Suicide Bombing: Martyrdom or Massacre?

Tara Walker English 2010 MW & F Research Paper November 21, 2009 Suicide Bombing; Martyrdom or Massacre?

America has long been a symbol of freedom. People the world over consider her to be a beacon of light and a hope for better tomorrows. Despite this exemplary view, many American citizens question their own stance on the political belief systems upheld within this country.

After September 11, 2001, Americans discovered that patriotism needed only a bit of dusting off and that a unified people still stood together from sea to shining sea. The terrorist attacks on American soil were both frightening and eye opening during a time when America seemed at peace with herself and other countries. However, the grave turn of events left many unsure of what the United States really stands for. Fear and skepticism over how to combat indefinable foes rippled through all people. In spite of that fear, former American President George W. Bush encouraged Americans to return to their patriotism and reminded them that, “America was targeted for attack because we’re the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world” (Bush). Since September 11, the occurrence of terrorist attacks continues to escalate. One of the most intriguing forms of terrorism presents itself in the form of unassuming civilians. Seemingly innocent men, women and children strap themselves with bombs and undertake suicide missions designed to obliterate the masses while striking fear into bystanders and governments globally. In the United States suicide bombing remains strictly viewed as an act of terrorism, but people devoted to the Islamic religion view it as a heroic fight against evil forces in the defense of truth. A closer look at the history of Islam’s religious tenets, the Muslim’s revered Walker 1

prophet Muhammad and his teachings, global occurrences of suicide bombings throughout history and the logistics and motivation behind these “martyrdoms” determines whether or not the bombings are the acts of radical political militants trying to weaken the U.S. or religious zealots looking for a one way ticket to paradise.

Islamic religious tenets largely influence the Muslim encouragement and acceptance of suicide bombings. These doctrines have been powerfully spread for many years, because long ago Islam existed as one of the most powerful and influential civilizations. “Within a century of… Muhammad’s death… Muslims had established an empire greater than that of Rome at its zenith” (D’Souza 771). The religion spread into parts of Africa, Asia and Europe resulting in the creation of an authoritative Islamic empire. Although the Islamic political regime met its downfall, today Muslims are second only to Christianity in membership with 1.57 billion followers (“The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life,” Online). In May of 2007, Islam was cited as the fastest growing religion with a 1.84 percent increase each year (“Foreign Policy,” Online). Islam elicits devout followers seeking peace, purpose, and a committed way of life.

However, Islam exists not only as a religion but also as a nation reaching into every country. It varies greatly from the American government structure, because unlike the separation of church and state found in the United States, Islam declares there is no distinction between the two.

Consequently, for Muslims matters of a political nature are equally founded on spiritual principles. Dinesh D’Souza, a writer known for his discussion of controversial subjects stated, “When the institutions of religion and government are one, and the secular authority is given the power to be the interpreter and enforcer of God’s law, then horrible abuses of power are perpetrated in God’s name” (771). D’Souza alludes to instances like the Spanish Inquisition and other Western mishaps where the lack of separation created political and civil unrest. More Walker 2

importantly though are the similarly recent events occurring in Islamic countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran.

Presently, the Islamic government situation has constituted numerous world problems, as no boundary exists to divide religious and political action. With no separation of church and state, political motives become skewed and a religious loophole for avoiding legal consequence presents itself. A perfect example is found in the most important Islamic religious document. The Quran, scripture given from Allah (God) to Muhammad that all Muslims declare sacred, declares that suicide is intolerable. This holy prophet also declared by his own voice that one who commits suicide will be barred from paradise, which is the Muslims’ greatest object of desire.

But, in her book Ending Life: Ethics and the Way We Die, Margaret Battin clarifies that although the Quran and Muhammad himself clearly declare suicide unacceptable, “Martyrdom and selfsacrifice in defense of Islam are just as clearly celebrated… admired, emulated [and] venerated” (245). The commonly perceived Christian martyr is far different than the radical Muslim martyr.

