The Banality of Suicide Terrorism: The Naked Truth About the Psychology of Islamic Suicide Bombing [Hardcover]

Nancy Hartevelt Kobrin (Author), Phyllis Chesler (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2010

Terrorist organizations have been able to market mass murder under hysteria’s banner of alleged martyrdom. But when it comes to understanding Islamic suicide terrorism in particular, there is much more to it than martyrdom. In this groundbreaking book, Nancy Kobrin dismantles the psychological dynamics of suicide terrorism to help the reader gain a new perspective on one of the most destructive forces the world has witnessed to date.

Until now, no one has explained why the mother-child relationship is central to understanding Islamic suicide terrorism. The Banality of Suicide Terrorism exposes the very ordinariness of one of the deepest yet most poorly understood causes of the suicide bomber’s motivation: a profound terror of abandonment that is rooted in the mother-child relationship. According to Kobrin, this terror is so great in the would-be suicide terrorist that he or she must commit suicide (and mass murder in the process) in order to fend off that terror of dependency and abandonment. Suicide terrorists seek a return to the bond with the mother of early childhood— known as maternal fusion—by means of a “death fusion” with their enemies, who subconsciously represent the loved (and hated) maternal figure. The terrorist’s political struggle merely serves as cover for this emotionally terrifying inner turmoil, which can lead down the path of ultimate destruction.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“This is a brilliant incisive tour de force that has captured the imagination of prominent psychoanalysts, psychiatrists, and counterterrorism experts in America and Israel."

“A fine survey for any college-level psychology or social issues library.”

“A fascinating and brilliant book that goes through the hearts and minds of the suicide bombers.”

“Nancy Kobrin reveals the reason why so-called jihadist martyrs do what they do and act the way they act. Riveting, revelatory and right on target, this book will revolutionize the way we view and treat radical Islamic extremism and suicide terrorism. . . . A must-read for the lay person and the professional alike.”


“Nancy Kobrin’s book is a stark reminder of the ways that rigid adherence to any unexamined orthodoxy can indemnify oppression and violence.”


“I deeply admire Nancy Kobrin’s ability to think outside the box in her investigation of the phenomenon of dying as a martyr among young Muslims. Whether or not one agrees with all of her theories, one cannot help but applaud Kobrin’s ability to analyze the cultural and psychological dimensions in creating terrorist minds without ignoring the theological dimension.


“An astounding and courageous book, essential reading for academics and policymakers as a tool to understand and manage the tsunami of Islamist terrorism.”


“Islamic terrorism and culture of death will not be fully understood without delving into the psychological dynamics of Muslim family, society and historical roots of Islamic anger. Nancy Kobrin has connected the dots brilliantly.”


“The Arab Muslim world historically for centuries has experienced and expressed warfare (within the family, between clans, and against the non-Muslim world). To understand this culture with objectivity and empathy would require training and experience in clinical and social psychology, psychoanalysis, psychohistory, and history, and a working knowledge of Arabic. Dr. Kobrin has all these necessary qualities and she writes well. Without the knowledge contained in this important book, one cannot hope to resolve this destructive problem within the Muslim community and against the rest of our world.”

About the Author

Nancy Hartevelt Kobrin is a psychoanalyst who runs a counterterrorism consulting company that conducts seminars to help domestic and international law enforcement agencies. An expert on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Dr. Kobrin contributed to the section on short-term psychodynamic therapy in what has become the bible for the Veterans Administration system: Effective Treatments for PTSD, First Edition (Guilford Press, 2000). She has presented at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization; given seminars to the police and military intelligence agencies in Israel, Spain, and Sri Lanka; and taught U.S. Army military intelligence courses in Missouri and Florida. She lives in Minnesota.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Potomac Books Inc.; 1 edition (March 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1597975044
• ISBN-13: 978-1597975049
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.8 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,708,728 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars I had great hopes for this book.... April 2, 2010

By debeehr

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

...but unfortunately they weren't fulfilled by the end product.

