The question, I'm afraid, is too vague to answer. It's like asking 'is New York a hot city?' -- to which the answer will depend on whether you visit in February or July.
There are varieties of Islam which have, classically, embraced violence, and there are varieties that have forsworn it. Islamic scholars disagree amongst themselves as to whether one or other variety is more authentic, more true to the Koran, etc.
That some Muslims have, in the past and today, regarded violence as a sacred duty is clear; so have some Christians. Whether the Muslim is more authentic in doing so than the Christian is another matter. And just as there is legitimate debate among Christians about the rights and wrongs of bearing arms in defense of one's country, so there are similar debates among some Muslims at least.
Thus to formulate the question in this way doesn't really help us to get any closer to a serious and authentic understanding of what Islam is.
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