Last week was a busy one for analysts of suicide terrorism. The classic “profile” (21-year old single male) was shattered again, as entire families in Indonesia and dozens of Palestinians carried out attacks that required their deaths. The inspiration for such disparate populations to sacrifice themselves and their children was their desire to become holy “martyrs.”
Attacks on “the Sunday people” in their churches are not unknown in Indonesia, but on Sunday, May 13, an entire family of six conducted coordinated suicide bombings at three Christian churches in the city of Surabaya. According to police, Dita Futrianto and his wife were members of the local ISIS affiliate, Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD). The Futrianto family used a car, two motorcycles and suicide belts in the attacks.
Later that evening as another family was preparing pipe bombs, a mother and her 17-year-old son were killed in a blast presumed accidental. The next day, yet another Indonesian family conducted another suicide attack. This time, five family members riding two motorcycles struck police headquarters in Surabaya.
Meanwhile five thousand miles away in Gaza, Hamas came up with a new tactic, one part Khomeiniesque human wave attack and one part “suicide by cop,” by coercing children to storm the border fence, telling them “the [Israeli] army won’t shoot girls…[it] won’t shoot little kids.”
The new Hamas tactic, which U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman calls “a suicide bomb on a large scale,” is actually a variation on the human wave attack invented by Ayatollah Khomeini during the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988). German journalist Christoph Reuter described it as a “new military strategy [that] attempted to penetrate Iraqi lines of defense with frontal assaults consisting of wave upon wave of human soldiery without any kind of backup support.” Often that “human soldiery” consisted of thousands of children from the Basij.
The Basij children charged en masse, screaming at the tops of their lungs to scare the enemy. Hamas positions its children behind the smoke of burning tires as they wait for an opportunity to make a run at the fence with Hamas-issued wire cutters.
This tactic has an element of “suicide by cop” to it, only rather than the last desperate act of cowardice from a deranged killer, children in Gaza have been groomed for death, inculcated into the martyrdom culture. Hamas leaders require dead bodies for the global sympathy they hope to gain by the propaganda spectacle of what Gabriel Weimann calls a mass-mediated attack.
Seth Frantzman documents elaborate behind-the-scenes preparations at the border: “Hamas officials show up in the morning or early afternoon to rouse the people and encourage them in their protest. Speeches are made and prayers offered. It is well organized. Buses bring people to the protests. There are people there selling food. There is a macabre element to this, with protesters saying they’ll have a meal before they become ‘shahid’ or martyr at the front.”
The common denominator among Basij human wave attacks, Indonesian suicide families, and Palestinians rushing towards a telegenic death is belief in “martyrdom.” It is one of Islam’s most important narratives, yet it beguiles the Western perspective, which sees only a cynical use of children as pawns.
To motivate his wave attackers, Khomeini reached back to the origins of Shia Islam when the Caliph Yazid slaughtered Husayn Ali (grandson of the prophet Muhammad) and his 72 loyal followers. Khomeini fine-tuned the story by portraying Saddam Hussein as Yazid and the Iranian people as Ali’s followers. Dying for the cause became not only honorable, but desirable.
Khomeini sent his Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to Lebanon’s Bekaa valley, where the new politicized version of martyrdom was spread to AMAL and Hezbollah, inspiring some of the earliest suicide attacks against Iraqi diplomats and US and French peacekeepers. Soon what was originally a Shiite phenomenon spread among the PLO (exiled to Lebanon since 1970) and eventually to other Sunni Islamist groups including Al-Qaeda and ISIS.
Many journalists continue to seek reasonable explanations for suicide attacks, failing to appreciate that the people encouraging and committing these attacks don’t consider them suicide. Current Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri explains that one who commits suicide does so “out of depression and despair,” whereas a martyr dies “to service Islam.” In fact, “martyrs” don’t really die. As Hamas founder Ahmed Yassin once explained, “Someone who commits suicide doesn’t want to live whereas a martyr is someone who likes life after death.”
In claiming responsibility for the Futrianto family’s attacks, ISIS announced “Three martyrdom attacks killed 11 and wounded at least 41 among church guards and Christians.” Likewise, when Yahya Sinwar of Hamas’ Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades announced the deaths at the Gaza border proclaimed “We are going to Jerusalem, millions of martyrs…following in the path of martyr Yasser Arafat…if we explode we will explode in [Israel’s] face.”
Those who underestimate the cult of martyrdom will remain confused at “Palestinian children being sent to an extremely volatile border fence” and surprised by Indonesian family attackers “so far from the profiles of what you would think a terrorist would be.” As long as thousands, perhaps millions, believe in the virtue of sacrificing themselves and their children “to service Islam,” no one should be confused or surprised by whatever new development comes next.
