Fighting Suicide Bombing: A Worldwide Campaign for Life

How does one effectively fight suicide bombers? What threat do they hold for Western society? How do people who love peace reconcile the need for war? Noted genocide expert Israel W. Charny addresses these questions in this highly personal description of suicide bombings and terror as the opening salvos of a Third World War. Charny first seeks to understand what makes suicide bombers tick, as well as the culture from which they emerge. Taking this understanding of what he calls human evil, he then proposes a hawkish campaign that ultimately emphasizes peace rather than irrational fear.

By deeming suicide bombing and terrorism as necessary subjects in the study of psychology, Charny presents yet another weapon in the war against terrorism-a war that he believes will only escalate without drastic action. Ultimately, he calls for a worldwide campaign for life led by religious and secular leaders across the globe. He concludes the book with a vignette from Islamic culture that speaks nobly to furthering peace and life.

Suicide bombing, argues Charny (psychology, Hebrew U. of Jerusalem, Israel), is a product of an Islamic fundamentalist "Culture of Death" that is at war with a Judeo-Christian "Culture of Life." Proceeding from this basic premise, he explores the psychology of suicide bombing and tends to what he thinks are its implications. Thus suicide bombers become a pathological aspect of Islam that needs to be confronted with a "spiritual battle over values" (which includes limiting the speech of those Muslims thought to be promoting the "Culture of Death"), as well as police-military force. While aware of political scientist Robert Pape's argument that suicide bombings are primarily a product of people perceiving their homelands to be under attack or occupation, Charny chooses not to engage Pape's argument in any significant manner. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

How does one effectively fight suicide bombers? What threat do they hold for Western society? How do people who love peace reconcile the need for war? Noted genocide expert Israel W. Charny addresses these questions in this highly personal description of suicide bombings and terror as the opening salvos of a Third World War. Charny first seeks to understand the psychology of suicide bombers, as well as the culture from which they emerge. Taking this understanding of what he calls human evil, he then proposes a hawkish campaign that ultimately emphasizes peace rather than irrational fear. By deeming suicide bombing and terrorism asnecessary subjects in the study of psychology, Charny presents yet another weapon in the war against terrorism-a war that he believes will only escalate without drastic action. Ultimately, he calls for a "worldwide campaign for life" led by religious and secular leaders across the globe. He concludes the book with a vignette from Islamic culture that speaks nobly to furthering peace and life.

Suicide bombers and terrorists represent the dawn of a third world war, and must be fought as enemy combatants, if peace is to be achieved.

I. W. Charny is a renowned psychologist, and the editor of the Encyclopedia of Genocide, (ABC-Clio). He is the executive director of the Institute of the Holocaust and Genocide in Jerusalem, and Professor of Psychology and Family Therapy at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.