It's late so I'm just going to answer off the top of my head from memory rather than look things up carefully. I also think that you are asking the wrong person these questions. I am not an expert on Islam in general or on terrorist ideology and their Qur'anic interpretation. I am an "armchair researcher" on the slice of Muslim doctrine regarding the Last Days, just from studying this topic after 9/11. But I'll answer as best I can.
The terrorist imams easily get around the ban on suicide in a number of ways: by declaring the whole anti-West jihad to be in self defense, by simply declaring that it is not suicide but killing the enemy in a way that ends one's own, etc. They are experts at word jugglery to prove whatever they want from the Qur'an and Hadith.
2. Does Islam advocate or condone the ‘deliberate’ killing of women, children and other Muslims or innocents, be it infidels, even during a jihad? (Is this similar to what we would call collateral damage?)
Normal Islam -- no. But there was a terrorist "fatwa" a couple of years ago that simply declared that any Muslim collaborating with the West was a munafiq, a hypocrite, and was no better than an infidel. Those women and children standing too close to a US soldier are presumed to be collaborators.
3. What do you think should be done to deal with this crisis? For example, should we annihilate approx 1.3 billion Muslims and eradicate Islam? Should we try to convert Muslims to some other religion or doctrine? Should we hold those current extremist Muslim leaders accountable for their interpretation, teaching and incitement of hatred and violence? Should we point out to all Muslims that their religion is one big bogus and a satanic cult?
Personally, I think Pres. Bush is following the most promising program. Pursue the active jihadists and try to thin their ranks, but also try to bring democratic capitalism to the Middle East, and give the common people a FUTURE to hope for and to work toward. Educate the girls, and free the women from the strict interpretations of shar'ia.
I could dream of some movement for mass conversions, but as a practical matter, that is not going to happen any time soon. But what can happen is for the moderate Muslims to get the financial and moral support to marginalize the extremists. And that seems to me to be far preferable to a bloodbath.
If it were up to me, I'd probably throw some money toward the Sufis, and help them try to just convert as many Sunnis and Shi'ites as possible to that much more peaceful branch.
But if we can start by helping the tyranized masses become self-governing and get them to trust the West, maybe after years of communication some of them might learn what Christianity really is and come around. But that would be way in the future. We're at the early years of a long war right now.
Thanks for the reply.
Interesting points and far more practical and objective than a few others I've read in FR.
First of all, Thanks for the great info you provide in this thread. Do you still hope for the solutions you posted about 4 years ago? IMHO I believe that after Psalm 83, Isaiah 17, and Ezekiel 38&39 Islam is no longer an issue.