Explosive effect of false sermons
In 70, radical Muslim spiritual leaders declared self-sacrifice in the fight against their enemies as a form of martyrdom. In December, 1981, a suicide bomber blew himself up at the Iraqi embassy in Beirut. 27 people died, several hundred were injured. The attack was organized by al-Dawa. One of the first major suicide attacks was the undermining of the US military barracks, where soldiers from 50 of the US airborne division were killed around 82, as well as an explosion at the headquarters of French troops in Beirut on October 23 of 1983. Since then, such attacks are common. Their number increased from 31 in 80's to 104 in 90's and continues to grow.
Since 2000, the use of suicide bombers has been the main practice of Islamist terrorism in Europe and the Middle East. There is an opinion that the executor of such a terrorist act is a pathological personality, the characteristic features of which are narcissistic aggression, experiencing fear, depressive states, feelings of guilt, attributing to oneself and others a lack of masculinity, egocentrism, extreme extroversion. But this is not always true.
It was believed that the representatives of the poorest strata mainly went to shakhids, however, as shown by an analysis of the document “Holy Martyrs of Dvorichya”, including 430 biographies of al-Qaida suicide bombers, among them are fairly highly educated people who had well-paid jobs. The only common thing is the absence of strong social ties for all and susceptibility to external influence. This circumstance is aggravated by the almost complete isolation of the suicide bomber from contacts immediately before committing the terrorist act.
Devaluation of life, facilitating the commission of a suicidal terrorist attack, can be caused by the desire of a person who has physically or morally lost all loved ones, to get rid of the perceived loneliness, the stigma of shame, the sense of humiliation for their ethnosocial group. It is known that among suicide bombers there is a significant proportion of young people who survived the war and grew up in refugee families.
Jihad ideologists often emphasize that these are actions of victims aimed at drawing attention to their humiliated position. In the presence of social norms that approve the commission of terrorist acts as a method of struggle, the effect of imitation, following the instructions of religious (party) authorities, increases. It is not surprising that terrorist organizations often tend to incline teenagers to the death row, because they are more suggestible.
Three of the four major terrorist attacks that took place in Russia in 2013, including Volgograd, were carried out by suicide bombers. Both our and foreign experts called these attacks a trial on the eve of the Olympics in Sochi. Militant groups wanted to create an atmosphere of fear in the country. The attacks that were prepared today are a reaction to Russian support for Syria. It is our country, according to the ideologists of terrorism, “the main evil”. In this connection, analysis of the suicide bomber’s behavior, his training system and, of course, the development of effective countermeasures are extremely relevant.
In the mirror of statistics
Specialists distinguish several groups from the total mass of terrorists. "Kamikaze", going to certain death and knowing that they will die, make up no more than one-two percent of the total number. For them, the main thing is to die beautifully. They believe that they are doing the right thing, and they are sure: after their death, their soul will go straight to heaven.
Explosions of "living bombs" make up three percent of all terrorist attacks committed in the world, but they account for up to half of the victims. The motivation of such suicides is based on a whole bunch of reasons: religious fanaticism, extremism, desire to get revenge. They are often called martyrs, who give their lives in the name of jihad, but at the same time their families can count on reward (sometimes large and systematic) for this terrorist attack.
Much more terrorists are willing to die "for the cause", but not seeking a beautiful death. General attention is important to them. Those order 30 percent.
Most of all mercenaries - approximately every second. They sign a contract in advance, the most important thing for them is to get money for the terrorist attack. But at the same time they do not want to die at all. Taking the risk, hope that it will cost.
According to the doctor of medical sciences, forensic psychiatrist Mikhail Vinogradov, ideologists who order the attacks, as a rule, have high intelligence and level of thinking, great will power, ability to subjugate others, great general energy. And they are also characterized by the complete absence of universal moral and ethical principles.
