Back in July I reported on the work of Robert Pape, who, in a study of just about all suicide bombings from 1980 to early 2004, concluded that the basic reason for the attacks is the desire to remove foreign troops from your soil. I questioned whether in some cases religion was another factor.
Now I learn of the work of Farhad Khosrokhavar, who has studied young Islamists - some of whom tried suicide bombing - in French prisons. His conclusion is that it's more cultural. These young people are relatively well-educated but feel looked down upon in the countries of the West where they were born and have grown up. They dream of a restoration of the glory days when they would have been respected and been part of a, perhaps the, leading nation of the world, rather than being a second or third class citizen in their country of birth.
1 comment:
A mix of poverty and not belonging. Often, even in the countries in which they were born, they find a culture they have no help in adapting to and the only kinship, others of a similar plight. Little wonder they band together, reinforcing each other's hopelessness. Such conditions breed suicide bombers. We have seen it in Palestine, Iraq, London. I believe France may well become another bombing victim if conditions existing for thousands of Algerian nationals in the country are not improved.
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