The author should be applauded for actually using Muslim religious arguments in favor of peaceful, conciliatory attitudes, showing by example that Muslims DO have a choice of which aspects of Islam they will emphasize.

Religions can be interpreted in different ways, and have been, demonstrating that how they are  interpreted often depends more on the people doing the interpreting than the religion itself. People looking for excuses to be violent can find them, while those looking for reasons to be peaceful can find them too.

I'm all for Muslim writers being explicit on how they find reasons to be peaceful and conciliatory in their own religious texts, rather than implying there are none, and that only by rejecting the religion entirely can they be peaceful.