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Murderers are not martyrs

Abdullah Saeed

First published in The Australian, 16 July 2005, updated 28 November 2006

In Islamic law and ethics, suicide is considered a grave sin. It is related to the idea that life is a precious gift from God; one does not own one's soul. It is simply loaned on trust from God.

Many of us are baffled by what appears to be an unstoppable supply of would-be suicide bombers among young Muslims. Such attacks are yet another reminder of the dangers of religious fanaticism – and raise significant and difficult questions for mainstream Muslims.

Why have these young people, in some cases born and bred in Western countries, turned against their own societies, mercilessly killing, maiming and causing unspeakable horrors? What is the ideology that drives such people towards these violent actions? And is there an Islamic view on suicide bombings?

There is a long history of suicide being used for military-political purposes, whether it was the Japanese kamikaze pilots or the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka. Among Muslims it emerged in the 1980s when Hezbollah in Lebanon used suicide bombers against its enemies. Gradually it came to be accepted in other struggles, in Palestine, Chechnya, Kashmir and Iraq.

Militants who have adopted this tactic argue that “martyrdom” (they do not use the term “suicide”) is perfectly legitimate. The tactic has, frighteningly, been extended from war zones to regions that are not directly involved in any specific conflict, as was the case with 9/11, Bali, Jakarta, Madrid and London.

In Islamic law and ethics, suicide is considered a grave sin. It is related to the idea that life is a precious gift from God; one does not own one’s soul. It is simply loaned on trust from God. Therefore, it is only God who can take away this trust.

On many occasions the Koran states in no uncertain terms that human life is sacred: “Do not take life which God has made sacred except in the course of justice,” the Koran says. It also says: “Do not kill yourselves.” meaning do not commit suicide. The Prophet Mohammed specifically prohibited suicide in no uncertain terms. He also made the point that anyone who commits suicide will be eternally condemned to hellfire.

Based on this religious guidance, Muslims almost universally have held strongly to the view that suicide in all its forms is a grave sin and should not be accepted under any circumstances. Until recently, there has been virtually no disagreement among Muslims on the issue. The belief that someone who commits suicide would not enter paradise and would be eternally condemned to hell had been so dominant that until recently suicide was considered unthinkable among Muslims.

If killing oneself is viewed with horror, it is even more horrendous to kill civilians as part of the destructive act of suicide bombing. Killing another innocent human being deliberately is murder. The Koran says if one kills another human being unjustly, it is as grave a sin as killing all of humanity.

Even in the case of war, the Prophet Mohammed gave clear instructions to Muslims that noncombatants should not be targeted. He included in this category women, children and people not directly involved in fighting. Today’s suicide bombers have conveniently ignored all such instructions.

In the late 20th century, militant Muslims reinterpreted classical Islamic concepts of jihad, martyrdom and the prohibition of suicide. They have relied on a selective reading of some religious texts and the views of certain marginal scholars. They went against the widely held mainstream views on suicide to endorse a violent struggle that targeted innocent civilians.

This militant reinterpretation of the Islamic concept of jihad has been challenged by a wide range of Muslim scholars across the world, particularly in relation to suicide bombings that target civilians.

Muslim scholars and leaders of all persuasions have rallied against this abhorrent trend. For instance, the grand mufti of Saudi Arabia, Sheik Abdul Aziz al-Sheik, is on record as saying that Islam forbids suicide terrorist attacks. This was reinforced by Sheik Mohammed Sayyid Tantawi, the head of Egypt’s Al-Azhar University, who declared that Islamic law “rejects all attempts on human life” and that he condemns “all attacks on civilians.”

In our region these calls have been no less significant. In December 2003, Indonesia’s highest Islamic authority, the Ulama Council, declared terrorism and suicide bombings illegal under Islamic law. Some Muslim scholars have gone so far as to declare that a person who commits suicide is not a Muslim.

Mainstream Muslims in Western countries in particular have consistently raised their voices against suicide bombing. For these Muslims, who also suffer the consequences of the militants’ violence, it is vital to reinforce the message that Islam prohibits suicide in any form. Mainstream Muslim thinkers, scholars and community leaders are the most important support in countering extremist interpretations, but they in turn need the moral and practical support of all sectors of society.