Islam is a violent religion

You have provided a few arguments regarding the character of Muhammad and some parts of the Quran. I will try to clarify these issues in the order you presented them.Allegations against MuhammadFirst you linked to a site with a list of crimes the Holy Prophet Muhammad is accused of. The first is about Aisha and her being underage. The references used are two hadith from Sahih Bukhari. This book is considered authentic, but that does not mean it is without fault. Any hadith in these books can still be inaccurate.That being said, these hadith are indeed included in Sahih Bukhari. However, historical events seem to contradict these hadith. [1][2] Reports suggest that Aisha was at least 10 years of age when she was betrothed and at least 15 when she actually married Muhammad. Besides her actual age, she was also betrothed to someone else before Muhammad, implying she was already coming of age. (In Arab culture in that age, one would be an adult after puberty). It is also suggested that Muhammad had intercourse during menses. The hadith in question clearly mention the use of a waist-wrapper of some sorts and mention foreplay, but not sex. [4] Also the Quran is quite clear, during menses it is forbidden to have sex. [3]The allegation of necrophilia with the aunt of Muhammad is based on one single hadith from a book that is not considered authentic by the majority of Muslim scholars. Therefore this hadith is dismissed as unreliable unless more convincing evidence is provided. (Something as disgraceful as necrophilia must have been noticed and heard by many other people in Muhammad’s time, one would think)The next accusation is that Muhammad raped women and had sex slaves, etc. The only source provided are verses from the Quran which allow sexual relations with ones wives and slave girls [5-8]. There is no evidence that he would actually rape women. Historical data also shows that Muhammad had a total of eleven wives. They all chose to stay married out of their free will:“O Prophet! Say to thy consorts “If it be that ye desire the life of this world, and its glitter, – then come! I will provide for your sustenance and set you free in a handsome manner. But if ye seek God and His Apostle, and the home of the hereafter, verily God has prepared for the well-doers amongst you a great reward.” [9]Here the wives of the Prophet have been given the choice. They can leave him (without repercussions) and they will be well provided for (by the Prophet) or they can choose to stay with him.Also in Islam, polygamy is allowed. Men have been given permission to marry up to 4 women. [10] The only exception that is made, is for the Holy Prophet. Polygamy is nothing new in Islam. Polygamy existed in Arabia long before Islam came. In recent history (mainly around the Middle Ages) it was common for men of high rankings to have a mistress (outside of marriage). Even in our Western society extramarital affairs and having a mistress is fairly common. The only thing Islam does is regulate this. It adds a condition to marrying multiple women: all wives should be treated equally and if this is not possible, it is not allowed to marry multiple women. [10]If you think about it there are practical reasons why polygamy could be required or be necessary. The most obvious situation is when a woman becomes infertile and the couple have a desire for children. Also in times of war, a soldier can be separated from his wife for a long period of time, but he still has his need and physical desire for women. In this case he can also marry a second woman. After a war there can be a situation where a lot of men have been killed and there is a ‘shortage of men’. In this case it would also be practical and helpful to have multiple wives and provide for the widows of soldiers.The Prophet Muhammad also set an example by marrying different wives. His wives all had different backgrounds: poor, rich, slave, princess, young, old, from his own tribe, from other tribes, a widow. He showed his followers that you should marry women regardless of their background, based on their righteousness. Muhammad’s wives were meant as an example and as teachers for the Muslims. [11] He was also a righteous man and spent a major part of the night in prayer and he would spend the last part of the night asleep. [12][13] This shows that he was not crazy for women as is being suggested.Another accusation that is being made is that Muhammad married a Jewish slave and raped her on the same day her family was killed. That Muhammad married this Jewish slave girl is true and recorded in two of the hadith that are mentioned.