Showing newest posts with label Terror. Show older posts

At around 7:30 pm on Saturday (February 13, 2010) a bomb blast at a restaurant popular with tourists in India's western city of Pune killed 9 people and left 57 people injured. The bomb was in a backpack and it exploded when an waiter tried to inspect the left luggage. Shashi Bellamkonda at My Digital Thoughts reports:

A few hours ago (Feb 13th 2010) a bomb went off popular cafe ‘German Bakery” in Pune India. At the time of posting this the press were reporting that 8 people had died and about 40 injured in this blast which left the bodies charred beyond recognition. The bakery is a popular spot with foreign tourists.

Shashi has also these observations:

• This comes a day after both India and Pakistan agreed to resume talks that had been halted since the Mumbai attacks in 2008. ( 14 months ago )
• David Headley currently in a Chicago jail had visited Pune to surveyed the Osho Ashram near the blast site
• The blast site is near the Pune Chabad house and the Mumbai Chabad House was a  target in the 26/11 attacks in 2008.
• The blast area is near the Osho Ashram frequented by tourists another similarity to the Mumbai 2008 blasts.

Pragmatic Euphony warns:

The jehadis have struck again on the Indian mainland; this time in Pune, albeit more than a year after the horrendous terror attacks on Mumbai in November 2008. The initial response, while going with the most plausible and popular assumption that the blast was the handiwork of Pakistan based jehadi groups, is one of indignation. Perhaps understandably so as tempers are bound to run high. And this emotion is likely to be further amplified as the Indian mainstream media hyperventilates and virtually runs amok with its over the top coverage of the incident.

People are already finding links to Pakistan. Offstumped informs that the Pune blast followed a Laskar-e-Taiba threat. A top leader of the Lashkar-e-Taiba named Pune as a target city at a permitted public rally in Pakistan. The Acorn says:

Despite the Lashkar-e-Taiba threat, it is too early to definitively attribute the attack to the Pakistani military-jihadi complex. But it is clear that the Pakistani military-jihadi complex has every reason to escalate tensions with India through the use of terrorism. Without the excuse of “tensions to the east”, Pakistan would have nothing left to explain to Washington its double-dealing on the taliban.

Dilip D'Souza at Death Ends Fun reminds that India should also do something about the homegrown terror:

Until we recognize homegrown terror for what it is — no less than anything from abroad — and until we stand against every kind of terror, we will never defeat terrorism.

The Twittersphere was abuzz with tweets and retweets spreading the news. Here are some of the reactions:

IndiaHappening: Nine killed, 32 hurt in Pune terror blast http://bit.ly/arLssZ #India
r_shekhawat: Terror strikes at my home - ‘Pune' : Once again, innocent people killed by some mindless terrorists. Pune, a great city, hurt and bruised.
pragmatic_rebel: Must be a sad start to Valentine's day in #Pune! Still aghast at the blasts, I wish #India does something really different this time.
bhuvan_chelsea: We need a vigilante like Batman here in #India . ;-)
tweetSAMRAT: Is praying for the victims of the recent Pune bomb blast.
nehasasi: RT @deepitganjoo: Please RT This Jahangir Hospital Pune Needs Blood AB+ve and B+ve Contact : 1066 Those who are in Pune…. Please
_india_: Pune blast casts shadow on talks with Pak

No doubt the blast in Pune will impact the recent goodwill talks between India and Pakistan. But it seems that the terrorists are being given the upper hand as emotions are running high everywhere.

First published in Global Voices Online.

Terror and militancy is a burning threat in all of the South Asian countries. Many terrorist outfits operate in this region and sometime their operations are cross border.

The four month old new Bangladesh government has been tough with the militants, but the efforts are not enough considering the lack of infrastructure and training of the security agencies. However a section of people are propagating otherwise that the government is over stressing the case of Islamic terrorism.

The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chief on Saturday at a rally said that there was no militant in the country as they had controlled of the militants by arresting and executing all the militants. Khaleda accused the four-month-old government of the Awami League of plotting to bring foreign troops in the country in the name of anti-militancy fight. (The Asian Tribune)

Interestingly BNP's allies Jamaat-e-Islami also claimed with reference to the government's resolution for a South Asian task force to counter terrorism:

“A certain quarter” is inviting “foreign forces to Bangladesh in search of militants mentioning the country’s inability to fight against militancy”.

