Islam is a religion of peace and, in fact, it's MORE peaceful than Christianity. Stupid idiots like those convieniently overlook the Crusades, and the WWII Pope's IGNORING OF ALL NAZI ATROCITIES.
sorry but i have to disagree. its a religion that started on warfare (check on how Mohamed gained followers). they were also a huge part of the crusades. they had conquered an empire larger than the holy roman empire. and it is written directly in the Koran (as similarly in the bible) that non-believers are to be killed outright if they do not convert.
however most modern Islamic people are pretty peaceful. and most every religion/government/race is or was highly violent at one point or another.
The Quran doesn't explicitly state anywhere that non-believers should be killed. It states that worshippers of false idols are bad, but the three Abrahamic religions should be accepted. Ibadi Islam, the dominant sect in Oman, is even further accepting. People forget that for centuries conflict between Protestant and Catholic was far more intense than modern conflict between Shi'a and Sunni. People also forget there are different sects of each, such as Druzes (which aren't tehcnically a sect), Ibadi, Wahabi, soooo many...
Though Mohammed set to spread Islam by the sword, truth be told in Egypt, Israel, Iraq and Iran it was quickly accepted and spread faster than any conquering force in known history. Within 600 years it had spread from Malaysia for Spain. In Iran it was quickly accepted because people were disconnected from the dominant, corrupt priesthood of Zoroastrianism. In the rest of the middle east, people had grown discontent over strife caused in the name of Christianity, Islam was the new Christianity preaching to the poor, and that is why it spread so far so quickly. In Sicily, Spain, and France Islam tried spreading by the sword, it failed in all three cases. It also failed in northern India under the Mughal (aka Mogul) Dynasty.
If you will say that the internecine conflict between Shi'a and Sunni is a sign of discord and err in the faith, then you need to read about Arian Christianity and how its followers were systematically slaughtered by the Byzantines, or about the centuries of conflict in Germany between the protestant northern powers and the catholic south, or furthermore by the Genocides committed in West Africa in the name of God, or the slaughter of thousands of native americans, Aztec, Mayan, Inca, and natives such as the Comanche. Christianity is only 600 years younger than Islam, and yet I can associate Christianity with much more violence. However, all three Abrahamaic religions seem to embrace violence. Israel kills hundreds of people in the name of its religious state, Islam commits genocides in East Africa, and attempted to do so in Sicily, and Christianity has oppressed for centuries Jew and Muslim alike, along with systematic slaughter of pagans via crusades in the north, inquisition etc.
By my count, none of the three religions embrace love or peace, and their God is a very vindictive blood loving jealous God of hatred.