Martyrs: Innocence, Vengeance and Despair in the Middle East [Hardcover]

Joyce M. Davis (Author), Joyce Davis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2, 2003

Martyrs offers compelling and chilling interviews with terrorist trainers, with the families of suicide bombers, fighters and fanatics, and with Muslim scholars offering differing opinions on the legitimacy of violence in Islam. Through the voices of those who plan and those who grieve, Martyrs provides provocative and troubling insights into the zealotry that leads to the targeting of innocents, the endless cycle of revenge, and the despair that besets the Middle East. From Iran to Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, Joyce Davis reports on the rage that drives tragedies and at the despondency of the mothers of those who die and kill. Unsettling as the perspectives presented here may be, they are crucial to understanding, though not accepting, the fury at and resentment of the US.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Discussions of terrorism and suicide bombers run the risk of painting these complex, polarizing issues with too broad a brush, rushing to quick summations and blanket statements at the expense of depth. Not so with Martyrs, Knight-Ridder Deputy Foreign Editor Joyce Davis’s multi-faceted approach to the subject. While never excusing the unspeakable acts that they commit, Davis sets out to find out what can fill people with such hate and zealotry that they would willingly die in the process of attacking their enemies. Only with this knowledge, she theorizes, can America understand who it’s up against and find a way to stop these forces before they kill again. Davis profiles numerous people in the Middle East on many different sides of the martyrdom issue. Her scope is impressive; the book devotes chapters to children who have died in the Israel-Palestinian conflict, female suicide bombers, mothers of men who have been declared martyrs, and, in what is perhaps the most compelling section, men who train bombers before the missions are carried out. Besides gathering a wide range of viewpoints, Davis brings a perspective to this well-covered issue that is personal and moving: rather than relying on news reports or spending much time with policy experts, Davis traveled to the region, met the people, and got the story. Her interviews create a fascinating mosaic of people at the heart of the conflict between the United States, Israel, and several primarily Muslim countries. Along the way, insight is gained into the underpinnings of anti-American sentiment in the Arab world: its roots, evolution, and future. Davis’s actual writing can be a bit clunky from time to time, especially when she spells out her analysis rather than letting her copious research lead us to those same conclusions. But this does not distract from Davis’s largely successful to shed light on a world that has long existed mostly in shadow. --John Moe

From Publishers Weekly

The questions veteran journalist Davis tackles in her investigation of suicide attacks are the same gripping and unsettling ones most Americans asked in the days after September 11. "Why would anyone so viciously attack the United States?" she asks. "What would make anyone kill himself and...other people in a brutal fashion? And does Islam really condone that type of holy war and martyrdom?" Martyrdom has been deemed the ultimate Islamic sacrifice since the savage murder of Prophet Mohammad's grandson, Hussein, at Karbala (in modern-day Iran) in the late seventh century-but why is it now more alive than ever? From Iran to Lebanon to the hotbed of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Gaza, Davis (Between Jihad and Salaam: Profiles in Islam) tracks the deep-seated feelings of anger, injustice and despondency fueling this brand of glorified violence, where the body becomes the weapon and the soul is guaranteed a place with "God in Heaven." Her lengthy interviews-with everyone from the family of a female fanatic, to mothers of children martyred both in the crossfire and as suicide bombers, to the masterminds behind these missions-offer great insight into the proud, desperate hearts of the Palestinian people. But her subjects' rhetoric of hatred can be unrelenting, and her failure to frame it or their reading of history in dispassionate perspective lends a certain flabbiness to an otherwise lean and gutsy work. Davis's reporting is impressive in its access and depth, but it can be patchy on analysis. Still, this is a good introduction to an issue of great import, and a reminder that "terrorism, especially that propelled by martyrdom, cannot be stopped without eliminating the motivation for such violence."
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan; 1st edition (May 2, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312296169
• ISBN-13: 978-0312296162
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,202,221 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars DIFFICULT READ, July 21, 2005

By 

C. Davis (Hanover, MD) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Martyrs: Innocence, Vengeance and Despair in the Middle East (Hardcover)

Ms. Davis (no relation to the reviewer) starts out with a highly readable opening about her church after Sep 11. She concludes the book with a questionable comment about Muslims, Jews, and Christians being able to agree on at least one thing. You will have to read that paragraph to know what that one thing is.
Unfortunately the rest of the book does not flow particularly well and is a bit tedious. In Ms. Davis' attempt to show the motivation of those who choose terrorism, she can, at times, seem as if she is an apologist for their behavior. I would imagine that her attempt at fair-mindedness in her report will open her up to criticism from quite a few windows. After all, many people find Israel's actions objectionable, but few feel compelled to commit murder or inflict massive property damage in response to that behavior. Likewise, she seems to postulate that there is a large "moderate" Muslim population. It is difficult to share that observation based on her book. Indeed, while the last two chapters are the best chapters in the book, it is challenging to see a logical linkage between the first seven chapters, fact filled as they are, and Ms Davis' conclusions. This is not to say that Ms Davis' research and conclusions are not valid, only that this reader had difficulty understanding how the two related.
In conclusion, I think the last two chapters are a good read because of the recommendations. The rest of the book, while filled with interesting background and facts, does not flow as well or even seem to tie into the conclusions. Perhaps Ms Davis felt compelled to paint a more sanguine picture then reality would otherwise suggest.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Some interesting facts but way too much bias, February 22, 2005

By 

Jill Malter ([e-mail]) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Martyrs: Innocence, Vengeance and Despair in the Middle East (Hardcover)

Joyce Davis does say that moderate Muslims need our support to defeat the fanatics that are dying to kill Americans, Israelis, and others. That is fair and reasonable. But she should have let her facts speak for themselves. Instead, she implies that the terrorists are at least as reasonable as those who oppose them.

