Hedgehog,
Your right, but it should go futher.
Freedom of the press and freedom of expression is fundamental.
We can't let muslim sensitivity stifle this.
We don't let christians stifle freesdoms, so we shouldn't be any more sensitive to Muslims.
We must theach these groups to be secular.
In canada we have mulsim council of Canada.
http://muslim-canada.org/printletter45.htmlInterestingly, they do not think that deomcracy or secularism, is a good form of government.
So how can even have a discussion with these groups.
With regards to forms of government (i.e. monarchy, military government, democracy etc.), the Qur'an speaks of kings, both good and bad and never refers to other forms of government, such as republics. For detailed information, see Para 273 "The Caliphate, from Introduction to Islam by Dr. M. Hamidullah. The form of government established after the death of the Prophet was an intermediary form between a hereditary monarchy and a republic -- the Caliph was elected for life. Islam attaches no importance to the external form of government however. It is satisfied if i) the well being of man in both the worlds is aimed for; and ii) the Divine law applied. Thus, a monarchy, military rule, democracy, republic or even a joint rule are all acceptable forms so long as the above two conditions are satisfied. Please see Para 281.
It is the aim(s) realized by a single chief who undertakes both spiritual and temporal functions. Therefore he is recognized and obeyed as a ruler. There is no separation of the spiritual and the temporal leadership as is the case of a caliph.
However, the division of power through specialization in each function (rather than a divorce between these two aspects of state life) is also legally permissible, as indicted by a famous case cited by the Qur'an (2:246-247). See also Para 282 for details.