Suicide operations arise when death becomes an institution

Editorial verification status: This atom is extracted from an explanatory audiovisual source, and has now been linked to the nearest books within the Shahrur project at the book level. For precise academic citation, consult the original book and the original episode together.

Formulation of the claim

Shahrur holds that suicide operations are the offspring of organizations that make death itself into an institutional project.

Explanation

He considers that natural armies are trained for survival and life, not for death. But when a group finances death and produces fighters so that they perish, it deviates from the logic of defense to the logic of destruction. He therefore links the phenomenon of suicide bombers to an institutional structure, not only to an individual decision.

Its place in the episode’s argument

This atom is very important in his critique of contemporary armed groups such as al-Qaeda and ISIS.

Limits of the claim

It does not deny the existence of individual acts of heroism, but it rejects turning them into a political industry.

Suicide operations arise when death becomes an institution