ABSTRACT
The act of seeking to understand is a controversial one because it requires a degree of empathy with the human bombers that kill and maim civilians, including women, children, and the elderly. The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 on the United States have complicated attempts to understand suicide bombers because the act of empathy can easily be confused with outright sympathy for murderous attacks. However, one cannot get into the mind of suicide bombers to discover the layered or interwoven meanings of their sacrifice without immersing oneself in their grievances, religious rhetoric, and symbolic universe. Understanding and explaining are not necessarily opposed methodological positions, although their research requirements can differ significantly. I argue that to explain suicide terrorism, at least as they relate to why individuals become human bombs, we need to first understand the social meaning given to these acts of extreme violence by their perpetrators. Thus, we must, first and foremost, seek to understand the symbolism of self-sacrifice.
