There are multiple levels of analysis and factors as to why humans commit suicide terrorism. One theory as to why its committed is one by Robert Pape who had linked the act of suicide terrorism to insurgency. His data has showed that as soon as insurgents had left the country, suicide terrorism has stopped.What I'd like to know is the psychological and sociological state of suicide terrorists reaching that 'boiling point'. What do they actually mentally and sociologically go through?
Compare the epidemiology of schizophrenia and suicide terrorism in Europe.
"Chances are that this person has been prepared for the act and set under psychotropic drugs"
Peter Hitchens has documented the very high incidence of previous cannabis use in terrorists. Cannabis is likely to lead to loss of judgement, mental dysfunction including psychosis, apathy, etc. I don't think it would help at all in the planning and organisation of terror acts.
It is well documented that many "suicide terrorists" are selected because they experienced suicidality in advance of being involved in any activities of terrorism. See Ariel Merari's works or the following publication which is a good overview of the evidence.
Article Are Suicide Terrorists Suicidal? A Critical Assessment of the Evidence
I do not think it would too far fetched to think certain individuals suffering from the aforementioned maladies could be influenced to partake in such activities, since the act itself being criminal, is also about manipulation. Having a family member who suffers from both, he's easily influenced by the actions of others around him for whatever reason? For an individual who feels he or she has nothing to lose most certainly could be influenced to execute a suicide bombing.
Here's what amazes me, you never hear of or see where the leaders of these organizations are strapping on the bombs and giving their lives for the cause, do you? In most cases they are caught driving in a vehicle destined for God knows where or hunkered down in some apartment or building when they are terminated. I wonder why?
i think that this is a very difficult topic for westerners to understand. As a researcher who has studied suicide and suicidal behaviors in our culture there is a vast difference between the ISIS suicide bomber/Kamikaze pilot and the 30,000 +- people who die by suicide in the USA. Rarely do we see people dying for the Emperor or Allah in our culture. if you combine poverty, religion, brain washing (cults) into one person you have a drone personal bomber/suicide.
You might want to take a look at three of my books:
The Banality of Suicide Terrorism 2010
Penetrating the Terrorist Psyche 2013
The Maternal Drama of the Chechen Jihadi 2014
My fourth book is a special dictionary which I wrote for military, law enforcement, intel, and concerned citizens. The Jihadi Dictionary - forthcoming in six weeks at amazon.com
They have something like a malignant form of autism among other things like borderline personality disorder which means they have psychotic episodes. They look normal but they lack empathy and morality which is developed in the maternal attachment in the first years of life. The mother makes the brain of the baby based on genetics and external environment as well. The brain quadruples in size. Shaming child rearing practices in these shame honour cultures is devastating to the development of the personality.
You might want to take a look at three of my books:
The Banality of Suicide Terrorism 2010
Penetrating the Terrorist Psyche 2013
The Maternal Drama of the Chechen Jihadi 2014
My fourth book is a special dictionary which I wrote for military, law enforcement, intel, and concerned citizens. The Jihadi Dictionary - forthcoming in six weeks at amazon.com
They have something like a malignant form of autism among other things like borderline personality disorder which means they have psychotic episodes. They look normal but they lack empathy and morality which is developed in the maternal attachment in the first years of life. The mother makes the brain of the baby based on genetics and external environment as well. The brain quadruples in size. Shaming child rearing practices in these shame honour cultures is devastating to the development of the personality.
You might want to take a look at three of my books:
The Banality of Suicide Terrorism 2010
Penetrating the Terrorist Psyche 2013
The Maternal Drama of the Chechen Jihadi 2014
My fourth book is a special dictionary which I wrote for military, law enforcement, intel, and concerned citizens. The Jihadi Dictionary - forthcoming in six weeks at amazon.com
They have something like a malignant form of autism among other things like borderline personality disorder which means they have psychotic episodes. They look normal but they lack empathy and morality which is developed in the maternal attachment in the first years of life. The mother makes the brain of the baby based on genetics and external environment as well. The brain quadruples in size. Shaming child rearing practices in these shame honour cultures is devastating to the development of the personality.
You might want to take a look at three of my books:
The Banality of Suicide Terrorism 2010
Penetrating the Terrorist Psyche 2013
The Maternal Drama of the Chechen Jihadi 2014
My fourth book is a special dictionary which I wrote for military, law enforcement, intel, and concerned citizens. The Jihadi Dictionary - forthcoming in six weeks at amazon.com
They have something like a malignant form of autism among other things like borderline personality disorder which means they have psychotic episodes. They look normal but they lack empathy and morality which is developed in the maternal attachment in the first years of life. The mother makes the brain of the baby based on genetics and external environment as well. The brain quadruples in size. Shaming child rearing practices in these shame honour cultures is devastating to the development of the personality. Mine is the only theory to date backed by neuroscience and also former jihadis are writing to me to tell me that my descriptive analysis fits with their emotional experiences. The the documentary Body Language by Doïna Harap.
