My Life Is a Weapon: A Modern History of Suicide Bombing

214 Pages·2004·31.979 MB·English

by  Christoph Reuter

I
MYUFEISA
WEAPON
A MODERN HISTORY OF
BOMBING
SUICIDE
CHRISTOPH REUTER
MY A
LIFE IS
WEAPON
A MODERN HISTORY OF
SUICIDE BOMBING
CHRISTOPH REUTER
What kind of people are suicide bombers?
How do theyjustify their actions? In this
meticulously researched and sensitively
written book, journalist Christoph Reuter
argues that popular views ofthese young
men and women—as crazed fanatics or
brainwashed automatons—fall short ofthe
mark. In many cases these modern-day
martyrs are well-educated young adults
who turn themselves into human bombs
—
willingly and eagerly to exact revenge on
a more powerful enemy, perceived as both
unjust and oppressive. Suicide assassins
are determined to make a difference, for
once in their lives, no matterwhatthe cost.
As Reuter's many interviews with would-be
martyrs, theirtrainers, friends, and relatives
reveal, the bombers are motivated more by
how they expect to be remembered—as
—
heroic figures than by religion-infused
visions of a blissful life to come.
Reuter, who spent eight years
researching the book, moves fronri tj]
broken survivors ofthe chil
brigades in the Iran-Iraq wa
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My Weapon
Life Is a

MY A WEAPON
LIFE IS
A Modern History of Suicide Bombing
CHRISTOPH REUTER
Translated by Helena Ragg-Kirkby
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS PRINCETON AND OXEORD
•
Firstpublishedin2002 asMein Lebenisteine WaffebyC. BertelsmannVerlag, an
imprintofC. BertelsmannVerlag, Munich,oftheVerlagsgruppeRandomHouseGmBH,
andcopyright©2002 byC. BertelsmannVerlag, Munich, Germany
English-languagetranslation and abridgmentarecopyright©2004
byPrincetonUniversityPress
Published byPrincetonUniversityPress,41 William Street, Princeton,NewJersey08540
IntheUnitedKingdom: PrincetonUniversityPress, 3 MarketPlace,
Woodstock, OxfordshireOX20 ISY
AllRights Reserved
ISBN: 0-691-11759-4
LibraryofCongress Cataloging-in-PublicationData
Renter, Christoph.
[Mein LebenisteineWaffe. English]
Mylifeisaweapon: a modernhistoryofsuicide bombing/ChristophRenter;translated
byHelena Ragg-Kirkby.
p. cm.
Includesindex.
ISBN0-691-11759-4 (alk. paper)
— — —
1.Violence Religiousaspects Islam. 2. Suicide bombers. 3. Martyrdom Islam.
4. Islamandpolitics. 5. Arab-IsraeUconflict. I. Title.
BP190.5.V56R4813 2004 2003069321
303.6'25—dc22
British LibraryCataloging-in-PublicationData isavailable
This bookhas beencomposed in Sabon
Printed on acid-freepaper.@
WAVw.pupress.princeton.edu
Printed intheUnited States ofAmerica
13579 8642
10
Contents
INTRODUCTION
The Power of the Powerless,
the Powerlessness ofthe Powerful 1
CHAPTER
1
The Original Assassins: A History
of Faith and Power in the Islamic World 19
CHAPTER
2
A Key to Paradise around Their Necks:
Iran's Suicide Battalions 33
CHAPTER
3
The Marketing Strategists of Martyrdom:
Hezbollah in Lebanon 52
CHAPTER
4
Israel and Palestine: The Culture ofDeath 79
CHAPTER
5
Suicide or Martyrdom? Modern Islam
and the Feud ofthe Fatwas 115
CHAPTER
6
Bushido Replaces Allahu akbar:
TheJapanese Kamikaze 130
CONTENTS
CHAPTER
7
The Parasites ofAnger: Al-Qaeda
and the Islamist Internationale 139
CHAPTER
8
Separatist Movements and Female Suicide Bombers:
The Cases of Sri Lanka and Kurdistan 155
CHAPTER
9
After Martyrdom: Recent Developments in Iran 167
Notes 181
Index 195