The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the CrusadesJust Like Today: Suicide bombers and Paradise
he pro mis e ofpara dis e to tho se who 'sl ay and are sla in' for Alla h is the pri nci pal jus tif ica-
tion forsuic ide bomb ings : The bomb ers are layi ng clai m to this prom ise by slay ing Allah 's
enemies and being slain in the process.
Of cou rse, Mus lim spok esm en in Amer ica hav e been qui ck to poi nt out that the Qur' an for bids
sui cide : "0 ye who bel iev e! Eat not up your pro pert y amon g you rse lve s in van iti es. ... Nor kill or
dest roy your selv es" (Qu r'an 4:2 9-30). Muha mmad adds in a hadi th: 'He who comm its suic ide by
thr ott lin g sha ll kee p on thr ott lin g him sel f in the Hel l-fir e for eve r, and he who com mit s sui cid e by
stabbing himself shall keep on stabbing himselfin the Hell-fire.'
But the influential Islamic scholar Sheikh Yusaf al-Qaradawi, who has been hailed as a"re form ist " by
Isl ami c sch olar John Espo sit o, sum med up the more comm on vie w. The proh ibitio ns aga ins t
sui cidedonot app ly to sui cid e bom ber s, bec aus e the ir int ent ion is not to kil l the mselv es but the
enem ies of Alla h: "It' s not suic ide, it is mar tyrd om in the name of God,Isl amictheo logi ans and
juri spru dent s have deba ted this issu e. Refe rrin g to it as a formof jiha d, unde r thetit le of
jeo pard izin gthe Life of the muja hid een. It is allo wed tojeo pard izeyour sou l andcrossthepath of
the enemy and be killed."
Umm Nida l, the moth er of Hams suic ide atta cker Muha mmad Farh at, saw her son' s murd ero us
death in the same way—as a grea t victo ry: "Jiha d is a [reli gious ] comma ndme nt impos ed upon us,"
she explained. 'We must instill this idea in our sons' souls, all the time....What we see everyday—
mass acre s, dest ruct ion, bomb ing [of] home s—stre ngth ened , in the soul s of my sons , especial ly
Muha mmad , the love of Jiha d and mart yrdo m.... Allah be prai sed. I am a Musl im and Ibel iev ein
jih ad. Jiha d is one of the ele ment s of the fai th and thi s is what enc oura ged me to sacr ific e
Muh amma d in Jiha d for the sake of Alla h.Myson was not dest roy ed, he is not dead he is living a
happier life than I."
Umm Nid al con tin ued : 'Be cau se I lov e my son , I enc our age d him to die a mar tyr 's dea th for
the sake of Allah.... Jihad is a religious obligationincumbent upon us, and we must carryit out.'