242 ISLAM AT WAR
young martyrs. Their parents had willingly given them up for Khomeini’s
holy war.
If this story is true, and there is no particular reason that it should be,
the black cloth about each head was the key to paradise, the same paradise
that the Assassins expected to enter when they followed the orders of their
imams. The parents of these tiny victims had the blessing of knowing their
sons had gone to paradise and also received and proudly displayed mar-
tyrs’ certificates from the government. The parents of these children ac-
tually enjoyed higher social status than others.
In addition, the Martyr’s Fund was established and became a massive
economic enterprise supported directly by the Iranian national treasury as
well as by nationalized industries and private donations. Monies were
dispensed from this fund to the families of the martyrs. The families were
also given access to food and consumer goods that were, otherwise,
heavily controlled and rationed.
Today, families of Palestinian suicide bombers receive much the same
treatment. Their sons’ pictures hang not only in their homes, but also along
the streets where their martyrdom is extolled. Palestinian society confers
the same elevation in social status, and a fund doles out money to the
families. The process of martyrdom and suicide are well accepted and
even admired in Palestinian society. When a young man has “martyred”
himself, neighbors and friends visit his family and congratulate them on
the accomplishment. Heroic pictures of their son quickly appear through-
out the community. At the young man’s funeral, be the body present or
not, members of the Palestinian police forces present arms in salute as the
martyr’s coffin is paraded past. Crowds gather and the funerals become a
major national event. All of this pressures the family to accept and support
their son’s death.
However, the use of suicide bombing or otherwise suicidal attacks does
not end there. A Muslim assassin killed Mahatma Gandhi on January 30,
- Suicide bomb attacks have occurred in Chechnya, Kashmir, and
Istanbul, Turkey. The attack on the USSColein Yemen on October 12,
2000, was launched by suicide bombers as were the 1983 attacks on the
U.S. Marine barracks in Lebanon, and on Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia
during 1996.
Modern reports and studies indicate that these suicide attackers are not
psychotic. The only abnormality found in the psychological profiles of
bombers who have been evaluated is the lack of fear at the time of the
attack.
A Palestinian suicide bomber who failed in his attack and was taken
prisoner related that his own brother recruited him for a suicide bombing