The Christian martyr passively accepts death from his persecutors and leaves this life a victim at the hands of murderers. However, the Muslim martyr is one who dies a “holy warrior” for Islam and goes on to reap rewards above that which normal mortals receive in the afterlife. He engages in inghimas and throws himself recklessly at the enemy even if he is one man against a thousand.

Since the Quran “commends violence [in the form] of martyrs, killing and dying violently are not breaches of the moral code or infringements of divine law. They are, on the contrary, regarded as some of the highest achievements of Islamic spirituality . . .‘the best of people’ Muhammad [stated, is] the ‘believer who fights in the path of God with his self and his property.’ The martyr enjoys double the pleasure of paradise and dwells there in an abode superior to its other denizens” (MacEowin n.p.). Although the Quran states that fighters must not take the lives of

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noncombatants (women, children, sick and elderly), the opponent is clearly defined as those who are not Muslim. Hence, civilians are never excluded as enemies if they are non-Muslims because

by Islamic definition they are not innocent. Many declare the greatest difference between foe and friend is one’s desire for life and the other’s hunger for death. In 2001, the mufti of Jerusalem and Palestine, Sheikh Ikrima Sabri declared, “We tell [our enemies]: As much as you love life— the Muslim loves death and martyrdom. There is a great difference between him who loves the hereafter and him who loves this world” (qtd. in MacEowin n.p.). Prophetically encouraged, highly driven by the desire to obtain paradise and fanatical about fighting the “enemy,” Muslims become enabled to declare that suicide bombing crowns them martyrs and free from consequence.

Although the most relevant cases of suicide bombing today are all associated with Islam, instances of suicide missions not perpetrated by Muslims, and for political reasons only, have occurred throughout the ages. Two prime examples are the Japanese kamikazes and the Sri Lankan Tamil Tigers. During World War II, from October 1944 – August of 1945, greater than 3,000 Japanese Army and Navy fighter pilots crashed their planes into Allied ships. Many others were given weapons, wired backpacks or bomb-laden motorboats made specifically for suicide missions. These suicide bombers known as kamikazes were employed towards the end of the war when Japan’s other war tactics proved ineffective in furthering their efforts to win the war. Japan was about to be defeated and resources were low when the supposed mastermind, Admiral Takijiro Onishi, of the kamikaze attacks launched the first squadron of bombers known as Shinpu Tikubetsu Kogekitai.

Following this, ranked officials sent proposals to Tokyo requesting that the suicide attacks be

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“formally employed” (Bloom 14). In some cases the Japanese Kamikaze were pressured or coerced into participating as such. However, most pilots were dedicated to their suicide attacks.

In a letter to his parents before departing for his final mission, Second Lieutenant Shigeyuki Suzuki wrote, “People say that our feeling is one of resignation but they do not understand at all how we feel, and think of us as a fish about to be cooked. Young blood does flow in us. There are persons we love, we think of, and many unforgettable memories. However, with those, we cannot win the war. . . .The great day that we can directly be in contact with the battle is our day of happiness and at the same time, the memorial of our death” (qtd. in Bloom 14). Despite being heralded as god-like in the eyes of Japanese civilians and enshrined as heroes, the kamikaze bombers’ dedication was for a nationalistic cause. In Sri Lanka, during the early 1970s, a separatist organization of suicide bombers known as LTT (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam), fought to make a free state and separate homeland for their people. Tamil Tigers were the most effective users of suicide terror from 1987 until 2001 when they were surpassed by Palestinian groups in 2003 (Bloom 60). Both Hindu and Christian, the Tigers are not motivated by any particular religious element. However, political circumstances, a desire to change domestic policies and upheaval against the government categorized them as ethnic nationalists. The LTTE organization preferred young recruits and women as they were more often undetected by surveillance and security and were consequently more effective in the suicide bombings. LTTE organized itself into branches based on characteristics of the rebel fighters: the Black Tigers (male suicide bombers), Birds of Freedom (women), Sea Tigers (Naval), Air Tigers (Air Force) and Baby Tigers (child soldiers).

