Inside the Mind of a Suicide Bomber

Suicide bombing is one of the trickiest and least understood methods of modern warfare. The tactic has existed in various forms since the 17th century, when Dutch soldiers used gunpowder to blow themselves and their enemies up to avoid being taken prisoner in Taiwan. Since then, suicide attacks have steadily been on the rise, surging more than 300% since 2001, leaving defense experts and government officials struggling to effectively counter their devastating spread. In his new book Dying for Heaven, Georgetown University religion professor Ariel Glucklich describes the religious, social and psychological motivations behind this disturbing phenomenon, the frightening ways it could affect the future of nuclear warfare and some surprising tactics to curb its growing influence.

What are the main reasons that people choose to self-destruct, killing others in the process?
The key motivator for a violent actor who seeks to die like a martyr is a strong attachment to a community, usually a religious community. There are dozens of reasons for killing, but violent martyrdom is first and foremost about belonging. Strong emotional ties and strong feelings of mutual obligation often hold religious societies together.

So their actions are geared more toward social rewards or their legacy than the promise of paradise in the afterlife?
Yes. We in the West tend to overemphasize belief in such things as heaven, hell, the Messiah, etc. as a motivator for religious actions. The most important element, by far, is social approval, honor, acceptance by the group, the love of a spiritual master and all the joys that go with these.

Along these lines, what do you think the most common misconceptions are about the motivations of suicide bombers?
We tend to assume that they act out of personal despair, rage, hatred, belief in paradise or having been brainwashed. We also assume that their actions are completely irrational and destructive. What we need to look at, in order to correct these misconceptions, is the martyr's discourse and the rituals that surround religiously sanctioned suicide terror.

You mention several groups throughout history that have used self-destructive techniques such as suicide bombings. Why is it most commonly associated with the Middle East?
There have been self-destructive groups throughout history, some aggressive, such as the Zealots in ancient Israel, and some pacifistic, like the early Quakers. I even regard Gandhi as an individual who was given to self-destructive impulses. The reason for the preponderance of this phenomenon in Middle East today is not the different nature of Islamic faith or moral values. It is first and foremost the social disruptions that these parts of the world are undergoing. In other words, the basic cause is social while the second is religious and aesthetic.

Jesus Christ is probably the most famous martyr in history. Why has this trend not resonated as strongly among Christians as it has among Muslims?
Early Christian communities were very happy to self-destruct but after the Enlightenment there was an increasing separation between religious spheres of action and political spheres of action, whereas in Islam, religious dynamics are still very much intertwined with political agendas. In Christianity, you don't really see what you see in Islam where the [political] martyr is a Christ-like figure. In Christian communities, if you act like a Christ-like figure to solve a political problem, people will just think you're crazy.

You compare Iran's nuclear ambitions to a characteristic suicide mission. Why this analogy?
Normally one does not compare a whole nation to an individual, but Iran, as a Shi'ite theocracy, gives the appearance of acting out of similar motives. Iran celebrates the Shi'ite community that clusters around the great martyr Hussein, son of Ali. It used this ideology as it sent tens of thousands of undertrained young volunteers to their senseless death in the war against Iraq. Would this ideology play any role if Iran felt both cornered and it also possessed nuclear weapons?

You have also said "it is religion that makes people more dangerous if they have nuclear arms." Through this logic, would Israel and Pakistan, religious countries that have nuclear bombs, pose as big a threat as Iran?
Under the right conditions any country, including Pakistan and India, might pose a similar threat. And if those conditions do not exist, Iran, as well, is no threat. It is not enough that religion plays a major role in the national character. There needs to be a breakdown of central authority. When the center weakens and a number of smaller religious groups look to establish a new order of things, then you have the greatest threat. Pakistan is the most likely candidate for this sort of dynamic. Neither Iran nor Israel are remotely on the verge of losing centralized authority as is Pakistan.

You are an adviser to the U.S. defense community. What advice do you give them for countering suicide-bomb attacks?
My biggest advice is to invest resources in a cultural campaign that seeks to undermine the celebration of suicide by developing the traditions of humor within the culture.

Why is there no suicide terror among Christian or Jewish groups who have suffered injustice? Or among African Americans in the 20th century? The reason that I explore in my book is that Christianity and Judaism have evolved a very powerful tradition of comedy that undermines the heroic stature of someone who presumed to be the Messiah. And in some ways, the suicide bomber is someone who says, "I'm like the Messiah, my martyrdom is so great that what I'm doing for the community is like what Hussein did."

If you invest in organizations that do performances or comedy then sensibility changes. It will take a generation but suddenly, the martyr will become a Don Quixote. Don Quixote thinks he is a great character but everyone else thinks of him as a fool. It would turn the martyr into somebody who presumes way too much about himself. It wouldn't eliminate terrorists but it would undermine the culture that promotes suicide terror.