ISIS is to Islam as the KKK is to Christianity

[Angrboda]

And even going back to the period you want to arbitrarily declare as true Islam, it's clear who the actual aggressor was. Yes early Muslims were persecuted. Largely after Muhammad, while preaching tolerance, began attacking and maligning non-Muslims and pagans. Upon having his treatment of them turned back upon him, he responded with a double standard that criticizing non-Muslims and pagans was all well and good, but criticizing Muhammad and Allah was not. Eventually this double standard expressed itself through violence and murder once Muhammad and his followers were free of Mecca.

It has often been suggested by Muslims that the persecution encountered was exclusively the result of Muhammad's preaching his new message and his claim to be the last of the prophets. This is not borne out by the facts as reported in the above mentioned Islamic canonical source Ibn Ishaq, Sirat rasul Allah. Muhammad was a troublesome character in more ways than one. One or two examples taken from this early eighth century source will suffice to make our point:

When the apostle openly displayed Islam as God ordered him his people did not withdraw or turn against him, so far as I have heard, until he spoke disparagingly of their gods. When he did that they took great offence and resolved unanimously to treat him as an enemy, except those whom God had protected by Islam from such evil, but they were a despised minority. (Ibn Ishaq/Hisham 166, 167) 4

They said, ‘O Abu Talib, your nephew has cursed our gods, insulted our religion, mocked our way of life and accused our forefathers of error; either you must stop him or you must let us get at him, for you yourself are in the same position as we are in opposition to him and we will rid you of him.’ (Ibn Ishaq/Hisham 167, 168) 5.

Muhammad, who hated derision, derided and insulted others and their beliefs quite freely and made many enemies in his own Qurayshi tribe. We already have the beginnings of religious intolerance despite words to the contrary in the Qur’anic revelations. Muhammad is openly confrontational.

They [the Quraysh] said that they had never known anything like the trouble they had endured from this fellow; he had declared their mode of life foolish, insulted their forefathers, reviled their religion, divided the community, and cursed their gods. What they had borne was past all bearing, or words to that effect (Ibn Ishaq/Hisham 183). 7

Jihad - Violence In The Life Of Muhammad From Mecca To Medina