Source: Egypt Today
http://www.egypttoday.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=6451
On March 15, 2006 Egypt Today reported, "If there is only one thing — and there may be just one thing — that all sides of the raging debate about Danish cartoons lampooning the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) can agree upon, it is this: 'These are our values, and we will defend them'... [O]n one side, the West is calling for the respect of freedom of expression, and on the other Muslims are calling for the respect of their faith. But at the core of this debate an older, more bitter resentment hits the surface. Arabs and Muslims believe they have suffered for years under the double standards the West applies in dealing with them (take Iranian nuclear power vs. Israeli nuclear power as a blatant example). The main issue at play emerged as the increasing feeling of injustice. Pintak agrees: 'Anti-Semitism is illegal in Europe in various countries. A writer is on trial in France for saying that the Holocaust did not occur. [David Irving, a pseudo-historian who denies the Holocaust, was sentenced to a three-year jail term for his beliefs last month.] But there is a different standard when people can publish anti-Arab or anti-Muslim cartoons,' he opines. Peter Sanders, a Muslim British photographer who recently visited Egypt, adds, 'I have a problem with this thing they say in the West about freedom of expression. It’s a bit of a lie, really. It means free to do whatever they want. But if someone chooses to wear a hijab or be devout, people get upset. It is hypocrisy. And if you belittle something like that, it means you’re scared of it. I was shocked on one hand, but not surprised on the other, because it is kind of what the West does. Not just religion, but politicians, royalty, anybody is open for attack and belittling.'"