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  #1  
Old Friday, March 09, 2007
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Default Suicide or Sacrifice ?

Suicide is known to be a psycopathological affliction; the person thinks that there is no meaning of his life (on contrary, i think that thier death is as meaningless also).
We have another group of people who are known as suicide bombers. Now this sort of persons have a rationalization that whatever they are doing is for some cause, and is not a suicide but rather a sacrifice for thier nation.

Now my question to the august members of the forum is that: should they be really called as suicide bombers and does Islam has any room for this?

How their mind is conditioned and is there any clue that these persons are suffering from any psychological disease etc?

N.B: It will be highly appreciated if sm1 can brief this issue in the light of modern psychological terms and also in the light of Quran and Sunnah
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Old Saturday, March 10, 2007
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@ northstar
interesting topic...

now first of all we may see what sucide is.....

Suicide (from Latin sui caedere, to kill oneself) is the willful act of killing oneself. Suicide can also refer to an individual who has killed him or herself.


Islam and suicide:

hazrat Jandab Bin Abdullah(rz) se riwayat hai. kay rasool s.a.w ne farmaya...

" tum se pehle logoon may ail shakhs thaa.ussay zakham lahaq hua tu woh ghabra gaya...uss ne (tang aa kar) khudkushi kar li, allah tallah ne irshaad farmaya, meray banday ne apni jaan kay khatmay kay liyay mujh say agay nikalnay ki koshish ki, lihaza may ne uss par jannat haram kar di..." (BUkhari)


in quran allah says, " aur apnay aapp ko qatal na karo, yaqeen mano kay allah tumharay upar nihayat meharban hai" (al-nissa 29)

(english) Do not kill yourselves, for Allah is compassionate towards you. Whoever does so, in transgression and wrongfully, We shall roast in a fire, and that is an easy matter for Allah. (an-Nisaa 4:29-30)

Out of all the bounties Allah has bestowed upon human beings, the most precious is the gift of life. Each one us should remember that this life Allah has granted us, it is not our personal possession or our personal property. In-fact it is a trust from Allah, making us merely trustees. Because we are trustees we should utilise each and every moment of our lives in the paths that please Allah.

God is our creator, he is the giver of life, and he alone has the right to end it. our each and every breath,our body parts is Amanat to allah...so who are we to discontinue our breaths?.who gave us right to kill ourselves our others?

In one verse of the Quraan, Allah 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." (Surah Al-Baqarah Verse 28)
Suicide is stricktly forbidden in Islam....

our holy prophet s.a.w once didnot attended the nimaz-e-janaza of a suicider...

In one incident narrated by Thabit bin Ad-Dahhak (RA): the Prophet (SAW) said, "Whoever intentionally swears falsely by a religion other than Islam, then he is what he has said, (e.g. if he says, 'If such thing is not true then I am a Jew,' he is really a Jew if he is a liar). And whoever commits suicide with a piece of iron, he will be punished with the same piece of iron in the Hell-fire." (sahi bukhari)


Narrated by 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." (Sahih Bukhari 2.446, 2.445)


now the concept of SUICIDE BOMBERS

i think that there is no such concept as SB....in islam.... islam never allows to kill ur muslim brothers....what these bombers r doing...they are just killing their own innocent and guiltiless muslim brothers.... who hav done no harm to them....as it is said

hazrat abdullah bin omer r.z say riwayat hai kay
rasool s.a.w bayan kartay hain, jo shakhs iss baat ki gwahi daita ho kay allah kay siwa koi mabood nahi hai aur mohammad s.a.w allah kay rasool hain, tu teen(3) surtoon kay ilawa uss ka khoon bahana jaiz nahi
1- jan kay badle jan
2-shadi shuda zani
3-deen islam ko chorne wala( yani musalmano ki jamat say alag hone wala)


similarly it is said in quran

jo shakhs kisi ko (nahaq) qatal kare ga (yani) bagher uss kay k jaan ka badla liya gai, tu goya uss nay tamam logon ko katal kiya.

