I said nothing about "true Islam" merely commented on the thing closer to the source. In case you haven't noticed any thought or concept or whatever mankind has can be twisted to suit whatever at some point.
My point is simple, in the past Islam was FAR more tolerant than they are portrayed now.
The life of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is a classic example of tolerance, of pluralism, of love of humanity and of upholding human equality. So tolerant was he of other faiths that once as the prayer time came and the Christians of Nijran who were on a visit to Madina had no place of their own to worship he invited them to offer their prayers at Masjid-e-Nabwi
Is Islam accommodative of pluralism? The literal meaning of Islam is peace. When Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) proclaimed his prophet-hood, Jews and Christians were at loggerheads. In this environment of ill-will and polarisation, he preached goodwill and harmony to realise the Divine plan, “Constantly the Quran points out that Muhammad had not come to cancel the older religions, to contradict their prophets or to start a new faith. His message is the same as that of Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon, or Jesus.”
This spirit of tolerance and freedom of thought is reflected in the later periods as well. For instance, when the Jews were facing persecution through Spanish Inquisition, they found protection and shelter in Ottoman Empire. While commenting on this state of affairs a historian of that age remarked: “There are but few countries, even among those which are considered the most enlightened and the most civilised, where Jews enjoy a more complete equality than in Turkey {the Ottoman empire}. His Majesty, the Sultan, and the government of the Porte display towards Jews a spirit of largest toleration and liberalism.” (State, Islam and Religious Liberty in Modern Turkey: Reconfiguration of Religion in the Public Sphere, by Talip Kucukcan.)
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Tolerance In Islam
Phase I: The Early Caliphs and Umayyads (610-750)
Conversion initially was neither required nor necessarily wished for
"The question of why people convert to Islam has always generated intense feeling. Earlier generations of European scholars believed that conversions to Islam were made at the point of the sword, and that conquered peoples were given the choice of conversion or death. It is now apparent that conversion by force, while not unknown in Muslim countries, was, in fact, rare. Muslim conquerors ordinarily wished to dominate rather than convert, and most conversions to Islam were voluntary. (...) In most cases worldly and spiritual motives for conversion blended together. Moreover, conversion to Islam did not necessarily imply a complete turning from an old to a totally new life. While it entailed the acceptance of new religious beliefs and membership in a new religious community, most converts retained a deep attachment to the cultures and communities from which they came."
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The Ottoman Empire
One of the successes of the social structure of the Ottoman Empire was the unity that it caused among its highly varied populations through an organization named as millets. The Millets were the major religious groups that were allowed to establish their own communities under Ottoman rule. The Millets were established by retaining their own religious laws, traditions, and language under the general protection of the sultan. Plurality was the key to the longevity of the Empire.
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Interesting quote I found while digging up the research again:
"Jim Jones, David Koresh and Meir Kahane do not typify Christianity and Judaism in the eyes of the civilized West, but those same eyes are prone to see Osama bin Laden and Mullah Muhammad Omar as typifying Islam," Richard Bulliet 2
). 
