Why do people insist on judging Islam by its most radical elements?

Well, what do you expect. We are people with a lot of flaws, and when we feel threatened, we react compulsively. We try to put the blame elsewhere even though deep down we may or may not realize that what we are doing is wrong. People who interpret the Quran as a symbol of radicalism have twisted the meaning of it. I have not read it myself, but from scholars who have studied the Quran have said that the book is no different then the Bible. Both promote peace, yet then we have people who take snippets of what is in these two books and twist the meanings, and they forget the part that says to be away with violence.