Harming innocent bystanders, even in times of war, was forbidden by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). This includes women, children, noncombatant bystanders, and even trees and crops. Nothing is to be harmed unless the person or thing is actively engaged in an assault against Muslims.


ur question was are these people suffering from any psychological disease etc?

i personally think that SB r not suffering from any psyclogcal disease...it is rather the diseases of the society which forces them to do so....like financial problems, any disablity, conflicts in family or b/w parents, loss of some beloved, any other disease, and unemployment also...

these people are further exploited by some network of agencies, who do their brain wash and make them obey thier orders.... i think that they negatively project the concept of jehad....jehad is not killing of innocent people at public places, buses , mosques ,trains or markets...it is a war against the non-muslims...

i can't grasp their rationalization of killing comman man..

the verses quoted above show, suicide in any form is condemned by God, no excuse given under any circumstances. The Quran does not promise Heaven (Paradise) to those who commit suicide but rather warn of condemnation to Hell.

Suicide is a state of disbelief and loss of faith that is condemned by God throughout the Quran. In the Quran, God commands the believers never to despair or lose hope and instead work for a brighter future.

[12:87] "....................... None despairs of GOD's grace except the disbelieving people."

so i think suicide in any form is condemmed in islam... and so SB have no room in islam...

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Old Saturday, March 10, 2007
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It is a very nice and a very comprehensive remark on the topic. You have provided sufficient evidence about suicide in Islam. Killing of innocent people is condemned in Islam and Islam does not allow a surprise attack without a proper denunciation of war.
Now, if we take this scenario out of our own country and look at the lives and miseries of the people of Palestine and Kashmir etc, we will find that many a suicide bombers who have emanated from these regions have targeted the military of the invaders. Same was the case in 1965 near Sialkot, where our brave Jawaans tied bombs on their bodies and laid under the tanks of Indian forces, and made one of the greatest graveyards of tanks in war history. Shan’t we call them as suicide bombers as well?

Besides, the psychological part of it is still un-explored because there are not sufficient studies on the subjects of this sort made by the west, and regretfully, we are not able to add a bit to these scientific grounds; Are these the circumstances, which conditions a mind for such a response or are these people suffering from any of the psychopathological or a neuropathological disorder and are already vulnerable to the permeation of thoughts like these?

The reasons which u have listed in this regard are found almost everywhere in our society, but not every one of them has turned into a suicide bomber
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Old Monday, March 12, 2007
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Post consider this

The Glorious Qur’an says:
“…take not life, which God hath made sacred, except by way of justice and law: thus doth He command you, that ye may learn wisdom.” [Al-Qur’an 6:151]

Islam considers all life forms as sacred. However, the sanctity of human life is accorded a special place. The first and the foremost basic right of a human being is the right to live. The Glorious Qur’an says:
“Whosever kills a human being (unless it be for retaliation or for causing corruption in the earth), it shall be as if he had murdered all mankind: and whosever saves the life of one, it shall be as if he saved the life of all mankind.” [Qur’an 5:32]

Such is the value of a single human life, that the Qur’an equates the taking of even one human life unjustly, with killing all of humanity. Thus, the Qur’an prohibits homicide in clear terms. The taking of a criminal’s life by the state in order to administer justice is required to uphold the rule of law, and the peace and security of the society. Only a proper and competent court can decide whether an individual has forfeited his right to life by disregarding the right to life and peace of other human beings.

Killing oneself (committing suicide) is forbidden in the Qur’an. Some people who are ill-informed on Islam have made utterly erroneous statement to the effect that this religion condones suicide attacks, whereas in Islam, killing oneself and other people are both prohibited. The Qur’an clearly states, “Do not kill yourselves.” (Qur’an, 4:29). God has declared suicide to be a sin. In Islam, it is forbidden for anyone to kill him/herself, no matter what reason.

