Why are suicide bombers almost always Muslim?

[Muslim-UK]

Look at how the Copts are treated in Egypt.

Show me using credible sources.

 

[QuestioningMind]

Christians have living under awful conditions in the Islamic Middle East for a very long time. I don't see them blowing themselves and others up.

The percentage of Christians being persecuted in the ME is quite small compared to the number of Muslims living under repressive regimes. As I stated before I suspect that if we had entire nations of Christians being brutalized by their governments that we would see Christians resorting to similar tactics.

 

[QuestioningMind]

Maybe so. But they have learned better, without the advantage of a similar doctrine showing them the way. And Islaam has the serious disadvantage of having the Qur'aan specifically telling them that they know better than Christianity, facts be darned.

True, Christianity is an older religion and has matured a great deal in that respect. However, it seems pretty obvious to me that most Christians also follow a doctrine that tells them that they know better than Islam, or Hinduism, or any other religion for that matter.

 

[LuisDantas]

True, Christianity is an older religion and has matured a great deal in that respect. However, it seems pretty obvious to me that most Christians also follow a doctrine that tells them that they know better than Islam, or Hinduism, or any other religion for that matter.

I don't know about most. Christians are often that mainly because they value the bond with other Christians. Quite a few don't have any significant interest in religion.

 

[QuestioningMind]

I don't think Christians are noticeably different from what they used to be.

From WWII to the invasion of Iraq, Christians are all about war. Just like they were centuries ago.
Tom

There's certainly truth in what you say.

 

[QuestioningMind]

I don't know about most. Christians are often that mainly because they value the bond with other Christians. Quite a few don't have any significant interest in religion.

A Christian who doesn't have any significant interest in religion isn't really a Christian. Nor is a Muslim who doesn't have any significant interest in religion really a Muslim. They are just labels that they wear.

 

[LuisDantas]

A Christian who doesn't have any significant interest in religion isn't really a Christian. Nor is a Muslim who doesn't have any significant interest in religion really a Muslim. They are just labels that they wear.

I don't quite disagree, but the expectations and the social pressure are there all the same.

 

[columbus]

A Christian who doesn't have any significant interest in religion isn't really a Christian.

Christians themselves manage to muddy these waters up quite a bit.

I have heard, many times, "I'm not religious, I am Christian! " or the equivalent. Here in the USA, where I live, Christianity is so overwhelmingly dominant that such an assertion makes sense.
Kinda.
Tom

 

[Rational Agnostic]

Why is it so rare to hear of a suicide bombers that is doing it for another faith besides Islam?

Without trolling, please explain why you think this is?

It's just always interested me that someone could think they would have reward in heaven for committing suicide and taking out innocent people in the process. It's just mind-boggling to me that anyone can have such convictions!

Why do such convictions come from Muslims more than adherents of all other faith combined?

Because Islam is the most violent religion in the world and the Qur'an encourages violence against non-believers more than any other so-called "holy" book. Also the indoctrination and isolaition from the outside world in Muslim countries is extreme. The values of Islam are absolutely antithetical to freedom, democracy, prosperity, progress, equality, and happiness.

 

[idav]

Christians themselves manage to muddy these waters up quite a bit.

I have heard, many times, "I'm not religious, I am Christian! " or the equivalent. Here in the USA, where I live, Christianity is so overwhelmingly dominant that such an assertion makes sense.
Kinda.
Tom

Yup for the most part Christian's just go through the motions because of culture and obligation around here.

 

[Indagator]

They answer the call to fight oppression,whether that be to fight invading armies in Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia or civil war in places like Bosnia. Nothing to do with wanting to kill innocent people. Yes some feel justified in killing innocent people, just as French bombs kill innocent civilians in war zones. Muslims also remember the genocide committed by the French in Algeria, where up to 15% of the population perished under France's 2 Decades of occupation. To date, I don't think the French have ever apologised.

They shouldn't, it is enough to just acknowledge it. Something that Turks refusing to do when it comes to Armenian genocide.

Peace be on you.
There have been others too.
Suicide attack - Wikipedia

Current so-called muslims involvement [as many of them do not practice Islam well, and even do not know basic teaching of islam] is due to fanatic religious leaders with political agenda who play in the hidden hands of western weapons sellers.

Lmao.... Crusaders didn't know much about Christianity either. Should i say so-called "christian" Crusades...

I don't think Christians are noticeably different from what they used to be.

