Suicide-Murder, Murder-Suicide, and Mass Terrorism

On September 11, 2001 we experienced some of the most horrific criminal acts the world has ever witnessed. A group of individuals caused an unimaginable loss of life and destruction in a terrorist suicide attack that was years in the planning. After the initial shock had passed, we were left to ponder these questions, "Why do they hate us? What did America do to the Islamic world?"

While the focus was placed on historical and cultural factors, little attention has been paid to the psychological mindset of the individuals responsible for such horrendous acts, a mindset that leads recruits down the path to certain death. In order to understand such actions, we need to comprehend the nature of suicide itself. Let us start with ordinary suicide. This form of suicide, as we know, is associated with depression and a desire to escape the pain of living through death.

The two other types of suicide are less familiar and far more difficult to understand. These are suicide-murder and murder-suicide. Suicide-murder is the term I coined in earlier writing to refer to the phenomenon whereby an estranged husband or boyfriend kills his wife/partner and sometimes children who are present and then turns the weapon (usually a gun) on himself. Another form of suicide-murder concerns men (and one woman) who committed acts of murder for the sole purpose of getting themselves executed.

Earlier I documented 20 case histories, many of whom were on death row, all of whom met the criteria for suicide-murder. Suicidal murderers reportedly are attracted by the notoriety of receiving the death penalty. (Gary Gilmore, who was executed in 1973, had all the characteristics of the murderer who was bent on this course of action). Research shows that such individuals who have tried to commit suicide in the past consistently had lost their nerve.

Common to all these suicide-murder situations is that the murders are secondary to the desire for suicide, and the suicide is to be inflicted by the state. Psychologically, all the suicidal murderers have little regard for the lives of other people as well. Characteristically, such people are antisocial and, in the case of family murderers, often have a history of family violence. Suicide bombers, such as the Arab terrorists, in contrast, are of the murder-suicide variety. Here, the impetus to kill and destroy takes precedence over the suicidal impulse.

In the television broadcast, "The Mind of a Suicide Bomber" (CNNFN, Oct. 1, 2001), Professor of Psychiatry Jerrold Post presented the results of his 35 interviews with incarcerated terrorists in Israeli prisons. These individuals were failed suicide bombers whose suicide missions had failed because of unforeseen circumstances. In their interviews they consistently spoke of the need to defend "the land of their honor," their willingness to become martyrs to a sacrificial act, and the fact that these were not acts of suicide but actions performed in service to Allah. Are these men weak emotionally; are they sick? " No," declares Dr. Post "Such men are fortified by religion. As a result of ruthless indoctrination, these men have subordinated their own individuality to the group. Emotionally disturbed individuals are expelled from these quasi-military units as a security risk."

Unlike solitary terrorists in the U.S., the members of these terrorist cells tend to have close relationships with their families who support them in their efforts to kill the Zionist or American enemy. Admittedly, there are differences between the Palestinian suicide bombers studied by Dr. Post and the killer hijackers. The hijackers are older, better educated, and with a great deal more to lose in terms of material enjoyments. They were no less fanatical, however, no less possessed by collective anger. Common to suicide-murder and murder-suicide is hatred, hatred of a certain individual or ethnic group who is seen as a powerful threat. Hatred combined with anger can be mobilized as collective, self-righteous rage. Any policy to eradicate terrorism, whether originating from the homefront or abroad, must probe the root causes in psychology as well as history, and weigh any responses accordingly.

The present grave situation requires our leaders to act so that more people are not won over to suicide in the service of terrorism. Otherwise, the cycle that goes from "America under Attack" to "America Strikes Back" to "America under Attack" will go on and on indefinitely.

by Katherine van Wormer (University of Northern Iowa).