Islam is a religion which speads peace, respect, tolerance and justice. Muslims may differ in their beliefs from other fellow humans, but this does not mean they would disrespect them and treat them with injustice. Muslims are encouraged to interact with other people from different faiths, exchange with them many positive things, and get to know them. The life, honour and property of all citizens in a Muslim society are considered sacred, whether the person is Muslim or not. Racism and sexism are incomprehensible to Muslims. I would like to point out a verse in the Qur’an that speaks of human equality: “O Mankind! We created you from a single soul, male and female, and made you into peoples and tribes, so that you may come to know one another (not despise each other). Truly, the most honoured of you in God’s sight is the greatest of you in piety. God is All-Knowing, All-Aware.” (Qur’an 49:13)

- Terrorism is what brings terror to innocent people. This is a violation of the laws and principles of the laws and principles of Islam. This includes any illegitimate action or violence meant to cause disorder and to threaten the necessities of life.
- As Muslims and human beings, we are obliged to show to the world that Islam honours human life. Islam categorically says NO to terrorism, guns in the hands of children, uncontrolled access to guns, nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons. Islam says NO to sanctions where innocent people, especially children, pay the price.
- Injustice, bigotry, treachery, tyranny, and persecution are wrong. Enmity, ignorance and disrespect are wrong. The right things humans should do and focus more on for their prosperity are peace, justice, respect, honesty and tolerance.
- Conclude by showing online petition, which seeks to disassociate Islam from terrorism.
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Old Wednesday, March 14, 2007
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History

Suicide attack is an ancient practice with a modern history. Its use by the Jewish sects of Zealots and Sicarii (“daggers”) in Roman-occupied Judea and by the Islamic order of Assassins (hashashin) during the early Crusader times is legendary examples.
Maximilien Robespierre first codified the concept of “terror” as systematic use of violence to attain political ends during the French Revolution. He deemed it an “emanation of virtue” that delivers “prompt, severe, and inflexible” justice, as “a consequence of the general principle of democracy applied to our country’s most pressing needs”. The Reign of Terror, during which the ruling Jacobin faction exterminated thousands of potential enemies, of whatever sex, age, or condition, lasted until Robespierre’s fall ( July 1794). Similar justification for state-sponsored terror was common to 20th-century revolutions, as in Russia (Lenin), Cambodia (Pol Pot), and Iran (Khomeini).

Whether sub-national (e.g., Russian anarchists) or state-supported (e.g., Japanese kamikaze), suicide attack as a weapon of terror is usually chosen by weaker parties against materially stronger foes when fighting methods of lesser cost seem unlikely to succeed. Choice is often voluntary, but typically under conditions of group pressure and charismatic leadership. Thus, the kamikaze (“divine wind”) first used in the battle of the Philippines (November 1944). Many of these young men were well read in Western philosophy and literature, some were Marxists or Christians. Few believed they were dying for the emperor as a war leader or for military purposes. Rather, the state was apparently able to manipulate a deep intellectual and aesthetic tradition of painful beauty to convince the pilots that it was their honor to “die like beautiful falling cherry petals” for their real and fictive families, including parents, fellow pilots and the emperor and people of Japan.
The first major contemporary suicide terrorist attack in the Middle East was the December 1981 destruction of the Iraqi embassy in Beirut (27 dead, over 100 wounded).

In Israel-Palestine, suicide terrorism began in 1992, becoming part of a systematic campaign in late 1993 with attacks by Hezbollah trained members of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ) aimed at derailing the Oslo Peace Accords. As early as 1988, however, PIJ founder Fathi Shiqaqi established guidelines for “exceptional” martyrdom operations involving human bombs. He followed Hezbollah in stressing that God extols martyrdom but abhors suicide:

“Allah may cause to be known those who believe and may make some of you martyrs, and Allah may purify those who believe and may utterly destroy the disbelievers”; however, “no one can die except by Allah’s leave” (Quran, chapt. 3, verses 140–146).

The recent radicalization and networking through Al-Qaeda of militant Islamic groups from North Africa, Arabia, and Central and Southeast Asia stems from the Soviet-Afghan War (1979–1989. With financial backing from the United States, members of these various groups were provided opportunities to pool and to unify doctrine, aims, training, equipment, and methods, including suicide attack. Through its multifaceted association with regional groups (by way of finance, personnel, and logistics), Al-Qaeda aims to realize flexibly its global ambition of destroying Western dominance through local initiatives to expel Western influences. According to Jane’s Intelligence Review: “All the suicide terrorist groups have support infrastructures in Europe and North America”.