In Russia, from 1999 onwards and to this day, militants have committed more than 70 terrorist crimes involving suicide bombers. This happened in Chechnya, Ingushetia, Dagestan, North Ossetia - Alania, Stavropol Territory, Moscow and Volgograd, Rostov, Samara and Tula regions. Suicide bombers also left their mark on Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Alas, the official authorities in a number of CIS countries have missed the moment of the conversion of Muslim preachers, adherents of the Salafi ideology, into the organizers of an armed bandit underground operating on their territory. And there is still a desire to hide the scale of the phenomenon. For example, in 2011, several terrorist acts in Kazakhstan were “filed” in the media as a result of careless handling of explosives. Although we can safely say that the perpetrators were suicide bombers. But the fight against such a threat requires extraordinary approaches, the use of the full potential of special services and other structures both at the national and international levels.
According to experts, the use of suicide bombers gives the leaders of radical Islamist organizations:
high accessibility (permeability) to the object of impact and the relatively low cost of preparing the attack itself;
making an attack at the most appropriate moment;
wide public response, media coverage with criticism of law enforcement, security systems and authorities;
demonstration of the possibility of a bandit underground destabilize the situation and report to the sponsors for the funds received;
the guarantee that the contractor will not be detained and will not fall into the hands of the special services will not give out customers;
an example for recruiting new volunteers who are ready to be martyred.
Training suicide bombers in Russia has its history. In 1995, Johar Dudayev issued a decree on the formation of special volunteer units. Shamil Basayev created in the fall of the 2002 of the Islamic battalion of martyrs "Riyad-us-Salihiyin" ("Gardens of the Righteous"). In the summer of 2009, the so-called emir of the “Emirate of the Caucasus”, Doku Umarov, announced the restoration of a group of suicide bombers in the structure of armed groups of separatists and announced his intention to carry out large-scale sabotage and terrorist acts in the near future.
Technology attack
The essence of the phenomenon is the clear awareness by the performer that if he does not sacrifice his life, the terrorist act will not take place. It is also characteristic: the suicide bombers themselves and their like-minded people do not consider this as a sin of suicide. They are sure that they are committing a heroic act in the name of a higher goal and will not only be called, but also encouraged by God. In order for a mentally normal person to go for self-destruction, he must be in a state where such a move seems to him to be the only possible one due to life circumstances. Or be guided by deep ideological, religious, other convictions, for the realization of which I am ready to sacrifice myself. A person comes to such a choice independently due to the circumstances that shape his character and way of thinking, or under the influence of purposeful processing of his consciousness and psyche.
The phenomenon of “suicide bombing terrorism” has received the greatest distribution in extremist organizations of Islamic fundamentalists. They, speculating on dogma and deliberately distorting it, generate the most fanatical adepts. Islamic radicals set themselves the task of creating on the basis of the states of the Muslim world a single caliphate living according to the Qur'an, while Western liberal ideas are considered the main enemy.
The system of attraction, psychological and special preparation of a suicide bomber for the mission entrusted to him has been thoroughly developed. Self-sacrifice is motivated by the need to protect revered Muslims values from encroachment, from the pressure of external forces or their own ruling regimes, aimed at eroding the established traditions and norms of life. Readiness for suicide is enhanced by adverse social factors.
For organizations such as, for example, Islamic Jihad, it is easy to find candidates for death row. There are cases when for individual shares they were recruited a week before. As a rule, recruitment takes place in Islamic educational centers sponsored by or under the influence of the radicals, as well as in mosques in the process of religious instruction and sermons. The theme of death in the name of Allah is discussed with a group of students. The preacher carefully monitors the reaction of young people. Those who show increased interest are distinguished from the total number of students or parishioners.
After selection, the candidate undergoes a rather thorough preparation so that his reaction and the nature of his behavior in an extreme situation do not interfere with the assignment. Only those who have shown conviction and composure are allowed to proceed to the next stage, in which the candidate “disappears” from his family and begins a detailed study of aspects of the future mission.
The development of explosive devices and their technology occurs, as a rule, at the last stage, so as not to sow the candidate of doubts about the correctness of the choice. At the same time, physical training and psychological “refinement” of one-way travel begin. Some to overcome the fear of death are taken to the cemetery, where they lie in graves for several hours.
To accomplish the assignment, the suicide bomber is sent from the mosque, accompanied by a support group. By this time, his level of psychological readiness is so high that he passes by security officers and approaches the goal without a shadow of excitement. In committing an act of self-destruction, the suicide bomber usually smiles, anticipating the afterlife pleasures awaiting him. This smile was noted by many witnesses who were at the sites of terrorist acts.
