Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 8, No. 2, 2009, Page 43
―Individuality and martyrdom: …It allows young men to become individuals because it promises them
that, when they die, they will have all the things they have been denied in life, namely a paradisiacal
existence. Whereas tradition made martyrdom an exceptional and above all painful, phenomenon
designed to move believers to pity and to strengthen communitarian bonds in symbolic ways, a
modernity in which there is no hope of self-realization generates a type of martyrdom that is readily
accessible to any young man who wants it. Dying a holy death allows them to accede to dignity
through sacrifice, whereas everyday life is dominated by insignificance and lack of dignity. It gives
meaning and dignity to those who have been dispossessed of them. Martyrdom can give rise to two
kinds of individuation through death. The first is what might be termed an optimistic individuation: the
individual risks death but has a positive self-image, whatever the outcome. Death is a possibility but
the individuals concerned have no intention of dying as such and, if possible, try to escape death....
Pessimistic version. These martyrs are no longer concerned with life on earth. To be more accurate,
they want to die and to take with them as many as possible of those they see as the enemy.‖ (Cited
from Suicide Bombers by Mia Bloom, pp. 49,50.)
[17] ―Women in combat belong to a totally new world, a world outside a normal woman‘s life.… They
have taken up a life that bears little resemblance at all to the ordinary existence of women. Training
and carrying weapons, confronting battle conditions, enduring the constant emotional strain of losing
close associates, facing death almost every day are situations that most women not only wish to
avoid, but feel ill at ease with. But not the women fighters of the LTTE. They have literally flourished
under such conditions and created for themselves not only a new women‘s military structure, but also
a legend of fighting capability and bravery (from Ann Adele Balasingham, Women Fighters of the LTTE,
p. ii).
―...The most famous among the women was Dhanu, who hid her explosive beneath her sari, giving her
the appearance of pregnancy, and went to meet Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on May 20, 1991.
When he clasped her hand as she respectfully kneeled before him, she detonated the device, killing
both them and several bystanders instantly. Dhanu became heroine and symbol of the LTTE. The story
of Dhanu reached mythic proportions. The perceived heroism of this woman, who committed suicide
for her people and her faith, is used as an example to win over new recruits.‖ (In Robert I. Roberg,
Creating Peace in Sri Lanka: Civil War and Reconciliation. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution
Press, 1999, p. 25 cited from Dying to Kill by Mia Bloom, p. 159.)
[18] MEK‘s publication, Nashrieh … December 11, 1981.
[19] MEK‘s Publication, Nashrieh … December 18, 1981.
[20] ―Suicide terror predates the modern manifestation of car bombs that began in Lebanon. It is
neither unique to the modern period nor confined to any single region or religion. The early historical
antecedents of terrorism include the Jewish zealots and Sicarii in the first century AD, during the time
of the Second Temple until its destruction in 70 AD, The Hindu thugs in India from the time of
Herodotus until 1836, the assassins of the twelfth century, anti-colonial movements in Malabar, and
the Japanese Kamikaze during World War II. By examining these early examples of terrorism we can
deduce certain general patterns that emerged and draw similarities between these early illustrations
and the more recent phenomena. The common themes that emerge from the early case studies
provide a template of what is happening today: the role of early education in creating adherents, the
appearance of charismatic and ambitious leaders, disputes over occupied territory, and the ways in
which religion was manipulated to induce followers to kill in the name of God‖ (from Dying to Kill by
Mia Bloom, p. 4).
[21] Of course, whenever ordinary people were among the deaths, they used to name them as agents
or spies of the regime, or Baiji (members of the mobilization teams)…‖ Interesting, that among their
terrorist activities at the time, they claimed the explosion of three bombs close to where Khomeini
used to live (MEK‘s publication Nashrieh, April 23, 1982) but denied other bombs that were exploded
and included casualties of ordinary people, which could not be accepted even among MEK‘s own
organizational supporters. They claimed the acts were done by the regime itself, (MEK‘s publication
Nashrieh, September 10, 1982) or by another one (MEK‘s publication Nashrieh, October 8, 1982). But
they were not hesitant of even killing the manager of a state agency that by law had to give a rental
report for all tenancies (MEK‘s publication Nashrieh, May 14, 1982), or the head of a local organization
for helping farmers (MEK‘s publication Nashrieh, July 23, 1982). As a matter of fact, in the view of
MEK and its supporters, whoever was supporting the regime was criminal and worthy of being killed.
