In Oct. 2002 I embarked on an adventure, the position of medical director of a clinic in rural Kenya. Shortly before the 747 landed I struck up a conversation with a Kenyan businessman sitting next to me. He asked why I was coming to Kenya and, when he learned I had to stay in Nairobi for one night but had no idea where, he offered to help me out. At night time and with 150+lbs of luggage, he introduced me to his friends who were picking him up, and they drove out of their way to take me to a hotel they said was relatively safe, not too expensive and helped get the baggage inside. I asked what I owed them and they declined any money. These 3 or 4 gentlemen were all Muslims, and this act of kindness toward a random white American has stayed with me since.

So here is a challenge- off the top of your head name a well-known Muslim who truly preaches tolerance. You probably can’t. Now name a celebrity Muslim who is angry, intolerant, arrogant, and entitled. You could probably come up with 3 or 4, who disgrace Islam every time their lips part. The difference between the Muslims at the Nairobi airport and the execrable celebrity types is the difference between regular Muslims who are not swayed by the hateful rhetoric and the loudmouthed elite, pretend Muslims whose faith is as superficial as Ilhan Omar’s hijab.

Paradoxically, the elite Muslim establishment is given a platform by those who likewise detest the West and Judeo-Christian values, and who are even more elite- pretty much the entire leadership of the UK and European Union, for example. Curiously, what began as naked virtue signaling- the “diversity is our strength” nonsense- eventually evolved into trembling under the threat of the sword of Islam, figuratively and sometimes literally. Being called an Islamophobe became the absolute worst thing possible for the weak minds of the Western elite, and they are perfectly willing to give up their own cultural and historic identities- and other people’s rights and traditions- to avoid this most dire of insults.

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Islam has two primary authoritative sources, the Quran, which is the complete revelation of Allah given to Muhammad, and the Hadith, collections of sayings, actions, and approvals of the Muhammad. There are also interpretations and explanations of the Quran called Tafsir, not unlike the Hebrew Talmud.

It is not uncommon to see in conservative commentary pejorative references to Islamic scripture, such as “Slay the idolaters (non-Muslims) wherever ye find them.” The question we must ask, “Are such references taken out of context?” And to truly understand the context at least the full verse should be read. As an example, there is an odious person named James Talarico, an extreme leftist who pretends to be a Christian, running as a Democrat for senate in Texas. In his lust for power and the transgender agenda he willfully perverted a wonderful concept found in Galatians 3:38: “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” He simply excised all but “nor is there male and female,” somehow proving that Jesus is "non-binary."

In regards to Islamic scripture, sometimes what sounds very harsh is attenuated by the context and sometimes it confirms the severity. Below are some examples of the latter, first mentioning the subject followed by the scriptural reference and a hyperlink to the full verse (I’m using mostly QuranX.com which, according to AI, “is generally considered reliable for providing Arabic text of the Quran and various English translations”):

Kill non-Muslims Quran 9:5

Kill those who turn away from Islam Quran 4:89 and Hadith 6922

Execute homosexuals Quran 7:84

Beat disobedient wives Quran 4.34

Jews and others are the worst of creatures Quran 98:6

Sexual delights that await men in paradise Sunan Ibn Majah: Book 37, Hadith 238

72 maidens for the martyr in paradise Imam Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 1663

Additionally, there is the Huddud, a specific category of fixed criminal punishments in Islamic law for ten offenses set forth by Allah and specifically derived from the Quran and the Sunnah (the practices of Muhammad). The Huddud prescribes, for example, stoning to death for adultery and amputation of hands for thievery. Huddud is currently practiced in 12 countries, including Somalia and Pakistan.

It must be noted there is no shortage of positive messages in Islamic scripture. Furthermore, anyone looking for negative things in the scripture of any religion can find them, especially by willful cherry picking. The problem with Islam is that if an individual or a group wants to obtain and maintain power by the tried and true “Us versus Them” strategy, it’s easy to find justifications for hate and violence in its scripture and doctrine. Perhaps the pressing question of today is, How many Muslims are susceptible to such messages, and how many reject it? The world overall, and Islam itself, would greatly benefit if the latter far outnumbered the former.

A final thought: I asked AI the question, “Post WW2, what religions- Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, etc- have killed people in the name of religion?” AI tends to be very protective of Islam, but will answer objectively if pressed. The response was that Muslims have killed perhaps twice as many as all others, including secular entities, combined, 4-8 million versus 3-4 million. Much of this was Muslim on Muslim killing (discussed in great detail below the table of blasphemy laws).

Below is a summary of blasphemy laws at the current time. It should be noted that foreigners traveling in these countries are fully under the jurisdiction of these laws:

Addendum (AI generated, in other words the "I" means AI):

Below is a concise incident-by-incident table (major post-WWII events) using inclusive attribution rules you approved: I include state-led mass killings when perpetrators can be plausibly identified with a religion or sect (e.g., Muslim-majority governments), insurgent/terror campaigns, sectarian (intra-religious) violence, communal riots, and major wars where religion was a salient identity marker. Death estimates are given as commonly cited ranges; sources are representative scholarly/NGO estimates (not exhaustively cited here). Totals at the bottom sum the midpoints of ranges for a rough comparative view — treat as indicative, not definitive.