Jihad as a business
Israeli experts have analyzed the contingent of suicide Palestinians. These are young people aged from 18 to 27 years, unmarried, unemployed, from poor families with secondary education, most of them are students of Islamic educational centers in Gaza and in the West Bank, under the patronage of HAMAS. Some were previously arrested for expressing revenge for the death or injury of relatives and friends.
However, the practice of recent years shows: suicide can be, we repeat, and representatives of wealthy families who studied at universities in Europe or the United States.
A new phenomenon - the use of Islamists women. In Russia, terrorists attracted Chechenk to their operations, contrary to national traditions and customs. This violation of the foundations of religion and age-old traditions is adequately justified.
As for the promotion of the Islamist suicide bomber, according to his “teachers”, for his deed he receives an afterlife in paradise, an opportunity to see the face of Allah, the favor of 72 young gury, pleasing him in heaven. And besides, it provides trips to 70 paradise to its relatives or closest friends. Families of suicide bombers after the action are surrounded by honor and are also rewarded. According to some data, up to 70 million dollars are annually allocated for their maintenance by only one of the organizations: half of the funds from the countries of the Persian Gulf, 35 percent - from Europe (mainly from the UK), 15 percent - from the USA. The announcement of the terrorist attack and the death of a suicide bomber is a great holiday for his family and entourage: parents receive congratulations, arrange treats, everyone is having fun. Thus, the main reasons leading to a shahid are distorted religious beliefs, combined with a desire for revenge and a posthumous reward.
The choice of the method of carrying out the terrorist act depends on the objectives of the operation, the object of the attack, the situation, the ability to come close enough to effectively accomplish the task. The tactics of the use of suicide bombers include both single and group attacks. The stages of planning and preparation are conducted in the strictest secrecy. Therefore, in most cases, the secret services hardly manage to establish the true initiators, as well as the very moment when the suicide bomber received the signal to start the attack. Great importance is attached to surprise, which is achieved by the lack of templates in the conduct of the operation, the use of various types of explosive devices, the unexpected choice of place and time of the action.
Abroad, in cases of successful suicide attacks, as a rule, serious omissions in the work of the security services, organization of physical and engineering and technical protection of objects were subsequently revealed. Therefore, preventive measures should be flexible, take into account changes in the tactics of terrorists and the means they use.
It is impossible to rely only on forceful methods; deep preventive and explanatory work, the exposure of the false ideological and religious roots of terrorism are needed. In this regard, spiritual authorities play a special role, explaining the essence of the distortions of Islam and the depravity of the path of militant jihadists.
In order to successfully combat terrorism in general and suicide bombers in particular, it is necessary to increase the level of cooperation of all religious denominations in order to prevent the distorted views used by terrorists to justify. Intensify the fight against the so-called religious legitimacy, the prescribed suicide terrorism, by extremist groups and individuals claiming to be legitimate religious leaders, exposing their true intentions and false interpretations.
It is necessary to strengthen the explanatory work in territorial entities prone to terrorism, paying particular attention to young people, who most often become “cannon fodder”, deprive extremist organizations of financial resources, and prohibit their collection in the name of religious or social goals. We need new technologies and tactics of struggle, the strengthening of special anti-terrorism units. The establishment of international funds for joint research of the phenomenon will be useful, as well as the condemnation of governments supporting terrorism involved in its financing.
If we talk about the specifics of Russia, we emphasize: in the culture, traditions and religious views of its peoples and ethnic groups there are no reasons for cultivating this phenomenon, which is already a big plus. Nevertheless, without a system of state measures aimed at curbing the expansion of radicals, by forces and means only of special services, it is hardly possible to oppose terrorist forms of the establishment of Islamic fundamentalism in our country. But taking into account the socio-political situation and the desire of the authorities to translate the events taking place into the plane of combating ordinary organized crime, we can safely predict the further growth of terrorist threats, including the use of suicide bombers. In the near future, this may become a problem for us No. 1. And to solve it, we repeat, it is necessary in a complex.
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