The Quran says: Do not take them as your Auliyas which means do not take them as your religious leaders. Never does it say that do not befriend them. It doesnt say this even about the Kuffars that you were talking about!
BTW Kuffar in Arabic means to Cover Up, Get Dazed. It also means a Farmer- Who is dazed up looking at his fields! Simply put it can mean a person who is blinded and cannot see beyond as there is a veil before his eyes.
Muslim understanding of God is different. A verse in the Quran says that:
He is beyond our perceptions.
There is none Comparable unto him! Our minds cannot grasp him and this veil will only be lifted on the day of judgement.
This centuries old muslim understanding has been validated by the so called intellectual philosophers of the west of the 20th century!
Since there is none comparable unto him, we cannot equate him to any one on this earth be it humans or animals. This by no means, means that we should not be compassionate to the living world. There are many verses dealing with compassion in the Quran. Infact every beginning surah of the Quran begins with: In the name of Allah, the most compassionate and the most merciful except a couple where the wrath of Allah is on wrong doers. However it also says that His Mercy Prevails over his Wrath! Some translate it as Most gracious, most merciful.
About equality: O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female and made you into nations and tribes that ye may know eac
