Suicide Bombers
What makes a suicide bomber? Is it religions upbringing with promises of paradise in reward for acts of martyrdom? Is it the parental support he or she receives for his convictions? Is it society with no means of fighting back against oppression and humiliation? (http://www.israelinsider.com/channels/security/articles/sec0049.htm). In this paper I will discuss the characteristics of a suicide bomber, their mission, as well as discuss suicide attacks.
Suicide Bombers
Suicide bombers are said to believe that God sends them on their missions, and by the time they are ready to be stopped with explosives, they had reached a hypnotic state. (http://www.israelinsider.com/channels/security/articles/sec0049.htm) As one can see, religion is a powerful factor. Though the Koran teaches against taking one's own life, the suicide bombers are seen as martyrs and are said to be living in the heavens. (http://www.cnn.com/2001/world/hanna.focus) However, it is stated that suicide is forbidden in Islam. However, fighting oppression is commendable, harming innocent bystanders, even in times of war, was forbidden by the prophet Muhammad. (www.israelinsider.com/channels/security/articles/sec0049.htm) Suicide bombers are very complex. They are never justified in their actions. According to Yediot Aharonot, this is the profile of a typical suicide bomber:
1. 97% of the suicide bombers have an academic education and an additional 28% have at least a high school ...
Speckhard, A. (2013). The Boston Marathon Bombers: the Lethal Cocktail that Turned Troubled Youth to Terrorism. Perspectives On Terrorism, 7(3). Retrieved from http://www.terrorismanalysts.com/pt/index.php/pot/article/view/268/540
In Brym’s article he discusses what research has shown about the motivations of suicide bombers. Brym and my fellow classmate explained to me how suicide bombers may be motivated by politics, religion, or retaliatory aims (Brym, Kyra Howard). Both Brym and Howard helped me view the issue of suicide bombers in multiple
In Robert Pape’s Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism he investigates the three hundred and fifteen suicide terrorist attacks that have occurred from its beginning in 1980 up until 2003. By examining these attacks he explains the three logics behind suicide terrorism, the strategic, the social, and the individual logic. Pape uses Dying to Win as a tool to educate the public on suicide terrorism. He hopes people will begin to understand that it is not irrational, but requires reason and strategy. He brings to light that suicide terrorism is not directly correlated with Islamic fundamentalism, but rather political objectives, trying to put to rest many preconceived notions. By understanding the logic behind suicide terrorism people can work together to prevent it from happening in the future. After reading this book it is clear that suicide terrorism is not random, but does demand some thought in order for it to work.
Juergensmeyer mentions that these suicide bombers are not thought of as such by the extreme Islamic groups, but rather as “self-chosen martyrs," a term brought up by Dr. Rantisi, which defines these people as soldiers in a great war who honorably gave up their lives for the sake of their community and religion. As important this sense of martyrdom is in radical Islam, so is the idea of enemies. The primary enemy is always the religious rival or local political authority that directly threatens the activist group (Radical Islams) and what they stand for. The Secondary Enemy is a moderate leader on ones (Radical Islams) own side. They are seeing as protecting the Primary enemy, for example a moderate leader in the West attempting to have good relations with America. More than any other nation, the US is viewed as the enemy for radical Islamics, clearly shown by the 9/11 attacks on the Word Trade
Emile Durkheim’s theory paints a clear narrative for the type of suicide used by suicide bombers, so the question is - is suicide acceptable under Islamic religion; one answer is how it is illustrated and how you interpret the Qur’an. Radical Islamists have convoluted the traditional Islamic laws of warfare to make suicide bombings reasonable. According to the website TheReligionofPeace.com, “the point of the bomber isn’t suicide – it is to kill infidels in battle. This is not just permitted by Muhammad, but encouraged with liberal promises of earthly rewards in heaven, including food and sex.” Zarein Ahmedzay pleaded guilty to terrorist charges involving a possible suicide mission on the United Sates in 2009. He quoted the Qur’an during his plea to justify his decision, “Allah has purchased of the believers their lives and wealth for the price of Paradise, to fight in the way of Allah, to kill and get killed. It is a promise binding on the truth in the Torah, the Gospel and the Qur’an.” (New York Post) Some Muslims feel suicide bombings are a sin and a recent development of the twentieth century. They claim suicide bombings are not
We have all heard of the bombings of women and children. We ask why anyone would do such a horrible thing to a woman and her child. It is usually due to the belief that they are defending their family and the village from assaults (Tirman). I was under the impression that these human bombers were made to carry out these attacks on soldiers. However, Nicole Argo said that these people actually volunteer this, and with researching this, she found that these people actually are invested in their community. I have associated the war in Iraq and Afghanistan a war on terrorism, but the Muslims have seen it as religious war called jihad. These human bombs have been used since the 1970’s (Argo, 2006).
