Suicide Bombers: Allah's New Martyrs [Paperback]

This book, which I comment on as a general reader, is written from the perspective of a sociologist or behavioural scientist. Sprinkled with Arabic terms and clearly based on years of fieldwork, it has 3 sections, entitled:

Islam
The Impossible National Community; with subsections on martyrdom in Iran and Palestine
The Transnational Neo-umma; Al-Qaeda's Martyrs

"Islam" surveys the concept of jihad, the active struggle against injustice or ignorance which is enjoined on Muslims; and that of martyrdom, which has a particular emphasis in the Shiite world. Apparently widespread martyrdom is a phenomenon of our own times, dating in large part from the Iranian revolution. This section also briefly describes the ideas of some "radical" Islamist thinkers, such as Mawdudi, Qutb, and (on the Shiite side) Shariati and Khomeini, who have re-interpreted martyrdom and jihad in a more activist way, appealing to individual self-sacrifice, and also moving away from the quietist view (acceptance of separation between Sharia and the state) which has mostly prevailed down the centuries.

"Martyrdom in Iran" looks at the period from the Islamic revolution up to the end of the war with Iraq, and the death of the luminous and quasi-sacred figure of Khomeini. It examines the deadly vogue for martyrdom which took hold during those years, and the inner needs and motivations of the Bassidji brigades' members. The writing on Palestine conveys vividly (in 32 pages) the feeling of humiliation, anxiety about Israeli attacks, and the boredom and passivity caused by chronic unemployment and a situation where any hint of activism will likely lead to arrest. It explores both Israeli and Palestinian perceptions and the way in which the more extreme, utopian visions of both sides result in mutually destructive relations between them. The author finds that martyrs are not recruited by coercion, although obviously they are used for propaganda after the event. Instead, the lonely decision to be a martyr is taken by the individual, "in almost every case" against the wishes of family and friends.

The last section, while devoted to trans-national groups such as al-Qaeda, also addresses the whole spectrum of radicalisation. The encounter of Islam with "modernity" (Western consumerism, greater sexual freedoms, and the anonymity, crime and chaos of city life), a theme never far away in this book, is explored from the viewpoint of Muslim immigrants living in Western societies. The vast majority accept their host countries' societies and live at peace, often enduring economic marginalization or prejudice. A tiny minority however, often well-educated, develop an implacable view of Western society as defiling and hostile to Islam.

This book steers away from political comment; a proposition such as "in Bosnia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine .. an alliance of of Christians and Jews has put Islam in a position which can only lead to jihad", is left to the reader to judge. Instead, it offers a searching analysis of the social phenomena and the psychological mechanisms at work. Some of the language is a little abstruse and theoretical, but the book rewards perseverance. It is also helpfully divided into subsections between one and a 10-15 pages in length, many of which can be read and pondered stand-alone. My one criticism is that there are few direct quotations from the testimonies of martyrs and radicals.

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