Denmark vs. Iran

Check out this interview with the editor of Jylland-Posten. He turns out to be a pretty good guy, I think. The interviewer asks the guy what he thinks about Iran's decision to publish holocaust cartoons, as if he is responsible for what Iran has done. While I think freedom of speech should extend to protect the Holocaust cartoons, I think it is clear that Iran is doing something fucked up here.
The parallel is not as strong as supporters of the Iranian action might have it. This should be obvious to readers here, but I would like to refute any argument that the situations are similar, just so we can all be at peace with the subject.
First of all, the Danish government did not sponsor this cartoon. The boycotts and protests against the Danish government all pretend that is the case, but it is not. The Danish government and country is merely continuing to allow people to speak their minds. That is different from sponsoring a cartoon contest--I hope everyone can see that.
Second, it is a testament to the totalitarianism of Iranian society that a public institution, supported by taxes, is doing this. Ideas should rise from the ground up--that is, government should embody the thoughts of its citizens, instead of imposing thoughts downward. We want a marketplace of ideas. Now you can spit all of the bullshit you want about ideological state apparatus, but it is obvious that ideas are more free in the west, where we support free speech, than in a country that does not. If you want to propagate your ideas, the best way to do so is to let them compete with others and play fair. The source of art is important, and I'm not sure that any of the cartoons inspired by this contest will really
Third, and probably most controversial, subject matter. I should remind the reader that I believe that both cartoons should be publishable--that point is not at issue. To evaluate the subject matter, we first have to identify what each of these things is saying. Quickly, one is a comment on the current use of a religion (by a minority) as a justification for the murder of innocent people, through visual means that are offensive to most believers in that religion. The other is a mockery of a historical atrocity, one that killed people who would still be alive today, and one from which people alive today suffered immensly. This should be offensive to any person not devoted to hatred.
Whatever the comparative value of these cartoons, it is clear that Iran is headed for a serious shitstorm. I think the idea that Ahmadinejad has is that all Muslims will support him in a jihad for nuclear weapons. Hopefully, we'll be able to prevent him from obtaining nukes without getting in a ground battle. It is necessary to prevent holocaust deniers from obtaining nuclear weapons.