From WWII to the invasion of Iraq, Christians are all about war. Just like they were centuries ago.
Tom

and muslms are not???

Iraq-Iran war... Wars against Israel?

Just a few examples... I can go on and post Muslim invasion of India. I suggest you look it up, it is considered by some to be the greatest genocide in history.

The reason why Islamic countries not invading Western Countries like they used to is because they cant. Western Countries are so superior to Islamic countries that if all Muslim countries would unite and tried to invade a country like UK or something they would be wiped out in a month or so. Just look at what Israel was able to do.

The percentage of Christians being persecuted in the ME is quite small compared to the number of Muslims living under repressive regimes. As I stated before I suspect that if we had entire nations of Christians being brutalized by their governments that we would see Christians resorting to similar tactics.

Muslim governments are absolutely horrible and repressive i agree. However i dont see Christians doing terrorism in Soviet Union for example, and they were really repressed there.

True, Christianity is an older religion and has matured a great deal in that respect. However, it seems pretty obvious to me that most Christians also follow a doctrine that tells them that they know better than Islam, or Hinduism, or any other religion for that matter.

ALL major Abrahamic religions are like that. If you want a non-supremacist religion go Pagan or Dharmic or something.

 

[Indagator]

Because Muslim terrorists tend to have little to work with.
As opposed to Christians who have $3 million fighter/bombers from which they can drop bombs from 20000 feet.
Christian terrorists are just richer than Muslim terrorists. And possibly more cowardly, but I am not sure about that. Syrians used their fighter jets as well as the Usonian military.
Tom

Wow... This is absolutely idiotic.

Terrorism, in its broadest sense, describes the use of intentionally indiscriminate violence as a means to create terror, or fear, in order to achieve a political, religious or ideological aim. It is used in this regard primarily to refer to violence against peacetime targets or in war against non-combatants.

Bombers dont target civilians on purpose they are used against a specific military targets, we know this because it would be contra-productive when it comes to military operations since killing civilians only creates more insurgents. So pilots are not terrorists, their main goal is to eliminate military targets and not spread terror among local population.

 

[Father Heathen]

Factors that are important to consider:

• Show me the Statistics. This should be the first question on everyone's mind. Until we have actual data on the rates of suicide bombings worldwide combined with other demographic information about the bombers, I'm not sure we can fairly begin addressing the topic at all. Where and if such data exists, it is equally important to be mindful of biases in the data. Namely, it seems unlikely that all nations worldwide will be equally scrupulous with their record keeping on such matters.
• Media Bias. This is the major reason why seeing statistics is so important. Not only is the media itself biased - you will see more coverage of stories that match prevailing or popular cultural narratives - but our consumption of that media is biased. Put another way, our awareness of incidents is not statistically representative and should not be used to make fact-based conclusions about frequency of events.

With these two considerations, I can't even get to this kind of statement:

I'd want to see statistical evidence verifying this is even the case first. Further, to make a better study of it, I don't see much reason to limit incidents of fanaticism to suicide bombings only, or even necessarily to religious identification. It makes more sense to me to examine a multitude of criminal activities worldwide along with demographic data and let the patterns speak for themselves. A priori assumptions that Muslims do this more than all other groups combined are not of interest to me. I'm not sure it's that interesting even with the right evidence, because then a question is begged:

What do you do with this information?

And I think some of the answers to that question are dangerous.

Since we're pretending that we're uncertain if most suicide bombers are muslim:

While there were few, if any, successful suicide attacks anywhere in the world from the end of World War II until 1980,[1] between 1981 and September 2015, a total of 4,814 suicide attacks occurred in over 40 countries,[2] killing over 45,000 people. During this time the global rate of such attacks grew from an average of three a year in the 1980s, to about one a month in the 1990s, to almost one a week from 2001 to 2003,[3] to approximately one a day from 2003 to 2015.[2] Suicide attacks tend to be more deadly and destructive than other terror attacks[4] because they give their perpetrators the ability to conceal weapons, make last-minute adjustments, and because they dispense with the need for remote or delayed detonation, escape plans or rescue teams.[4] They constituted only 4% of all terrorist attacks around the world over one period (between 1981 and 2006), but caused 32% of all terrorism-related deaths (14,599)[citation needed]. Ninety per cent of those attacks occurred in Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel, the Palestinian territories, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.[5] Overall, as of mid-2015 about three-quarters of all suicide attacks occurred in just three countries: Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq.[6]

