A young Syrian man, 17 at the time of the interview, was one of the former IS militants who was urged to kill himself in a suicide attack. He was of small build, with strikingly long eyelashes and black eyes. He said he was invited to join the terrorist organization when a Tunisian man in his 30s claiming to be an IS militant came to his house in June The man told him that they would pay him several hundred U. As he debated whether to join the group, the recruiter handed him a gun, telling him to protect his family with it.
The Syrian man eventually decided to join the IS group, saying that he started liking the recruiter's use of words like "trust" and "respect. However, the recruiter then started persuading him into taking part in a suicide attack, telling him things like, "You can go to paradise," and, "You're going to be a hero. His friends started to disappear one by one, and he was told that they died in suicide attacks.
The young man was "out of strength to even think because of exhaustion and pressure," he recalled. One day, he talked to his mother on his cell phone.
While he didn't say anything about the suicide attacks, his mother, out of the blue as if she had sensed something, told him not to die and run. He said the conversation was like a wakeup call and he risked his life to escape the group. A research group headed by Ariel Merari, a professor of terrorism at Tel Aviv University in Israel, conducted an interview-based psychological study on incarcerated would-be suicide bombers in the country, in addition to members of terrorist groups that provided lateral support, or so-called handlers, and a control group of those involved in acts of terrorism other than suicide attacks.
The results showed that the would-be suicide terrorists had weak egos, and their ability to balance their mental state and actions or to cope with stress was lower than that of those in the control group.
Type: Peaceworks. Nonviolent Action ; Violent Extremism. Already in the throes of existential political and economic crises, Lebanon is now facing a diplomatic row with Saudi Arabia and several of its allies in the Gulf Cooperation Council GCC. We provide analysis, education, and resources to those working for peace around the world.
Questions and Answers. Buy the Book. What are some of the critical advantages to suicide terrorism that explain its appeal across militant groups? Tactical effectiveness in comparison to conventional terrorism. Ability to communicate strategic messages to target audiences. Potent psychological impact on targeted countries.
Ability to enhance the legitimacy of insurgent organizations among their constituent publics; and introduced in the Iraqi insurgency. Furthermore, female suicide bombers are not only from non-Western states; Western women have committed suicide bombings too , Muriel Degauque being a notorious example.
Palestinian terrorism especially, elevates men but shames women. Thus, women who were unsuccessful in perpetrating their suicide attacks are not only forced back into their traditional roles; their positions are even worse than before they joined the fighting.
Finally, it should also be noted that not all female suicide bombers are voluntary perpetrators. Boko Haram , for example, is known to coerce women into committing suicide attacks, although it denies these allegations. For these women, suicide bombings are not a process of female liberation but a method of female oppression and a sign of male domination. The presence of female suicide bombers shows that women are not only passive actors in times of conflict.
These women do have in common that their attacks do not elevate the positions of women in their societies. Although some women become martyrs , most societies look down on their terrorist acts.
If women were to survive their time in a terrorist group, their positions are more likely to deteriorate instead of improve.
She is interested in the role of women in terrorist groups and conflict in the Post-Soviet space. This article was originally published in the Strife Blog.
0コメント