There's a difference between free speech and hate speech. People tend to give others a free pass, but having the right to speak freely doesn't mean you're allowed to be bigoted.
Why is it acceptable for people to be given a pass for their obvious hate speech? The WBC do not exercise their right to free speech when they picket funerals and chant God hates Fags.
I do not understand the American view that people get a pass because of freedom of speech to say whatever offensive shit they want without it being called hate speech.
In this case, there's a difference between being smart about your satire and critique on extremists versus creating imagery that's overtly offensive. At this point, not only are you offending the extremists, you're making the moderates and even the progressives, like me, feeling marginalized and like shit.
So while they may be 'just a comic' to people many people -- many of those people have NOT grown up in a world where my culture has been mocked, and marginalized. Most of those people have NO IDEA what it's like growing up in a world where I'm watching the news about the latest terror threat in X country and hoping they're aren't brown. Like I live this shit everyday, and I love free speech, but when I see these drawings and offensive things all across the internet about my faith, my culture, yeah, it makes me feel shitty and it fucking sucks.
So while you enjoy that free speech, like I do, it's also good to know not to abuse it. I would never want a certain group to feel like I do because of their culture. Do what you want, live how you want, but don't be offensive for the sake of being offensive.