I am not an expert on Mohammad and quite frankly I have no great love for the Islamists of today who believe (as Mo did) that killing was justifiable as long as you were killing infidels. But I will gladly give our zealous friend his due in one respect.
Customs of 2000 years ago were vastly different than what is commonly practiced today. By the time most girls were 14, they had either been promised to someone or married. It would not have been uncommon for a 3 year old to be promised/bartered to someone, although it was commonly to someone closer to the child's age than to Mo's age of 50. But the point is that it was common practice. And while 9 would have been a bit young for an actually marriage to take place (again, the actual marriage would have been more commonly held when the girl was 12-14), I would not be surprised to know that it did occur regularly to 9 yr olds. Trying to apply our more enlightened standards to what was normal in a society 2000 years ago is not going to prove any points about a person.
Note to Ali: Don't think that by granting you this point I am in any way shape or form agreeing with a whacked out religion that supports and glorifies those who indiscriminately kill people for no other reason than they don't agree with your beliefs. I am only supporting your contention that based on the prevailing customs of society, Mo may not have done anything wrong by marrying a 9 year old. But then again, from all I have read, 9 was a bit young even by the standards back then.
Good point CoastalRat. I have been trying to find some kind of info on this. I'm not having much luck but will keep researching it.
