Whenever suicide bombings take place there are the inevitable questions on what drives these people to kill others and themselves. For many, these are perplexing and unfathomable issues with no ready answers.
It is particularly difficult for many Muslims to comprehend how some people can use Islam, a religion of peace with clear prohibitions on unjust killings, as justification for their barbarity.
Many religious scholars, including those from Saudi Arabia’s Council of Senior Scholars and Al-Azhar in Egypt, have repeatedly explained in edicts that takfiri acts and extremism in religion are prohibited under Islamic law. It then becomes even harder to explain why these suicide bombers ignore such rulings.
Some psychiatrists believe that these individuals suffer from a deeply entrenched lack of self. As they search for meaning in their lives, some have found themselves carrying out inhumane and violent acts.
This goes some way to explain why most of these bombers are young people, who are passionate, willful, determined to be relevant and achieve something in life. If they are depressed and feeling hopeless, they become even more vulnerable to those who offer them a sense of belonging, affection and respect.
Finding meaning in life is not only about a job, wealth and education, but also spiritual development. When people have a spiritual void and are filled with fear, they are easily exploited to go to extremes in the false belief that they are doing the right thing. They believe that they would be praised because this is how society treats those who are pious and concerned with spiritual matters.
Unfortunately, their actions are based on a convoluted view of the world. Many young people do not have a deep understanding or knowledge about life and the world. They tend to take fatwas and advice from people surrounding them at face value.
It should be borne in mind that there may be an element of exhibitionism at play, with these young and undeveloped minds getting a sense of importance and attention from their extreme actions.
Extremism can take many forms, but all of them lead to either some measure of dysfunction or complete personal destruction. Football fans can display this extremist behavior with obsession for their teams, resulting in often violent and fatal clashes with rivals.
However, this type of hooliganism is different from being inspired by religious sentiments, which have a more powerful hold on people because of the deep emotions and status issues involved. Consequently, there is a greater opportunity for manipulation, which eventually leads to murder.
Social workers and counselors in Saudi Arabia say that many of these young people have had convictions for drug dealing and other crimes. And when they latch onto religion, there are often disastrous and bloody outcomes.
Some sociologists argue that certain societies control the behavior of their citizens too strictly, while there is praise for those who have the outward trappings of piousness with the way they dress. However, these people are simply seeking status, regardless of their qualifications. This psychological need coupled with social traditions pushes people into taking positions where they would even justify terror.
As the danger of these terrorist groups increases, it makes it that much more important to find ways to combat this thinking. There is a need for extensive research by sociologists and psychiatrists on the mindsets of these people.
The physical battle is important but the war will be won on the intellectual level, which is being waged for the minds and lives of our children, our most important assets. We cannot afford to lose it.
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