First off, non of us should be using other scriptures or religions to justify rulings in islam. I mean some of these scriptures have child rape and incest in them, so how can we bring islam to that level and justify its rulings through them?
Secondly, though the cleric didnt specifically mention whether there is a specific age limit or not, the question was specifically about the sharia and what it says about this matter. Best answer that he could have delivered (in my humble opinion) is to state that "the sharia is silent upon this matter and doesnt give a specific age limit to marriage"
Finally, with regards to whether or not it should be ok for a father to marry off his daughter without her consent, even though it may have benefit to her in the future is still unacceptable. There must be consent from the daughter herself for the father to marry her off to her spouse to be. And this consent is best given after puberty as it would be more reliable than if the girl was to give it before she becomes a teen. Similarly for a boy as well, though the boy has more freedom in this after marriage than girls.]
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Karl Its true that a girl should only consummate her marriage by coitus after her first menses, but what guarantee does she have when nikkah is already done between her and her husband? I mean we all know how much islam emphasizes on how separate men and women should be from one another from fear of temptation, yet here we are saying that its ok for a guy and girl to be together in full temptation of marriage yet not allowed to have coital love making. This is very contradicting to what islam teaches.