The Suicide Club
Different cultures have different values, beliefs and customs. But what happens when the value of life in a culture differs from others? From a western perspective, suicide terrorism may seem as a psychotic, irrational and fanatical phenomenon. However, several studies on this topic explain that psychopathology or mental illness do not play important roles. The component that triggers this phenomenon is the belief of fulfilling a higher mandate that is supported socially and idolized by the population of certain cultures. Thus, the socialization of the subject is of vital importance in the process of forming a suicide bomber.
It can be said that terrorists are prone to external influences. They blame others for their failures and consequently feel hostility toward …show more content…
The continuous indoctrination of new masses of children and adolescents makes this problem even more difficult to predict and prevent since attacks from this sector of the population were unthinkable in the past. A clear example is the madrasas in Pakistan; where the curriculum focused on religion and children and adolescents between the ages of five to eighteen years old are instructed to become “martyrs” .
It is important to mention that suicide terrorism is an organizational phenomenon because the road leading to an individual to become an active terrorist is often through groups and through personal contacts that introduced him/her into an organization. Suicide terrorism is the result of both the group interaction as well as the individual choice. The sense of belonging to a community of individuals with the same system of values and beliefs is an important incentive for many members to commit suicide attacks. Although individual and isolated terrorist acts can occur, the most important are carried out by