She does mention Baruch Goldstein. This person was a doctor who committed a terrible and counterproductive crime. He murdered over three dozen Muslims who were at prayer in the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron. I think we can all understand that this crime did no one any good. And that had someone stopped Goldstein from doing it at the last moment, it is likely that Goldstein would have been very grateful for having been stopped. I think we can understand that it is proper to call such acts both criminal and crazy. I think we would be quite properly affronted were we to read sober-sounding apologies for such crimes, perhaps explaining that the Muslims were about to go on a pogrom against Hebron's Jews.

I think we ought not have to put up with similar apologies for crimes by Muslims.

In this book, it all seems so equal. Muslims want to kill Jews. That offends Jews. Jews want to live. That offends Muslims. Both sides are fanatical. Arabs want 100% of all Jewish land in the Middle East. Jews want somewhere between 8,000 and 11,000 square miles of land for the more than 5 million Jews of the Levant (in a Middle East where the Arabs have millions of square miles). Again, it is all so equal!

But it isn't equal. The two sides are trying to do very different things. And the author obscures this fact.

When Arabs attack Jews and children get killed in the battles, the author is proud to show how equal it is. Both sides are exploiting children to try to gain an unfair advantage. But that is nonsense. As even the author shows, the terrorists are targeting children intentionally. Israel is trying to avoid civilian deaths, for obvious reasons: not only would such murders be immoral, but they would not help Israel. On the contrary, a policy of targeting Arab children would be suicidal.

Davis talks about Mohammed al-Dirrah, a 12-year old Arab who we are told was killed during the 2000 intifada. Well, he's a great example of Arab propaganda. But isn't Davis part of the problem? She has to be aware of the fact that al-Dirrah was almost certainly not killed by the Israelis. Isn't she aware that the entire incident as shown may well have been staged? And that quite a few Arab propaganda photos are simply staged? Why is she so matter-of-fact about it all being equal when we can all see that it isn't?

Yes, she does interview some terrorists. And she reports what they say in a matter-of-fact manner. But that's not unbiased reporting. And we all know it. We can see that like Goldstein, these terrorists are involved in crazy felonies. We can't deal with this problem unless we can face this reality and avoid blaming ourselves for the craziness of others. Criminals love to blame their victims. We ought to resist giving much credence to their claims.

Davis does mention Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Let's see. Sharon was a member of the Israeli cabinet who was instrumental in having Israel attack Arafat's terrorist group in Lebanon. And Sharon did manage to get Arafat and most of his gang expelled from Lebanon. But there was a slaughter of Arabs at the Sabra and Shatilla camps, and hundreds of people were killed, many of them civilians. Sharon and the other cabinet members did not realize that this was about to happen and failed to prevent it. Davis mentions that some Arabs don't exactly have fond feelings for the murderers, who were Lebanese Christians. Anyway, Davis talks some Arabs who see Sharon as being responsible for the slaughter. And Davis in no way disagrees with this conclusion. But I think she ought to! It is part of the same craziness: the Arab terrorists do not completely ignore the actual killers at Sabra and Shatilla, but they make sure to put most of the blame on those whose rights they wish to take away.

The author pulls the same stunt when she comes to the 2000 intifada. When a terrorist explains that Sharon, by setting foot on the Temple Mount (Judaism's holy site, which happens to be in Jerusalem, the capital of Israel), "stepped on holy ground" and caused the intifada, that raises a good question. What if some non-Muslim fanatic explained that he had decided to murder Muslims because a Muslim leader visited the Kaaba? We'd at once dismiss this as crazy. Davis instead seems to treat such nonsense with respect, implying that murder was at worst an overreaction to Jews visiting the holiest Jewish site (something Jews had been doing on a regular basis, actually).

We do want to know about terrorism. But we don't need folks pretending that terrorists are being reasonable, or implying that their acts are a predictable reaction to the real crime, namely the existence of their victims.

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive Peace Settlement: Neither Cheap Nor Easy, August 25, 2003

By 

Serge J. Van Steenkiste (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Martyrs: Innocence, Vengeance and Despair in the Middle East (Hardcover)

Joyce M. Davis courageously offers unvarnished, uncomfortable and, at time, disturbing coverage of Islamic terrorism and its underlying factors (pg. 9). Davis helps her American audience better understand Islamic militants and their rationale in order to develop policies that could lead to the militants ultimate defeat (pg. 22).

