I would have just told him to ask politely, "Is it true that Mohammed married a six year old when he was 53? I've heard that that's actually in the Koran."
There's no way out of that one.
There's no way out of that one.
The answers about that I've read from the imam are that "it wasn't his first wife, he did it to take care of her, he waited 3 years before consumating the marriage, it was a different era..."
None of these responses justify childbrides in my mind.
There was a separate question posed on the Ask The Imam forum. Muslims may marry minors. Once married there is no prohibition on sex (the woman is the man's wife after all). If she is married before puberty, the wife will be allowed to reconsider the marriage when she reaches puberty. Shariah Law permits this and thus is the justification for its acceptance.