.... in the final analysis, my intentions are irrelevant. What matters is this simple truth: I am free not to be offended by a cartoon I did not draw. If my prospective constituents do not like me not being offended, they are free not to vote for me.
Other Muslims are free to be offended, and the rest of the country is free to ignore them. I will choose my policies based on my conscience. As such, I will continue to defend my prophet from those on the far right and Muslim extremes who present only a rigid, angry and irrational interpretation of my faith.
I will stand for fairness, as Amnesty International once stood for me when I was a prisoner in Hosni Mubarak's Egypt. Because I believe that the difference between fairness and tribalism is the difference between choosing principles and choosing sides. [Guardian Cif] Read more