This paper will talk about three different types of terrorism. A background of each type will be provided to understand the motivations and goals. The first type that will be discussed is religious terrorism. The second type that will be discussed is suicide terrorism. The third and last type that will be discussed is nationalist terrorism. Each type of terrorism has distinct differences in their goals, motivations, strategy, use of violence, etc. However, the main focus of this paper will be on the difference between each type’s tactics and/or strategy.
The topic of my paper is types of terrorism. There are several types of terrorism for which to choose for my paper, state, dissident, religious, left-wing v. right-wing, and international. In this paper I have chosen state terrorism, religious terrorism, and international terrorism as the types of terrorism that I am going to discuss. I will discuss what they are in my own words and give examples of two different groups for each type that represent that type of terrorism. Then I will compare and contrast the three types of terrorism that I chose.
More and more in the world today, circumstances have brought about changes in how members have used radical protesting. One way used to protest a situation is through terrorism, and the people who exercise violence in the pursuit of what they hold to be just causes are alternately known as terrorists. This movement, although viewed as barbaric, requires a person to view the needs and goals of a particular cause to be greater than that of the well being of others. There are certain characteristic traits that can be found in the majority of terrorism, which can identify a profile of a terrorist’s mind. A terrorist is not just an insane person, but also possibly a person that has been forced either by personal decision or by situations beyond control to choose an “insane” method to achieve an unachievable goal.
To start off the role of a suicide bomber from their views is to, go on a mission and kill their target as well as killing their selves. The biggest motivation for a suicide bomber is the despair and hopelessness in their lives. They also get motivated because of promises of afterlife’s, not to mention American imperialism (Lauri Friedman). Suicide bombers can be from any age and have all kinds of educational backgrounds. Their personal lives differ and what goes on at home can be a reason for their decisions of becoming one (Lauri Friedman).
Robert Paper argues that, in a way, suicide terrorism can be a logical choice for the individual carrying out the attack. When contemplating whether or not suicide terrorism can be a logical choice, you must be able to put yourself in the place of the “terrorist”. Whether or not someone is considered a terrorist can be a very subjective view, especially from the viewpoint of the person or group that is being terrorized. This requires the observer to exude empathy.We may look at Osama Bin Laden as a terrorist, but to him, he was doing the work of his “God”. The person considered to be a terrorist could be revered as a martyr in their community; someone who ultimately gave their life to perpetuate a particular faith or ideal. While, being a citizen of a country that has endured many tragedies, both on the homefront and abroad; makes these actions disgust me, there are two sides to view from. This subjectiveness is at the heart of figuring out whether or not this is a logical choice. Exploration of this topic shall lead to a greater understanding of the “how” and “why” terrorists commit these devastating activities, and allow those defending from such attack be able to do so. This would allow further safety in the area of homeland security.
Scott Atran discusses the common misconceptions that people have about suicide terrorism. Those misconceptions are that suicide attackers are all evil, homicidal psychos who are uneducated, live in poverty, and want to achieve anarchy (Atran 5). However contrary to popular belief most of these attackers are neither impoverished, uneducated, or crazy. This kind of misunderstanding hinders and impedes on any chance of finding a solution or realizing that the issue is one that is manageable (Atran 5).
“Terrorism involves the use of violence by an organization other than a national government to cause intimidation or fear among a target audience;” at least, this is how Pape (2003) defines terrorism in his article “The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism” (343). The goal of this article by Pape is to discuss suicide terrorism and how it “follows a strategic logic, one specifically designed to coerce modern liberal democracies to make significant territorial concessions” (343). Similar to Pape, Bloom (2004) and Horowitz (2010) also delve into the exponential increase of suicide terrorism and why it occurs. Although Pape, Bloom, and Horowitz concur that suicide terrorism is increasing, they disagree why it is so prominent. While the arguments presented from each of these researchers is powerful and certainly plausible, suicide terrorism is in fact not irrational, but strategic and is most often caused by state occupation and, when organized, aimed specifically at democracies.
Terrorism is used around the world to create fear and influence the public on political views (Siegel, 489). There are four views of terrorism including the psychological view, socialization view, ideological view, and the alienation view. A religious terrorist would most likely fit under the ideological view. In this view the terrorist feels the need to change a wrong opinion and believes that, because they are sacrificing themselves for something they believe so strongly in, it justifies the damage and harm done to innocent people (Siegel, 490). They use terror to create fear in anyone who opposes them and attract followers to their religion. In short, terrorism is widely used for political reasons but religion has been linked to the violence as well.
The theories of political terrorism in psychology have been frequently observed and analyzed over the years. Media spectacle and observance of the political ideology of Muslims have been the focal point of much research, yet what has not received much insight is the psychological understanding and motivations of a terrorist as an individual. In understanding this concept, we may be...