"Fear played no role in our decision" Thus spake Morten Kirkskov, head of the dramatic department, when he announced the Royal Theater in Copenhagen would not perform a stage version of Salmon Rushdie's Satanic Verses.
But only six months after the Bataclan attacks in Paris, fear should have been a paramount consideration, and not just fear of upsetting Copenhagen's burgeoning muslim population, but fear of what would inevitably happen to Christians across the world, wherever followers of the 'religion of peace' reside.
Fear of the riots and violence throughout Europe and in his own city, as these peaceful disciples of islam demonstrate their disapproval of art.
Fear of the inevitable attempts to attack the production, it's actors and spectators, just as the workers at Charlie Hebdo had rightly feared.
And this is not only about what happens in 'other' countries, the Danish already know what cartoon rage leads to, when the pious are aroused from their peaceful slumber by the banshee wailing from their minarets and mullahs.
So Free Speech loses?
Yes, but not because this production was shelved to save lives and property, but because the real reasons were hidden, denied and lied about.
We all suffer bullying at some stage in our lives, when a stronger person or institution, takes advantage of that strength to hurt or intimidate us, but it is not the act of being bullied that makes us victims, we become victimized when we are afraid to speak out and denounce the bully, it is then that the behaviour continues and increases.
Any responsible manager must take the safety of their patrons and the society in which they function, seriously, and if that means not staging a play like this, then so be it. But to not state why the decision was made is inexcusable: to pretend that criticism of islam has not become a de facto offence, even in the 'free' West, is duplicitous and cowardly.
Those who believe that, despite the inevitable loss of life, the play should have been staged anyway as a defence of Free Speech, might want to think again.
Imagine the play had been performed, the ensuing furore and mayhem would not cause outrage against the perpetrators but rather, as in Garland Texas, the victims would again be blamed for inciting muslims and insulting their prophet. The calls would not be for muslims to accept Western values, but rather for believers in freedom and democracy to adopt their heathen practices and prejudices, and abandon our faith in favour of their lack of it.
In this world of the absurd, where criticising murder, rape, child molestation and slavery, is termed blasphemy, the pressure to enforce that version of insanity would grow exponentially.
In short, the end result would more likely be legislation to hasten the death of free speech, rather than defend it.
Our way of life is already scarred and damaged, but simply scratching those wounds risks mortally spreading the infection. It is more important now to choose which battlefield and where to deal with those who would cause such harm to us: the Muslim Brotherhood and it's myriad of associates and front groups; the well-meaning but mischievously naive liberals and the compromised and colluded Left.
But it gets worse because, as they were making their ignorant stand for self-censorship in one part of Copenhagen, just across town preparations are being finalized to stage a different art exhibition entirely, where muslim murderers of the innocent are portrayed as martyrs.
So it seems this is not about denying freedom of expression, it's about taking sides.
And why are these alternative exhibition organisers not afraid that idealising such killers as representatives of a 'peaceful religion' will cause riots and more murders?
Because World History shows, that the only people stupid enough to believe that islam is a religion of peace, are the ones about to fall victim to it's 'peacefulness'.
