Martyrdom in Islam

Martyrdom is basic in many faiths. For most it is sacrificing one's life or freedom for a faith. Many members of the Early Christian Church died for their belief and are considered martyrs of their faith. In Islam the concept of martyrdom or shaheed is slightly different. It is one sacrificing one's life to further the Jihad. In doing so the martyr or shahid (shaheeda if a woman) will attain Paradise (this is the only way a Muslim can attain Paradise according to most of the leading Islamic Scholars). There a man will receive 72 virgins and enjoy his life to the fullest. A woman will become one of the 72 virgins for the men to receive.

Already in the Muslim world there is a small but growing movement away from the radicals who have been hijacking Islam to a more militant version. Among these men is Iraqi MP Iyad Jamal Al-Din.

Iraqi MP Iyad Jamal Al-Din: "Only Nations Living in the Past Produce Martyrs"

Following are excerpts from interviews with Iraqi MP Iyad Jamal Al-Din. The interviews aired on Al-Jazeera TV on January 30 and February 2, 2009.

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February 2, 2009: Iraq's Islamic Movement "Lives in the Past... The Iraqi People... Chooses Life Over Death"

Iyad Jamal Al-Din: "The Islamic movement that rules in Iraq lives in the past - especially the political forces that raise the banner of the martyrs, and base themselves on a history of being oppressed, without taking into consideration the bright future.

"The Iraqi people is a living people. It chooses life over death. The religious discourse in Iraq sanctifies death, the dead, and the martyrs, who are viewed as a cultural asset. This discourse does not sanctify the living. If you want to be sanctified, to become immortal, you must first be killed. This runs counter to the will and aspirations of the Iraqi public.

"It is also noteworthy that the religious forces ruling Iraq formed a coalition out of fear, not love. They are afraid of the 'other' - sometimes this 'other' is secular, other times Sunni, and sometimes... the 'other.'"

Interviewer: "Even though they are the rulers."

Iyad Jamal Al-Din: "Yes. They did not become close out of love. They do not share any friendship and do not agree on joint political principles. The only thing they share is fear of the 'other,' and if there is no such 'other,' they create one in their imagination, in order to intimidate their followers and become close to one another."

January 30, 2009:"There Isn't a Single Living Leader in the Islamic Movements...Only Nations Living in the Past Produce Martyrs"

Iyad Jamal Al-Din: "The secular or liberal movement looks to the future, not to the past. They do not cry about the past. They don't have a Wailing Wall. There are no dead people among the liberal or secular leaders. In the Islamic or religious parties - whatever you want to call them - you see the living hiding behind pictures of the dead, or martyrs. All their leaders are martyrs. There isn't a single living leader in the Islamic movements who can say: I am your leader. He may be alive, but behind him there is a giant five-meter-tall picture of a martyr."

Interviewer: "They are trying to evoke..."

Iyad Jamal Al-Din: "They are evoking dead leaders."

Interviewer: "This may be a good thing."

Iyad Jamal Al-Din: "Some people may view this as a positive thing, but this people is a living people, which looks to the future, not to the past. If you want to rely on the past - okay, no problem. But if you are alive, and led by a dead person - this means you must die yourself in order to become a leader.

"Living nations produce living leaders, not martyrs. Only nations living in the past produce martyrs. They take pride in their past more than they look to the future."

Think about those words. Only nations living in the past produce martyrs. Western nations revere their past leaders, they look to them for inspiration, but they do not ask their youth to become martyrs in their name.

Iyad Jamal al-Din doesn't speak about 72 doe-eye virgins, great feasting and joy in Paradise, no he speaks of a need to look to the future and rebuild his nation. He wishes to bring his nation and his faith into the 21st Century and not the 7th.

Yet the idea of Martyrdom is still strong in Islam. Just listen to the words of the granddaughter and wife of Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam and Abdallah 'Azzam, respectively:
Hat tip to Holger Awakens

Palestinian Women Urged To Sacrifice Their Children.




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The Iraqi man wants to build up his nation, the Palestinian woman only wants to destroy another nation with no words on how to build a nation in its stead.

That is the big differences between the 2 groups. The reformers want to build and move forward and the radical only wish to destroy and look backwards.

The reformers look to this life and want to make it better, the reformers only can see the wonders of their Paradise that was promised them.

I just wonder how many martyrs have returned from Paradise to confirm not only its existence but that they got their 72 virgins?