A.J. Caschetta is a Ginsburg-Ingerman fellow at the Middle East Forum and a senior lecturer at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
Walter Sieruk says
Those heinous suicide/homicide attacks committed by mind-programmed Muslims ,be those murderous jihad attacks occur in Israel or Indonesia or in any other nation. For those epidemic type Islamic terror murder attacks are, for a large part , the results of those deceitful and manipulative imams who brainwash even entire families into actually wanting to become human bombs. Those sly and insidious imams, and sometimes the mullahs , with their methods of mind control as well as their lines and lies .As “We will honor you” and “You will go to paradise “ and “We are doing this for Allah.” That’s some very strand kind of “We.” For the reader to should well understand that those same Muslim clerics who brainwash other people and then send them out to commit a murderous jihad attack are never, ever the one who do in themselves. They brainwash and just brainwash and manipulate into carrying out those evil and deadly actions. All the while the mass murders are going on those same Muslim clerics sit home safe. This alone show what totally despicable cowardly villains those kind of Muslim clerics actually are. The Bible informs its reader that “The counsels of the wicked are deceitful.” Proverbs 12:5. [K.K.J.V.]
mortimer says
Walter, the Islamic leaders believe they are generals directing Allah’s army. Muslims are self-hypnotized. They really believe. When you meet a Muslim, stare him or her in the eye and say nothing.
nicu says
@mortimer –I keep doing that — suddenly they are not that brave as in a gang kicking people to death !
J D S says
These stupid people,, not only are they destroying their lives here on earth but to spend eternity in that forever burning lake if fire is more stupid. God must be enlarging that awful Lake just to accommodate the many Muslims that are on their way. God is shedding tears.
mortimer says
A. J. Caschetta has written a SUPERB ACCOUNT describing the MENTALITY OF THE JIHADIST.
They are more or less without a conscience in committing CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY.
Islam is a BRONZE-AGE DEATH CULT without emotional refinement.
Rather, Islam dulls the CONSCIENCE COMPLETELY except in the matter of silly OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE BATHROOM and CLEANSING RITUALS.
mortimer says
I feel bold enough to summarize what A. J. Cascetta has written here: “Those who underestimate the cult of martyrdom will remain confused at “Palestinian children being sent to an extremely volatile border fence” and surprised by Indonesian family attackers…” (ut supra)
The explanation of this behavior is that ALL Muslims are required to practice JIHAD regardless of age.
All Christians are by contrast required to practice the beneficent Golden Rule.
ALL of JIHAD is motivated by the hatred and hostility from Muslims directed against the DIRTY KUFAAR.
boakai ngombu says
the hatred and hostility from muslims (slaves of the allah god of islam) is well ingrained evey day as BARAA is inculcated by the imam, ummah, family. there is no forgiveness in this environment relying upon only koran, sira, hadiths – sources all dedicated hatred and hostility against any and all.
Christians have an understanding that LOVE is given by a merciful God for the sake of the individual as well as the community. love in the Christian sense is a response to Triune God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit), who is LOVE.
there is also a “knowledge,” an understanding of appreciation – absent in the umma – between the Living and Loving God and the Christian. It is a bond, too.
the slave of the allah god does not have a sense of love or appreciation; from nowhere in the umma does it come. … dulled conscience … a conscience lacking any appeal for forgiveness and life, and nearly dead.
Granddaddy says
Brainwashing has been going on since the Assasins formed in the 11th century. Muslims indoctrinate and brainwash their children in school all the time. Five-year-olds write poetry about how they’re going to murder Jews, and they are broadcast on national TV, and everyone coos over them, they’re such darling wannabe murderers. So suicidal families shouldn’t be a surprise. Just one more reason why Islam should be declared a terrorist organization. It’s written right in the Quran for anyone to read. It should not be allowed to exist in any country where the people want to live in freedom and peace. And may they all go to their kinky weirdo heaven together. And good riddance.
somehistory says
There is no bottom to the depth of evil to which moslims will not stoop to force people to bow to their satan created beast.
They have no love for their children, “No natural affection,” as the Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy. They don’t know what real love or parental affection is. And the monsters of hamas and the Iranian gov, etc. want the most visible blood shed possible for effect.
Nothing surprises. It does disgust.
Matthieu Baudin says
“…As long as thousands, perhaps millions, believe in the virtue of sacrificing themselves and their children “to service Islam,” no one should be confused or surprised by whatever new development comes next…”
Depressingly so!
6woods says
Islam is a cancer and muslims are the cells.
nicu says
Families get money if a son becomes a ” martyr ” — they rise their kids to become one – so the youth is a result of the brainwashed parents — if you want to fight them fight the whole clans !
KJW says
The average birthdate in the sardine can of Gaza is ~5.6 children per mother. Not a big deal to lose one as a martyr, and also the martyr’s family gets to go to Paradise too. You should see how warped some of these mothers are when on Hamas TV. Mothers have strapped bombs on them in the past.
I forgot if it’s in the Sira or Hadith, but a soldier asked Muhammad what makes him laugh, and Muhammad replied to take off one’s arm and go into battle. So, the guy took off his armor and proceeded to get killed.
In Sahih Bukhari, Muhammad says he would like to die, come back to death, die and come back to death…
In the Qur’an there’s the verses about Khadir walking with Moses and telling Moses to be patient for explanations of three things he did. One of those things Khidir did was to kill a young boy which appalled Moses, but then Khidir explained why; that the boy is an unbeliever and he would cause his parents strife or unhappiness with his being rebellious. So. Khidir prayed God. The boy might have eventually believed for all he knows. This is seen as a wise parable as Miss accepted it. An ex-Muslim friend in Iran told me that before I began to read the Qur’an.
Lots of death and lust in Islam.
gravenimage says
New Developments in Suicide Attacks
………………….
Who says there is no innovation in Islam? sarc/off