Are suicide bombings putting a damper on your New Year's spirit?
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, was subdued by passengers and crew members onboard Northwest Airlines Flight 253 on Christmas Day after igniting an improvised explosive device sewn into his underwear. Eight Americans were killed in another suicide bomber attack December 30 at a CIA base in Afghanistan. This assault, for which the Taliban claimed responsibility, was the single deadliest episode for the spy agency since 9/11.
These occurrences mark some of the latest attempts by terrorists to undermine our sense of security during the New Year. Suicide attacks are on the rise, surging more than 300% in the last decade.
Cracked
The psychological motives of the suicide bomber, particularly those of the First and Second Intifada, include low self-esteem and an unstable personal identity. Vamik Volkan, a psychoanalyst and leader in the field of conflict resolution, suggests that most suicide bombers have "cracks" in the individual self. This is usually the result of actual trauma at the hands of others: beating, torture, or scenes of emotional humiliation.
"Teachers" who recruit bombers from mosques and schools are adept at selecting candidates whose psyche contains these traumatic fissures.
Compounding this splintered sense of personal identity is the social disruption that characterizes life in the Middle East, exposing most people to conflict, destruction, and death on a routine basis.
Swapping We for Me
Volkan contends that "teachers" apply a method of indoctrination that forces the large-group identity - in this case one of Islamic extremism - into the 'cracks' of the person's injured or subjugated self. Group identity replaces individual identity. The act of bombing is a mission to repair or enhance the self-esteem of the large-group. The bomber is now an agent for the collective, a noble hero for radical Islam.
In the last decade, acts of sacred self-destruction reveal a suicide terrorist from a distinctly well-educated, middle-class background. Abdulmutallab, the "underwear bomber," is the son of one of the richest men in Africa and former Chairman of First Bank of Nigeria. Muhammed Atta, the infamous leader of 9/11 suicide attacks, had a post-graduate education in urban landscape design.
Libidinal Pay-Off
Sheik Yusef al-Qaradawi, one of the most influential radical Muslim thinkers based in oil-rich Qatar (of the larger Arabian Peninsula) says that these are not suicide attacks, but rather "heroic martyrdom operations."
When Fasial al-Saqsaq, 23, from the Gaza Strip, carried out a terrorist attack a few years ago in the bakery of a well-populated shopping center in Eilat, southern Israel, his family was thrilled to hear the news.
"We knew that he was waiting and praying for this moment," stated his brother Naim Saqsaq. "He always said, 'If only I could be a shahid, if only I could carry out an attack.'"
Shahid, an Arabic word meaning "witness" or "martyr," is the prestigious title used for Muslims killed fulfilling a religious commandment or waging Holy War.
In the cathartic act of blowing himself up, the bomber is forging a gateway to heaven where his martyrdom is rewarded with the sensual pleasures of paradise: unlimited sex with 72 virgin maidens or houris.
In her hilarious "Honey, I'm Dead!" Michelle Tsai remarks that female suicide bombers glean none of the same perks in the afterlife, but are awarded only their husband. (If they had more than one lawful partner in the earthly world then they get to choose their favorite as eternal spouse.)
Bring on the Islamic Shtick!
Fortunately, the attack on Christmas Day was thwarted when passengers detected popping sounds and a foul stench. The plastic explosives hidden in Mutallab's crotch charred his briefs, set his trousers aflame, and burned his leg. If it weren't for the threat toward 278 innocent passengers and more in collateral damage - this terror bid would have the makings of a farce or good gag routine.
Humor is, in fact, a valuable strategy for countering suicide-bombings, advises Glucklich, a religion professor at Georgetown University. He urges the U.S. defense community to invest in cultural campaigns such as performances or comic theater that undermine the heroic stature of the suicide bomber by developing traditions of humor within the culture that promotes it.
Is that a six-inch packet of high explosives in your underwear or are you just happy to see me?
Laughter can be a potent antidote to fear. Less suicide terror and more suicide shtick. Tune in to my next post on the contemporary Islamic comedy troupe "Allah Made Me Funny."
____________________
Follow me: http://twitter.com/mollycastelloe