―Individuality and martyrdom: …It allows young men to become individuals because it promises them
that, when they die, they will have all the things they have been denied in life, namely a paradisiacal
existence. Whereas tradition made martyrdom an exceptional and above all painful, phenomenon
designed to move believers to pity and to strengthen communitarian bonds in symbolic ways, a
modernity in which there is no hope of self-realization generates a type of martyrdom that is readily
accessible to any young man who wants it. Dying a holy death allows them to accede to dignity
through sacrifice, whereas everyday life is dominated by insignificance and lack of dignity. It gives
meaning and dignity to those who have been dispossessed of them. Martyrdom can give rise to two
kinds of individuation through death. The first is what might be termed an optimistic individuation: the
individual risks death but has a positive self-image, whatever the outcome. Death is a possibility but
the individuals concerned have no intention of dying as such and, if possible, try to escape death....
Pessimistic version. These martyrs are no longer concerned with life on earth. To be more accurate,
they want to die and to take with them as many as possible of those they see as the enemy.‖ (Cited
from Suicide Bombers by Mia Bloom, pp. 49,50.)
[17] ―Women in combat belong to a totally new world, a world outside a normal woman‘s life.… They
have taken up a life that bears little resemblance at all to the ordinary existence of women. Training
and carrying weapons, confronting battle conditions, enduring the constant emotional strain of losing
close associates, facing death almost every day are situations that most women not only wish to
avoid, but feel ill at ease with. But not the women fighters of the LTTE. They have literally flourished
under such conditions and created for themselves not only a new women‘s military structure, but also
a legend of fighting capability and bravery (from Ann Adele Balasingham, Women Fighters of the LTTE,
p. ii).
―...The most famous among the women was Dhanu, who hid her explosive beneath her sari, giving her
the appearance of pregnancy, and went to meet Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on May 20, 1991.
When he clasped her hand as she respectfully kneeled before him, she detonated the device, killing
both them and several bystanders instantly. Dhanu became heroine and symbol of the LTTE. The story
of Dhanu reached mythic proportions. The perceived heroism of this woman, who committed suicide
for her people and her faith, is used as an example to win over new recruits.‖ (In Robert I. Roberg,
Creating Peace in Sri Lanka: Civil War and Reconciliation. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution
Press, 1999, p. 25 cited from Dying to Kill by Mia Bloom, p. 159.)
[18] MEK‘s publication, Nashrieh … December 11, 1981.
[19] MEK‘s Publication, Nashrieh … December 18, 1981.
[20] ―Suicide terror predates the modern manifestation of car bombs that began in Lebanon. It is
neither unique to the modern period nor confined to any single region or religion. The early historical
antecedents of terrorism include the Jewish zealots and Sicarii in the first century AD, during the time
of the Second Temple until its destruction in 70 AD, The Hindu thugs in India from the time of
Herodotus until 1836, the assassins of the twelfth century, anti-colonial movements in Malabar, and
the Japanese Kamikaze during World War II. By examining these early examples of terrorism we can
deduce certain general patterns that emerged and draw similarities between these early illustrations
and the more recent phenomena. The common themes that emerge from the early case studies
provide a template of what is happening today: the role of early education in creating adherents, the
appearance of charismatic and ambitious leaders, disputes over occupied territory, and the ways in
which religion was manipulated to induce followers to kill in the name of God‖ (from Dying to Kill by
Mia Bloom, p. 4).
[21] Of course, whenever ordinary people were among the deaths, they used to name them as agents
or spies of the regime, or Baiji (members of the mobilization teams)…‖ Interesting, that among their
terrorist activities at the time, they claimed the explosion of three bombs close to where Khomeini
used to live (MEK‘s publication Nashrieh, April 23, 1982) but denied other bombs that were exploded
and included casualties of ordinary people, which could not be accepted even among MEK‘s own
organizational supporters. They claimed the acts were done by the regime itself, (MEK‘s publication
Nashrieh, September 10, 1982) or by another one (MEK‘s publication Nashrieh, October 8, 1982). But
they were not hesitant of even killing the manager of a state agency that by law had to give a rental
report for all tenancies (MEK‘s publication Nashrieh, May 14, 1982), or the head of a local organization
for helping farmers (MEK‘s publication Nashrieh, July 23, 1982). As a matter of fact, in the view of
MEK and its supporters, whoever was supporting the regime was criminal and worthy of being killed.
