You've hit on the real issue here. Some years ago, a so-called artist named Serrano dropped a crucifix in a jar of urine. He called this work of "art" Piss Christ, and said it represented his contempt for the faith his parents tried to instill in him as a child. The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) declared this to be a great work, and awarded him a prize of several thousand dollars of taxpayers' money.
Conservatives & Christians objected to their tax money being used in such a manner. Of course, they were immediately accused of being censors, intolerant bigots, Ayatollahs, and they would have been compared to the Taliban had the term been around at the time. The media forgot the real issue, which wasn't Serrano's right to produce whatever garbage he wants, but the rights of the taxpayers to determine how their money gets spent.
But there was another issue. Would the NEA have dared to fund a work of "art" that treated Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, or any faith other than Christianity in such a way? Of course they wouldn't have.
And neither would Hollywood produce a film that slurred Islam the way THE DA VINCI CODE slurs Christianity. It simply wouldn't happen. Period. End of story. But let's imagine what would happen if they did.....
Well, such a film would not be hyped for weeks on the Today show and other media outlets. Posters for it wouldn't grace the walls of any business. Authorities wouldn't hang a banner for the film on a mosque (as happened in Italy to a Catholic Church with a DA VINCI poster). Public transportation wouldn't carry ads for the film. TV Networks wouldn't carry ads. The few theaters that agreed to show the film would receive bomb threats and violent riots would break out in the city. Half the nations on earth would ban the film, including nearly every European nation (where DA VINCI is doing very well). Anyone involved with the making of the film would be under a Salman Rushdie-type assissination bounty. And more.
So, Hollywood picks on religions that it's safe and fashionable to pick on. Isn't it great that being a cowardly bully is so profitable? Dan Brown & Co. may have plenty of arrogance and chutzpah, but they don't have a set. So they'll never push Islam around the way they push a faith that turns the other cheek.
Very good post.