of Christian marriage is being trivialised by a car advertisement. - Yours, etc,
Canon B LOUGHEED, Park Road, Killarney, Co Kerry.