I need help rationalizing the Christian concept of salvation

Hello everyone! This post may be pretty long so please bare with me. I grew up in Christian family but I’ve been researching Islam and I am really considering converting soon. Some of my Christian friends and family are trying to convince me that I may be entertaining a false religion and that I should reconsider. For the past couple of days I have been comparing the two religions to see what makes most sense to me. The biggest hold up I have with the Christian faith is the concept of salvation.

According to the salvation through faith alone concept, some Christians believe that the only way to get to heaven is through believing Jesus Christ is your lord and savior. If these Christians are right than that would mean that 2.3 billion Christians (at least the ones that were truly saved) will go to heaven and the rest of the 5.5 billion people in the world with different religions (Muslims, Jews, etc.) no matter how good or bad they were will be in Hell.

So just by being born in a country where Christianity is not the main belief system increases your odds of eternal torture. People in other countries such as Saudi Arabia, India, etc. still have a chance of receiving the gospels, but living in a country where the predominant religion is different will make it harder for them to convert because they believe that their religion is the true religion due to indoctrination and familiarity bias, similar to how a middle aged man from Dallas, Texas would never convert from Christianity to Islam. I think the usual response Christians use for this is that people from other countries that grew up with different religions should “pray to God to reveal the truth” but other religions say the same the thing!

If this idea of salvation is true, Malcolm X, Ghandi, and Anne Frank will be in Hell playing poker with Satan while people like Jeffery Dahmer, The Son of Sam, and Chris Watts MIGHT be in heaven with God. I just can’t wrap my mind around that.

Muslims on the other hand believe in salvation through works and that you don’t necessarily have to be a Muslim to get to heaven. The Quran states that if you have not heard the message of Islam, if you received an corrupted message, or if you were not able to understand the message clearly, then you will still have a chance to get into heaven. They will be judged by God (Allah) by weighing their good deeds vs. bad deeds. The Quran also states that other religions (Christians, Jews, Sabians) can also go to heaven as they will be judged by God by the standards of their religion.

In my opinion, the Muslim version of salvation seems more just and better matches my idea of an truly merciful God. If my interpretation of salvation through faith alone is correct, how do some Christians rationalize this belief? I know not all Christians think this way. Some think it’s a mix of salvation through faith and works, I believe Catholics are more open to who gets in through the pearly gates, and I also heard some opinions from fundamentalist Christians that make it seem like 99% of the works is going to Hell lol. What do you guys think?