This article from the Christian Science Monitor says, “Muslim Americans split on cartoons.”

But read the whole thing and you’ll discover that the only “split” is between those who want the cartoonists executed, and those who might be satisfied with an abject apology.

NEW YORK - Muhammed Zahny is upset - and not about the cold wind that is keeping customers away from his store on Brooklyn’s Atlantic Avenue.

“If I lose money, I don’t care,” says Mr. Zahny, who owns “Islamic Fashions.” “But if I lose respect, then I have nothing left.”

Zahny, originally from Egypt, says the recent republication of Danish newspaper cartoons depicting Muhammad, the messenger of Islam, as a terrorist is a sign of great disrespect for Muslims that’s caused him pain. “There is no joke to be made about prophet Muhammad,” he says.

But other American Muslims say their fellow adherents are overreacting. “When can we begin a civilized conversation, instead of this undignified and sometimes violent answer to what was quite simply an insult?” a member of the Progressive Muslim Union asked on an online forum.

The two sides illustrate the diversity of American Muslim opinion about the simmering global controversy. But they also dramatize a larger divide within the community about Islam’s attitude about free expression. Many of America’s estimated 2 to 3 million Muslims are angry, but instead of throwing stones, they are calling for American-style protests, such as boycotts of Danish products like cheese and yogurt.

And behind it all, the threat of violence.

Still, some fear that the violent demonstrations against the cartoons in Arab and European countries could spread here.