As Danish and Norwegian flags were set ablaze, and militant Muslim demonstrators were shouting “death to all Westerners” in several capitals of the world last week, the Norwegian foreign department initially reacted by sending out a memo to its Middle East embassies widely perceived as kowtowing to the militants. The discrete statement on how to appease Muslim reactions in the wake of a Christian magazine publishing a cartoon of Mohammed as a suicide bomber, was leaked to the press and led to other politicians protesting how it played down Norwegian constitutional rights such as freedom of speech. However, the Norwegian Government took a stronger line after the Norwegian embassy in Damascus was set on fire Saturday, and has vowed to file a complaint with the UN and seek compensation from the Syrian government.   

Amidst a flurry of editorials and commentators scrambling to make excuses for our constitutionally embedded freedom of speech and press, I was relieved to see a few brave and poignant voices standing up for our democratic rights. I particularly appreciated Norwegian-Pakistani stand-up-comedienne Shabana Rehman’s article in Dagbladet today, calling for people not to give in to the tyranny of emotions, and Vampus' brave blogging campaign. Thank you Shabana and Heidi. I also appreciated The Daily Telegraph's leader Democracy has a gun held to its head.