Muslims are definitely different from Christians in that Christ was a pacifist. He never raised an army or killed anyone or advocated the killing of anyone. Historically, Mohammed did raise an army. He did advocate killing "Infidels" who at first were the pagans of Arabia who used Mecca as their seat of worship. After killing or converting by sword all pagans, he turned against the Jewish communities living in Arabia because they would not acknowledge him as a prophet. He ran out all Jews from Arabia and all Christians, or at least all Christians who weren't slaves (many were) unless they converted. Successors of Mohammed turned their armies toward Persia and used the sword to turn that land from a Christian and mainly Zoroastrian country to a Muslim one. Then they spread out from there. Muslims believe that everyone born is a Muslim, but those who don't know the Koran are wayward and are living in ignorance. They believe that everyone in the world should be Muslim and they have laws that prevent the conversion of Muslims to other religions. I don't know enough about the religion to know how much is based on interpretation and how much on actual doctrine, but the history of the central figure of the religion was not exactly a non-violent one.
Islam was born of violence -- their doctrine, under Mohammed, was to force all to become Muslims. Muslim conquests were followed by forced conversions to Islam. Non-Muslims were always subject to enslavement, so a person could prevent his own enslavement by a hasty conversion. Non-Muslims were also subject to burdensome taxation, consequently many people were forced to convert to Islam to avoid financial ruin. The building of churches and temples was forbidden. It was jihad that shaped and expanded the religious map of Islam. Death was usually the alternative. Mohammed proposed a world that was totally Islamic. He wasn't seeking any inner truth, he wanted power, and he got it by promoting fanaticism. Many of his followers today are no different. They don't fight for and promote freedom, they fight for the uniformity of a single all-encompassing doctrine. Islam means "submission", the word Muslim means “one who submits”. To promote freedom and individuality would dilute the power the mullahs and clerics wield over the masses; worse still, freedom and individuality usually leads to education, which would erode their power even more. The ideal of Islam is total submissiveness. To ensure that the faithful will not identify with anything else, all exposure to the outside world is severely limited: the news is censored, the texts of other religions are not available, missionaries are discouraged or banned outright. All Muslim school children are taught the glories of past Muslim conquests. A psychological barrier is drawn around the Muslim collective by a relentless propaganda campaign that strives to impress upon every Muslim that there is nothing worthy of admiration or reverence outside of the Islamic community.
Their Koran is basically a textbook on how to deal with the infidels. It says “God has purchased of the faithful their lives and worldly goods and in return has promised them the Garden. They will fight for the cause, slay, and be slain.” The Koran endorses terrorizing, beheading, maiming, ambushing, crucifying, killing and warring against unbelievers “You may strike terror into the enemies of God and the faithful and others besides,” “I shall cast terror into the hearts of the infidels. Strike off their heads, maim them in every limb,” “When the sacred months are over slay the idolaters wherever you find them. Arrest them, besiege them, and lie in ambush everywhere for them.” And so on, and on, and on, with justifications for executions, mutilations, and torture. The Koran also justifies revenge and bloody vendettas with such admonitions as “Retaliation is decreed for you in bloodshed,” “Let evil be rewarded with like evil,” “Those who avenge themselves when wronged incur no guilt.” Where in the Bible or Torah does such writing exist?
The Koran considers idolatry an unforgivable sin and it considers all Christians to be idolaters. The idea of Jesus’ divinity is called “a monstrous blasphemy” and a “monstrous falsehood at which the very heavens might crack, the earth break asunder, and the mountains crumble to dust.” Christians and Jews are specifically targeted in the Koran as perverters of the true Scriptures. The Koran rarely mentions love or peace, but is riddled with references of hellfire and jihad. In fact, the Koran has a powerful bias against Christians and Jews as exemplified by this passage: “Believers, take neither Jews nor Christians for your friends. They are friends with one another. Whoever seeks their friendship shall become one of their number.” And on and on, ad nauseum. This hardly sounds like a "peaceful" religion.