The current threats prove otherwise. Recently typed letters were sent to offices of the UN’s children’s fund (UNICEF) and its World Food Programme (WFP), as well as the Red Crescent and Red Cross in the city of Barisal:

“The offices received identical letters signed by the group Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) ordering them to shut down and pull out their staff within 24 hours, otherwise they would be killed."

The security around diplomatic zones in capital Dhaka was beeefed after an Islamist militant group threatened three missions including the U.S. embassy:

An unknown terror group, Jameaah Islamiyah al Qaeda, had threatened the U.S. embassy and the British, Canadian and Australian high commissions in Dhaka.

The threats were contained in letters faxed from a number in Malaysia.

The message demanded $100,000 from the missions through Western Union Money Transfer to fund the release of a forensic expert of the group, who is now in a Malaysian prison.

So is the government crying wolf? Can these threat be tackled without cooperation from other countries?

On March 25 Bangladesh was shocked by a massive arms haul in a madrassa and orphanage in Bhola. The ten acre compound was situated in a remote place in Bohranuddin Upazila and was fortified by a 'drawbridge' over a large pond leading to the Madrassa entrance. There were 11 children between the ages of 7 and 8 at the compound during the raid by the Elite force RAB, which arrested four people including a teacher. All the three rooms of teachers’ dormitory of the militant den, were mainly used for storing arms and ammunition. General people were not allowed to enter the area and they only knew that orphans were taught there.(More here)

The arms recovery included four handguns, four shotguns, 3000 bomb 'splinters', 900 bullets, eight magazines, two binoculars, two remote-control devices, six life jackets, 20 facemasks, two walkie-talkies and as many mobile phones. A number of books on Jihad were also recovered. (BDNews24)

The recovery also indicates they [the militants] have all equipment necessary to make IEDs. (The Daily Star)

The Madrasa and Orphanage was funded by Green Crescent an UK based charity and its founder, chairman and head trustee is Faisal Mostafa, a Bangladeshi-British. And it has been funding different such establishments in different parts of Bangladesh and in Pakistan. In 2008, Green Crescent had a turnover approaching £70,000 (US$102,733).

Times Online UK reports:

The family of Dr Mostafa, 45, who has a chemistry degree and a PhD in metals corrosion, said yesterday that he had set up the orphanage because of a humanitarian desire to help poor children.

However the report reveals the other side of Dr. Mostafa:

Dr Mostafa was acquitted in February 2002 of plotting with Moinul Abedin, also Bangladeshi-born, to cause explosions. Both were arrested in Birmingham. Abedin was found guilty and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

He was acquitted of a similar explosives charge in 1996 after a trial at Manchester Crown Court. Prosecutors claimed explosives were found at his home. But he was found guilty of illegally possessing a firearm, sentenced to four years in prison and banned for life from possessing a firearm.

In July last year he was arrested at Manchester airport for trying to board an aircraft with a pistol in his suitcase. He checked in with the component parts of a gas-powered pistol and primers in his luggage as he and his family were intending to fly to Dubai.He claimed that it was to be used for hunting and fishing, and was given a suspended sentence.

The Daily Mail quoted Saeed Mahmood, of Stockport-based charity Human Appeal International:

'Faisal comes in every few months about mainland projects in Bangladesh. We only work with organisations that are registered with the Charity Commission so we had no idea about these allegations.'

Sid at Unheard Voice writes:

If the Green Crescent charity has indeed been involved in militant activity, this will reflect very poorly on the Charity Commission – particularly given that Mostafa, the head of the charity, had previously been put on trial twice for terrorist offences. Ineffectiveness by the Charity Commission in identifying and tackling extremist charities leads to the British taxpayer directly subsiding militancy and extremism.

It is worth noting that “fundathons” on Bangladeshi satellite TV channels such as BanglaTV and Channel S raise hundreds of thousands of pounds by Islamic organisations. These groups often have no track record of charity work in Britain or are even registered by the Charity Commission. Audience members simply donate money in all sincerity hoping that these funds will be used on well-deserved Muslim causes. Where are these funds actually going to and what use are these large amounts of money being put to?

Bangladesh Finance minister AMA Muhith said that "the large number of NGOs" approved by the then social welfare minister and Jamaat-e-Islami leader, Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mojaheed, would be audited meticulously.

