A terrorist mind

"And fight in the way of Allah those who fight you. But do not transgress limits. Truly Allah loves not the transgressors."
- Qur'an, Surah Al-Baqarah (2:190)

What makes a terrorist think that s/he shall kill anyone and sometimes get killed him/herself in the process ? Did we get to know these terrorist warriors and suicide bombers? Here are a few reasoning.

We all tend to think of ourselves as conscious, rational beings, but human behavior is largely driven by unconscious attitudes. Based on research conducted among suicide bombers who have failed to complete their missions and are currently in prisons around the world it is found that the psychologically, suicide bombers aren't that different from you and me. They tend to be more idealistic than the rest of us. They're often not the crazed, religious nuts as we usually think. They're also not necessarily people who themselves have suffered great acts of humiliation and are acting out these narratives of revenge. So why do they act so in-humanly and what makes them get so insane?

Rather than individual motivations, it's group psychology that prompts terrorists to commit extreme acts. Human beings are hard-wired to be strongly influenced by the people around them. Whether it's a group of investment bankers in the game of making money, or missionaries preparing to save the world. Small groups of people develop their own norms and aspirations that are different from people outside the group. For terrorist groups, the norms are created by their leaders, and psychologically, the training process is like being in a tunnel where thoughts, ideas and beliefs, are severely constrained. When you have small groups of people who are living in a very constrained world and are intensely loyal to each other the stage is set for manipulators to change the norms of human behavior. The leaders of these terrorist groups are masters in manipulating these groups of individuals and resetting their mind to mould the way they need them to act and it's not difficult to recruit people who are willing to commit acts that would be considered extreme to the outside world. They feel privileged to be a suicide bomber, like being a filmstar.

A terrorist once being reformed by his leader asks himself if he loves Allah more than his own life? Spiritually, he asks whether or not he is willing to sacrifice himself in Allah's Cause against Shaytan's power and the infidel's military forces? Politically, he divides the nations of the world into two following warring camps -
The nations under Islamic rule are termed, the Land of Peace (dar al-Islam)
The remaining nations are called, the Land of War (dar al-Harb)

He then asks himself if he should participate in bringing Allah's rule over the infidels and hypocrites. Intellectually, the answers to those questions are crystal clear to him. Emotionally, his only hurdle to overcome is the fear of death. Once this emotional fear is conquered, the person joyfully takes up the sword to kill and be killed in Allah's Cause, anticipating his entrance into the gates of heavenly Paradise. He believes and suffer exile and strive with might and main, in Allah's cause, he believes with their goods and their persons will achieve the highest rank in the sight of Allah. He will achieve salvation.

Hence, martyrdom makes sense from an Islamic fundamentalist’s perspective. They know that death is the common lot of humanity. It is inescapable. So, rather than desperately clinging to life, they view martyrdom as an ultimate expression of their submission to Allah and Allah’s cause. They sacrifice their lives, because they love Allah, Muhammad, and eternal Paradise more than a few additional years on earth. They believe that martyrdom is the highest expression of their faith in Islam. Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran or more popularly called Imam Khomeini expressed it accurately when he said, "The purest joy in Islam is to kill and be killed for Allah." They brandish their swords, intent upon murdering the enemies of Allah and dying while embracing the Apostle of Islam's pledge, "the gates of Paradise are under the shadows of the swords."

On the other hand
The predominant theme in the Qur'an is forgiveness and peace. Allah (God) is Merciful and Forgiving, and seeks that in His followers. Indeed, most Muslims around the world are found to be peaceful, honest, hard-working, civic-minded people.

In Islam, several things are clear:

Suicide is forbidden. "O ye who believe!... [do not] kill yourselves, for truly Allah has been to you Most Merciful. If any do that in rancour and injustice, soon shall We cast him into the Fire..." (Qur'an 4:29-30).

The taking of life is allowed only by way of justice (i.e. the death penalty for murder), but even then, forgiveness is better. "Nor take life - which Allah has made sacred - except for just cause..." (17:33).

In pre-Islamic Arabia, retaliation and mass murder was commonplace. If someone was killed, the victim's tribe would retaliate against the murderer's entire tribe. This practice was directly forbidden in the Qur'an (2:178-179). Following this statement of law, the Qur'an says, "After this, whoever exceeds the limits shall be in grave chastisement" (2:178). No matter what wrong we perceive as being done against us, we may not lash out against an entire population of people. Harming innocent bystanders, even in times of war, was forbidden by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). This includes women, children, noncombatant bystanders, and even trees and crops. Nothing is to be harmed unless the person or thing is actively engaged in an assault against Muslims.