My education on this matter said that the problem with Koran (the holy book of Islam) is that it is reorganized from shortest to longest texts, while they were written in different order. This may then lead to confusion if you don’t read the texts chronologically, but in the current ordering.
Another thing to understand is that the time in which some of the more “aggresive” texts were written, the prophet might have needed justification for assaulting distant lands (Mecca?), so he basically wrote the passages of “If you don’t convert an infidel to your faith, you have to kill him” etc.
Beyond these aggresive texts, Islam is a religion of peace and compassion, it even explicitly says that you should donate 1/40 of your gains for charity.
Just as any other religion, in the hands of the power-greedy or violence-seeking people, it may turn into an incentive to do horrible things. But if you for instance look at the example of the great king Salahadin (Saladin), you will see that even in the heat of war, a wise educated muslim will be able to tell the difference between good and bad people.
It was witnessed that when the movie “Kingdom of Heaven” was played in theatres (cinemas) in the muslim world, most of the audience cheered and applauded in the scene where Salahadin, after conquering Jerusalem, picks up from ground, and respectfully places on a table, a christian cross.