The Daily Prothom Alo reported that Mostafa is a nephew of the influencial BNP leader and ex Minister Hafizuddin. Its ironical that he is still at large in Bangladesh and he is yet to be charged (via Himu).

The worrying news is that the UK NGO was about to open two more charities in Bangladesh.

From the AllFaceBook blog:

We’ve covered extensively how Facebook has been impacting the global political landscape and much of what we’ve discussed has been about the spreading of democracy. Now for the first time, it appears that Islamic terrorists are preparing to spread Jihad through the largest global social network. In a post entitled “Invading Facebook: Theory and Practice”, Umar Abd al-Hakim of Syria covers how Facebook can be used to spread Jihadi media to the masses.

Major General Muniruzzaman, a former military advisor and Chief of Staff to the President of Bangladesh, mentioned that the young people from Asian communities in Britain are often more radicalized that their counterparts in South Asia.

"We are interested in studying the Facebook generation, to see how the Facebook generation is shifting radical thoughts from one country to another, " he said.

John Oliver describes in Comedy Central

Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI) of The Islamic Holy War Movement was formed in 1984 by Fazalur Rehman Khalil and Qari Saifullah Akhtar, as the first Pakistan-based jihadist outfit, during the Soviet-Afghan War.

The Harkat-ul-Jihad-al Islami Bangladesh (HuJI-B) was established in 1992, reportedly with assistance from Osama bin Laden’s International Islamic Front (IIF). On April 30, 1992, several of the HuJI-B leaders addressed a press conference at the Jatiya Press Club in capital Dhaka and demanded that Bangladesh be converted into an Islamic State. It draws inspiration from bin Laden and the erstwhile Taliban regime of Afghanistan. At one point of time, the groups issued a slogan, Amra Sobai Hobo Taliban, Bangla Hobe Afghanistan (We will all become Taliban and we will turn Bangladesh into Afghanistan).

The coastal area stretching from the port city of Chittagong south through Cox's Bazaar to the Myanmarese border, notorious for piracy, smuggling and arms running, is the principal area of activity of the HuJI-B. A large number of volunteers had gone to Afghanistan to fight alongside the Mujahideen in the war against the former Soviet Union.

The HuJI-B is also believed to be having links with Pakistan. For instance, the outfit’s ‘operations commander’ and a key suspect in the plot to assassinate the then Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, in July 2000, Mufti Abdul Hannan, after his arrest in October 2005 admitted to have passed out of the Gouhardanga Madrassa in Pakistan. The HuJI-B’s Pakistani link was further established with the recovery of a diary from Hannan’s brother Matiur Rehman, who was also arrested in connection with the assassination plot. Entries in the diary revealed that he was in touch with Pakistan’s diplomatic mission in Bangladesh.

HuJI-B also maintain links with terrorist groups operating in India’s Northeast, including with the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA). The HuJI-B reportedly managed some of ULFA’s camps situated in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh along the border with the Indian State of Tripura. HUJI-B was also alleged to be involved in numerous terrorist incidents in India.

Three HuJI-B cadres made a failed attempt on the life of poet Shamsur Rahman at his residence in Dhaka on January 18, 1999.

It was involved in a number of incidents, including the killing of journalist Shamsur Rahman, on July 16, 2000, in Jessore. Later, police arrested 10 HuJI-B activists and sealed its office at a Dhaka suburb, Khilgaon, Interrogations revealed that HuJI-B cadres had planned to kill 28 prominent intellectuals, including National Professor Kabir Choudhury, writer Taslima Nasreen and the Director General of the Islamic Foundation, Maulana Abdul Awal. The Bangladesh government banned it in 2005.

Now in a dramatic twist of events media reports say that:

"Leaders of the banned Islamist outfit Harkatul Jihad al Islami (HuJI) in Bangladesh have floated the Islamic Democratic Party (IDP) ahead of the December elections with permission from the caretaker government."

And more stunning news was that:

"Last Friday, HuJI, donning the IDP label, held an Iftar party at the city's Diploma Engineers Institution that was attended by party leaders and guests including Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, editor of Blitz weekly, Human Rights Forum general secretary Sanjeeb Choudhury and Chitta Francis, a representative of the Christian community."

What are these resident Zionists of Bangladesh doing?

HuJI official Azizul Huq said Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury and Richard L. Benkin, an American citizen, helped in efforts to portray IDP in a positive light across the globe.

