Suicide Bombers: One Analysis

By: Dr. David Rabeeya

Over the years, various explanations have been offered in order to describe the reasons for the acts of suicide bombers.  Some would rationalize that their radical acts constitute the weapons of the weak against the strong.  In their minds Islam is being overwhelmed by the technologies and the destructive weapons of the West, therefore there is a need to cause pain to all parties involved in the perceived attack against their religion. 

Before their deaths, many suicide bombers have brushed off the reactions of those who openly declare that suicide bombers have become the symbol of Islamic terrorism.  They even ignore the opinion of most Muslim scholars who oppose their destructive actions, since they are targeted against children, women, and innocent civilians.  Many suicide bombers have even ignored that theologically, their acts constitute a grave sin.

Their counter-argument is that American and Israeli citizens need to be legitimate targets because their governments respectively have also oppressed, jailed, and killed innocent Muslims in past and present times.  In this context, many suicide bombers see their deaths to be comparable to a solider going to a battle which he knew would probably lead to his being killed.  This claim has usually entered the realm of supreme sensitivity when some Muslims sympathize with the motives of these terrorist acts. 

Indeed, it is quite incomprehensible to moderate Muslims and non-Muslims that some young Muslims can be lured to commit suicide against the innocent with promises of incredible and imaginative sexual delights, in comparison with their unexciting life on earth.  It is also more surprising that some Muslims will categorize these suicide bombers as martyrs if they perform their acts in the name of submission to God.  However, it seems to many that attributing these acts to the satisfaction of God is rather both speculative and offensive to the divine supreme being. 

This inner psychological contradiction has led some scholars to try and find a correlation between the socioeconomic situation of the suicide bombers and their desperate situation, but here again the complexity of this sad topic is that these suicide bombers have frequently come from both poor and middle class families.  Indeed, the attack on 9/11 in New York was carried out by many well-educated Muslims who have received their education in various American universities and colleges.  The plot is thickened even more when some women have committed this horrendous brutal act, leaving members of their families both stunned and confused with regard to the psychological mindset which has brought them to leave their loved ones behind them.  It is quite disturbing to outsiders to observe these operations since Islam believes that every person has been created by Allah and no one is allowed to kill oneself. 

Another question can be asked now: Is it possible that some of these suicide bombers are unlawfully killing themselves because they are depressed individuals who are besieged by personal problems that seem to have no answer?  As a result, it has become difficult to draw the line between the psychological dimension of these awful acts and the misinterpretations and manipulations of legitimate Muslim theology. 

On the one hand, it seems that some of these suicide bombers do not care about the hurt they might be causing to those left behind, but on the other hand some know in their minds and hearts that some people in their families and communities will consider them martyrs; finding justification in a mythological interpretation of these brutal acts.  Some suicide bombers selectively choose verses from the Qur’an and the Hadith and manipulate their meaning in order to justify their death, despite the fact that no one can find sources in the written and oral traditions justifying such suicidal behavior.  After all, the Muslim tradition never denied the existence of loneliness, hardship, and suffering, but these are purely human matters which exist to test our patience and to examine our humility.  Indeed, faith is the answer to all human difficulties. 

In many ways, only mental illness can be exempted from the punishment of their sins.  However, those who deliberately, purposefully, and intentionally blow themselves in pieces have demonstrated their lack of faith in Allah.  There is no question that the human weapon of suicide bombers has devastated the life of many in the Middle East and South East Asia, since it is both unpredictable and, to a large extent, uncontrolled by the regular army with its intelligence services.  It is also clear that this cruel weapon is used now not only against Israelis, Americans, and Europeans, but also in sectarian bloody fights within Islam itself.

In conclusion, the extreme “chicken and the egg” argument can also be tossed about in order to try to understand the motivations of those who are sometimes eager to die for a cause perceived to be larger than themselves.  One side likes to emphasize the indoctrinations of the mind which can result in these cruel and inhuman activities, while the other side prefers to see these young Muslim men and women as fighters against real and perceived attacks against Muslims by the interference of outside military forces in Arab-Muslim lands.  Whatever the case, there is a need to study this phenomenon in order to delver into its roots on both the popular and academic levels.

Originally published in the Sephardic Heritage Number 273.  This is sent out to an email list by request.  If you wish to have an e-mail address added to our list please contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)  A full listing of all the contents of past issues is available by e-mailing David Shasha.