Suicide Bombers, Terror, History, and Religion

There is a tendency to overlook many examples from the West when we discuss suicide and terrorism and to emphasize some examples from the Near East. This is true both in the academic and popular press. I will give examples from each.

Very little in recent years has appeared in print concerning the theory of suicide bombing or past research in suicide. Even Durkheim or more recent comprehensive studies by people like Schneidman, Farberow, and Litman (1970) have played minor roles, if any, in the popular discussion. We are often treated to a history of the Assassins, a Middle Eastern sect which came to considerable power in the 12th century, and their leader, Hasan as-Sabah, based almost entirely on the work of Bernard Lewis. More than 630,000 citations on the world-wide web refer to his work or interviews with him regarding suicide bombings and is the primary source for news stories. Despite the definitive tone of his book, Lewis admits the strange fact that, "The most important single source for Hasan's life is his autobiography...No copy has so far come to light..." (his notes, 1980:146). In fact, Lewis cites Ismaili sources captured by the Mongols, but all of which were destroyed or lost. The sect is known only from the reports of its enemies and some few eye witness reports like that of Joinville. None of these original sources (like Joinville's Chronicle) are used, and the followers of Hasan as-Sabah are characterized in usual terms as fanatics, while Joinville presents a picture of reason (certainly in the context of Medieval ideas, like those characterizing the nature of guilt discussed by Foucault 1977) and loyalty common to his time. By putting this information in his notes and not in his text, Lewis produces a less nuanced story, one with greater difference and distinction than the facts provide.

One might have expected some more ancient beginning, perhaps Appian's description of the mass suicide of the Xanthians after their defeat by Brutus during the Roman Civil War (42 B.C.), or a comparison with the description by Herodotus of Hallcarnassus of their mass suicide after defeat by the Persians, or earlier when they were the enemies of the Trojans. Their refusal to submit is legendary, and they even resisted Alexander the Great, Appian tells us, when they again refused to surrender, but Arrian argues they did. We sometimes respect those who choose death over slavery, but then, the central issue is the nature of defeat, as Karen Armstrong has cogently discussed in her book Battle for God.

The entire picture of assassination that is related, is made foreign to Europe and the rest of the world in, for example, Karen Andriolo's (2002)recent essay on assassination in the American Anthropologist. If she had looked at the fanatical followers of the Crusades, a more balanced view would have resulted. But then, she is using Lewis, so we can expect this result. A reference to the assassinations in Europe during the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, as detailed by Machiavelli in his The History of Florence and Gibbon in his Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, would provide a different view. Many of these could be classed as "suicidal," and the frequency became so frenzied that the wearing of masks to prevent recognition became common.

Andriolo is not alone in this myopic view of suicide and Islam, yet the nature of suicide and its relation to society has been a topic of study by a legion of scholars over the past 200 years. Current research has been driven by the emergency feelings regarding the newly recognized phenomenon of "Suicide by Cop." Estimates from the USA indicate that rates of suicide by purposely confronting a peace officer have risen to 10 to 12% of all individuals killed by police in the line of duty, according to Rebecca Stincelli, author of a study of the same name (2004). A number of TV and radio shows, including PBS "Wide Angle" have taken a more general approach including Tamil Tigers, Viet Minh, and the Turkish PKK, calling...