Martyrs or terrorists: Suicide bombing in Islamic hermeneutics

The contemporary world order has been created by non Muslim powers through the infiltration of the Muslim world by colonialism and neo-colonialism. The ummah of Islam was parceled into states by imperial powers thereby weakening the solidarity of the ummah. The collapse of the communist bloc no doubt made Islam to be the only challenging system to the remaining super power. There was no doubt from the statements of leaders of the West that Islam must not only be subdued but must be conquered in order to prevent the much hyped clash of civilizations from taking place. The support of the West to totalitarian leaders in the Muslim world, the invasion of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein and the subsequent invasion of Iraq, the issue of Palestinian state, the massacre of Muslims in Bosnia, the plight of self determination for the Muslims in Chechnya, the Arab springs and the fratricidal war in Syria and other issues all bolstered the current relationship between Islamists and the West. The adoption of suicide terrorism by some Muslim groups as a strategic objective of modern warfare is the thrust of this paper. Key words: Martyrdom, terrorism, Islam, violence, killing.