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In an age when the Western world is preoccupied with worries about weapons of mass destruction in terrorist hands, terrorists across many parts of the globe are using a more basic device as a weapon - life itself. Suicide bombing has become a weapon of choice among terrorist groups because of its lethality and unrivalled ability to cause mayhem and fear, but what is the real driving force behind these attacks? For the first time, Suicide Bombings analyzes concrete data from The Suicide Terrorism Database at Flinders University, Australia, to explain what motivates the perpetrators. The re

In an age when the Western world is preoccupied with worries about weapons of mass destruction in terrorist hands, terrorists in many parts of the world are using a more basic device as a weapon - life itself. Through analysis of data from The Suicide Terrorism Database, Suicide Bombings seeks to explain the motivation of these attackers, and uncovers a cocktail of forces that drive suicide bombers.

Background: Current issues in the emerging psychiatric literature on suicide bombing tend to center around the pathologies of suicide bombers and the role of psychiatry as an adequate tool for analysis. Aims: Attention to broader social science research may allow mental health professionals to develop more accurate models of behavior to explain and possibly prevent future attacks. Methods: The psychiatric literature on suicide bombing was reviewed and compared to similar anthropological literature. Results: A probe into the methodologies of researching suicide bombing, definitions of "war" and "terrorism", and beliefs on life, death, homicide, and suicide demonstrate that most of the psychiatric literature reflects a particular perspective which aspires towards a certain universalism. Conclusions: Anthropological approaches can disclose standpoints taken for granted since any interventions with respect to suicide bombing must eventually account for values which are ultimately culturally determined.

Like many people in America and around the world, Talal Asad experienced the events of September 11, 2001, largely through the media and the emotional response of others. For many non-Muslims, "the suicide bomber" quickly became the icon of "an Islamic culture of death"& mdash;a conceptual leap that struck Asad as problematic. Is there a "religiously-motivated terrorism?" If so, how does it differ from other cruelties? What makes its motivation "religious"? Where does it stand in relation to other forms of collective violence?Drawing on his extensive scholarship in the study of secular and rel