Terrorism finds a favorable breeding ground in the swamps of cultural deprivation, misery and hopelessness (pg. 26). The rampant human suffering in the Middle East can turn some Muslims into economically, emotionally, and/or spiritually vulnerable targets for terrorist headhunters (16, 104, 119, 131-133, 152-154). Many moderate Muslim scholars consider that suicide bombers who kill and maim the innocent are not justified according to the Quran (pg. 5, 20, 94, 110-111, 141, 202). The concepts of terrorism and martyrdom are not exclusive to Islam and the Middle East (pg. 23-24, 192).

At the same time, however, there is widespread understanding of suicide bombers and their actions among many moderate Muslim leaders and citizens across classes in the Middle East (pg. 10, 182, 194, 202). Many Muslims think that the U.S. is to be blamed for blindly supporting Israel and having double standards at their expense. The U.S., they argue, garners international support against Islamic countries like Iraq and Iran at the U.N. while conveniently ignoring U.N. resolutions against Israel (pg. 36-37, 109, 122, 143, 159). Furthermore, many Muslims criticize the U.S for propping up their undemocratic, unaccountable governments both financially and militarily (pg. 5, 12, 90, 165, 169, 192-193). The regimes in control have marginalized their secular opponents and have been unable to eliminate the religious-based opposition groups or the underground militants (pg. 11-12, 165-166, 170).

Although Islamic militants are not closer to their goals than they were at the birth of Israel in May 1948, they still cling to the hope that they can achieve them militarily (pg. 14, 43-44, 148). Islamic militants want to make clear to every settler that they have no future in Palestinian territories (pg. 102, 157). Islamic militants remind that Israelis unilaterally withdrew from the South of Lebanon under repetitive attacks by Hezbollah (pg. 70-71, 157). Similarly, the Israeli government is convinced that diplomacy and negotiations lead almost nowhere, and that the military option is the only one to deliver results (pg. 167, 171-172). Some analysts underline that Prime Minister Ariel Sharons tactics have not stopped the violence against Israelis and are actually encouraging terrorism (pg. 167-171).

The security fence, also called wall, that Israel is building along or close to the green line is an implicit recognition that the military option alone and Jewish settlements policy in the West Bank and Gaza are to a large extent sub-optimal (pg. 168-169, 172). Many critics say a wall will not keep terrorists out of Israel totally (pg. 172). One knows from personal experience gained over thirteen years ago that walls do not protect against a terrorist attack. Furthermore, the fence could lead some Israelis to grow complacent about their own security as most French did about their Maginot Line before the launch of the blitzkrieg in the West in May 1940. A surprise suicide WMD attack in Israel that some terrorists are rumored to plot could drive the point home very hard (pg. 160). Furthermore, Iran could one day become a nuclear power and step up the pressure on Israel to pull out of the occupied territories (pg. 61-62, 64). Hopefully, a nuclear Verdun will not be necessary before a just peace can be achieved.

Terrorism cannot be eradicated without also draining the swamps that feed it (pg. 26). The road map for peace in the Middle East should aim at:

1. Gradual transformation of monarchies and one-party States in the region into respectively constitutional monarchies and Western democracies to avoid chaos (pg. 118). The U.S. should continue to prod these regimes into action to go beyond current democratic cosmetic changes to significantly expand the legitimacy of their authority (pg. 182-184). Fighting the Coalition in Iraq will slow down the advent of a more representative Islamic society. For all their flaws, Turkey and Israel are currently the only working democracies in the region.
2. Metamorphosis of the Gulf Cooperation Council into an Islamic Economic Community, precursor of an Islamic Economic Union, that has Islam, democracy and liberalism as its three founding pillars. The IMF and World Bank could give the region financial assistance to smooth the transition from a mainly bankrupt socialist economy into a working market economy. Otherwise, the peace dividend will remain illusory in the Middle East (pg. 12, 185).
3. Unconditional recognition of a viable Palestinian State that encompasses the West Bank and Gaza with East Jerusalem as its capital (pg. 66). Territory swaps and/or compensation could be considered on a case-by-case basis to deal with the issue of Jewish settlements in occupied territories. No responsible Muslim leader will ever recognize a Palestinian state without sovereignty on Haram al Sharif (pg. 65-66, 99-100, 149). Israelis should get superimposed sovereignty on the underlying remains of Solomons Temple for a similar reason (pg. 149). The acknowledged but not exercised right of former Palestinian owners to return should be compensated financially (pg. 149).
4. Unconditional recognition of the existence of the State of Israel. Islamic extremists feed only the anxiety of Israelis to be driven into the sea (pg. 22). There cannot be a Munich Agreement at the expense of Israel for the sake of making peace with Islamic countries. Jews do not forget how their ancestors were persecuted and slaughtered by millions under the widely indifferent eye of the international community in the previous centuries.
5. Separation of Mosque and State to avoid any embarrassment detrimental to the spiritual leadership and guidance of the Islamic clerics (pg. 46, 54-55).

Very persistent men and women of goodwill should be able to bring a just peace to a region that still has a promising future (pg. 26).