As Daniel Finkelstein writes:

The decision to recommend that Salman Rushdie receive a knighthood was a bold and correct one. In addition to the merit of his literary work, the author is a symbol of free speech.

The counter-attack was bound to come, and it has.

I think it is important that we show that we are not prepared to be cowed by this sort of threat.

Daniel has submitted a petition to 10 Downing Street to that effect, and it should be signed when it appears there. Waste of time as most such petitions are, the very fact it is a Downing Street petition is why it is valuable in showing to the enemies of freedom that we will not be cowed by their threats.

It's all the more important given the grotesque words of the Pakistani religious affairs minister:

If somebody has to attack by strapping bombs to his body to protect the honour of the Prophet then it is justified.

The price of freedom is indeed eternal vigilance - against the Islamists and other extremists who threaten our civilisation.