COMMENTARY: Continued Mockery of Islam or Its Prophet Is Likely to Provoke Worldwide Holy War

A French satirical magazine this week published a series of cartoons mocking the Islamic prophet Muhammad, setting off a wave of outrage among Muslims throughout the Islamic world.

The cartoons -- some of which depict Muhammad naked and in a wheelchair -- appeared in "Charlie Hebdo" magazine.

While we strongly believe in freedom of the press, we also believe that the press has a responsibility not to incite protests or deadly violence -- especially by disseminating a mockery that relates to a prophet or religious hierarch.

France closed its embassies in 20 countries -- as well as its consulates, cultural centers, and schools -- following the publication of the magazine's hateful cartoons, fearing they would spark violence by Muslims.

A week earlier, in the United States, federal authorities identified a Coptic Christian of Egyptian background in California as the key figure behind a secretly-produced anti-Muslim video titled "Innocence of Muslims." This video denigrates the prophet Muhammad and Islam, and caused protests and deadly violence in Egypt, Libya, and Yemen.

In fact, the U.S. ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, and three other Americans in Libya were killed by Muslims who were enraged by the anti-Islamist video.

This hateful anti-Islamic expression -- by both the French magazine and the American video -- has been responsible for igniting deadly violence in Pakistan, Tunisia, and other predominantly Islamic nations. In Pakistan alone, at least 15 people were killed due to protests against the cartoons and the video.

The United States has indicated that it expects this deadly violence to continue in Islamic countries for another week or two.

Indeed, the United States and other western nations will be fortunate if this violence ends within a couple of weeks. Muslims are, by and large, very enraged by the ridicule against Islam and its prophet Muhammad. It is not something they will forget about in the near future.

Unlike our predominantly Christian society in the United States, Muslims tend to be much more aggressive when their religion is denigrated, and don't think twice about committing a suicide bombing that will kill Christians or damage nations  -- especially Christians and nations that have ridiculed Islam.

The 9/11 Islamic terrorist activities in the United States in 2001 -- the most deadly attacks on the United States in its entire history -- clearly illustrate this Islamic tendency to be extremely aggressive. Moreover, the killing of the American ambassador in Libya and three other Americans in that country this month further confirms that Islamic aggression continues to the present day.

That said, we must conclude that it is a bad idea for a nation -- or an individual for that matter -- to denigrate Islam or its prophet. To continue to do so will only enrage Muslims to retaliate violently, and this scenario -- if it continues to prevail -- will most likely lead to a worldwide holy war.