May I say that you are correct in saying that violence causes nothing but despair. In the Quran (2:30-33)it mentions Allah saying to the angels: “‘Verily, I am going to place mankind generations after generations on earth.’ They (the angels) said: ‘Will You place therein those who will make mischief therein and shed blood, while we (the angels) glorify You with praises and thanks and sanctify You.’ God said: ‘I know that which you do not know.’”

This shows that human nature can turn violent, be they muslim or non-muslim. With Satan lurking around the corner, he will manipulate our strengths and weaknesses and this can lead to violent outcomes. However, you assume Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) used violence to attack others as a way of spreading the message of the Oneness of Allah. This is far from the truth. Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) was well respected amongst his friends and enemies. His enemies grew jealous of him especially as he was gaining popularity and respect amongst the people. They perceived this as a threat (work of Satan indeed!). He wasn’t using any force or any sword to convince people to Islam. In fact people became muslim because of his character. For 13 years in Makkah, him and his companions were persecuted for practising Islam..not because they were violent, but they believed in one God. They were tortured and humiliated…Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) and there are many incidents detailing the companions who got tortured – the slaves were particularly treated the worst. It was only in Medina, when the issues of Jihad was established in the Quran. Now this does not mean that it gave the excuse for Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) and his companions to unleash terror and chaos around the Arabian Peninsula. It simply gave them the authority to defend themselves against anyone who maltreated them. It was during this time that the Bedouins, some Jewish tribes, the Quraish and the other hostile tribes of Arabia wanted Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) head and the eradication of Islam. Even during the times he and his people suffered at the hands of the Quraish in Makkah, and during the times in Medinah, he always sought to diplomacy before war. Now you say that he was a warmonger and that “your God” will not allow such people to represent Him on Earth. You say Christ (peace be on him) taught with peace and love, and look what happened to him..even with such warmth and care, some plotted to have him killed, and as a consequence Allah made Christ ascend to the Heavens till his Second Coming, when he will kill the AntiChrist. He will use this means of Jihad to end the corruption created by the AntiChrist. Like you I would love people to embrace one another and not fight each other..strength through love and peace..but with Satan around is that possible? He will do anything to make people go against Allah…that is his sole mission – so if people listen to him, they will create mischief and unfairness within society. If the people did not listen to prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) regarding Islam, then it was their choice (and no one should be forced to turn to Islam if they don’t want to) BUT if these people conspired to attack the Muslims with evil intents, then what choice do they have but to wage war? Indeed it is better if the matter is resolved through talks, but if not then war is last resort..and I emphasise last resort….”turn the other cheek” is better; but if needs be then an eye for an eye..” -which is different to what the Jews and Christians believe – the Jews focus more on “an eye for an eye” whilst the Christians are meant to believe in “turn the other cheek” but from history we can clearly see this is not the case. You got to remember that Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) was not just a Prophet of Allah, but he was a statesman, politician, commander-in-chief, family man, a trader, and charitable worker – to be an effective leader, you got to be realistic and make tough decisions. Yes Allah was on his side, but Allah isn’t going to do all the hard work for you – you need to put the effort in as well. Besides there were jihads committed before Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) for instance Prophet Joshua (peace be on him) and the battle of Jericho; Prophet David (peace be on him) against Goliath; and it is stated that even prophet Abraham (peace be on him) had an encounter when he had to rescue his nephew Prophet Lot (peace be on him) against a corrupt regime – they all fought for justice and fairness for everyone just like Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) did.

The next question “Was Islam spread by the sword”?” – If you are asking during the time of Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) then no – he did not force conversions to Islam – people became Muslims at their own will – even his arch-rival Abu Sufyan became Muslim and helped Islam after his conversion.
But after Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) demise, the caliphs ruled the Islamic world. The first few caliphs and some others afterwards ruled by the Quran and Sunnah. During the time of Caliph Umar bin Khattab (RA), Persians were conquered and the Byzantines lost the Levant – their jewel. The Persians and the Byzantines were the two superpowers at the time, and they did not want peace with the Muslims – they stirred trouble in the Arabian Peninsula against the muslims, and they both wanted these Arabs crushed. You could just see – the Byzantines on one side, the Persians on the other, and the Muslim Arabs bang in the middle of these two – they would have been eradicated if they didn’t react. After successfully defeating both sides (remember the Persians were going downhill as they were killing their own shahs one after another, the empire was losing its grip and Khosrau II, tried to get things back on track again but it was too late for them), Umar had all these Persian Zoroastrians under his wing – not all of them became muslim, and they weren’t forced to. Same goes for the Byzantine Christians. In fact some caliphs especially amongst the Ummayyads didn’t want many to convert to Islam, because taxing them was far more important than making them Muslim!
Now there were some characters within the Islamic Empire who did commit atrocities by using Islam as an excuse. They committed them against the non-muslims as well as the muslims..as also committed to forced conversions. But Allah will judge all.

So in reply to your question “yes and no” is the answer to whether or not Islam was spread by the sword, if I have to be brutally honest. But remember that many non-muslims enjoyed the privileges of living under the Islamic World – they were taxed much less compared to the non-muslim empires, and more importantly free to practise their faiths. The fact that the media uses ‘lazy armchair journalism’ to hurt the reputation of Islam shouldn’t allow you to make irrational judgements concerning the prophet (peace be on him), his companions and Islam, especially if you have an intellect for yourself to do research and find out the truth…which is why I applaud you in asking muslims something which has been bothering you, rather than fixing your beliefs on hear say.
There were many Caliphs and some were good, whilst some were not fit to be leaders, just like we see with the Popes and political leaders and monarchs of other countries. Satan will try to influence some leaders more than others…but he couldn’t influence Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) as Allah was on his side the whole way 🙂

manshallah for the answers