Don’t forget that founder Joseph Smith was a convicted felon and his successor Brigham Young ordered the “Mountain Massacre” like some Mafia Don ordering a hit.
The parallels between Mormonism and Islam are also very striking. Polygamy, misogyny, racism, violent beginnings, “lebensraum,” wanderlust, theocracy-—lots of stuff. Just not nearly as bloodthirsty and with much more acceptance of modernity but still similar.
I have always suspected that Joe Smith and his mentor Sidney Rigdon(very possibly the “real” Angel Moroni) had a strong interest in Mohammedanism and likely Turkey, which was the main point of contact with Islam for Westerners in those days.
Actually, the Mountain Massacre occurred after the death of founder Joseph Smith. While many have asserted that Brigham Young may have been involved in organizing the incident, it has not been indisputably proven.