Martyrdom in Modern Islam

Abstract

Meir Hatina, associate professor of Islamic and Middle Eastern studies anddirector of the Levtzion Center for Islamic studies at the Hebrew Universityof Jerusalem, explores the evolving perceptions of martyrdom in modern timesand their relevance on past legacies in both Sunni and Shi‘i milieus. He alsomakes comparative references to Judaism, Christianity, and other non-Islamiccultures. The book is divided into eight chapters, an introduction, a conclusion,a bibliography, and an index.In the introduction the author discusses the manifestations of martyrdomthroughout history, its definitions, socio-political implications, and importancein various world religions. In order to present this concept’s historical evolutionand notions and how it is an effective tool for forming and reinforcinggroups, Hatina has framed his book in a series of well-arranged chapters.In the first chapter, “Defying the Oppressor: Martyrdom in Judaism andChristianity,” the author traces the historical and theological foundations ofthis phenomenon in both religions. He relates how traditional Jews were readyto sacrifice their life and viewed martyrdom as the highest degree of their lovefor God. However, he argues that with the advent of the Zionist movement,this readiness was replaced “by an activist approach to self-sacrifice for thenational revival.” Christians, on the other hand, considered martyrdom “thekey for salvation.” By quoting the remarks of Quintus Tertullian (d. c. 240),the father of Latin Christianity, namely, “your cruelty is our glory” and “theblood of the martyrs is the seed of the church” (p. 26), Hatina seeks to expressthe early Christians’ readiness to embrace their non-violent and defensivedeaths at the hands of the pagan Romans.In chapter 2, “Dying for God in Islam,” Hatina delineates the evidence ofmartyrdom in Islamic texts and its diverse interpretations by renowned scholars.He mentions the two types of death in this regard – death for the cause of Allahand self-inflicted suicide – and cites the relevant fatwas of both Sunni and Shi‘ischolars. Denouncing any sort of self-inflicted suicide, including murder withreference to shar‘ī texts, he nevertheless appreciates the soldiers’ wish for deathon the battlefield against their enemies. He presents martyrdom in Islamic legalthought as an exalted form of death and argues that theologians stressed that asoldier who desires such a death eventually finds a greater reward ...