If you want to actually see Muslims laughing you can watch the TED talk I did in Doha a few years back. There are shots of Muslims in traditional Muslim garb laughing. Here is the clip.
Religion, however, is a delicate subject. I would say that while most Muslims take offense at the portrayal of the Prophet Muhammad in cartoons, they would never resort to violence. It is a minority of extremist Muslims who take such actions, and they do it for political and tactical reasons far beyond just being offended.
But let’s not forget that people in Western and other countries have their sensitivities too. I myself experienced some run-ins with censorship of my comedy as recently as 10 years ago.
I once did a standup show called Premium Blend on Comedy Central. At the time I would end my act with a joke that made references to Mercedes-Benz, 7-Eleven and Slurpee. When I submitted my act for approval, the show’s producers came back and said that I couldn’t mention those three brands because they might have been sponsors on the show. I quickly came to realize that in the Middle East, god is god, and in the West, the sponsor is god — or, as I like to say, Tide detergent is god.
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