On Suicide Bombing

For many non-Muslims, "the suicide bomber" quickly became the icon of "an Islamic culture of death" – a conceptual leap the author finds problematic. Is there a "religiously-motivated terrorism?" If so, how does it differ from other cruelties? What makes its motivation "religious"? Where does it stand in relation to other forms of collective violence? Drawing on his extensive scholarship in the study of secular and religious traditions as well as his understanding of social, political, and anthropological theory and research, the author questions Western assumptions regarding death and killing. He scrutinizes the idea of a "clash of civilizations," the claim that "Islamic jihadism" is the essence of modern terror, and the arguments put forward by liberals to justify war in our time. He examines a range of explanations of suicide terrorism, exploring many writers' preoccupation with the motives of perpetrators.