Everybody Draw Muhammad Day

Several weeks ago, Molly Norris, a Seattle Cartoonist, declared today to be "Everybody Draw Muhammad Day," to protest Comedy Central's decision to self-censor the famous 200th episode of South Park.  However, she didn't expect her off-the-cuff call-to-arms to go viral:

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/05/19/facebook-fracas-breaks-everybody-draw-mohammad-day/

Now, Molly is having an "I created a monster" moment and is trying to distance herself from her creation:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5htWrc5bacllWOkGF3ylp4rSwmFKw

Muslims consider Mohammed's image sacred and is not to be depicted.   Which is fine for the followers of Islam.  But they cross the line when they threaten or intimidate others into adhering--involuntarily--to their beliefs.

I can't draw, so my contribution to defending our 1st Amendment rights comes from my heroic fantasy miniatures collection.  Although it's showing some wear, the figure in the above picture is a caravan master and is actually one of my favorite pieces.  Which, I think is very appropriate to represent Muhammad, since he worked as a merchant before starting his religious teachings and founding Islam.

Here's a synopsis of Mohammed's life and the rise of Islam according to Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad

Muhammad, of course, didn't act alone:

Since I have other Arabic-ish/non-historical looking figures, I thought I'd include some of his early followers.

Abu Bakr succeed Muhammad, thus becoming the first caliphate:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Bakr

Hamza, Mohammed's uncle was killed at the Battle of Uhud:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamza_ibn_%E2%80%98Abd_al-Muttalib

While Aisha was considered Mohammed's favorite wife:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aisha

"Everybody Draw Muhammad Day" isn't about us "ugly Americans" antagonizing Muslims.  It's about defending our own values, in this case freedom of speech and expression, within our own country.

Mark Steyn rolls-in on why he supports the cause:

http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=YmFlOTZmNzcxZmYwNTUxMzQzMjY5OTVhZWFjNTI1Mjc=

And best selling author Brad Thor posted an inspirational rallying speech on Jihad Watch:

http://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/05/brad-thor-why-everyone-in-the-civilized-world-must-support-everybody-draw-muhammad-day.html

Since Brad Thor quoted one starship captain and applied it to this cause, I'll quote another:  Never give up!  Never surrender!