Is Suicide Terrorism Religiously Motivated?
Is Suicide Terrorism Religiously Motivated?Answer: Credible researchers agree that “religion” neither causes nor explains suicide terrorism. There are several reasons for this. First, not all suicide terrorists are religious. In fact, the secular Sri Lankan Tamil Tigers (LTTE) have committed more suicide attacks since the 1980s than any other group. Second, when we look closely at the context in which suicide attacks take place, there are always particular grievances or perceived grievances in play that also explain the decision to use the tactic. For example, Hamas, an Islamist Palestinian group, has a clearly Islamic identity. But their goal, which is to establish an Islamist state in the West Bank and Gaza, cannot be divorced from the political conflict between Israel and Palestine from which it springs. Third, when thinking about the possible relationship of religion to suicide terrorism, it is useful to distinguish between the group and individual suicide bombers. As Robert Pape,