LTTE created a substantial organization for Sri Lankan citizens

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who desperately sought for something to belong to that was actively making a better life. Like the Japanese kamikaze bombers, the Tamil Tigers were seen and celebrated as heroes during a time of political oppression and upheaval.

Members of Islam who participate in suicide bombings are also honored, worshiped and remembered with the greatest respect. Unfortunately, the motivation behind the Middle Eastern bombings seemingly stems from something deeper than political dissatisfaction. Unlike the political bombers who use terror to frighten and destroy government and army organizations, the religious suicide bombers target the largest amount of civilians possible to prove a point. This adds to the greatest discrepancy in the Islamic suicide bombings, that because Muslims believe they are fighting a holy war, their actions for killing noncombatants are justified. Although heavy matters of religion exist to motivate the suicide attackers, the bombings are primarily a war tactic chosen effectively to weaken the political and religious parties they fight against. It is essential to historically review the attacks the United States is connected with in order to establish what America is up against. For hundreds of years Jews and Muslims have been fighting over a single piece of land: Palestine. The ongoing battle, both religious and political, still continues today.

Both parties refuse to compromise, and each seeks only for revenge against the other. “The government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) have been officially dedicated to a twostate solution. Unresolved issues [still] remain� (Skaine 121). Israelis are infamous for assassinating Palestinian government and military officials and the latter commonly retaliates with suicide bombings aimed at Israeli government officials and civilians alike. Previously, many Muslim-Palestinians associated suicide bombings with radical Islamic organizations, but after the year 2000, most began to support and encourage the attacks. The United States has always connected itself with Israel as both a friend and ally. Of course, as a world power willing

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to bring aid to the enemy, the Islamic state is infuriated and sees it as an attack on their existence.

“Prior to September 11, 2001, the United States had a few . . . violent encounters with Middle Eastern suicide bombers” (Bloom 167). Despite being directed at America, these other attacks occurred most often in other countries targeting American military bases and embassies. On September 11, 2001, Americans received substantial warning from Islamic terrorists headed by Osama bin Laden and members of Al Qaeda. American planes were hijacked by Muslim perpetrators and crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade centers and the pentagon.

“The terrorist attacks killed 2,973 victims in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania” alone and the loss of American lives abroad has greatly increased since then (Alfano, Online). The whole operation was carried out as a joint, large-scale suicide mission and substantially advanced the face of terrorism. Following 9/11, America declared a war on terror. American soldiers were deployed to Afghanistan in order to find and remove members of Al Qaeda responsible for the terrorist attacks. Attempting to kill two birds with one stone while broadening the scope of the war on terror, the Bush Administration declared its intentions to remove and disarm weapons of mass destruction from Iraq if Sadaam Huessin refused to negotiate. Before the war in Iraq began, Hamas leader Abdel Aziz al Rantisi declared at a rally, “We call on the Arabs and Muslims to burn the land under the feet of the American invaders, especially our brothers in Saudi Arabia because this war is not against Iraq, it’s against the Islamic nation” (qtd. in Bloom 168). This statement perfectly illustrates that radical Islamists anywhere in the Middle East believe that the war on terror is actually the war on Islam.

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Consequently, the outcropping of suicide bombings aimed at Americans and can be attributed to this viewpoint.