Calling the current wave of radical Islam “fundamentalism” (in the sense of “traditionalism”) is misleading, approaching an oxymoron. Present-day radicals, whether Shi’ite (Iran, Hezbollah) or Sunni (Taliban, Al-Qaeda), are much closer in spirit and action to Europe’s post-Renaissance Counter-Reformation than to any traditional aspect of Muslim history. The idea of a ruling ecclesiastical authority, a state or national council of clergy, and a religious police devoted to physically rooting out heretics and blasphemers has its clearest historical model in the Holy Inquisition. The idea that religion must struggle to assert control over politics is radically new to Islam.

Dubious Image of a Suicide Bomber

Suicide terrorists often are labeled crazed cowards bent on senseless destruction who thrive in the midst of poverty and ignorance. The obvious course becomes to hunt down terrorists while simultaneously transforming their supporting cultural and economic environment from despair to hope. What research there is, however, indicates that suicide terrorists have no appreciable psychopathology and are at least as educated and economically well off as their surrounding populations.
Contemporary suicide terrorists from the Middle East are publicly deemed crazed cowards bent on senseless destruction who thrive in poverty and ignorance. Recent research indicates they have no appreciable psychopathology and are as educated and economically well-off as surrounding populations. A first line of defense is to get the communities from which suicide attackers stem to stop the attacks by learning how to minimize the receptivity of mostly ordinary people to recruiting organizations.

Psychopathology: A Fundamental Attribution Error


U.S. President George W. Bush initially branded 9/11 hijackers “evil cowards.” For U.S. Senator John Warner, preemptive assaults on terrorists and those supporting terrorism are justified because: “Those who would commit suicide in their assaults on the free world are not rational and are not deterred by rational concepts”. In attempting to counter anti-Muslim sentiment, some groups advised their members to respond, “Terrorists are extremist maniacs who don’t represent Islam at all”.
Social psychologists have investigated the “fundamental attribution error,” a tendency for people to explain behavior in terms of individual personality traits, even when significant situational factors in the larger society are at work. U.S. government and media characterizations of Middle East suicide bombers as craven homicidal lunatics may suffer from a fundamental attribution error: No instances of religious or political suicide terrorism stem from lone actions of cowering or unstable bombers. Psychologist Stanley Milgram found that ordinary Americans also readily obey destructive orders under the right circumstances. A legitimate hypothesis is that apparently extreme behaviors may be elicited and rendered commonplace by particular historical, political, social, and ideological contexts.
With suicide terrorism, the attributional problem is to understand why nonpathological individuals respond to novel situational factors in numbers sufficient for recruiting organizations to implement policies. In the Middle East, perceived contexts in which suicide bombers and supporters express themselves include a collective sense of historical injustice, political subservience, and social humiliation vis-à-vis global powers and allies, as well as countervailing religious hope. Addressing such perceptions does not entail accepting them as simple reality; however, ignoring the causes of these perceptions risks misidentifying causes and solutions for suicide bombing. There is also evidence that people tend to believe that their behavior speaks for itself, that they see the world objectively, and that only other people are biased and misconstrue events.

Poverty and Lack of Education Are Not Reliable Factors

Suicide terrorists generally are not lacking in legitimate life opportunities relative to their general population. As the Arab press emphasizes, if martyrs had nothing to lose, sacrifice would be senseless: “He who commits suicide kills himself for his own benefit, he who commits martyrdom sacrifices himself for the sake of his religion and his nation... The Mujahid is full of hope”.
Research by Krueger and Maleckova suggests that education may be uncorrelated, or even positively correlated, with supporting terrorism. In a December 2001 poll of 1357 West Bank and Gaza Palestinians 18 years of age or older, those having 12 or more years of schooling supported armed attacks by 68 points, those with up to 11 years of schooling by 63 points, and illiterates by 46 points. Only 40% of persons with advanced degrees supported dialogue with Israel versus 53% with college degrees and 60% with 9 years or less of schooling. In a comparison of Hezbollah militants who died in action with a random sample of Lebanese from the same age group and region, militants were less likely to come from poor homes and more likely to have had secondary school education. More recently, Krueger and colleagues found that although one third of Palestinians live in poverty, only 13 percent of Palestinian suicide bombers do; 57 percent of bombers have education beyond high school versus 15 percent of the population of comparable age.
Nevertheless, relative loss of economic or social advantage by educated persons might encourage support for terrorism. In the period leading to the first Intifada (1982–1988), the number of Palestinian men with 12 years or more of schooling more than doubled; those with less schooling increased only 30%. This coincided with a sharp increase in unemployment for college graduates relative to high school graduates. Real daily wages of college graduates fell some 30%; wages for those with only secondary schooling held steady. Underemployment also seems to be a factor among those recruited to Al-Qaeda and its allies from the Arabian peninsula.