I was so interested in this book that I pre-ordered it from Amazon and eagerly waited for it to arrive. The premise--an in-depth look at the psychological forces in the Arab world that shape and result in suicide terrorism--was fascinating and extremely relevant to the modern political world. However, I was disappointed by the end book. The book itself could definitely have used a final polish: it is poorly organized and written, and meanders and jumps all over the place, making it hard to follow the author's train of thought. In addition, the author herself seems addicted to factoids of dubious authenticity, which she tosses in basically whenever she feels like: for example, in a discussion of how the dynamics of domestic violence relate to suicide terrorism, she claims, "It is an empirically proven fact that more domestic violence happens on Super Bowl Sunday than on any other day of the year." This is not true, in fact [...] has an entire page devoted to debunking this myth. At another point, in a discussion of the psychodynamics of the harem in Muslim society, she states that other than humans, "gorillas are the only other primate that maintains a harem." Again, this is not true. While gorillas are the only other *great ape* that practices the harem system of mating, several lesser species of primates do as well: baboons, for example, are infamous for the practice. Her careless use of factoids does not reassure me as to the trustworthiness of her analysis.

While the concept is definitely overdue--a look at the roots of suicide terrorism that does not seek to shift the focus to "why they hate us"--the execution, unfortunately, is weak. Perhaps another author will come along and will be able to give this subject the treatment it deserves.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars It Is About Time! March 31, 2010

By Joan Lachkar

Format:Hardcover

In this groundbreaking contribution, Dr. Kobrin is the first to connect the psychological and emotional dots between the meaning of the devalued female in Arab Muslim culture and how it plays itself out in the Islamic suicide attacks. Her theory is unique but basically gets to the core root. The male terrorists harbors unconscious rage against their mothers who are larger than life and are experienced as emasculating. Both male and female are never to separate psychologically from their mothers instead remain forever fused in a parasitic bond. .. The ideologies of Islam reinforces the pathology within the maternal relationship. Ummi, the Arab mother, is larger than life almost as if she is in a category unto herself but paradoxically not viewed or revered as a female.

The book's chapters relate how the attack site is a crime scene related to three things - serial killing by proxy, routine murder-suicide and a twisted honor killing. This kind of rage exceeds murder itself. Kobrin asks a series of questions which no counter terrorist has asked before such as -- what is the psychological meaning of a shame-honor culture, what is the psychological meaning of body parts? She develops a theory of imagery and links it back to sacred imagery of Christianity where the mother remains alive and nurturing while in Islam she is mutilated and torn to shreds.

In addition Dr. Kobrin is not only a psychoanalyst and expert in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), but is also one of the foremost leading counter terrorist experts having done prison interviews, gone into rebel territory, lectured internationally and her work has been used by Centcom for several years. She has a vibrant language background including Arabic and most recently studied Dari and Pashto. It is an exciting mix which she brings to the table. Her work suggests that we can develop a language in how to talk and understand the covert actions/words of terrorist we are better position to make earlier preemptive interventions and homeland security profiling more effective and efficient

This book opens a new and constructive an avenue for investigation - the nonverbal symbolic communication of these terrorists. Her book is imperative for all those studying and active in the field of terrorism and counterterrorism.

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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The relation between islamic terrorism, psychoanalyze and the Borderline DSM IV diagnostic June 25, 2010

By Laurence

Format:Hardcover

I have been deeply interested in reading this book.
First to appeal to me, Doctor Kobrin shows deep analyzing insights
and sensitivity to some very important societal issues.

After reading this book, it may sound very reasonable to believe
that Islamic suicide bombers share some symptoms with Borderline Personality Disorder.
Borderline diagnostic seems to point to a sense of a psychological black hole
that may be caused by an early emotional sense of abandonment between mother and infant
that are very deep and frightening for any infant victim.
One of the only way to sustain this lifelong terror is to act it out through a very destructive rage.
Islamic girls are abandoned by their family and their entire society
in the way they are made ashamed of their own body, identity, and sexuality.
Those women are the black holes, hidden behind veil and burkas.

In quoting Doctor Kobrin, the terrorist is not in contact with the terror inside but has
become her/his own terror in projecting it outside onto victims.
This is, I believe, one among other truly fascinating ideas inside this book.

I also admire many different other ideas, the huge research work
and also all the different knowledge exchanged with different helpful and insightful persons
that this book reflects throughout.

Laurence