I don't know if this question is too imprecise to be answerable; if people think so, let me know and I'll delete it...

From the outside, Islam has quite a... reputation. Firstly, I should note that I am non-Muslim and directly know a good number of Muslims - all of whom are perfectly friendly, but I get the distinct impression that they are pretty liberal by comparison with their peers/family, bordering on "cultural Muslims" (if you see what I mean).

More generally, and I have to be brutally honest, Islam has a reputation as being a bit volatile, sexist, aggressive, leaning towards genuine threat and violence - most typically towards anyone whose views conflict with Islam (secularists, people supporting the rights of homosexuals, feminists, ex-Muslim apostates, people who think that freedom-of-speech includes the right to criticize religion, etc). I think we can agree there are plenty of high- and low-profile examples of this type of behavior.

Islam also describes itself as a religion of peace, so this strange duality is curious.

My question, then: does Islam have a view on its external reputation?

• is the reputation truly an unfair portrayal, and undeserved?
• is it the views of a tiny minority unfairly being used to represent the whole? (or, conversely, would most Mulsims support reactions such as, say, the physical threats and violence towards papers over "those cartoons", even if they wouldn't participate)
• is it simply not a concern, with the external reputation an irrelevant factor given the desire/necessity to worship (and defend?) Allah in the manner instructed?
• or...?