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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: DMaA who wrote (213021)	7/22/2007 3:19:24 PM
From: Lane3	Respond to of 794261

Either is Jihad. Maybe you'd prefer to call all fatal Muslim adventures crusades. I covered that, I thought. The English word for the jihad concept is "crusade," which is unfortunately derived from "cross," the Christian symbol. Thus it's necessary to look elsewhere for a word. I assume you aren't suggesting using "crusade."

To: DMaA who wrote (213021)	7/22/2007 4:18:54 PM
From: carranza2	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 794261

Martyr is probably used properly to define anyone who consciously [and unnecessarily] chooses death on account of a cause or belief. There are political martyrs, e.g., the Buddhist priests who set themselves ablaze during the Vietnam war to make a political point, the six Mexican cadets who killed themselves rather than surrender during the Mexican American War, etc. Lots of examples. Religious martyrs are a subset within the term, and shaheeds are a particularly nasty grouping within that subset. That's how I think of the term. I think that the confusion lies in the fact that the term is favorably received so long as the martyr is one who does something for reasons which are acceptable to us, i.e., are consistent with what we believe. When a shaheed blows away a bunch of innocents at an Israeli pizza joint or an Iraqi market, it is difficult for us to think of him as a martyr despite the fact that I think the term encompasses his action, no matter how despicable it may be. And, sure, lots of Christian martyrs, starting with Jesus himself. The Catacombs were filled with them.