Before you guys want to comment on Islam you gotta understand that religion first.
Al Quoran is bad enough - it has passages asking for the killings of the infidels - but if you compare it to the Hadiths, there is no comparison.
There are hadiths out there (with followers believing it be the "word of God") plaining demanding the total submission to Islam or death upon those who refuse to do so.
Those who play "sweet" and "cute" with Islam are just naive. They think that Islam is cute, that it is peaceful, that it is an alternative to Christianity.
I am not defending Christianity although I am a Christian myself, but Christianity in its core is compassion, it's a religion from the Heart.
Islam on the other hand is a religion which instill Hatred and Fear as its core. Domination is everything in Islam. Total domination.
But it is not surprising.
The beginning of Christianity came from that one man, Jesus, who believed that the people in his time were doing the wrong things and were blaspheming the good name of God. So he began his total non-violent crusade to change the hearts of his followers - that is why Christianity is the religion of the Heart.
On the other hand Islam came to be when a person felt that something must be done to stop all the confusion that occured in his time. In Mohammad's time the Arabian Peninsular was filled with all types of superficial cults, and there were regular violent crashes amongst the many cults.
Mohammad decided to do something - fight violence with violence, and to instill fear into his enemies so that they will succumb to his might.
The two religions, although based on largely similar Jewish texts, have different aims.
That is why we see that Christianity grew up from its own immaturity (Conquistadores, Spanish Inquisition, Crusades) to today's Christinaity that is largely based on love and compassion.
That is also why we see that Islam is still mired in violence despite its 1500 years of history.
Of course one could argue that Christianity has 500 more years of history that it has more chance to grow up, but even if that is true, 1500 years is still a long long time for some one (or some religion) to grow up.
I am saying what I say based on my own understanding of Christianity (as I am a Christian) and Islam (as I am a resident of an Islamic based country) and although I won't say that I am the foremost expert on both religion, I did devote a lot of my time into understanding these two religions.
Unfortunately most people from the West do not get to have my experience. Their understanding of Islam is so superficial that it is totally ridiculous.
They think that Islam is a religion of peace, they think that because they were TOLD Islam is a religion of peace.
Even if that wasn't true, that was what they were told, and they rather believe that Islam means peace because they project their own religious backgrounds (mainly Christianity derived sects) and think that all religions are the same as Christianity, that all religion are for the benefits of mankind, that all religions strive for peace.
That is simply not true.
If Islam is for peace, why then the Shia can't live peacefully with the Sunnis?
How often do we see full flare violence between the Methodists against the Baptists?
Yes, there are _some_ intra-Christianity violences, Northern Ireland comes to mind, but that is an exception to the rule when we are talking about Christianity in the global sense.
On the other hand, how much violence have flared up in between Islam and other religions? Between different sects of Islam? Between Islam and the rest of the world?
But you Westerners prefer to dream rather than seeing the truth as it is.
Many of you prefer to think that Islam is good because you hope that is good. Many of you still think that you know Islam (based on what you were told) but in actuality you ain't know nothing yet.
At the end of the day, the proof is on the pudding.
Which religion is creating all the havocs all around the world - from China to Russia to Malaysia to the United States of America to Spain to United Kingdom to Nigeria and so on and so forth?
You tell me.
Is it Christianity, or is it Islam?