THE QUESTION
Militants holding Pakistan's Red Mosque vowed to fight to the death this week -- and many of them did. What is the attraction to martyrdom?
Posted by Fareed Zakaria & David Ignatius on July 12, 2007 3:56 PM
FROM THE PANEL
Bashir Goth is a veteran journalist, freelance writer, the first Somali blogger and editor of a leading news website. He is also a regular contributor to major Middle Eastern and African newspapers and online journals.
Men Die for Other Men, Not for God
Hard as it may seem, I can understand people rejecting change and determined to continue to live as the Prophet lived in the 14th century. But what I cannot understand is how they are able to twist the words and actions of the Prophet, in whom they so vehemently believe, and commit such inhuman crimes in his name.
Bashir Goth Somalia/UAE |
111 COMMENTSJul 14, 2007 at 5:41 AM
Daoud Kuttab is a Palestinian journalist. He was born in Jerusalem in 1955. Presently he is a visiting professor at Princeton University in the United States. Mr. Kuttab is the former director of the Institute of Modern Media at Al Quds University in Ramallah, Palestine and the founder of AmmanNet, the Arab world's first internet radio station. His personal web page is www.daoudkuttab.com
Violence Not a Shortcut to End Conflict
Daoud Kuttab Princeton, NJ | 40 COMMENTS
Lamis Andoni is a Middle East consultant for Al Jazeera, the Qatar-based news station. She has been covering the Middle East for 20 years. She has reported for the Christian Science Monitor, the Financial Times and the main newspapers in Jordan. She was a professor at the Graduate School in UC Berkeley.
End Occupation or Kill the Occupier?
Lamis Andoni Doha, Qatar | 112 COMMENTS
Miklós Vámos is a Hungarian novelist, screenwriter and talk show host. He is one of the most read and respected writers in his native Hungary. He has taught at Yale University on a Fulbright fellowship, served as The Nation’s East European correspondent, worked as consultant on the Oscar-winning film Mephisto, and presented Hungary’s most-watched cultural television show. Vámos has received numerous awards for his plays, screenplays, novels and short stories, including the Hungarian Merit Award for lifetime achievement. The Book of Fathers is considered his most accomplished novel and has sold 200,000 copies in Hungary.
Joys of Life vs. Reward for Belief
Miklos Vamos Budapest, Hungary | 78 COMMENTSREADER RESPONSE
» d.h. | After reading the various comments, surprised to note that a number of different excuses seem to justify terrorism and suicide bombers. In fact, there...
» EastWest | You ask why some seek martyrdom? I ask why not?
Could it be today's muslin martyrs see little hope in bettering their lives? Do not many come from im...
» A Khokar | Some Islamist although are being projected as the prime subject of Global war on terror like Al-Qaeda and others by western media but certainly their ...