In an e-mail to a Daily Star correspondent, Benkin said: "Mr. Huq is correct. Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury and I continuously try to bridge the gulf between religious communities throughout the world and always look for opportunities to promote a positive image of Bangladesh worldwide.

Moulana Salam said about Regarding Mufti Hannan that they had expelled him in 1998 and they cannot take responsibility of what he did after that.

This is a very worrying sign for Bangladesh. Not only that a terrorist outfit is again being given legitimacy, the involvement of people like Richard Benkin and Salah Uddin Shoaib Chowdhury means that they are being supported by a superpower which has a double face in leading a war on terror. This is insane!! I think Bangladesh government should think twice before giving permission to IDP.

At first there were reports that a Bangladeshi plane was hijacked and made an emergency landing in Thailand. But later it was revealed that it was an apple pealing passenger with a fruit knife which has caused all this. The fellow passengers did not have any idea what was going on.

US presidential candidate Barack Obama has stated in one of his election campaign speeches that he would use military force if necessary against Al-Qaeda in Pakistan even without Pakistan's consent.

Well earlier Bush did it discretely. Its nothing new. Only this open declaration shows disrespect to sovereignty of another country. Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman termed it "irresponsible".

Update: Kush Tandon comments in Sepia Mutiny:

I think Obama is being highly irresponsible. I do not think you do a "damn thing" on Pakistan's territory without their yes/ permission. Pakistan is not a banana republic, even though it has serious complications.

Pakistan is outraged over it. There was even a round table discussion on Pakistan television about the impending US attack: Part 1, Part 2, & Part 3 available in YouTube.

BDNews24 reports:

A series of bombs went off at Dhaka, Sylhet and Chittagong railway stations Tuesday morning, spreading panic among commuters. A rickshawpuller was injured in the Chittagong blast. All the bombs exploded between 6:45am and 7:00am.

Aluminium plates inscribed with militant slogans purported to be from an al-Qaeda network were found at the bomb sites.

This seems only a sign by the militants that they are here. The Chief of Police also confirms that militants are active in the country.

Journalist Ahmede Hussain has detailed round up and international press reactions. From his Blog:

Jadid Al-Qaeda, an unknown group believed to be linked to Osama bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda network has planted three bombs at three major railway terminals across the country early today (May 1, 2007).

In a message inscribed in one of the bombs that did not take off, the group "has ordered everyone working with Non Government Organisations (NGO) to leave their job". "... If Hazrat (Prophet) Mohammad is not declared the superman of the world by May 10, all non-governmental organisations will be blown up,"

One leaflet found said: "We are ready to die" and another called to cut ties with the Ahmadiyas. Muslim Bangladesh's Ahmadiya community is frequently targeted by extremists in the majority Sunni community who have called on the government to pass a law declaring them "non-Muslim." It also says all 'Kadianis' must recognize Prophet Muhammad (SM) or face death.

The BBC's John Sudworth in Dhaka says that the authorities are investigating whether Jadid al-Qaeda is a new group, or a manifestation of a hard line group that already exists. "We are puzzled over the motives (of those who planted the bombs). But they dared to take the risk," said another police officer.

The law adviser is looking at the incidents of bombing as acts of sabotage against the caretaker government. He however said inquiries are underway.

Photo Credit: Retuers

Drishtipat Blog reports:

What Kind of terrorist unit inscribes message on aluminium plate? Did they do it at home, or in a shop? If in a shop, isn’t there high chance of discovery? My theory, once again Bangladesh being used as a chess board for puppetmasters. Who benefits?

News came very slowly. I SMS’ed 15 people, only 2 had heard the news before. Partially it’s because maybe a holiday, and people are not checking the news.

Dhakashohor Blog has more updates and pictures:

Daily Star reports pretty much the same times of explosion as above but calls it "near-simultaneous". We have a lot to be worried about when it comes to this sort of things, but needless panic mongering is not going to help!

Dhaka: 6:45 am
Syhlet: 7:15 am
Chittagong: 9:30 am

Before we blame "foreign interests", it's much more productive to look ourselves in the mirror and ask: what are we doing wrong? These blasts are at best gimmicks. A sort of publicity stunt for a very dangerous message. However, they do point to that very awful trend where the whole concept of civil society and NGO are being reified (as discussed in DP and on this blog a few days back). Aren't there Islamic NGOs active in Bangladesh too?

