Alicia and I chose Moses because he is a prophet similar to Muhammad. Both brought laws to their people, and both are highly revered.

Our message is simple: Provocative statements are a cornerstone of free speech.

Across the world and on college campuses, a venomous argument has raged over satirical cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in a Danish newspaper.

At the University of Illinois, The Daily Illini's editor-in-chief and opinion editor were recently suspended from their jobs by the university for publishing the cartoons.

The publication of the cartoons in the University of North Carolina's The Daily Tar Heel and Harvard University's Salient, a conservative magazine, have elicited debates and demands for apologies.

Last week, the dispute hit Philadelphia.

On Friday, Drexel University's The Triangle published a staff editorial about the cartoons. However, they did not print the drawings after Muslims from Drexel, Penn and the Philadelphia area pressured Triangle staff not to include them in the editorial.

And 500 people protested in front of the offices of The Philadelphia Inquirer on Saturday for re-publishing the drawings as part of its coverage of the issue.

Yet, the controversy has not stirred this campus in the same way.

This is because students at Penn constructively talked to each other instead of fighting.

Khalid Usmani, the president of the Penn Muslim Students Association, described the Danish cartoons as "very disrespectful to the religion [of] any Muslim."

Backing him up was Hillel President Jenna Statfeld, who described the drawings as "incredibly offensive."

Sitting together at Hillel, Statfeld and Usmani proceeded to list a variety of joint Hillel/MSA events, such as interfaith prayer sessions and a seminar on the religious implications of organ donation.

"We have a very positive relationship," Statfeld said. "For us, this [cartoon controversy] is very foreign and it's unfortunate that this is what the world is seeing, as opposed to the stuff that goes on at a campus like ours."

Beyond Penn, these drawings have become something of a black hole.

Every time people try to talk about them, other issues get sucked into the debate.

Cartoons about the Prophet Muhammad have provoked arguments in newspapers about the Holocaust, minorities in Europe, Israel and more.

It is admirable that some students at Penn can talk about this issue and find common ground while tensions simmer around us.

Yet, in my conversations with several students about this subject, I found that our campus dialogue has been lacking a vigorous defense of free expression.

The ugly truth is that annoying or offending people is an inevitable consequence of free speech. If we're afraid to break taboos, we are merely censoring ourselves.

We do not need to always cross lines. However, we should not be afraid to if the situation warrants it.

On Monday, the Iranian daily Hamshahri opened an international cartoon competition to "measure the sanctity of freedom of expression among the Westerners."

According to the paper's Web site, this competition seeks to demonstrate "the fact that it is an unforgiven crime in the West to debate and critique many issues including the domineering system, looting and crimes perpetrated by the United States and Israel, as well as alleged historical events like the Holocaust."

It is disturbing that repressive regimes across the world -- particularly Iran's -- have used this bizarre incident to cast doubt on our commitment to freedom of expression.

These governments have argued that the willingness of honest people such as Penn's Hillel and MSA members to simply talk to each other -- instead of fighting -- suggests that we are censoring ourselves.

Consider the drawing on this page, an informal submission to Hamshahri. We must never let a government such as Iran's try to lecture us about free speech.

Saturday, there will be a panel discussion about this controversy in Irvine Auditorium. Attend, participate and enjoy the benefits of free expression. But enjoy it in the positive, cooperative atmosphere that has been fostered by campus groups.

Eric Obenzinger is a junior history major from New York. Quaker Shaker appears on Wednesdays.

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