Neither altruistic suicide, nor terrorism but martyrdom: a Muslim perspective.
The objective of the present article is to elucidate specific Islamic and psychological aspects of martyrdom (Istish'had) in the light of one example, that is the Palestinian martyrs in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This conflict has historical roots. The day the British mandate in Palestine ended in 1948, Israel was declared a state. War broke out, and around half of the Palestinian population was expelled in the diaspora. In 1950, Israel passed a law that gave every Jew in any country the right to emigrate to Israel. Israelis are burying POWs alive, using arrested people as human spare parts for wounded Israelis, demolishing more than 17,000 houses, and bulldozing the farm lands. Therefore, the soil has become fertile ground for the growing phenomenon of martyrdom and has given rise to a culture of resistance, based on the Islamic principles of Jihad (holy war) and the right to resist the Israeli colonizer. Several specialists in Islamic law (Shari'a), consider that martyrdom is legitimate and does not count as suicide of any kind.
Abdel-Khalek
Ahmed M
AM
College of Social Sciences, Kuwait University, Kuwait. jss@kuc01.kuniv.edu.kw