The Institutional Factor: Organizing Fictive Kin

Although humiliation and despair may help account for susceptibility to martyrdom in some situations, this is neither a complete explanation nor one applicable to other circumstances. Studies by psychologist Ariel Merari point to the importance of institutions in suicide terrorism. His team interviewed 32 of 34 bomber families in Palestine/Israel (before 1998), surviving attackers,and captured recruiters.
Suicide terrorists apparently span their population’s normal distribution in terms of education, socioeconomic status, and personality type (introvert vs. extrovert). Mean age for bombers was early twenties. Almost all were unmarried and expressed religious belief before recruitment (but no more than did the general population). Except for being young, unattached males, suicide bombers differ from members of violent racist organizations with whom they are often compared.
Overall, suicide terrorists exhibit no socially dysfunctional attributes (fatherless, friendless, or jobless) or suicidal symptoms. They do not vent fear of enemies or express “hopelessness” or a sense of “nothing to lose” for lack of life alternatives that would be consistent with economic rationality. Merari attributes primary responsibility for attacks to recruiting organizations, which enlist prospective candidates from this youthful and relatively unattached population. Charismatic trainers then intensely cultivate mutual commitment to die within small cells of three to six members. The final step before a martyrdom operation is a formal social contract, usually in the form of a video testament.
From 1996 to 1999 Nasra Hassan, a Pakistani relief worker, interviewed nearly 250 Palestinian recruiters and trainers, failed suicide bombers, and relatives of deceased bombers. Bombers were men aged 18 to 38: “None were uneducated, desperately poor, simple-minded, or depressed... They all seemed to be entirely normal members of their families”. Yet “all were deeply religious,” believing their actions “sanctioned by the divinely revealed religion of Islam.” Leaders of sponsoring organizations complained, “Our biggest problem is the hordes of young men who beat on our doors.”
Psychologist Brian Barber surveyed 900 Muslim adolescents during Gaza’s first Intifada(1987–1993). Results show high levels of participation in and victimization from violence. For males, 81% reported throwing stones, 66% suffered physical assault, and 63% were shot at (versus 51, 38, and 20% for females). Involvement in violence was not strongly correlated with depression or antisocial behavior. Adolescents most involved displayed strong individual pride and social cohesion. This was reflected in activities: for males, 87% delivered supplies to activists, 83% visited martyred families, and 71% tended the wounded (57, 46, and 37% for females). A follow-up during the second Intifada (2000 –2002) indicates that those still unmarried act in ways considered personally more dangerous but socially more meaningful. Increasingly, many view martyr acts as most meaningful. By summer 2002, 70 to 80% of Palestinians endorsed martyr operations.
In contrast to Palestinians, surveys with a control group of Bosnian Moslem adolescents from the same time period reveal markedly weaker expressions of self-esteem, hope for the future, and prosocial behavior. A key difference is that Palestinians routinely invoke religion to invest personal trauma with proactive social meaning that takes injury as a badge of honor. Bosnian Moslems typically report not considering religious affiliation a significant part of personal or collective identity until seemingly arbitrary violence forced awareness upon them. Thus, a critical factor determining suicide terrorism behavior is arguably loyalty to intimate cohorts of peers, which recruiting organizations often promote through religious communion. Consider data on 39 recruits to Harkat al-Ansar, a Pakistani-based ally of Al-Qaeda. All were unmarried males, most had studied the Quran. All believed that by sacrificing themselves they would help secure the future of their “family” of fictive kin: “Each [martyr] has a special place—among them are brothers, just as there are sons and those even more dear”. A Singapore Parliamentary report on 31 captured operatives from Jemaah Islamiyah and other Al-Qaeda allies in Southeast Asia underscores the pattern: “These men were not ignorant, destitute or disenfranchised. All 31 had received secular education... Like many of their counterparts in militant Islamic organizations in the region, they held normal, respectable jobs... As a group, most of the detainees regarded religion as their most important personal value... secrecy over the true knowledge of jihad, helped create a sense of sharing and empowerment vis-a`-vis others".
Such sentiments characterize institutional manipulation of emotionally driven commitments that may have emerged under natural selection’s influence to refine or override short-term rational calculations that would otherwise preclude achieving goals against long odds. Most typically, such emotionally driven commitments serve as survival mechanisms to inspire action in otherwise paralyzing circumstances, as when a weaker person convincingly menaces a stronger person into thinking twice before attempting to take advantage. In religiously inspired suicide terrorism, however, these emotions are purposely manipulated by organizational leaders, recruiters, and trainers to benefit the organization rather than the individual.

