New Policy Responses to Suicide Bombing in the Muslim World

Many scholars who have examined suicide attacks do not have a background in Islamic Studies, and few of them have a command of the primary texts of contemporary Islamist thought.

David Cook, professor of Islamic studies at Rice University, and Olivia Allison, a graduate researcher at King's College, London, examine the historical and religious roots of suicide attacks among radicalized Muslims, exploring how these attacks have created a global discourse and how to combat the cultural and ideological basis for martyrdom operations. They discussed:
 

• The historical and religious roots of suicide bombing, focusing on campaigns in the Israeli-Arab conflict, Chechnya/Russia, Southeast Asia, and worldwide al-Qaeda attacks
• Media relations by suicide-bombing organizations and how Western media have covered these attacks
• New policy responses to suicide bombing.