If it is not already, Islam is fast becoming a cult.
It is indeed a cult, and always has been: the cult of Abraham. This is exactly how it is characterized in well-known traditional accounts and it is assiduously pursued ~ we muslims seek solely to fully immerse ourselves in the cultural patternings and ways of life of Abraham, making them the patterns of our existence and our exclusive way of life ~ that is our religion and who we are. It is fundamentalism from the core to the periphery, and the core is Abraham, it is entirely, completely, and only a cult. It is chosen by an individual of his own volition and becomes the totality of his devotions. It is deliberately emulated by literally billions of people of all the monotheistic faiths, and all are considered to be muslim in their very nature.
What you call "cults" are degradations of the cult of Abraham, which is itself a complete pattern for humanity. Remove an element essential to the preservation and enhancement of human nature, such as liberty, reducing the adherents below their human potential, and you have what you call a cult. The pattern must be complete ~ no holes may persist in the garment of morality that it the uprightness of Abraham. I have shown here how falsehood ~ lying that may appear trivial ~ is fatal to human existence. This requirement for totality is part and parcel of the definition of a cult ~ and indeed Islam is the very definition of "cult" and it means the cult of Abraham.
You wouldn't be lying to us now, would you? You knew that already, right?
As to my brother's fear of his neighbors, I can only surmise, knowing him personally, that it is a function of his love for his neighbors, which I consider excessive but cannot condemn, God directs the hearts and has made him affectionate in all directions indiscriminately. I fear for him constantly on that account, he is far too easily hurt.
Love and fear are inseparable. Whom you love, you fear. There is no way to avoid it, it is part and parcel of the reciprocal interaction of loving someone but completely independent of any reciprocity. You fear hurting and you fear being hurt, and the vulnerability attaches instantly when the heart is inclined and opened to another.
I do not fear my neighbors, although that does not mean that I do not love them, it means I know I have nothing to fear from them. They do not all look upon me affectionately, I think that most of them are probably merely amused. They know, uniformly, that I am not harmful toward any of them. "A muslim is he from whose hand and tongue his neighbor is safe" is axiomatic with muslims, it is written in stone and embedded in our hearts, a rock upon which we stand. This again is the cult of Abraham, all who love Abraham are good neighbors. This is what Americans are discovering about muslims, and in many cases about themselves as well.
So I dismiss my brother's assertion as applicable to muslims as a general principle. He himself is unique. Muslims do not fear you. They fear God, Whom they love. You may freely approach any muslim and among his first concerns will be to show you that from him, at least, you have nothing whatever to fear.
That's how you can recognize muslims. God describes muslims in His Book, the description is complete. We are the cult of Abraham and we are all one without distinction.
Except my brother. He loves his neighbors more than he loves himself. I can't claim that we're all like that.