Recent Scenarios

Two important documents crucial to the War on Terrorism were recently released in the United States. On May 23, the U.S. General Accounting Office delivered its final report to Congress on “Combating Terrorism”. On June 3, the Pew Research Center published the latest installment of a multiyear survey on global attitudes to political policies and social values. The GAO report does not evaluate the effectiveness of anti-terrorist programs, and the Pew survey of 15,000 people in 21 nations does not inquire into reasons for global attitudes. Nevertheless, the Pew findings, together with recent research on the socio-economic backgrounds of terrorists and their supporters, seriously undermine the rationale and prognosis for the War on Terrorism.
According to GAO, funding to combat overseas terrorism increased 133 percent from 2001 to $11.4 billion. In addition, the Department of Defense spent $30 billion on military operations against terrorism in alone. Despite detailed review of actions related to billions spent by dozens of federal civilian and military agencies there is little mention of funding or efforts to understand or prevent people becoming terrorists in the first place. Moreover, the fact that the number of suicide attacks by Al-Qaeda (or its allies) and by Palestinian bombers one month after Baghdad’s fall (5 in Israel, 3 in Saudia Arabia, 5 in Morocco) was higher than for every month in the preceding year suggests that, contrary to earlier claims by President Bush and others in the U.S. Administration and media, the war on terrorism has not appreciably diminished the scourge of suicide attack – the most devastating form of terrorism.
GAO describes interagency efforts to “defeat and prevent terrorism”. Prevention focuses on the goal of “diminishing the underlying conditions that terrorists seek to exploit”, as presented in the President’s National Strategy for Combating Terrorism (released in February last year, to elaborate Section III of the new National Security Strategy of the United States). NSCT is prefaced by “an understanding of the terrorist threat” as outlined in the President’s Address to Congress on September 20, 2001: America was attacked because the 9/11 plotters “hate our freedoms” and democracy, and they incite hatred among their supporters by exploiting “conditions of poverty, deprivation, social disenfranchisement”.
Newer studies also confirm earlier reports showing that suicide terrorists and their supporters are not impoverished, uneducated, spiteful, or socially disfavored. Palestinian economist Basel Saleh compiled information on 171 militants killed in action (nearly all during the Second Intifada, 2000-2003) from Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) news services, including 87 suicide attackers. Majorities of militants were unmarried males (20-29 yrs.), from families with both parents living and 6-10 siblings, and who completed secondary school or attended college. Suicide attackers, which included bombers (29 Hamas, 18 PIJ) and shooters (14 Hamas, 26 PIJ), had more pronounced tendencies in these directions. A majority of Hamas bombers attended college; PIJ had more shooters aged 14-19. Majorities of bombers, but few shooters, had prior histories of arrest or injury by Israel’s army; however, most shooters had one or more family members with such histories. This underscores the earlier speculation that personal grievance could be a greater factor in Palestinian cases than for Al-Qaeda and its ideological allies.
Social psychologists have long documented what they call “the fundamental attribution error". This interpretation bias seems to be especially prevalent in “individualistic” cultures, such as those of the United States and Western Europe. In contrast, many cultures (in Africa and Asia) in which a “collectivist” ethic is more prevalent show less susceptibility to such judgments. U.S. government and media characterizations of Middle East suicide bombers as homicidal maniacs may also suffer from a fundamental attribution error: there is no instance of religious or political suicide terrorism resulting from the lone action of a mentally unstable bomber (e.g., a suicidal Unabomber) or even of someone acting entirely under his own authority and responsibility (e.g., a suicidal Timothy McVeigh).
