Oh, fear not about that, my friend, my interest in Pakistan and Islam is not feigned.
Being rather eclectic, I am a fan of theology both from the spiritual and socio-historic
standpoints. Through time, religions were based on medicine and psychology ( shamans ),
and cosmology ( Hinduism ) which is a precursor to civilizational religions ( Aztecs ).
Then came the single people religion, of it the individual based religion and most recently
Islam.
Also this religious history was influenced by lucky encounters of personal
his-story.
My dad was friends with a French monk that had survived the camps and became
a known source on Israël's relation to its God. At a world class college with teachers
chosen on merit and value, we had a marvelous Egyptian ( great folks for religious
history too ) gentleman for the comparative religion class. And by army time, I got to
interact freely with French and North African mullahs & ulemas.
In this light, you have to see my path as beginning with dharma and continuing through
free thought to acceptance of oneself as an attempt that I read in Issa's life and times.
The learned ones I talked to show this to continue in Islam precisely for ijtihad. Better
than to say that I like Ghamadi for that, I could state that I mistrust all religious leaders
that try to pry away the individual conscience right from their flock!
You then can guess why I am as often stated most impressed by the statesman that was
Jinnah and somewhat less by the later addition of Islam*. But the reverse side of that coin
is that Pakistan thus becomes an interesting laboratory too, a different attempt.
What
is messed up is the instrumentalisation of Islam, not Muslims. There are 4 to 5 millions
Muslims in France. Half of those are citizens. A hundred a year turn wacko and dangerous.
That's no bigger a percentage than you'd find in any social subsegment. Muslims are fine.
Heck, there's a huge fight going on over a new law on work conditions with strikes and lots
of grumbling in the population. That law was offered by our Labor Minister tadadam . . .
Myriam El Khomri !!! Well, despite all the ooplah and unrest, I didn't hear one remark on her
origin or faith
**; you just don't do that in my country anyway less you be deemed a
plouc/moron.
We're not America where over 25% of the population thinks Obama is a secret Muslim ...
In short, when good Muslims do good deeds and live good lives, no one reports on that any
more than on good Christians but when groups calling themselves Muslim representatives as
nations threatening war/nukes on another country or Kalifat wanna-bes terror and takfir on all
that won't submit, THAT makes the news.
In personal short though, I'd go further than the image problem above and say Islam needs ...
less voices instead.
Everyone is pulling the religious cover to themselves and tearing it apart in the process.
So yes, I see why you'd dispute being a liberal feeling normal once the fringes are cut off!
All the best to you and yours, Tay.
* As I saw discussed in a thread during my absence, and thanks, Levina milady for noticing,
it is a live concern for some Pakistanis too.
** But then again, I don't hang out with racists and bigots all that much!