Rajputro Blog says:

Many Bangladeshis were travelling out of Dhaka taking advantage of a two-day public holiday for May Day and a Buddhist religious festival on Wednesday. Since friday and saturday are weekly holidays, if you take leave on thursday you'll make it a five day holiday. But now people are afraid of making a move.

Intelligence groups last month alerted the government that Islamist militants were regrouping after the execution of the militant leaders of the outlawed Islamist group, Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen.

Expat Blogger Gabrielle comments:

Unfortunately these kind of incidents are not that uncommon in this part of the world and life moves on as usual.

'My thoughts and Ideas' says:

The Caretaker Government of Bangladesh cannot afford to ignore this alarming and most serious crisis. They must take concrete actions against the militancy. We need a "Zero Tolerance- No Excuse Policy" against militancy.

This has come in a time when the government is trying to ban student politics and people are voicing there opinion about banning religious politics.

Related reading: Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh: Militant Islamist Terror

Humayun Azad, a professor of Dhaka University and a prominent writer (published 50 novels, poems, essays) was attacked by knife and seriously wounded on 27th of February night. He is fighting for his life and his family is getting death threats. Read more here.

It is believed that Humayun Azad's recently published satirical book 'Pak Sar Zamin Saad Baad' caused anger among the fundamentalist party activists in the country. The book focuses mainly on the psyche of an Islamic militant who wants to eliminate all opposition to his beliefs and establish a Taliban-style Bangladesh. The title of the book was taken from the Pakistani national anthem and symbolizes repression of the Pakistani rule till the 1971 War of Liberation, which gave birth to Bangladesh. The militant hero of the book wants to take Bangladesh back to the middle ages by creating a 'distorted Pakistan'. Some excerpts:

"We must seize power. Right now, we are with the power and the main party. At some point, power will come to us, we will become the main party. We are entering everywhere. Islam will be established. Pakistan will be created. There won't be any infidels, Hindus. There won't be any Hindu or Jew under the guise of Muslim. There won't be any university. Universities are places for illegal sexual activities where men and women sit together, walk and the devil lurks among them ..."

Read more about the book here.

However, this attack on Azad has put the "Nation in fury". Numerous protests and condemnations are taking place all over the country. The University teachers decided to suspend taking classes till the assailants are nabbed and the home minister resigns.

The protests in the Book Fair "Ekushey boi mela" was very well voiced as many people from all walks of life joined it spontaneously.

So it seems the time has come for another war. I am inspired by the fact that people are slowly seeing the evil in the double faced fundamentalist politicians. Lets see how the secular & peace-loving people of Bangladesh resist these fundamentalists, the ghosts of Pakistan from coming into power.

The Charlotte Observer has published a review on the book "FOLLOWING MUHAMMAD: Rethinking Islam in the Contemporary World" written by Carl W. Ernst. There is a widespread belief that the greatest security threat to the United States is a possible confrontation between the West and Islam.

Ernst believes that almost all Americans lack a clear understanding of the religion that claims more than a billion adherents. He writes that many Americans are bound to a false notion of Islam as a backward, women-oppressing, fanatical, and fundamentalist religion that is responsible for the Middle East-based terrorism with which US is at war.

He claims, "the subject of Islam has become so controversial that some people cannot confront it." In this context, Ernst insists that the US citizens should come to terms with the great variety of Islam as it is practiced across the world.

Arabs represent only about 18 percent of the total Muslim population. More than half of all Muslims live in Pakistan, Indonesia, India, Bangladesh, and nearby areas. These peoples, their customs, their culture, their dress, their laws, and the Islam they practice vary from region to region.

He discovers one spot-on reason for the current disdainful state of the middle-east based Islamic countries:

between 1980 and 1999 the nine leading Arab economies registered 370 patents (in the U.S.) for new inventions. Patents are a good measure of a society's education quality, entrepreneurship, rule of law and innovation. During that same 20-year period, South Korea alone registered 16,328 patents for inventions. You don't run into a lot of South Koreans who want to be martyrs.

Quite true, the rise of fundamentalism which had hit distant places like Philippine & Africa stemed from these Arab countries. Because of the affluent oil money, people were not keen on education and self development. The absence of literature & cultural development (quite contrary to their old tradition) has made a vacuum in the understandings and depth of knowledge of the people in these region (with some exception). A certain kind of Islamic nationalism began to grow during this period because of the backwardness of mind. Now they are trying to spread this to all Islamic countries in the world. E.g. Islamic parties had no place in Bangladesh politics till the early eighties before the Ershad govt. rehabilitated them. But with those middle eastern money these parties spread like a virus in this country specially in the nineties.