What leads a normal person to suicide terrorism? Part of the answer may lie in philosopher Hannah Arendt’s notion of the “banality of evil”: The primacy of situational over personality factors suggests the futility of attempts to psychologically profile the suicide terrorist. A Federal Interagency report on “The Sociologiy and Psychology of Terrorism” in current use by the CIA, and which includes detailed literature reviews and psychological profiles of Al-Qaeda, Hamas and other suicide-sponsoring organization leaders, states: “People who have joined terrorist groups have come from a wide variety of cultures, nationalities and ideological causes, all strata of society, and diverse populations. Their personalities and characteristics are as diverse as those of people in the general population. There seems to be a general agreement among psychologists that there is no particular psychological attribute that can be used to describe the terrorist or any ‘personality’ that is distinctive of terrorists”. Months – sometimes years – of intense indoctrination can lead to “blind obedience” no matter who the individual, as indicated in research on people who become torturers for their governments.
Despite numerous studies of individual behavior in group contexts that show situation to be a much better predictor than personality, the Pew survey finds that Americans overwhelmingly believe that personal decision, success and failure depend upon individual choice, responsibility and personality. Most of the world disagrees. This is plausibly one reason for which Americans tend to think of terrorists as “homicidal maniacs”, whereas the rest of the world tends not to. What these people dislike is not America’s internal liberties or culture, but its external actions and foreign policy. A 1997 U.S. Department of Defense Science Board report surmises (in response to the suicide bombing of U.S. Air Force housing at Khobar Towers in Saudia Arabia): "Historical data show a strong correlation between U.S. involvement in international situations and an increase in terrorist attacks against the United States".
A recent National Research Council report, “Discouraging Terrorism,” finds that: “With respect to political context, terrorism and its supporting audiences appear to be fostered by policies of extreme political repression and discouraged by policies of incorporating both dissident and moderate groups responsibly into civil society and the political process”. The situation may be critical in Central Asia, one area of intensified U.S. intervention where anti-American and pro-Radical Islamic sentiment is rapidly rising, and where Al-Qaeda appears to be relocating.
The GAO report highlights two key objectives in realizing the NSCT goal of diminishing support for terrorism: strengthening the “Partnership Initiative” and winning the “War of Ideas.” The NSCT’s Partnership Initiative involves counterterrorism aid, including law enforcement training and military assistance, “intended to promote U.S. national security interests by contributing to global and regional stability, strengthening military support for democratically-elected governments” and fostering “democratic values including respect for internationally recognized civil and human rights”. Winning the “War of Ideas” involves foreign aid programs and media broadcasts to promote democratic values “to kindle the hopes and aspirations of freedom.”
As for winning the War of Ideas about democracy and personal freedoms, the Pew survey strongly suggests that Muslim opinion in favor of these values means that war was already won. This raises suspicion that the call to battle against haters of democracy and freedom – like the alarms about Iraq’s imminent use of weapons of mass destruction and its ties to Al-Qaeda - was cynically designed to rally the home front for a strategic push into South and Central Asia. The Pew survey intimates that much of the world – apart from America – thinks so.
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Old Sunday, March 25, 2007
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Salaam,

@Qurratulain
Sure, we will be waiting for ur precious thoughts on the topic.

@North Star

The key points in Islam about war are as under
1) Not to attack the enemy without prior intimation (a surprise attack)
2) Killing of innocent civilians is strictly prohibited
3) If the attacker is sure of his death, and that the activity is pre-planed, then the death is not even close to shahadat - it is haraam or either makruh.

