Root Causes of Suicide Terrorism: The Globalization of Martyrdom (Political Violence) [Hardcover]

Ami Pedahzur (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2, 2006 | ISBN-10: 0415770297 | ISBN-13: 978-0415770293 | Edition: 1

This highly topical new study clearly shows how there are at least two reasons to question the central role that is assigned to religion, in particular Islam, when explaining suicide terrorism.

• suicide terrorism is a modern phenomenon, yet Islam is a very old religion. Except for two periods in the twelfth and eighteenth centuries, suicide was never part of Islamist beliefs and behaviours. Actually, Islam clearly forbids suicide, hence, the argument that Islamic religious beliefs are the main cause of suicide terrorism is inherently dubious
• many suicide attacks have been carried out by secular organizations with little connection to fundamentalist Islam: Palestinian Fatah; the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine; and the Kurdish Workers Party. Moreover, one of the organizations that has employed this strategy devastatingly and regularly is the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam). Not only are members of this organization not Muslim, most of them are not religious at all.

This superb new book contains essays by some of the world's leading scholars of terrorism and political violence. It is essential reading for students of terrorism, political science and Middle Eastern politics, and useful to students of social psychology, theology and history.  

Editorial Reviews

Review

‘....deals with its political-religious roots, motives, specific characteristics and all other relevant aspects..  It is the most up to date, informative and reliable survey of this phenomenon.’

Walter Laqueur 

'This is a useful and important book on a topic that is as

intellectually compelling as it is politically disturbing.'

Mark Juergensmeyer

About the Author

Ami Pedahzur is an associate professor at the department of government, University of Texas, Austin. His latest publications include: Political Parties and Terrorist Groups (with Leonard Weinberg, 2003) and The Israeli Response to Jewish Extremism and Violence – Defending Democracy (2002).

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (August 2, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415770297
• ISBN-13: 978-0415770293
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,404,798 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars superb collections of articles, October 10, 2010

By 

Soft Power (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Root Causes of Suicide Terrorism: The Globalization of Martyrdom (Political Violence) (Hardcover)

A top 10 of many of the most influential books on suicide terrorism. Most of the articles provide summaries of existing works by Moghadam, Bloom, Hafez, Sageman and others who have been working on this subject for years. An ideal primer for students who will not have the time/opportunity to read each of the books by the illustrious authors and want a short cut to their most significant arguments.

0 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Suicide Bombers and Holocaust Survivors, May 28, 2010

By 

Zinovy Y. Vayman "zus" (boston, ma, usa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Root Causes of Suicide Terrorism: The Globalization of Martyrdom (Political Violence) (Hardcover)

Holocaust included suicide!

The Mind of a Suicide Bomber.

In The Mind of a Suicide Bomber.

Amidst Suicide Bombers.

Talking To Suicide Bombers.

These books have been written already.

This cutting edge structure of bombers...

This cutting down structure is intricate.

There are activists, strong ideologues, fiery speakers, establishment members.

And there are weaklings, people who experience personal problems, family rifts and powerful pangs of desire to please others. They push the final button.

They die thinking there is no pain. Eternal bliss...

They even die in Paradise Proper located since prehistoric times in southern Iraq, on the eastern tip of the Fertile Crescent.

whiff of the sea wind

from Pardes Hanna in Palestine

to the gardens of Allah

We are sitting in rabbi's study pondering Torah.

We are descendants of Holocaust survivors.

Some are alive by being in a right place.

Some stay intact by leaving at a right time.

An awful statistics gnaws at me: only poor Jews of Eastern Europe died en masse. Zionist pioneers, rich families, citizens of Germany or Austria by and large managed to stay alive.

Carpathian Mountains...

the Jewish cemetery wall

built with no gates

Somebody mentions suicide bombers and I go ballistic, "Jews die from Jews ten times more often than from suicide bombers. In traffic accidents, that is. Road rage. Let's blame ourselves, not others. This is a Jewish way. This is the essence of our history. If Jews treat each other nicely, humanely, those suicide bombers will vanish. Spartans used to kill feeble babies. They challenged each other like Israelis.

And helots, take helots. They worked hard for Spartans. They revolted. Like Arabs."

But people around our table seem to be deaf to history.

What a warped mind!, esteemed rabbi says,

What an evil mind you've got!"

Change the subject!" one guy demands. I repel him, "Let me finish. The G-d of Torah is a human invention but the GOD SUPREME UNKNOWABLE

does exist out of reach".

The rabbi proclaims, "It's not Judaism."

So many times he had rejected my perfectly

cabalistic notion that G-d is nothingness and my argument about a man-made G-d and an unfathomable g-d of the Universe.

Madonna's Center

a bottle of Kabbalah water

with a 20 bucks tag