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Question/Criticism:

Muslims believe in suicide. They have always used it as a technique in war.

Answer:

It is He Who giveth life
and who taketh it,
and to Him shall ye
all be brought back.[10:56]

Suicide is strictly forbidden along with the killing of innocents in Islam. G'd is the author of life and it is only He who could take life or tell human beings under what conditions a life should be taken such as in punishment for murder and spreading destruction and havoc in the land. As human beings we don't own our lives, G'd does! As such we don't have the authority to take it. Suicide is disrespecting G'd and being ungrateful for the life He has given us. G'd has made life sacred for human beings and all his creatures. There are many verses that describe the sacredness of life in the Qur’an. One of the verses is as follows:  

Say: "Come, I will rehearse what G'd hath (really) prohibited you from": Join not anything as equal with Him; be good to your parents; kill not your children on a plea of want;- We provide sustenance for you and for them;- come not nigh to shameful deeds. Whether open or secret; take not life, which G'd hath made sacred, except by way of justice and law: thus doth He command you, that ye may learn wisdom. Qur'an (6:151) 

There are many verses against suicide in the Qur’an. The following verses make the prohibition very clear and illustrates the punishment G'd bestows on those who commit suicide:

But let there be amongst you Traffic and trade by mutual good-will: Nor kill (or destroy) yourselves: for verily G'd hath been to you Most Merciful! If any do that in rancor and injustice,- soon shall We cast them into the Fire: And easy it is for G'd.  Qur’an 4:29 - 4:30

 
In the Judaic or Christian parts of the Bible there are NO direct injunctions against suicide. However, this is not the case in the traditions of Islam. Both Qur’an and Hadiths have direct injunctions against suicide. Sanctions are expressed in the Qur’an against self-killing as in the verses above and also in the following:
 
G'd says explicitly in the Qur’an:  "And do not throw yourselves in destruction". (2:195)
 
Muslims also clearly understand that G'd is He who gives life and it is only He who can take life. The giving and taking of life is G'd’s domain. In one verse of the Qur’an, G'd says:

 “How can you disbelieve? Seeing that you were dead and He gave you life. Then He will give you death, then again will bring you to life (on the Day of Resurrection) and then unto Him you will return." (2:28)

 
Muslims also understand that the intentional murder of human beings is forbidden in our religion. The murdering of oneself is also included in that prohibition. G'd says in the Qur’an regarding this:

“If a man kills a believer intentionally, his recompense is Hell, to abide therein (For ever): And the wrath and the curse of G'd are upon him, and a dreadful penalty is prepared for him.” (4:93)
 
“…if any one slew a person - unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land - it would be as if he slew the whole people: and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people.” (5:32)

According to Qur’an, killing Muslims intentionally -- including oneself -- is one of the worst sins that a Muslim can commit carrying extremely severe punishments. It is explicitly forbidden in the Qur’an.
 
 
The Hadiths are also very clear about what happens to anyone who commits suicide.

Committing Suicide is a Major Sin:

Bukhari Volume 2, Book 23, Number 445:
Narrated Jundab the Prophet said, "A man was inflicted with wounds and he committed suicide, and so G'd said: My slave has caused death on himself hurriedly, so I forbid Paradise for him."

Bukhari Volume 8, Book 73, Number 73:
Narrated Thabit bin Ad-Dahhak: ”And if somebody commits suicide with anything in this world, he will be tortured with that very thing on the Day of Resurrection.
 
Narrated Abu Huraira:
The Prophet said, "He who commits suicide by throttling shall keep on throttling himself in the Hell Fire (forever) and he who commits suicide by stabbing himself shall keep on stabbing himself in the Hell-Fire."

From the two major sources of Islam there is strong condemnation and promises of hell fire to anyone committing suicide. Suicide is clearly prohibited in Islam.

Islam prohibits the taking of innocent lives and the needless destruction of plants and animals

The many statements in the Qur’an against injustice and the example of the Prophet (saaw) on numerous occasions, where he admonished his followers about taking the lives of innocents and even destroying heedlessly plants and animals, are too prevalent for the idea of killing civilians to even be casually accepted. The idea that Believing Muslims following the Qur’an and example of the Prophet (saaw) would commit terrorist acts as in Mumbai, 9/11, Bali, London, etc is far from reality. There are two possibilities for those actions (1) either they were false flag operations done to blame Muslims and further demonize Islam and (2) actions done by so-called Muslims not following the dictates of their religion.
 
An example of how the Prophet (saaw) dealt with learning about the accidental death of children belonging to his enemies can shed light on the correct Muslim attitude:  

There was an incident during one of the battles where children of the enemy were killed by mistake. The Prophet (saaw) was observed with tears in his eyes, in pain because of the killing of these innocent children. Some of his followers tried to sooth the Prophet by saying, "They were only the children of Kafirs (unbelievers)" The Prophet (saaw) turned to the one who spoke, and he was visibly angry, and said, " Aren't you the child of a Kafir too?"

The prophet (saaw) also said that “Muslims should not attack anyone who is not bearing arms against us.” Therefore the civilian population of even the enemies of Islam is safe from Muslim attacks. 

Along with showing care for the civilian population of even the enemies of Muslims, the Prophet (saaw) also encouraged Muslims to show kindness towards animals and plants. There are numerous Hadiths showing the kindness of the Prophet (saaw) and his admonishment against the heedless destruction of plants and animals. The following is one example showing the treatment the Prophet (saaw) gave to a kitten:

One day Muhammad (saaw) was sitting in the shade under a tree. A kitten came and curled up on his cloak and went to sleep. When the time came for him to go, Muhammad (saaw) took his knife and cut away part of his cloak so as not to disturb the sleeping kitten.    

Martyrdom versus suicide

On the other hand, martyrdom in war for self defense, protecting oneself and family, defending country, freedom, peace, etc. is praised. Martyrdom, or when one is killed -- not by their own hands but by an enemy -- in a struggle for a just cause is respected highly in Islam.  

The Prophet said, "Nobody who dies and finds good from G'd (in the Hereafter) would wish to come back to this world even if he were given the whole world and whatever is in it, except the martyr who, on seeing the superiority of martyrdom, would like to come back to the world and get killed again (in G'd's Cause)." (Sahih Bukhari, 4:52:53)

The above Hadith makes it clear that a good Muslim who dies normally would find rewards greater than anything they can get from the whole world. In fact they would have no desire to come back to this world for anything. So why would a Muslim settle for suicide and incur severe punishment in hell to get 70 virgins, when they can get much more by dying normally after living a good Muslim life? According to the Hadith only the martyr, not the one who kills himself, upon seeing the superiority of martyrdom would want to come back.

The Quran teaches (3:169): "Do not consider those killed [while engaging] in G'd’s cause dead. Rather, they live with their Lord, who sustains them!" The Quranic idiom, "killed while engaging in G'd’s cause" is a reference to martyrdom for acting on being a Muslim, whether as a persecuted and powerless individual or as a warrior fighting in defense of Islam, country, justice, freedom and peace. A Hadith in Sunan al-Tirmidhi states that in contrast to suicide, the martyr does not even feel the pain of his death (Fada’il al-Jihad, 26:1663). He is also forgiven all his sins and has the right to intercede on behalf of his own family to enter Heaven. So, suicide is forbidden, killing of noncombatants is forbidden, but martyrdom is rewarded with entrance into heaven and, therefore, with great material rewards in the world to come.

For a more expanded version of this article and a detailed exposure of suicide false flag operations to blame Muslims, read the following:

Suicide and Islam - A Deeper Perspective