[15][16] However these hadith also mention that the marriage took place after the menses of Safiya, implying there was some time between the battle and the marriage. There is also no mention of rape. The Quran explicitly states that it is not allowed to marry a woman without consent. [14] If Muhammad acted against this commandment there would have been objection and witnesses to this fact and these are not provided along with the allegation.I think after these arguments it is safe to say that the source provided is not reliable. Besides all the allegations which had any reference have been answered above. The rest of the allegations have no reference whatsoever, therefore they can be dismissed unless any convincing evidence is provided.The battle of Badr and the conquest of MeccaYou and the sources you have provided imply that the Muslims were living in complete peace and were not being oppressed. When Islam started out in Mecca, they were harassed and prosecuted for 12 years. Eventually Muhammad and the Muslims fled to Medina, leaving behind most of their possessions and some even their families, because all tribes in Mecca decided that Muhammad should be killed. When the Muslims were in Medina, they still could not practice a fundamental part of their faith: the pilgrimage to Mecca. Eventually because of this oppression and the revelation that allowed defensive war Muhammad decided to fight the Quraish. This lead to the Battle of Badr. [17]Later, after the battle of Badr, the Muslims went for the small pilgrimage (Umrah) and they were refused entry into Mecca. This lead to a peace treaty and the Muslims could make the pilgrimage the year after. The Meccans were the ones to break this treaty and attack and kill Muslims. [18] This lead to the conquest of Mecca. Even after this battle, the disbelievers were not punished, even the enemies that surrendered were not punished and many of them converted because of this generosity.Violence in the QuranI have cited a few verses in my opening statement, namely Surat al-Baqarah 2:190-194. These are the often named verses with the famous translation “And kill them wherever you find them”. If you look in the verse immediately preceding it, it explains everything.The verse basically describes the conditions of an Islamic war:1. It needs to be "vee sabi lillah", literally "in the way of Allah". It is also used to say "to remove obstacles that are in the way of Allah"2. The second condition is: "those who fight against you". This is explicitly said in these terms, there is no figurative speech or metaphorical speech, but it literally says this. So there is no room for doubt that this means that it's a condition that you are defending, not the aggressor.3. The third condition, directly following from the same term as above ("those who fight against you"): people who are not fighting you should not be harmed.4. The last condition is named in the term: "do not transgress". This means that once the enemy stops fighting, the muslims should stop fighting. [19]Muslims believe that the Quran contains no contradictions and there is no abrogation of verses. This means that there is no verse which supersedes another. Therefore, all the other verses about warfare (actually all other verses in general) cannot be seen separate from this verse. Any place in the Quran where there is reference to war or fighting, this verse cannot be ignored. These are the basic instructions for an Islamic war and anyone claiming to fight in the name of Islam while not meeting these conditions is in the wrong (according to the Quran itself). The verses about striking the throat and fingertips are merely instructions to either deliver a quick killing blow (and minimising suffering of the victim) or disarm the opponent and sparing their lives.Finally I would like to respond to this quote:“Quran (3:56) - "As to those who reject faith, I will punish them with terrible agony in this world and in the Hereafter, nor will they have anyone to help." This passage once again uses their god, allah, and claims that followers must punish non-believers, and so will their god.”The Quran is the word of God (hence often the phrase “Say: …” because Muhammad is being commanded to convey a message, the Quran does not contain Muhammad’s own words according to Muslim belief). God is saying he will punish them Himself. Nobody else is being told to kill disbelievers.Sources:[1] http://www.muslim.org...[2] http://www.theguardian.com...[3] Surat al-Baqarah 2:222 [4] Sahih Muslim 293, 294, 295[5] Surat al-Ma’arij 70:29-31[6] Surat al Mu’minun 23:5-7[7] Surat an-Nisa 4:23-24[8] Surat al-Ahzab 33:50[9] Surat al-Ahzab 33:28-29, Yusuf Ali[10] Surat an-Nisa 4:3[11] http://www.al-islam.org...[12] Tirmidhi 442, 443, 448[13] Sahih Bukhari Book 19 Prayer at Night (Tahajjud)[14] Surat an-Nisa 4:19[15] Sahih Bukhari 4211[16] Sahih Bukhari 371[17] http://insideislam.wisc.edu...[18] http://insideislam.wisc.edu...[19] http://www.alislam.org...?