Columnist Peggy Noonan: "In the late 1980s, Andres Serrano produced 'Piss Christ,' a photograph of a small crucifix submerged in the artist’s urine. That didn’t go over well with a lot of Christians. ... But the protests were peaceful, and no one even dreamed of harming the artist. In the late 1990s it was Chris Ofili, whose painting 'The Holy Virgin Mary' depicted Mary surrounded by pornographic images and smeared with elephant dung. ... There were protests and arguments, the mayor withheld funds, the museum sued him and won. No one ever dreamed of harming the artist. ... A singular feature of extremist Islamists is that they are not at all interested in persuasion. They don’t care about winning you over, only about making you submit. They want to menace and threaten. They want to frighten. They enjoy posing with the severed head. It is the West’s job not to be overcome by fear, not to give an inch. Steady is the word."
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