Suicide bombers
Long but fascinating New York Times article describing the thoughts and opinions of various Muslims in Gaza, Cairo, and Hamburg about the Sept. 11 attacks and whether the attackers were justified. (With sidelights on kamikaze pilots and the Tamil Tigers.) The Koran prohibits suicide, but young men are being told that if the die in certain kinds of bombings, they're martyrs, not suicides. The general tide of opinion in Gaza and Cairo seemed to indicate that this stance is justified for Palestinians attempting to gain a Palestinian state (that is, that in those circumstances it really is martyrdom rather than suicide), but not necessarily for other suicide bombers. But the last part of the article, talking with Muslims in Hamburg, is the really fascinating (and chilling) part. It's a long and scary road we're embarking on, any way you look at it. I don't see any easy answers.