Prophet Muhammad was not imposing His faith on the Jews and the Christians. The Edict of Medina and His reference to them as People of the Book is evidence of that. Some Jews participated in persecuting the Muslims, and naturally Prophet Muhammad would defend the Muslims against any violence.
He was mainly imposing Himself on the idol worshipping warring tribes, as was Abraham, Moses and Jesus before Him. This imposition was through speech and strong apologetics.
There is no place for violence against imposing your Revelations teachings on others through speech. Do you persecute and torture the Jehovahs Witnesses? They might impose their faith on you.
All the Prophets caused tremendous progress to take place for their time and the populations they initially influenced.
