Sketches that are intended to be humorous and, to most Western viewers' eyes, pretty innocent, published in a Danish newspaper few had ever heard of until last month, have generated a response that's included diplomatic expulsions, riots and caused at least 11 deaths.

Like most newspapers in Europe, and many around the globe, The Prague Post seriously debated running the cartoons of Muhammad that Jyllands-Posten ran late last year in solidarity with a Danish writer who could not find an illustrator for his book on the prophet of Islam. Graven images of Muhammad are, of course, forbidden to members of that faith, but presumably the Danish paper felt it had a point to make about whether everyone in Europe should feel similarly restricted.

The editors certainly never anticipated the kind of backlash their cartoons would create — and, in fact, it wasn't until four months after the sketches were printed that all hell began to break loose after apologies were demanded of the Danish government. But what has prompted so many other publications, including at least four in the Czech Republic, to publish the cartoons, is the idea that any offended party should feel a right to censor newspaper content.

Because of the weekly publication cycle of The Prague Post, which would have made this newspaper just one more member of the pack if it ran the cartoons, it was decided that a news report on the issue would add more insight. But one thing everyone in the media agrees on is that the cartoons themselves are almost beside the point.

Cultural sensitivity, when it takes the form of censorship and the gagging of members of the press whose work might offend some, is not viable. At the same time, no publication is justified in printing something intended mainly to provoke just for the sake of provoking.

Clearly the media's assertion of its independence is being misunderstood by many in the Islamic faith, who are in turn making themselves poorly understood through expressions of outrage and calls for violence. Denmark, like much of Western Europe, has a complex society with a rich mix of cultures, races and religions — far richer than the Czech Republic's essentially homogenous one.

No country can, or should, long remain isolated once artificial barriers, such as closed borders, are down. The energy, ideas and hard work that flows in with new peoples are the key to any country's success and dynamism.

But as the Danish and, now, West European, lesson has shown, what may look like a peacefully integrated community, may well be a tinderbox just waiting for a spark.

As this country continues its re-entry into the wide post-1989 world, enriching itself in the process, it would be wise to be sure that non-Czechs feel truly respected, involved and integrated.

And not because we fear violence if these goals aren't met, and not because we are afraid of expressing our independence — which, after all, means nothing if we bind ourselves to being inoffensive at all times.