The Pakistani tide has begun to turn against America in the wake of their questionable killing of Osama bin Laden. Most recently, Pakistan's parliament issued a resolution that called for the cessation of the "unacceptable" drone attacks in their country and threatened to withdraw NATO's access to a transit facility. This decision came during a debate among parliamentarians over the "unilateral U.S. action in Abbottabad", the town in which bin Laden was killed.
Perhaps a greater indication of the wrath churned up by bin Laden's murder occurred the day before this resolution was drafted. On May 13, the "first revenge" was taken for bin Laden's death by two suicide bombers who rode motorcycles into an area near a paramilitary training center in the Charsadda district of Pakistan. This resulted in the death of at least 76 people, the bulk of which were paramilitary police. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack and said that there would be "bigger attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan" to come.
Suicide Bombers
The use of suicide bombers as weapons raises questions about what such people must believe in order to carry out attacks of this sort. In 2008, Robert Fisk reported that "1,121 Muslim suicide bombers have blown themselves up in Iraq". The article also contained an interview with an 18 year old who was preparing to become a suicide attacker, declaring that he was "doing it for God."
According to some, the motivation behind a suicide bombing resides in a deal made between the Muslim god and the attacker-to-be. Zarein Ahmedzay, who pleaded guilty in 2010 for his role in a "plot to coordinate suicide bombings on New York's subway system", quoted a passage from the Qur'an while entering his plea. He cited that "Allah has purchased of the believers their lives and their wealth for the price of Paradise". So then, a person is given the sense that those who partake in suicide bombing missions do so, at least in part, because they believe their place in the paradise of their afterlife has been secured.
Belief
However, philosopher Slavoj Zizek would caution against making such a simple, causal relation between the beliefs and actions of suicide bombers. In an interview from 2004, speaking about Palestinian suicide bombers, Zizek claimed that even though Westerners portray these people as "true believers, their belief is more complex than it appears."
He cites two ways in which there is more to this phenomenon. Firstly, the motivation for carrying out such a mission need not be religious as "there are much more secular motivations at work", in particular the desire to sacrifice one's self for their nation. Robert Fisk cited the use of kamikaze pilots by Japan in the Second World War as an example of this non-religious form of self-immolation.
Secondly, there is "a strange logic in which the bombers themselves have doubts, and their suicide becomes a way of confirming their belief." From this perspective then, it is not that the person commits suicide while taking the lives of others because they believe in their place in Paradise. Rather, they commit the act to prove they believe in Allah, Paradise, and so on. The difference is subtle, but important in determining the meaning behind the act.
Pakistani Suicide Bombers & Belief
So, in the case of the recent double suicide attack in Pakistan, we should keep these points in mind. The two men who carried out the act may have done so for a variety of reasons. The organization that now claims to represent them placed an explicitly political dimension on their act by categorizing it as "revenge". Perhaps it was the case then that these young men sacrificed their lives in order to fight for their country, Pakistan, which they perceive as being under threat from such entities as the paramilitary forces they targeted. It might also be the case, or it might only be the case, that they were convinced to follow through with this act because of the promise of eternal delight held out by their faith.
However, proving what those two attackers believed will not be possible any longer, unless a message left by them is brought to light. That is to say, a message other than the one of retaliation and destruction left at the site of the crime in Charsadda on Friday morning.
Sources
- Ahmedzay, Zarein. " Zarein Ahmedzay's statement when he plead guilty to terrorist charges." New York Post. 23 April 2010.
- Al Jazeera. "Scores killed in Pakistan twin bomb attacks." 13 May 2011.
- Al Jazeera. "Pakistan slams US over Bin Laden raid." 14 May 2011.
- Fisk, Robert. "The Cult of the Suicide Bomber." The Independent (UK). 14 March 2008.
- United States Department of Justice. " Zarein Ahmedzay Pleads Guilty to Terror Violations in Connection with Al-Qaeda New York Subway Plot." 23 April 2010.
- Rasmussen, Eric Dean. "Liberation Hurts: An Interview with Slavoj Zizek." Electronic Book Review. 1 July 2004.
Mark Guzylak-Shergold - Mark Guzylak-Shergold writes to clarify his thoughts and with any luck the thoughts of others.
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