Root Causes of Suicide Terrorism: The Globalization of Martyrdom (Political Violence)
Publisher: Routledge
Number of Pages: 202
Published: 2006-08-02
List price: $160.00
ISBN-10: 0415770297
ISBN-13: 9780415770293
Suicide terrorism in its modern form appeared in the 1980s. The first organization to use this strategy was the Shi’ite Hizbollah in Lebanon. Later, it was adopted by many terrorist organizations in the Middle East and Asia. This new study shows how there are at least two reasons to question the central role that is assigned to religion and more specifically Islam when explaining suicide terrorism. First, suicide terrorism is a modern phenomenon, yet Islam is a very old religion. Except for two periods in the 12th and 18th centuries, suicide was never part of Islamist beliefs and behavi...