Whether in Afghanistan, Iraq, or Iran, Islam claims that the war they wage against the United States is deeply rooted in the desire to protect and further the religion that “dictates” how they respond politically. Unfortunately, sympathetic Americans are not aware that this holy war is just a front in order to carry out a political agenda that establishes Islam as the greatest world power. “The Islamic world faces a formidable threat from the United States. This is not the threat of American force or of American support for Israel. . . . America stands for an idea that is fully capable of transforming the Islamic world by winning the hearts of Muslims . . . [with the] American idea” (D’Souza 772). Fundamentalist heads of Islam declare that Muslims are no longer living in accordance with the teachings of their God. They argue that America and other Western countries are greatly responsible for this lack of zealous living and that “the solution . . . is to purge American troops and Western influence from the Middle East; to overthrow corrupt, pro-Western regimes . . . and to return to the pure, original teachings of the Koran. Only then . . . can Islam recover its lost glory” (D’Souza 773). This claim is evident because, “Since [America’s invasion of Iraq], suicide attacks against American targets have escalated sharply” (Bloom 171). It is necessary that Americans remain mindful that terroristic attacks are the enemy’s weapon of counterinsurgency. The masterminds behind the suicide bombings, like Osama bin Laden, know that the countries they exist in have relatively little sway in world politics. Knowing this, they adopt the use fear-tactics to threaten and bully peace-seeking world powers into meeting their demands. “They are driven by an awareness of moral superiority, combined with political, economic, and military inferiority” (D’Souza 773). Thus, suicide bombings encourage the common Muslim to renew pride in the honored teachings found in the

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Quran. Political and religious leaders call their converted people to remember the paradise that awaits them, encourage them to pass judgment upon those who are riotously living and “bestow” upon their converts the calling to cleanse the earth of those most unrighteous. Muslims devoted to their faith find hope and purpose in the promise that their self-sacrifices will bring honor to the family name, prosperity in this life and extravagant eternal joys in the life to come. Islamic countries have very small military organizations compared to their civilian army force strategically placed throughout the world. These civilian militants readily await and carry out orders to fight for Allah while their leaders hide deep within Islamic countries reveling in the destruction. Religiously driven suicide bombers unknowingly create the only opportunity Islam has to further its political aspirations.

How then does America fight terrorism and specifically, suicide bombings? According to Dinesh D’Souza, “Americans cannot effectively fight a war without believing that it is just a war. That’s why America has only lost once, in Vietnam, and that was because most Americans did not know what they were fighting for. The enemies of America understand this vulnerability

. . .[and] the outcome of America’s engagements

abroad is usually determined by . . . America’s will to prevail” (769). Most importantly is the need for Americans to become united in fighting against the “war on terror.” Understanding the reality and probable occurrence of suicide bombings and other terrorist attacks is also of grave importance. Additionally, certain steps must be taken in order to prevent other suicide bombing on American soil and foreign bases worldwide. In Ronald V. Clarke and Graeme R. Newman’s book Outsmarting the Terrorists, twenty essential principles are outlined that will aid in

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outsmarting those infiltrators who seek to destroy the Land of Liberty. The first and most important of these principles states that Americans fighting against terrorism cannot rely or expect to change “the hearts and minds of [the] terrorists” (11). Clarke and Newman go on to illustrate that obliterating the terrorists is unrealistic; consequently, solutions must be developed for any possible situation in order to prevent further terrorist activity. “We must match the rationality of terrorists in devising solutions: increase the effort involved . . . increase the risks of failure . . . reduce the rewards . . . and remove temptations, provocations and excuses” (Clarke, and Newman 13). Each devised principle is important but the last equals and echoes the importance of the first; it is to remain undaunted by the large endeavor of fighting terrorism despite its deeply rooted and ambiguous nature. Dinesh D’Souza echoes the urgency that Americans gird up their loins and hunker down in order to win the war on terror. “We need to destroy their terrorist training camps and networks. . . . Confront the fact that regimes allied with America such as Pakistan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, are undemocratic, corrupt, and repressive . . . America’s goal is a large and difficult one: to turn Muslim fundamentalists into classic liberals” (775). America must maintain diligence and nerve in fighting the war on terrorism and must establish regulations to secure the peace and prosperity of her country. The threat of suicide bombings as political tactics designed to weaken the United States governments is real. Although the martyrs themselves are motivated by the promise of paradise, the head of the problem exists for the furthering of political purposes. Islam existed as a dominant nation and world power. It is essential that Islam never regains that position again. Muslims may brag that, “Americans love life, and we love death” (D’Souza 778). To that boast, Americans should take courage in remembering their desire, appreciation and love for life. By standing united in fighting terrorism,

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Americans can continue to enjoy life in a free nation no longer tainted by fear. America should always be the land of the free and home of the brave.

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