Great answers everyone.  Thanks!  I sometimes think that people try to further their own agenda in the name of religion.  I think that they deliberately promote the differences to encite people by insinuating that the differences deliberately strike at the heart of one's beliefs.  These people/governments are not interested in the similiarities that would unite because that would not be in the best interest of their agendas.  So I think that we as individuals should take the time to learn as much as we can about cultures and religions that are different from our own instead of blindly following the rhetoric fed to us. 

I know that what I have learned about Islam since moving to Qatar has warmed my heart and I am angry at how it is often portrayed - not just for Muslims but for all people whose opinions of cultural differences are shaded by what is often presented to us.  Let's face it  - if we don't take steps as indivduals to understand and accept each other's difference (and teach our children to do the same) what hope is there for co-existing peacefully.