July 24, 2002

Murder and Mental Health

Murder and Mental Health

Sheikh Salah Sa'adeh, killed yesterday in an IDF missile strike offered his therapeutic perspective on homicide bombers in a recent interview Memri. Prior to his untimely demise Mr. Sa'adeh's efforts to foster mental health amongst Palestinians had been quite successful, as hundreds of Israelis were blown to bits along with the eager young bomb carriers.

Q: "How do you account for the stream of youths [coming] to join the ranks of perpetrators of martyrdom operations? And does this attest to [mental] health or to escape from the frustration and disappointment among the Palestinians?"

Sh'hadeh: "The stream of youths [who seek to] attain martyrdom shows [mental] health and the awareness of Palestinian society, and is not a mistake or an escape from a situation of despair or frustration. Many people come to Jihad, and they are willing to lay down their souls - which is the most precious thing a man has. There is a vast difference between someone who sacrifices money or an offering and someone who sacrifices his soul for the sake of Allah to bring happiness to the nation, and to remove its torment and distress. Nevertheless, we cannot provide everyone with a martyrdom operation because the targets are limited and the enemy positions we want to reach are highly fortified. If some of the youths do not follow the military apparatus's instructions, and [set out on operations on their own] without being linked officially to this apparatus, this proves that the [entire] nation has become a nation of Jihad on the threshold of liberation, and that it rejects humiliation and submission."

Furthermore, Sheikh Sh'hadeh, playing the role of kindly family therapist, insisted on taking into account the needs and wishes of the young bomber's parents and siblings:
"...we verify that the young man complies with his parents' wishes and is loved by his family, and that his martyrdom will not [adversely] affect family life - that is, he is not the head of the family and he has siblings, as we will not take an only child.

In arguing for the mental health of the young killers, the Sheikh does offer a rebuke to those Western sympathizers who excuse the barbarism on the grounds that the Palestinians have suffered frustration and despair at not having their own state. No, these are acts of pure nobility springing from the purest motive, namely the desire to eradicate the Jewish infidels who have usurped the land of Palestine.

Before too many crocodile tears are shed over the death of the Sheikh and his family, perhaps we should recall the death of Ayman Al Zawahiri and his family in the mountains of Afghanistan. When American bombs struck Mr. Bin Laden's deputy the unfortunate fact that, in war innocents are sometimes killed did not seem to outweigh our satisfaction at the death of such a barbaric coward. If blowing oneself up in order to murder innocents is a high expression of mental health, then perhaps assisting such people into Allah's presence constitutes a new and welcome form of psychotherapy.