It's funny that you should then use Muslims as an example. What do you think Mohammed gave Muslims, if not a powerful new identity?
A sword is no stronger than the hand wielding it, and the hand wielding it is dependent on the mind directing it.
What is mass violence - what binds together thousands and thousands to inflict mass violence? Idea and identity. They are bound together by forms of identity. At a small level by bonds of family, friendship, or other social obligation; "We few, we happy few, we band of of brothers" as Shakespeare put it for soldiers. At the much larger level, motivated to action by larger ideas - nation, religion. Even at a smaller level, targetted violence like assassination is not about taking out the opponents' best warriors. It's about taking out those that offer forms of leadership or ideological direction: those who can motivate, inspire.
Undoubtedly there are forms of violence relatively unshackled to idea - but they are much more commonly transient spasms that leave far less lasting effect. Undoubtedly technology means that even people with weak ideas can crush people with stronger. Although I can't help point out that technology is, itself, an idea: the word is still mightier than the sword if it is used to make a machine gun.
