I am more interested in how you differentiate yourself from the ISIS/TTP ideology.
I just have trouble understanding anyone with the blood-lust to want to mutilate (not just kill) anyone who wants to
discuss amending a law to, at the very minimum, ensure that it protects those who are wrongly accused.
Therefore, I fail to understand the mentality of the "righteous mobs" who kill blasphemy-accused (usually just framed) in the most brutal ways --- and then desecrate / mutilate the bodies further. There is no room for this in our religion or in our laws. This is why Amir Mushtaq must be condemned. This is also why the Imam of the mosque in Chitral who protected the accused is extraordinary --- if you were the Imam of the mosque, you probably would have gouged the poor fellow's eyes out and kept his severed tongue as a trophy on your bedside as proof of your most unquestionable piety.
I believe in very heightened religious tolerance because a.) frankly we are not living in a Caliphate and b.) intolerance is the seed from which extremism grows. In the final analysis, the Almighty will provide Divine Justice anyway.
Why does the thought of blasphemy rouse such violent emotions when most of the goons calling for blood are living lives that are barely in accordance with Islamic principles of justice, mercy and fairness? Ishq-e-Rasool is present in all good Muslims --- the true believers just live it out in their daily lives and not just when the local mullah tells them to go lynch someone. I've never seen these mobs do something positive, like clean the streets, help women or give shelter to innocent animals.
@Divergent1 @Azlan Haider @Verve @Vazir
Equally interesting how anyone who disagrees with a conservative-bordering-on-extremist mindset is labeled a liberal without any brainpower.
Most Pakistani liberals are pseudo-liberals who want to be exactly like the West. Many are atheist. I am neither. I believe Western policies and terrorism has caused incredible damage to the Muslim world. The US has supported extremists of various hues throughout history. The liberals fail to understand this.
The problem is that the extremists on both sides drown out all moderate voices. The only difference is that the liberal extremists generally aren't out for blood.
Conservative mindsets often lead to a heightened degree of intolerance because they generally feel that their interpretation must be the best, and it's a slippery slope to extremism from there. I have nothing but respect for people who live their lives based on the esteemed principles of our religion. What I do have a problem with is people who insist that Islam has singular interpretations and who try and enforce their preferred interpretation on others as the "absolute truth."