Some claim that "suicide bombers" are against Islam, since SUICIDE is forbidden in Islam, even one of the major sins. Why then do these attacks happen on such a regular basis? Why are those people celebrated as martyrs?

The puzzle is solved by recognizing that "suicide bomber" is simply a false terminology.

The purpose of these people is not to kill themselves. They wish to kill the enemies of Islam, and in their view the most effective way to kill as many of their enemies as possible is to do it in this particular way. Their own death is accepted as a necessary sacrifice.

Any suicide bomber whose belt blows off before he reaches the enemy, who is killed without doing damage to others will be considered an utter failure. They and many other Muslims believe that they are not rewarded for simply dying, but for dying as a means for killing. They are martyrs because they died in the fight against the infidels and enemies of Islam.

For this reason the term "suicide bomber" is an utter misnomer. People who commit suicide want to kill only themselves, not others. Most people who commit suicide do so because they see no more purpose in life, because they lost all hope and often their faith in God.

These people, on the other hand, have a very definite goal in their life and death: To establish the rule of Islam. Their action is outgrowth of their strong faith in Islam, their confidence and conviction that this is what pleases God, and will be rewarded by him.

The action of these Muslims has nothing to do with suicide, but with homicide, and the goal is to kill and to instill terror in the hearts of the enemy.

Suicide is committed mostly out of personal despair by persons feeling utterly lonely, nobody seems to understand them ... The Muslim terrorists who blow up bombs strapped to their bodies in school busses, drive cars full of explosives into police stations, or fly planes into buildings act from within a tight community. Their action is well-planned by a group of like-minded people, and they are meticulously trained for their killer operation. It is one element in a larger concept of what they consider to be a military operation, even though they are mostly aimed at "soft targets" and most victims are civilians.

Many Muslim jurists have justified this course of action as an acceptable means of fighting in Islam. There is nothing unislamic about it.

Recommended Reading:

• Islamic Martyrdom: The Economy of Death in the Quran
• Islam & Terrorism

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