Table columns: Event — Years — Estimated deaths (range) — Primary perpetrator identification — Brief note

• Partition of India/Pakistan — 1947 — 200,000–2,000,000 — Hindus/Muslims (communal actors on both sides) — mass communal violence during partition and migration.
• Indonesian anti-communist killings — 1965–66 — 500,000–1,000,000 — Mixed (some Muslim-majority actors among perpetrators) — anti-communist/anti-left purge; motives mainly political but perpetrators in a majority-Muslim country.
• Algerian War (civilian deaths & reprisals) — 1954–1962 — ~200,000–300,000 — Algerian nationalists/French state (Muslim Algerian population central) — anti-colonial war with large civilian toll.
• Bangladesh Liberation War (and associated massacres) — 1971 — 300,000–3,000,000 — Pakistani state forces (Muslim-identified Pakistan) — targeted killings including many Hindu civilians; political/ethnic drivers.
• Iran–Iraq War (civilian+military deaths attributable to state actors) — 1980–1988 — ~500,000–1,000,000+ — Iraqi state (Sunni-dominated Ba'ath) and Iranian state (Shia theocratic state) — interstate war with sectarian overlay.
• Cambodian genocide (Khmer Rouge) — 1975–1979 — 1,500,000–2,000,000 — Secular/communist (not religious) — included here only as contrast (ideology, not religion, primary).
• Nigerian/Boko Haram insurgency & related violence — 2009–present — 30,000–300,000 (varies by period) — Islamist militants (Sunni) and counter-operations — terrorism, insurgency, communal displacement.
• ISIS / ISIL campaigns (Iraq, Syria, region) — 2013–2019 (major peak) — 100,000–500,000+ (including war deaths in Iraq/Syria where ISIS was a major actor) — Islamist (Sunni) militants — mass killings, executions, terror campaigns, and battlefield deaths.
• Taliban insurgency & associated violence (Afghanistan, including 1996–2001 regime and post‑2001 insurgency) — 1994–present — 100,000–300,000+ (decades of conflict) — Islamist (Sunni) — insurgency, terrorist attacks, and state repression.
• Iran post-1979 state repression and Iran-backed militias (incl. Iraq/Iran tensions, sectarian proxies) — 1979–present — tens of thousands–hundreds of thousands (overlaps with Iran–Iraq War and regional proxy wars) — Shia-identified state and proxies.
• Lebanese Civil War (sectarian) — 1975–1990 — ~120,000–150,000 — Mixed (Christian, Sunni, Shia, Druze militias) — complex sectarian/ political conflict.

• Bosnian War (ethnic cleansing, Srebrenica genocide) — 1992–1995 — ~100,000–200,000 — Serb (mostly Orthodox Christian nationalist) and others; Bosniak victims (Muslim) targeted — ethnic/territorial conflict with religious identity salient.
• Rwandan Genocide — 1994 — ~500,000–1,000,000 (commonly ~800,000) — Hutu extremists (ethnic, not primarily religious) — included as contrast (churches implicated in incidents; religion not primary driver).
• Myanmar (Rohingya persecution, 2012 onward; 2017 military campaign) — 2012–present (2017 peak) — thousands–tens of thousands killed; ~700,000+ displaced — Buddhist-majority state actors and Buddhist nationalist mobs — ethnic cleansing/possible genocide against Rohingya Muslims.
• Sri Lankan civil war & anti-Tamil violence (Sinhala-Buddhist nationalism interacting with Tamil separatism) — 1983–2009 (with 2009 final offensive) — ~80,000–100,000+ — Sri Lankan state (majority Sinhala Buddhist) vs. LTTE (Tamil) — ethnic/territorial war with religious/ethnic overlap.
• Gujarat riots — 2002 — ~1,000–2,000 — Hindu mobs (and alleged state complicity) — communal violence targeting Muslims.
• 1984 anti-Sikh riots (India) — 1984 — ~2,000–3,000 (estimates vary) — Hindu mobs/state actors — communal pogrom after Indira Gandhi’s assassination.
• Central African Republic (Christian militias vs Muslim Seleka) — 2012–2014 (ongoing cycles) — ~5,000–10,000+ deaths and large displacement — mixed Christian and Muslim militias.
• Northern Ireland (The Troubles) — 1969–1998 — ~3,500 — Protestant vs Catholic sectarian/paramilitary political conflict.
• Other Islamist terrorism globally (al-Qaeda, regional affiliates) — 1990s–present — tens of thousands (combined, incl. 9/11 indirect war deaths many more) — Islamist militants (Sunni).
• Other communal/sectarian episodes worldwide (e.g., pogroms, riots in various countries) — cumulative tens of thousands — mixed perpetrators across religions.

Rough summed midpoints (illustrative, non-precise):

• Events where perpetrators are predominantly Muslim-identified (includes Islamist militants, Sunni/Shia state/sectarian actors, and major wars with Muslim-state perpetrators): combined midpoint estimate (sum of listed relevant midpoints) is on the order of several million (rough indicative midpoint total ~4–8 million), driven largely by Iran–Iraq War, Bangladesh 1971, ISIS/Taliban era conflicts, partition violence partial share, and other insurgencies.
• Events where perpetrators are predominantly non-Muslim-identified (Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, secular nationalists): combined midpoints also number in the millions when including partition (shared), Cambodian genocide (secular), Bosnian/Serb actions, Myanmar (Buddhist actors), Sri Lanka, and others (~3–6 million indicative).
• Secular/ideological regimes (e.g., Khmer Rouge) and ethnic conflicts where religion was secondary remain major components of total deaths.

Bottom line (concise):

• Using inclusive rules you requested, it is plausible that Muslim-identified perpetrators (state and non-state, including intra-sect Sunni vs Shia violence) account for a plurality of violent deaths tied to religiously-identified actors since WWII — largely because many high-fatality conflicts in the late 20th and early 21st centuries involved Muslim-majority states or Islamist groups.
• This conclusion is highly sensitive to attribution choices, event inclusion/exclusion, and death-estimate sources; different reasonable rules can yield different pluralities or none at all.