NCJ Number
167448
Journal
Studies in Conflict and Terrorism Volume: 19 Issue: 4 Dated: (October- December 1996) Pages: 329-337
Date Published
1996
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This paper reviews the history and theological rationale for suicidal terrorism (bombings) by radical Shiite Muslims and applies this understanding to a policy toward Islamic terrorism.
Abstract
Muslims have been using religiously sanctioned suicide as an effective tool against the West for several centuries. In keeping with this practice, Islamic suicide bombers attack a superior force of Israeli military and government, as well as Israeli citizens. Suicidal terrorism is an act of martyrdom that can be traced back 13 centuries to the Battle of Karbala. Appealing to tradition, recruiters enlist potential bombers from schools and mosques in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Bombers study religion, politics, and explosives. Students willingly become martyrs to secure a future for their families. The theology that motivates Islamic suicide bombers was expressed by a suicide bomber who killed three Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip in November 1994: "The life of this world is just a game and accumulation of possessions and children. What God has is better for me than all this." The editor of the Hamas newspaper Al-Wantan wrote that suicide bombings against Israeli targets are "the highest form of courage." The strong historic religious and cultural beliefs that fuel suicide bombings by Shiite Muslims will not be changed by force. What is needed are fundamental changes in prevailing social and economic relationships as well as political structures. If the goal is to prevent suicidal attacks, then history shows that the implementation of stringent police techniques and punitive military actions will not succeed. 27 notes