Why There Was No Cartoon Controversy in the United States Robert
A. Kahn University of St. Thomas School of Law (Minnesota) U of
St. Thomas Legal Studies Research Paper No. 07-28 The
publication of cartoons insulting the prophet Mohammed created a
far greater controversy in Europe than it did in the United
States. In the paper, I attempt to trace this difference to
broader differences in the way Americans and Europeans think
about offensive speech. While Americans have developed a
language of "libertarian regret," which allows them to criticize
speech that they nevertheless concede the legal system must
protect, Europeans are much more concerned about the threat
posed by acts of intolerance. As a result, Europeans tended to
view Muslim protests against the cartoons as a potential
harbinger of totalitarianism. By contrast, most American
commentators - while defending the right of the Danish paper to
run the cartoons - were more likely to trace the Muslim
opposition to the cartoons to religious sensitivities. I