Minutes after the murder of 12 people in the offices of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, a British newspaper decided to reproduce their “Life of Muhammad” front cover.

Except, rather than let the cover speak for itself, it was pixelated. It was decided that running such an image was not worth the risk. The blood wasn’t dry on the bodies of Hebdo cartoonists Cabu, Charb, Tignous, Wolinski - but it was decided to censor the work they died for. The murderers, inspired by an ideology that glorifies death, bear total responsibility. Our response to the killings will define the value we place on free speech.

David Cameron told the House of Commons that the terrorists will never win. But in small fragments they already have. I wager not a single national newspaper will reprint any Charlie Hebdo front cover featuring either the Prophet Muhammad or radical Islamists. The default mode of artists is to self-censor to avoid offending religious figures. As Stewart Lee notes (only half in jest) as he deconstructs Christianity, he’s not stupid enough to satirise Islam.

Perhaps we should stop kidding ourselves, admit we don’t care enough about free speech to defend the values of the Enlightenment. There are loud voices who urge us to do this. In the name of cultural sensitivity they call on us to abandon Voltaire, Rousseau, Hume and Paine and cave in to coordinated efforts by evangelical Christians, nationalist Buddhists and Islamists to prevent the “defamation of religion” (the UN came close to enabling this). They wish for a quiet life, they do not want magazines to court controversy, cause offence or incite hatred.

Time and time again in the coverage of the attack on Charlie Hebdo, words have prefaced the description of the magazine: “controversial”, “poisonous”, “offensive”. It’s as if to say, if only their cartoonists had held their pens and their writers had held their tongues. If only they’d been a bit more cautious this may not have happened. Perhaps. Few have put their neck out and said - I defend the right to insult. We want the illusion of freedom, but many are all too willing to cast aside those who push at its boundaries.

In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Show all 25 1 /25 In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting Police investigators search for evidence as an unidentified man is detained (L) during an operation in the eastern French city of Reims, after the shooting against the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting A bullet impact is seen in a window of a building next to the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo's office, in Paris AP In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting Police set up a piece of cloth at the back of a truck as they carry out a body from the offices of French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris Getty Images In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting Police block the roads next to the 'Charly Hebdo' headquarter where a shoutout occurred in Paris In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting A truck tows the car used by armed gunmen who stormed the Paris offices of satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo Getty Images In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting An injured person is evacuated outside the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo's office in Paris In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting French former Youth and Associations Junior minister Jeannette Bougrab (C) is comforted by an unidentified person outside of the headquarters of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting French Justice Minister Christiane Taubira reacts outside of the headquarters of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting French soldiers patrol in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris as the capital was placed under the highest alert status after heavily armed gunmen stormed French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and shot dead at least 12 people in the deadliest attack in France in four decades In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting Firefighters carry an injured man on a stretcher in front of the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting A victim is evacuated on a stretcher after armed gunmen stormed the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting A French Policeman is shot in the head in the street as two masked gunmen stormed the Charlie Hebdo headquarters, opening fire on staff In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting A bullet's impact on the window of the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris, after armed gunmen stormed the offices leaving at least 10 people dead In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting A police car riddled with bullets during an attack on the offices of the newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting French President Francois Hollande (C) arrives after a shooting at the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting France's interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve (C, L) and Paris' Mayor Anne Hidalgo (C, R) arrive at the headquarters of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting Firefighters and police officers gather in front of the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting Firefighters and police officers gather in front of the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting Armed gunmen face police officers near the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting A police officer stands next to the bicycle of a police officer who was hit by a car near the shell of a bullet (bottom R) not far from the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting Firefighters carry an injured man on a stretcher in front of the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting Police forces gather in street outside the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting Firefighters carry an injured man on a stretcher in front of the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting Firefighters carry an injured man on a stretcher in front of the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting Police officers and firefighters gather in front of the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris, after armed gunmen stormed the offices leaving "casualties", according to the publication's cartoonist, and "six seriously injured" police officers according to City Hall

In a globalised world, where ideas can be distributed from Paris to Fallujah in real-time, we can no longer protect people from ideas they do not like, even if we wanted to. We cannot but help insult the religious. Our way of life is an insult. Should gay couples not Instagram their wedding in case it insults those wed to religious orthodoxy? Should atheists hold their tongue to avoid insulting religious prophets? Do I have to be polite to the English Defence League or the vile Al Muhajiroun? Take a step back. There is no way way you can avoid offending those who wish to develop a global caliphate.

There can be no negotiation between liberal democracy and totalitarian theocracy. It does Europe’s beleaguered minorities no favours to suggest there is. We cannot filter out every offensive tweet, or insulting Facebook post. To suggest we can merely inflames the sense that free speech is always to the detriment of minority groups.

The far-right will feast on the aftermath of the shootings. Muslims, already demonised in France, will suffer further - regardless of the fact that the Muslim Council of France has condemned the attack along with thousands of other Muslims. Yet free speech also gives Muslims the right to practice their religion and spread the word of the Koran. I may not like it, but it gives space for Christians to campaign against gay marriage. It shows us how others think and it challenges our preconceptions. Democracy cannot function without it.