The review says "Following Muhammad" is an important contribution to an informed understanding of Islam and its place in the modern world. It should be the required reading for those, who are trying to make sense of the challenges of the post 9-11 world.

Everybody should remember that the majority muslim nations are running their own version of war against the threat of fundamentalism and Islami nationalists in their country. People should not neglect this and make all muslim their enemy. Remember, only fundamentalists make religion important then anything else in life.

Bolivia has released 16 Bangladeshis less than a day after they were arrested on suspicion of links to terrorism and Al-Qaeda following a tip of French police. Reports The Daily Star.

Nine of the Bangladeshis were in transit to Buenos Aires, and the other seven were seeking residency in the Andean nation. They were suspected for planning to hijack a plane to attack an American target in Argentina.

From the picture of the Bangladeshis I saw in the local newspapers, they did not look like religious fanatics and more like young people going abroad for a better living. They might have been trying to get into more affluent countries from there and thus their actions were a bit suspicious.

US State Department officials congratulated the Bolivian police for their prompt action. But in reality it turned out to be a hoax. I hope the intelligences would be more accurate in pinpointing the real criminals instead of harassing innocents.

Two car bombs exploded in Indian city Mumbai (Bombay) on Monday, 25th of August. Casualty report so far: 44 dead, 150 Injured. The bomb attacks were identical as both were taxis.

One explosion took place at the Gateway of India, the city's top tourist attraction.

The other explosion took place - and claimed most of the casualties - in a busy jewelery market near the Mumba Devi temple in central Bombay. Many Bengali speaking jwelers were killed and shops destroyed. The shop owners are saying that there was a ploy going on to oust them from that market.

No organisation has yet claimed responsibility for the attacks.

There are lots of speculations as regards to the identity of the person/ organization who carried out these attacks. These attacks coincided with the release of a report on the controversial religious site at Ayodhya. Indian govt. is blaming the Students Islamic Movement of India (Simi) and Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Toiba but Pakistan denied that and condemned the attack.

But all I can say that light weight and undetectable powerful bombs are the latest and deadliest tool of any terrorist of any country. You never know that you can be a victim of somebody's agenda. World politics is turning bloody and these so called terrorists are certainly not on target for achieving something. They are a menace, a virus in the society. And the thoughts of Jihad/fanaticism are out of religious boundaries, made up by dishonest politicians and illegal business rackets.

I think that there must be some control/ raids to stop the production of these illegal bombs.

Hooman has a thoughtful post "Pointless thoughts over pointless acts" discussing about the people who set themselves on fire in the name of protest. He commented: "Palestinians can argue suicide bombings are over territorial claims." But why there are suicide bombings in Kenia, Pakistan, Bangladesh or in Saudi Arabia and the threat is increasing. Why are we letting people to argue this kind of inhumane atrocities as a mean of protest?

I have been looking for reading materials to understand about the mindset of the suicide bombers and what are they trying to achieve.

Most experts agree suicide bombers are not lunatics. They are usually rational idealists who are prepared to die for what they believe is the greater good of their society. So-called suicide bombings, however, are seen by Islamists and Tamils alike as instances of martyrdom, and should be understood as such. Arabic term used is istishad, a religious term meaning to give one's life in the name of Allah. A suicide terrorist is almost always the last link in a long organizational chain that involves numerous actors. Once the decision to launch a suicide attack has been made, its implementation requires at least six separate operations: target selection, intelligence gathering, recruitment, physical and "spiritual" training, preparation of explosives, and transportation of the suicide bombers to the target area. Fundamentalist terrorist groups offer persuasive inducements to would-be bombers. The lures of joining these groups include ideas of what the afterlife involves like "Allah will forgive the sins of both the suicide bomber and his family". They are seen as martyrs/heroes in the struggle. The families are praised... and the families of the bombers usually receive some financial reward. But the reality is there is no such thing in Islam as suicide bombing. No justification of terrorists fantasy of martyrdom and it is forbidden and a sin that is not going to be forgiven by God. Read Suicide Bombing in Islam.

In the early 70's terrorists were motivated by some kind of ideology. Today's terrorists seem to be motivated by other people's ideology.

So how to put an end to the suicide bombings? Anybody has any idea?