“I’m not going to let this attack scare me. I’m going to continue just like I always have.”

Vilks refused to be intimidated by the latest in a long string of efforts to silence him permanently.  “I’m not going to let this attack scare me,” he declared.  “I’m going to continue just like I always have.”
However, in remarks quoted by the UK Guardian on Saturday, Vilks conceded that no matter how determined he might be to resist intimidation personally, he thought it was having a chilling effect on European culture.  “I have problems when I have lectures or exhibitions, as most things are cancelled because of fright,” he said on that occasion, worrying that the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris would contribute to “a very high level of censorship when it comes to Islam and religion and things like that.”

In his France24 interview, Vilks saw little point in attempting to reason with terrorists about free-speech issues.  “Considering they only understand the language of weapons, it’s kind of useless to talk with them about the freedom of expression,” he said.  “The only thing left to do is to make them realize that their project is meaningless and carry on the way they do.”