Islamist men are lured into becoming suicide bombers with the offer of 40 virgins in heaven.?

Question

I've been very curious for a long time: what are FEMALE suicide bombers offered?
Surely they aren't also offered 42 virgins? And if not, then what?
Serious and funny answers are welcome, but i'd really like to know the true answer.

Answer 1

Wow, only forty? Last I heard it was seventy-two. Maybe that's a sign the ignorance is decreasing, but I doubt it.

No, Muslim men are not lured into becoming suicide bombers with the promise of virgins of any number.

Muslim men in places like Iraq and Iran and Afghanistan are angry. Common scenario: His father is in prison being tortured for a made-up crime, his mother and sister can't even go out to buy groceries without running the risk of being shot or raped and his brother has been missing for two weeks and no one knows where he is. He's sixteen, seventeen, eighteen and he has to be the man of the house, a role he isn't ready for.

They don't have enough food or water or electricity or *whatever* and he knows he's supposed to fix it but he doesn't know how. He's angry and afraid and hates his life and hates everything that made his life the way it is. He wants to lash out at anything and anyone who he can hold responsible for ruining his life. When you back an animal into a corner, it attacks.

And then someone comes to him and offers him a way out. Just do this, it's not wrong. They offer him some Scripture, twisted and misinterpreted incase he's sceptical. They come to him with the promise of taking care of his family. They'll take care of his mother, find his sister a good husband, search for his brother, help get his father out of prison.

What else is he supposed to do? He loves his family and he hates his life: perfect solution.

The same scenario with female suicide bombers - read the above and substitute 'he' for 'she'.

Also, I would like to make clear that I under no circumstances support the killing of innocent bystanders through suicide - or and other type - bombing. It is wrong and goes against everything Islam stand for and teaches. I'm just a teenage Muslim girls trying to give a little insight on why people do the things they do.

Peace be upon you. I hope I answered your question.

Answer 2

There was just an article in Time magazine about female suicide bombers. It was 42 virgins for men and women are targeted with the hope of making something they did better. There was one example of a women who had a 3 year old son with a man she cheated on her husband with and in order to make things "right" she was convinced to martyr herself. I wish I still had that magazine, but it was last months I think- maybe you could look up the article via the website.

Answer 3

I think its 72 virgins. Of course there are several questions to be raised here 1) virgins: male or female? 2) human or other?3) Christine Aguilera or Barbara Cartland look-alikes ? 4) what do the virgins think of all of this? 5) does that mean up to 72 mothers-in -law? 6) would any man think the bitching that would go on would even remotely resemble heaven? 7) would there be a pub to sneak away to just for a bit of peace? finally, just imagine the queue for the bathroom in the morning.

Answer 4

What is it about the promise to have a orgy in heaven with virgins for killing innocent women and children not sound quite "holy" to me? Something is very amiss here. There no such holy God that would make such a promise. You want to talk about deception, then here you have it. Just imagine the amount of brain washing that has to happen for a person to get to the point where they will commit a homicide killing.

From the Time Magazine article I found:

In one notorious case, Wafa Samir al-Biss, a 22-year-old burn victim from Gaza, went routinely to an Israeli hospital where she received free medical treatment as a humanitarian gesture. Militants convinced her and her family that since she was disfigured she would never get married and that she was better off becoming a martyr. A surveillance camera at Erez checkpoint captured al-Biss's anguish and desperation when her suicide belt failed to go off. Later, crying, she told journalists, "Maybe I have been used" by the recruiters. Al-Biss intended to blow up the very doctors and nurses who had been treating her burns.

Here is the article:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1617542,00.html

Answer 5

Like moths to a flame huh!
Maybe the females get a promise that their virginity is restored in heaven and they'll get to be one of the 42 virgin's on the martyrs welcoming committee.

Answer 6

My muslim friend told me that the 72 virgin things is not true, she then told me when a man enters Heaven he will be able to have whatever he desires, so in fact he could have 72 virgins or more, whatever he pleased. Not sure if this is true.

Answer 7

As I understand it,scientific testing demonstrated that the average muslim male potential suicider would not be swayed by the promise of only 42 virgins. Therefore, it was upped to 72. That did the trick.

Answer 8

Seriously, here are some things I found in the Koran:

Surah 16:97 "Whoever does good whether male or female and he is a believer, We will most certainly make him live a happy life, and We will most certainly give them their reward for the best of what they did."

Surah 39:34 "They will have with their Lord whatever they desire; that is the reward of those who good."

Only men are promised something specific and Muslims explain that's because men are more flesh-minded and need a motivation to remain good in this life.

Answer 9

Actually it's 72 virgins and the female bombers are allowed to be the fairest virgin of them all to her fellow male bomber when he dies.

Answer 10

This may have come from the supposed initiation rite of the original assassins of Mount Alamut. The assassin was supposedly drugged and taken to a garden paradise where their every whim was fulfilled. Then they were taken from the garden and told that they would have to perform their assassinations to get back.