wfn.org | Title: Suicide bombings? Palestinian Christian speaks

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World Council of Churches 7 Feature
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 26/02/2004 - feat-04-07

 Book review:
 What is wrong with suicide bombings?
 A Palestinian Christian perspective

 By John Aves*

Not many readers would be in a position to confront the type of 14-year-old
boy I did on a recent visit to Palestine. He said to me with pride: "My
father was a martyr and my cousin was a bomber and blew up Jews in
Jerusalem." Had there been time for more sustained conversation, the
36-page booklet by Dr. Naim Ateek entitled Suicide Bombers: What is
Theologically and Morally Wrong with Suicide Bombings? A Palestinian
Christian Perspective would have shown me the direction to take.

Ateek does not take the easy route of simple condemnation and moral outrage
but points first to the need to understand the context from which the
bombings arose in Israel and Palestine. In this he is very clear, ascribing
the beginnings in 2000 to the failures of the Oslo Agreement, and perhaps
the Palestinian Authority, to curb the restrictions on movement,
confiscations of land, demolition of houses, devouring of water resources,
incursions of settlements, killings and constant humiliations that mark the
oppressive occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza by the
Israeli government since 1967.

He tells us the suicide bombers have direct experience of these factors,
and have been nurtured by the high unemployment, the harassment of the
checkpoints, the death of a loved one and sometimes the need to redeem
themselves from having been recruited as collaborators in the Israeli
prison camps. They see themselves as engaged in a war. "As Israeli soldiers
shell and kill Palestinians indiscriminately, Palestinian suicide bombers
strap themselves with explosives and kill Israelis indiscriminately," Dr.
Ateek writes.

In a succinct page, Ateek offers a Muslim perspective, noting the close
relationship between nationalism and faith, and the difference between
those Muslims who believe in the martyr's path to heaven and those who
emphasize that the Quran has many verses prohibiting the harming of others.
He quotes a western chaplain at Georgetown University, Imam Yahya Hendi:
"While there are passages in the Quran like the Old Testament of the Bible
that celebrate military victory, the overall gestalt of the Quran promotes
a more restrained view."

After a brief but interesting discussion on the questions posed by Samson's
death in the Old Testament and its relation to the issue, wondering if that
is to be condemned, he gives eight points explaining why Christians are
opposed to suicide bombers. If there is an overarching principle that
guides him here, it is that, as Christians, we believe in life before death
as well as after death. Oversimplified by your reviewer, the points are as
follows:

1. Suicide is a crime against the God who has given us life.

2. However noble the cause, it is wrong to inflict death and suffering on
others.

3. Christians are called to confront evil and injustice without using evil
methods.

4. Christians are called to model themselves on Christ and break the logic
of revenge killings.

5. The god of both the bombers and Israeli religious extremists, including
some Christian Zionists, justifies war, violence and terrorism. This
understanding must be rejected in the name of the God of love, mercy and
peace that we see in Jesus Christ.

6. Christians must not fall into the despair of the bombers. Christ is to
be found in the midst of suffering and injustice.

7. Suicide bombers, much like the Israeli army in its treatment of the
Palestinian towns with curfews and closures, practice collective
punishment. This is immoral as it affects the innocent and is prohibited by
the Fourth Geneva Convention.

8. Our duty is to stay alive so we can witness to the truth and take every
opportunity to use our life to build a better society, rather than destroy
that gift.

In a resounding conclusion, Ateek affirms his belief that Israelis and
Palestinians must learn to live and share the land together and the sooner
the occupation is ended the sooner there will be an end to suicide bombers.
"Ultimately justice will prevail, the occupation will be over, and the
Palestinian, as well as the Israeli, will enjoy freedom and independence.
How do I know that this will take place? I know because I believe in God."

Though I would have liked to see a little more about thoughts from Middle
Eastern Muslims on the topic within the wider context, anybody seeking a
sensitive introduction to the issue could well begin here.

About the booklet:

Dr. Naim Ateek: Suicide Bombers: What is Theologically and Morally Wrong
with Suicide Bombings? A Palestinian Christian Perspective, Sabeel
Ecumenical Liberation Theology Centre, Jerusalem.  An online version of the
booklet is available at:
http://www.sabeel.org/old/news/cstone25/suicidebombers.htm 

About the author of the booklet:

Dr. Naim Ateek, co-founder and director of the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation
Theology Centre in Jerusalem (see www.sabeel.org), was the first to
articulate a Palestinian theology of liberation in his book Justice, and
only Justice, a Palestinian Theology of Liberation (1989). The book laid
the foundation of a theology that addresses the conflict over Palestine and
explores the political as well as the religious, biblical and theological
dimensions. He has edited and written other books and articles. A former
canon of St. George's Cathedral, Jerusalem, now retired, he lectures widely
both at home and abroad.

About the reviewer:

* Rev. Canon Dr John Aves, honorary canon of Norwich Cathedral, United
Kingdom, died of a heart attack on 25 January 2004 in Bethlehem where he
was serving as a WCC ecumenical accompanier. Aves was 52. His work with
Israeli peace groups and in the Deheisha refugee camp signalled his
commitment to non-violent action, while the stories he wrote as an
ecumenical accompanier showed his compassion, comprehension and deep
understanding of each person he met.

The Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) was
launched in August 2002. Ecumenical accompaniers monitor and report
violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, support acts
of non-violent resistance alongside local Christian and Muslim Palestinians
and Israeli peace activists, offer protection through non-violent presence,
engage in public policy advocacy, and stand in solidarity with the churches
and all those struggling against the occupation. The programme is
co-ordinated by the World Council of Churches.
Website: http://www.eappi.org 

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