This is a tremendous article by Raymond Ibrahim. It appears in the Middle East Quarterly, Summer 2009. (HT: Michael Rubin) If the subject interests you even moderately, Ibrahim's article would be well worth printing for handy reference. It begins:
"There is far more violence in the Bible than in the Qur'an; the idea
that Islam imposed itself by the sword is a Western fiction, fabricated
during the time of the Crusades when, in fact, it was Western
Christians who were fighting brutal holy wars against Islam."[1]
So announces former nun and self-professed "freelance monotheist,"
Karen Armstrong. This quote sums up the single most influential
argument currently serving to deflect the accusation that Islam is
inherently violent and intolerant: All monotheistic religions,
proponents of such an argument say, and not just Islam, have their fair
share of violent and intolerant scriptures, as well as bloody
histories. Thus, whenever Islam's sacred scriptures—the Qur'an first,
followed by the reports on the words and deeds of Muhammad (the
Hadith)—are highlighted as demonstrative of the religion's innate
bellicosity, the immediate rejoinder is that other scriptures,
specifically those of Judeo-Christianity, are as riddled with violent
passages.
Ibrahim tackles the issue competently and lays to rest egregious misrepresentation and propaganda against Christianity. Read the article for the clarity and insight that is hard to come by in popular media. Ibrahim offers accurate history and theology.