My Life is a Weapon: A Modern History of Suicide Bombing

Military Review,  March-April, 2006  by Youssef Aboul-Enein

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MY LIFE IS A WEAPON: A Modern History of Suicide Bombing, Christoph Reuter, trans, by Helena Ragg-Kirkby, Princeton University Press, NJ, 2004, 179 pages, $16.98.

Christoph Reuter, an international correspondent for the German magazine Stern, spent 8 years moving among the society that in the 1980s produced suicide brigades for the Iran-Iraq War. Reuter interviewed entire communities, from Lebanon's Hizballah, to Palestinian militants, to Sri Lankan Tamils, while investigating the culture of martyrdom. Originally published in German as Mein Leben ist eine Waffe, My Life is a Weapon offers insight into the nuances of the justification and conditioning of suicide missions. Reuter challenges the assumption that suicide bombers fit into a neat, typical profile, drawing examples from rich and poor, secular and religious, Marxist or jihadist, and female and male bombers.

Reuter quotes respected Sunnis and ShiRes who cite Ali (Muhammad's grandson and the fourth rightly guided caliph): "The Quran [Islamic Book of Divine Revelation] is but ink and paper, it does not speak for itself. Instead, it is human beings who give effect to it according to their limited personal judgments and opinions." Reuter maintains that the Quran (if followed literally) contains no theological or judicial system, only 200 clear rules of conduct. The Quran represents an interpretive form of moral and social life that particular sects of Islam use to justify war against the West. Reuter argues that Shia Islam with its core cult of martyrdom, self-sacrifice, and underdog tenacity, is well suited for war. As an example, he details the ease with which Iran's Ayatollah Ruhallah Khomeini created mass suicide battalions to use against Iraqi forces.

Hizballah's clerics have exported their doctrine and technical expertise to other organizations such as the Sunni-dominated Palestinian terror group Hamas and Al-Qaeda affiliates. Reuter describes how a suicide bomber in a crowded care in Israel simply unbuttoned his shirt, revealed his dynamite belt to the terror of patrons, allowed several to escape, and then detonated himself. The message was simple: You are not safe; flee from here and tell others. Suicide bombing in Palestine has been marketed to such an extent that the young view it as an acceptable and even glorious way of settling major political problems.

Reuter's book is recommended for those engaged in force protection and who want to expand their knowledge of counterterrorism. Although some Americans might disagree with Reuter's European point of view, his book is recommended to enhance the awareness of suicide bombing.

LCDR Youssef Aboul-Enein, MSC, USN, Gaithersburg, Maryland

COPYRIGHT 2006 U.S. Army CGSC
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