The "violence" in the Qur'an and foundations of Islam is not what you all make it seem. Let me try to explain.
"Jihad" is the Islamic concept of "struggle." There are two main types of jihad: greater jihad, or the internal struggle to make oneself a better person, and lesser jihad, the external struggle to make society a better place. In the latter, there are three subcategories: jihad by the word, jihad by the hand, and jihad by the sword. The Qur'an strongly encourages external jihad to first be taken with the word and by the hand. Jihad by the word includes actions such as writing books to change a country, writing letters to businesses and congress, etc. Jihad by the hand is crafting or building things to improve the world.
Jihad by the sword is strongly discouraged in the Qur'an, but it is allowed in certain circumstances (strictly limited to only in self-defense and to overthrow a dictator). And, the Qur'an has extremely strict rules for this warfare, stricter than the rules of war of the UN. Killing the elderly and children is forbidden, killing those in mosques is not allowed, warriors are not allowed to commit suicide in their battles, etc. Islam is truly a very peaceful, humanitarian religion, but it is also practical in this sense because it allows war when it is the only successful and effective method of improving the world (objectively).
Muslim terrorist groups such as ISIS take this idea of jihad and radicalize it. They ignore the principles of Islam that forbid inhumane acts of war, and they are criminals of Islamic law. We all need to become more aware of these core foundations of Islam, and we cannot associate these horrible organizations with the beautiful religion itself.
Islam is a religion of peace, and we all just need to learn about each other before we form such harsh judgements and prejudices.
