Modern anthropologists, using modern techniques and the best available evidence have concluded that several cultures have engaged in human sacrifice (often child sacrifice) for religious reasons.

Here is an article on the topic from Wikipedia.

Here is another article on human sacrifice in general.

The practice is generally considered to have been motivated by religion. It has happened in many pagan cultures, not just Mesoamerican ones.

Everything you said in your first paragraph does not change this. Even if Christians did demonize these other cultures (and they surely did) that doesn't change the fact that this happened, and was motivated by religious beliefs. So again, if that's true, why can't the Quran (or any other religious book or belief) be responsible for certain actions, regardless of how heinous they might be?

Second, Christianity was the same way as Islam and still is today with the U.S. sending Christian soldiers and touting the importance of defending Israel.

You're right that there was a time when Christianity was as bad as Islam, although suicidal actions were never common (because suicide is a sin in the Bible, but not in the Quran, at least not when intentional suicide is coming from a defense of the faith).

The second part is ridiculous, though. America is not a Christian country, and people of all faiths and creeds are part of the army. Touting the importance of defending Israel is due to them being an ally, the same way we'd want to defend France.

I really don't understand the point of most of your second paragraph, though. Let me ask you this; do you think the Christian faith had something to do with those wars and genocides?

Harris acts like Muhammed just become a religious extremist to go around killing people. That's a wildly dishonest summary of what was happening

No, what's "wildly dishonest" is you claiming Sam Harris has said anything like that. Harris has said the evidence seems to suggest that Mohammed might have been mentally ill, though.

Muhammed certainly was a war lord

Why did you put it in scare quotes earlier, then?

Anyway, the point remains, and you haven't addressed it as far as I can tell.

Religion can, and does, inspire people to do things, both bad and good. The slave trade was excused because the Bible had no problem with slavery, for example. If the Bible had said something like, "And thou shall never hold any slaves, the practice is abominable, under all circumstances," it's very possible that alone would have made slavery impossible in Christian nations. Abortion doctors have been murdered by Christians for religious reasons.

But what you're saying is that ISIS cutting the head off an infidel has nothing to do with Islam. That there's no way to justify that using the Quran.

Listen, Christianity sucks too, but it has since been reformed, and people have found ways to ignore a lot of the worst parts. But there's justification for doing that in the Bible itself. There is no such justification in the Quran; again, it's short and straight-forward. It tells you exactly what to do and how to live, and that it is the perfect word of the creator, and any deviation from it is evil.

Could it not just be that the Bible is bad, but the Quran is worse? Why is this not possible?