Islam And Suicide An Academic Study Journal Article

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 Norman Fernandez (thank you) sent me this really long journal article about suicide terrorism involving Muslims. It is an academic study. I have read it and edited it down to be bloggable here.
ANNOUNCEMENT : Let it be known that I, Syed Akbar Ali have found the cure for this affliction. Do read on.

 


Islam and Suicide Terrorism: An Empirical Analysis
Global Studies Quarterly, Volume 2, Issue 1, January 2022
Published: 04 February 2022
correlation between Islam and suicide attacks 
(1) countries with greater Muslim populations more suicide attacks
(2) countries with greater Sunni Muslim populations more suicide attacks
(3) countries with greater Hanafi Muslim populations greatest risk of suicide attacks
analysis suggests Islam positively associated with suicide attacks
degree of association not uniform among all branchesreason for suicide attacks altruism, transcendentalism, religion 
(OSTB : Nope I disagree. The most obvious reason is ignorance, stupidity, delusions)

effects of different Islamic legal schools on suicide attacks
Islam correlated with increased suicide attacks
terrorists justify actions in the name of Islam 
countries with Hanafi populations most prone to suicide attacks(OSTB : Almost all Tamil Muslims like me are born into the Hanafi sect. But rest assured I will not be engaging in any altruistic detonations). 
Ok folks I just deleted the rest of this very, very long and debateable "scientific" research paper.
Lets do it my style.
Why was there NO Islamic suicide (I am dropping the word terrorism for the time being) for the past 1,400 years of Islamic history? We do not read about Saladdin the Great sending suicide soldiers to be sacrificed at the frontlines in Jerusalem. They were always told 'Go and kill your enemies'. None of them were told 'Go and get killed'.

During the Vietnam War, Buddhist monks poured petrol on their heads and burnt themselves to death in protest against violence. They did not kill anyone else but they did choose suicide to make a statement. 
In the early 1980s the Shia (not Hanafi or Sunni) Hezbollah in Lebanon were the pioneers of the suicide attack. And the Tamil Tigers, who trained with the Hezbollah, learned the trick and took it back to Sri Lanka:

"And in 1983, there were actually several Tamil Tiger cadre, who were training in some Hezbollah terrorist camps right at the moment that there was that spectacular suicide truck bombing of the U.S. Marines in Beirut that killed 241 Marines and that led Ronald Reagan, just a few months later, to pull all the U.S. troops out of Beirut".
The Tamil Tigers later greatly expanded the use of suicide bombing in their war for liberation in Sri Lanka.  In 1991 a Tamil Tiger suicide bomber blew herself up and killed ex-Indian PM Rajiv Gandhi in Tamil Nadu.

Present day suicide bombing among Muslim terrorists is driven largely by fanaticism and poverty. Fanaticism takes pole position. It is a must. There have been fairly well to do and even rich peoples' sons and daughters who have blown themselves up. They were all inspired by religious fanaticism.  And in beliefs like 72 virgins await them in paradise (They will never even experience the disappointment).
The use of chemical explosives like TNT, C4 and other 'instant death' detonations does expedite their decision making. As opposed to say pouring petrol over your head or committing ritual seppuku with a short sword. Ouch!

Poverty plays a major role because suicide bombers families are paid substantial sums of money before they blow themselves up. It is a condition precedent - the money is usually deposited in the bank account first (or delivered in a sack).


But unthinking religious fanaticism is an absolute must.
The condition precedent for unthinking religious fanaticism is an unthinking mind (of course). 

And herein lies the cure for the affliction. 
I hope you can recall that news about some Malay man standing up in a masjid or surau and challenging  some fellow who was preaching. The preacher got up and left the scene because he was too embarrassed at being questioned.
I hope this will happen more and more in Malaysia - that it will reach pandemic proportions. People should not be afraid to stand up and challenge these idiots masquerading as preachers. 
Just ask them 'Excuse me where is the proof for what you are saying? Show us some proof. So and so imam said so? How do you know? In which book? Who really wrote that book? Can you show some proof?'
And if you really want to slay the satan on the spot, just ask them WHY? That will really kill them.

If everyone learns to do this, then in no time at all religious fanaticism and the more stupid variety of religious preachers will disappear from the scene.
The job will become too hazardous.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.
By Syed Akbar Ali 

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