A brief account of these paradigms is given as under:
1) Surprise attack:
Since there has been clear evidence in the Islamic history of war that there is no such exhibition of a surprise attack. The reason for this is the dignity and pride of a Muslim warrior, who has his trust in Allah (SWT) and takes only Him as his Sole Benefactor and Protector. The basic belief of a Muslim concerns the Supremacy of Allah (SWT), Who Has Power over all things - whether it is triumph or shahadat. Under this paradigm of Islamic philosophy, a warrior is required to attack from the front and not to be a back stabber and trust Allah (SWT). The evidence from the history reveals that there used to be announced breaks in the combats between Muslims and Kuffaar, where Muslims could have the advantage by a surprise attack, but for their dignity they preferred not to.
And fight for the sake of God those who fight you: but do not commit excesses, for God does not love those who exceed (al-Baqara, 2:190)

2) Killing of non-combatants:
To this point, I think there has been quite a fruitful discussion, which has clearly concluded that killing of non-combatants is strictly prohibited in Islam. All the Fiqahs have the a unanimous declaration about this matter.

3) Pre-planned activity and surety of death:
If the attack involves a bomb placed on the body or placed so close to the bomber that when the bomber detonates it the bomber is certain to die, then the more correct position according to Islam is that it does constitute suicide. This is because the bomber, being also the one killed, is unquestionably the same as the immediate and active agent that killer = Qatil-e-Nafsah (self-killing, i.e. suicide). In Quran, Allah (SWT) Says:
and do not throw into destruction by your own hands! (al-Baqara, 2:195)
If the attack involves a bomb (such as the lobbing of a grenade and the like), but the attacker thinks that when it is detonated, it is uncertain whether he will die in the process or survive the attack, then this does not constitute suicide, and were he to die in this selfless act, he becomes what we properly call a martyr or hero (Shaheed). This is because the attacker is not the active, willing agent of his own death. Such as in the midst of an ongoing fierce battle against an opponent's military unit, whether ordered by his commanding officer or whether owing to his own initiative, the soldier makes a solo charge and as a result of that initiative manages to turn the tide of the day's battle but dies in the process (and not intentionally at his own hand). The person is no-doubt a Shaheed. It is only permissible for him to advance (and suffer the consequences) if he knows that he will be able to fight effectively until he is killed, or knows that he will be able to demoralize the hearts and minds of the opponents. Do keep in mind that this is only permissible in a direct ace to face combat.
Another case, which needs to be elaborated here, is that if a Mujahid commits an act like ramming a vehicle in the camp of the opponents, then it is also allowed when there are direct face to face combats and that there are no other means left to fight e.g. arms and ammunition etc. But an exception in this rule is that any commander cannot order such an advance to his soldiers - it is merely the own act or will of the Mujahid, where he rationalizes completely that by doing so he can save other lives and his land, and that he has no other options left. However, some scholars have termed it as a dubious affair as like if there is a female who kills herself before subduing to a rape. Though, it leaves no blame on her behalf by the Islamic law, if she becomes a subject of rape. However, if she kills herself instead of subduing, then it shall not be considered as a full-fledged suicide.
The mere point of distinction between the discussed sort of sacrificial attacks and the suicide attack is that the sacrificial attacks are not a pre-planned activity, rather they are a there and then sort of decisions and the targets are exclusively military.
Conclusively, I must say that these sort of schools which incubates such suicide bombers are America’s own Frankenstein. America used the Afghans to bring down USSR and in the Middle-East, it has always backed up Israel, and also has provoked affairs which leads the Muslims so desperate that they astray from the right path in fury of retaliation. I don’t have any proofs but have an intuitive feeling that America is somehow involved in backing up such affairs and such schools so that they should always have a reason to stay in and complete its anti-Muslim plans.
Well, I am not a psychologist or a psychiatrist, but my generalist sort of perception exclaims that the only reason why these innocent Muslims are led astray to commit such acts is the misrepresentation of the glorious act of Shahadat. What they do not consider is that it is not possible without proper Jihaad. However, there are almost a thousand verses in Quran which suggests the Muslims to keep away from fight and do their best to avoid violence. A very well example can be sought out from Muslim history when in initial days of Islam, Muhammed (SAW) ordered some of the Muslims to migrate to Habsha and other parts. Another example was the great boycott of Muslims by the Kuffars, when Muhammed (SAW) and his companions left out for Shaeb-e-Abi-Talib.
Though, Pakistan has banned the entry of the neighboring Afghan Muslims.
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