Suicide attacks have been described as a weapon of psychological warfare[7] to instill fear in the target population,[8] a strategy to eliminate or at least drastically diminish areas where the public feels safe, and the "fabric of trust that holds societies together".[4]

The motivation of suicide attackers varies. Kamikaze acted under military orders and were motivated by obedience and nationalism. Before 2003, most attacks targeted forces occupying the attackers' homeland, according to analyst Robert Pape.[9] Anthropologist Scott Atran states that since 2004 the overwhelming majority of bombers have been motivated by the ideology of Islamist martyrdom.[10]

-Wikipedia's page for "suicide attack"
​

It's rather silly to feign ignorance just because we want to avoid casting certain things in a negative light.

 

[YmirGF]

The great problem here is that Islam, more so than any other religion, imho, encourages fanaticism. Winding up a fanatic is pretty easy. Soon you can convince them that becoming a martyr for their religion is a good thing. Channeling their outrage at anything remotely offensive - child's play.

The other side of this problem is how Muslims view the afterlife. It's all peaches and cream and must look attractive for those whose life sucks. They love death more than we love life. It's near impossible to reason with such a monstrous ideology.

 

[YmirGF]

Since we're pretending that we're uncertain if most suicide bombers are muslim:

While there were few, if any, successful suicide attacks anywhere in the world from the end of World War II until 1980,[1] between 1981 and September 2015, a total of 4,814 suicide attacks occurred in over 40 countries,[2] killing over 45,000 people. During this time the global rate of such attacks grew from an average of three a year in the 1980s, to about one a month in the 1990s, to almost one a week from 2001 to 2003,[3] to approximately one a day from 2003 to 2015.[2] Suicide attacks tend to be more deadly and destructive than other terror attacks[4] because they give their perpetrators the ability to conceal weapons, make last-minute adjustments, and because they dispense with the need for remote or delayed detonation, escape plans or rescue teams.[4] They constituted only 4% of all terrorist attacks around the world over one period (between 1981 and 2006), but caused 32% of all terrorism-related deaths (14,599)[citation needed]. Ninety per cent of those attacks occurred in Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel, the Palestinian territories, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.[5] Overall, as of mid-2015 about three-quarters of all suicide attacks occurred in just three countries: Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq.[6]

Suicide attacks have been described as a weapon of psychological warfare[7] to instill fear in the target population,[8] a strategy to eliminate or at least drastically diminish areas where the public feels safe, and the "fabric of trust that holds societies together".[4]

The motivation of suicide attackers varies. Kamikaze acted under military orders and were motivated by obedience and nationalism. Before 2003, most attacks targeted forces occupying the attackers' homeland, according to analyst Robert Pape.[9] Anthropologist Scott Atran states that since 2004 the overwhelming majority of bombers have been motivated by the ideology of Islamist martyrdom.[10]

-Wikipedia's page for "suicide attack"
​

It's rather silly to feign ignorance just because we want to avoid casting certain things in a negative light.

Thanks for this @Father Heathen ... when I read @Quintessence reply I burst out laughing and got up from the computer shaking my head.

 

[Father Heathen]

Why is it so rare to hear of a suicide bombers that is doing it for another faith besides Islam?

Without trolling, please explain why you think this is?

It's just always interested me that someone could think they would have reward in heaven for committing suicide and taking out innocent people in the process. It's just mind-boggling to me that anyone can have such convictions!

Why do such convictions come from Muslims more than adherents of all other faith combined?

Istishhad - Wikipedia

 

[YmirGF]

Istishhad - Wikipedia

And that article neatly points out the very weird ideas of destiny (fate) or predestination that riddle Islamic thought and always have.

 

[Father Heathen]

And that article neatly points out the very weird ideas of destiny (fate) or predestination that riddle Islamic thought and always have.

I've always found it odd how many on the left will vehemently oppose homophobia and misogyny, but if it's wrapped up in a religious package, they'll vehemently defend it instead.

 

[Quintessence]

Thanks for this @Father Heathen ... when I read @Quintessence reply I burst out laughing and got up from the computer shaking my head.

So practicing critical thinking by asking for evidence and being aware of exposure bias is bad? M'kay. Good to know.

 

[BSM1]

That is not really even halfway a justification for the coward activity that are air bombings.

Sooo...you saying we should not bomb our enemies? That maybe challenging our enemies to a rousing game of "Red Rover" would be more courageous and honorable? Don't worry, LD, when the poop hits the propeller I'll still have your back.