Religious caricatures vs fundamentalism

Following the recent furore over the Danish newspapers printing cartoons of Muhammad, it seems European newspapers have come to the aid of their colleagues in Denmark by printing the 'offensive' cartoons.
I applaud their courageous stance for the following reasons:
Europe is not a theocracy; thus, the printing of the cartoons depicting the founder of a religious ideology should not be forbidden. I would also support any brave soul who would do likewise in a muslim country.
Criticism/satirising/ offensive caricatures of religious figures is part of a healthy democracy and we should not be subject to the offensive death threats, bomb threats by superstitious masses.
Perhaps this highlights the difficulty encountered by Salman Rushdie in the late 80s when the satanic verses was published. Censorship prevents reform, discussion, and is the hallmark of dictatorships( i should know, i lived in one). Europe underwent various stages of religious barbarity: Galileo and the vatican, the inquisition, witch burning, genocide, ethnic cleansing etc.
It is therefore right, that we shouldn't defer to religious books and accept that criticism of figures such as Muhammad, Jesus, Abraham et al are acceptable and necessary for debate, and for protecting the idea of free speech.

Long live secularism. Bravo Jyllens post, France Soir, and all the other European papers that strive to support and protect free speech.