All things are sacred. The reason however, why media outlets used to dedicate their efforts to criticizing Islam instead of say my love for Chopin is because, unlike my musical viewpoints, Islam is a religion. All religions are ideologies, a collection of ideas, now whether or not they are inspired by men or deities isn't important; it is a fact that they are upheld by men and women all over the world. The multifaceted nature of many religions, particularly the dominant ones, allows them to transgress into a number of fields including but not limited to politics, rituals, spirituality, and ethics. It's no mystery that political and ethical ideas can and do largely shape societies, so is it not common sense to assume religious ideologies can do the same? Of course it is, given the number of examples of religions greatly influencing a number of cultures and civilizations. In fact, it is only until recently Western culture has made an effort to separate religion and the state. So why do you and so many people profess that the supposed sacredness of religions should allow them to be exempt from criticism? Just what precedent are you trying to set by implying that certain ideologies, regardless of their apparent benevolence or malice, should unquestionably be exempt from 'harsh attacks from the West' because people hold them sacred? Some people hold dear to their neo-nazi beliefs, some people wholeheartedly believe that women and/or blacks should be treated like crap; no doubt these beliefs are 'sacred' to them. By that logic, you and the Pope should extend your sympathies to them - a la "don't be surprised when they attack you, I mean you were criticizing their 'sacred' neo-nazi beliefs!" The fact that no ideology should be exempt from criticism is an extension of freedom of expression, it is a defensive mechanism devised to shield us from totalitarianism. That includes Islam.
Secondly, I would like to address the fundamental reason why Westerners, particularly Europeans are so concerned with wanting to critque/badmouth Islam. No it's not rooted in racism, bigotry, or xenophobia, it is an admittance of an obvious reality: muslims are now demographically significant in Europe. It is the admittance that Muslims, like any other native European citizen, now have the power to shape multiple political landscapes in several European countries. It is naive to assume religion plays a negligible role in the development of a person, and that is what many notable critics of Islam of European origin are focused on. The primary concerns of Charlie Hebdo or the Jyllands-Posten aren't foreign wars in the middle east, but the situations in their respective countries. As you should know, most of these terrorist attacks are carried out by European nationals. Critics aren't being xenophobic or bigoted, they're expressing valid concerns over Islam; an ideology. Muslims aren't being 'outed' or singled out, they are being treated like Europeans. Like Europe has done to Catholicism, Nazism, facism, witchcraft, racism, and many other political ideologies and commonly held beliefs, it is now doing the same to Islam. Criticism and scrutiny has been a staple of Western culture for centuries now. Unfortunately for Muslims, I don't think it's going to change anytime soon.
So I'm passionately against the idiotic notion that "it's our fault" European nationals are not only angry, but acting out violently because a bunch of nerdy men won't stop insulting their religion by drawing a bunch of cartoons. European nationals acting out violently in the name of their religion isn't a fault on our part, in fact it only exposes the ideological flaw of being intolerant of dissenting viewpoints.
Topic: Do you think violence is a justified response to offensive speech?