Martyrdom in Modern Islam: Piety, Power, and Politics

290 Pages·2014·1.83 MB·English

by  Meir Hatina

MartyrdominModernIslam
TheIslamicresurgenceinmoderntimeshasreceivedextensivetreatment
in scholarly literature. Most of this literature, however, deals with the
concept of jihad and disputes between radicals and their rivals over
theologicalandpoliticalissues,andfarlesswithmartyrdomanddeath.
Moreover,studiesthatdoaddresstheissueofmartyrdomfocusmainly
on“suicide”attacks–aphenomenonofthelatetwentiethcenturyand
onward–withoutsufficientlyplacingthemwithinahistoricalperspec-
tiveorusinganintegrativeapproachtoilluminatetheirpolitical,social,
and symbolic features. This book fills these lacunae by tracing the
evolving Islamic perceptions of martyrdom, its political and symbolic
functions,anditsuseofpastlegaciesinbothSunniandShiqimilieus,with
comparativereferencestoJudaism,Christianity,andothernon-Islamic
domains.Basedonwide-rangingprimarysources,alongwithhistorical
and sociological literature, the study provides an in-depth analysis of
modern Islamic martyrdom and its various interpretations while also
evaluating the historical realities in which such interpretations were
moldedanddebated.
MeirHatinaisAssociateProfessorofIslamicandMiddleEasternStudies
and director of the Levtzion Center for Islamic Studies at the Hebrew
UniversityofJerusalem.

Martyrdom in Modern Islam
Piety, Power, and Politics
MEIR HATINA
TheHebrewUniversityofJerusalem
32AvenueoftheAmericas,NewYork,ny10013-2473,usa
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Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781107063075
©MeirHatina2014
Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception
andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements,
noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten
permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress.
Firstpublished2014
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
AcatalogrecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary.
LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData
Hatina,Meir.
MartyrdominmodernIslam:piety,power,andpolitics/MeirHatina.
pages cm
isbn978-1-107-06307-5(hardback)
1. Martyrdom–Islam. 2. Terrorism–Religiousaspects–Islam. I. Title.
bp190.5.m3h38 2014
297.207–dc23 2013048023
isbn978-1-107-06307-5Hardback
CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceoraccuracyof
urlsforexternalorthird-partyInternetWebsitesreferredtointhispublication
anddoesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuchWebsitesis,orwillremain,
accurateorappropriate.
ToEmmanuelSivan,
apioneerinthestudyofmodernIslam
Forthemartyrthetouchofdeathislike
amosquitobitetoeachofyou
–AbuqAbdallahMuhammadibnYazidibnMajah,
SunanibnMajah(Cairo:Ihyapal-Kutubal-qArabiya,n.d.),
Vol.2,p.937
Contents
ListofFigures pageviii
Acknowledgments ix
ANoteonTransliteration xi
Introduction 1
1 DefyingtheOppressor:MartyrdominJudaismand
Christianity 19
2 DyingforGodinIslam 36
3 ModernIslamistPerceptions 58
4 The“ArmyofShrouds”:“Suicide”Attacks
inEthno-nationalConflicts 90
5 Al-Qaqida:TransnationalMartyrdom 136
6 MartyrsasPreachers 162
7 Debating“Suicide”Attacks 187
8 Approaching“Suicide”Attacks 216
Conclusion 230
Bibliography 239
Index 271
vii
Figures
4.1 SSNPcommemoratingitsmartyr,Hamida
Mustafaal-Tahir. page97
4.2 ThePalestinianMartyrDay.Designer:Burhan
Karkoutly. 102
6.1 TheimageofAhmadQasirisshownabovetheruins
ofanIsraelimilitaryinstallationinTyre. 178
viii