Topic: Last Stand In Iraq?

DTop · December 5th, 2005

The reason it makes no sense to kill yourself in the name of religion or some other cause is because it defies all of our western senses of warfare, religion, and regard for human life, especially one's own. This sort of thing however, has happened throughout history especially in the Middle East. The idea of the suicide attacker in that area of the world goes back more than a thousand years at least. During the 11th Century, a Persian named Hasan I Sabah who had a great deal of wealth founded a fundamentalist Islamic sect called The Assassins. Several centuries later, Marco Polo commented on these people in his book of travels. Their attacks were directed at the Seljuk Turks who Sabah felt were "enemies of the Truth Faith". Sounds just a bit familiar doesn't it? They would stalk and kill a target and rather than escape they would stand their ground and be killed themselves. Their targets were not only other Muslims but some of the leaders of the Crusades (England's King Edward I before he became king, for example).
I think the main difficulty we have in understanding these people is that they consider their suicides as a form of martyrdom. We in the West consider suicide as a cowardly act and martyrdom as something one suffers at the hands of others.
Top

December 5th, 2005
DTop Milforum Moderator Gear	The reason it makes no sense to kill yourself in the name of religion or some other cause is because it defies all of our western senses of warfare, religion, and regard for human life, especially one's own. This sort of thing however, has happened throughout history especially in the Middle East. The idea of the suicide attacker in that area of the world goes back more than a thousand years at least. During the 11th Century, a Persian named Hasan I Sabah who had a great deal of wealth founded a fundamentalist Islamic sect called The Assassins. Several centuries later, Marco Polo commented on these people in his book of travels. Their attacks were directed at the Seljuk Turks who Sabah felt were "enemies of the Truth Faith". Sounds just a bit familiar doesn't it? They would stalk and kill a target and rather than escape they would stand their ground and be killed themselves. Their targets were not only other Muslims but some of the leaders of the Crusades (England's King Edward I before he became king, for example). I think the main difficulty we have in understanding these people is that they consider their suicides as a form of martyrdom. We in the West consider suicide as a cowardly act and martyrdom as something one suffers at the hands of others. Top __________________ *"I was a soldier, I am a soldier, I always will be a soldier."* To Avoid Infractions - Click Here And Read the Forum Rules Before You Post. Last edited by DTop; December 5th, 2005 at 14:10.