You might want to take a look at three of my books:
The Banality of Suicide Terrorism 2010
Penetrating the Terrorist Psyche 2013
The Maternal Drama of the Chechen Jihadi 2014
My fourth book is a special dictionary which I wrote for military, law enforcement, intel, and concerned citizens. The Jihadi Dictionary - forthcoming in six weeks at amazon.com
They have something like a malignant form of autism among other things like borderline personality disorder which means they have psychotic episodes. They look normal but they lack empathy and morality which is developed in the maternal attachment in the first years of life. The mother makes the brain of the baby based on genetics and external environment as well. The brain quadruples in size. Shaming child rearing practices in these shame honour cultures is devastating to the development of the personality. Mine is the only theory to date backed by neuroscience and also former jihadis are writing to me to tell me that my descriptive analysis fits with their emotional experiences. The the documentary Body Language by Doïna Harap.
You need to read Arjun Appadurai's Fear of Small numbers
https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Fear_of_Small_Numbers.html?id=1Idm_nqwc5IC
Then Driven to Death by Ariel Merari
https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Driven_to_Death.html?id=IMTu5gwWE0kC
and i also like The Myth of Martyrdom: What Really Drives Suicide Bombers, Rampage Shooters, and Other Self-Destructive Killers by Adam Lankford
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ReSxQ-v-vWcC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Adam+Lankford.+The+Myth+of+Martyrdom&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjqnd61nubLAhVD8RQKHUVGCbEQ6AEIHDAA#v=onepage&q=Adam%20Lankford.%20The%20Myth%20of%20Martyrdom&f=false
THATS JUST FOR STARTERS...
Devji and Landscapes of The Jihad is the real business
https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Landscapes_of_the_Jihad.html?id=3sp0tcX1aTMC&redir_esc=y
and Attran - Talking to the enemy
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=9GbPDMq2nZ8C&printsec=frontcover&dq=attran+talking+to+the+enemmy&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjvmuLio-bLAhVJPxQKHRIcA30Q6AEIHzAA#v=onepage&q=attran%20talking%20to%20the%20enemmy&f=false
This is something I have started to explore. I am new to this so not great at self-publicity. You may get some ideas from the dissertation I just uploaded. Ch 2.
Let me know what you think. Best, Dom
Thesis The Cultic Dimension Of Lone-actor Terrorist Radicalisation ...
Dear Mahmut, I am not into terrorism. I am trying to further my research into Religiosity & Suicide (as a protective factor). Suicide bombers have been in my mind for a while as I do not know how to categorise them. Some areas I try to look at is their end intention (e.g. to kill people, to pass certain message, to instil a culture of fear, revenge, etc). Death is not their ultimate objective I think. For e.g., in recent cases in Europe and US, if the terrorists can get away after carrying out the act, they will run away and hide (although many do carry explosive belts). It reminds me also of kamikaze pilots, but then those were actions people take during war-time and they probably don't really target civilians. The motive and psychology of suicide bombers or terrorists, I think, are very different. People with tendency of developing depression or schizophrenia are probably more vulnerable, including being influenced to commit such act; but those are not the causes. I am toying with the word "sacrificial death" and some other wordings ... i.e. their objective is not to die and get out of the society like normal suicide, they have different objectives but they know they may die or will die carrying out that act. I think this kind of act could have happened centuries ago as well ... just that they need to use different methods and weapons ... and as recent events show ... they do not need to be bombers to execute an act of terror by killing civilians ... they used a truck ...
You should see my work. They have borderline personalities with other factors like autism related to schizophrenia and depression but it is a kind of traumatic bonding - see my The Jihadi Dictionary. This is based on my experience doing prison interviews and my extensive training in psychoanalysis - long term therapy many times a week and teaching psychiatry residents and working on locked psychiatric wards. Pape is close to understanding the problem but he does not take his argument far enough or deep enough - the liberation movements that he discusses and the quest from freedom is really the top layer of the deep problem of a maternal symbiosis which is routinely the case for shame honour cultures and then a certain percent become radicalised bc of intervening factors and traumatic experiences during early childhood. There is probably a genetic dimension and epigenetic as well. But the Nice attack by Mohammed Bouhlel should have told the police and intelligence community in France - that if there is an incidence of domestic violence reported to the police that individual should be monitored if they are Muslim for they are at risk of radicalising. Domestic violence, honour killing are all issues involving traumatic bonding with the primary caregiver during early childhood. They do not develop empathy or mortality which is generally in place by age 2.
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