Cadmus,
you might like to read an excellent essay by Sultan Knish that explains the role of violent jihad in the spread of Islam.
Ignorance about Islam is getting the West into a lot of trouble.

‘The visible war, the terrorist threat, the car bombings, the shootings, the riots, the stabbings are the threat under which free nations surrender themselves one piece at a time. The goal of the visible war is to make present and clear the threat. But it is the invisible war which extracts the concessions.

The invisible war is not waged with guns or bombs. It is waged with reasonable editorials, with suits and benedictions. With smiles and handshakes and reassurances. It is a salesman’s pitch that goes something like this. “We want to live in peace. To be your neighbors, to attend your weddings, embrace your families and create a better world. But first this is what we want–”‘

http://sultanknish.blogspot.com/2009/05/appeasement-of-concessions-invisible.html