Missionary work and genocide are founded upon a common premise. Only the conclusion from that premise differs. The syllogism of genocide: we are good, you are bad, therefore we will kill you. The syllogism of missionaries: we are good, you are bad, therefore we will convert you.
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Mr. Stanley’s Aphorisms and Paradoxes are outstanding examples of the long-form aphorism...
inevitably studded with discrete individual aphorisms that could easily stand on their own.
-James Geary, author of The World in a Phrase: A Brief History of the Aphorism
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Maybe. It could be argues that the core premise is different, as in
Genocide = you are different from us, so we will destroy you
missionary work = you are different from us, so we will ask you to join us
Where genocidal groups seek to eliminate the Other by annihilation, the missionary impulse results in a diverse group that shares values or beliefs, but is otherwise quite complex.
Sigh, lost my original post.
Missionaries are saying "My beliefs are right, yours are wrong. You should change." They weren't asking, and in the past they had the backing of government and armed force. Sure, there were some who went into the deepest Africa or South America, to bring their word to the natives -- but the purpose was still to bring their religion to people who most likely already had one of their own, to bring cultural norms that were alien to the natives.
To say the missionaries aim was to bring about some nice little utopian diverse inclusiveness is to miss the point. "YOU should join US" isn't "WE should join TOGETHER"