These one billion deluded people need to be shown a better way; it is the imams' fear that if Islam has to compete equally with other beliefs that Islam will wither and die, along with the imams' control over the people.Nothing else so simply explains their determination to silence all other beliefs.
I agree. You don't do this by trashing their beliefs, though. I consider myself a Christian, probably because that's how I was raised, but not a very observant one at all. However, even I get ticked off if someone trashes the Bible. Ideas are the weapons in this war, not guns, ant it's always been a common sense axiom that you don't give your enemies ammuniton.