At least according to Psychology Today. No reason listed on why we haven't seen Mormons with bombs strapped to their chest.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-20070622-000002.xml
Most suicide bombers are Muslim
Suicide missions are not always religiously motivated, but according to Oxford University sociologist Diego Gambetta, editor of Making Sense of Suicide Missions, when religion is involved, the attackers are always Muslim. Why? The surprising answer is that Muslim suicide bombing has nothing to do with Islam or the Quran (except for two lines). It has a lot to do with sex, or, in this case, the absence of sex.
What distinguishes Islam from other major religions is that it tolerates polygyny. By allowing some men to monopolize all women and altogether excluding many men from reproductive opportunities, polygyny creates shortages of available women. If 50 percent of men have two wives each, then the other 50 percent don't get any wives at all.
So polygyny increases competitive pressure on men, especially young men of low status. It therefore increases the likelihood that young men resort to violent means to gain access to mates. By doing so, they have little to lose and much to gain compared with men who already have wives. Across all societies, polygyny makes men violent, increasing crimes such as murder and rape, even after controlling for such obvious factors as economic development, economic inequality, population density, the level of democracy, and political factors in the region.
However, polygyny itself is not a sufficient cause of suicide bombing. Societies in sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean are much more polygynous than the Muslim nations in the Middle East and North Africa. And they do have very high levels of violence. Sub-Saharan Africa suffers from a long history of continuous civil wars?but not suicide bombings.
The other key ingredient is the promise of 72 virgins waiting in heaven for any martyr in Islam. The prospect of exclusive access to virgins may not be so appealing to anyone who has even one mate on earth, which strict monogamy virtually guarantees. However, the prospect is quite appealing to anyone who faces the bleak reality on earth of being a complete reproductive loser.
It is the combination of polygyny and the promise of a large harem of virgins in heaven that motivates many young Muslim men to commit suicide bombings. Consistent with this explanation, all studies of suicide bombers indicate that they are significantly younger than not only the Muslim population in general but other (nonsuicidal) members of their own extreme political organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah. And nearly all suicide bombers are single.
Replies
5Beach Fanatic
The Bush Administration's war plan has that covered. Check out these ambitious "runaway brides."
http://www.wunrn.com/news/2007/05_07/05_28_07/060307_iraq.htm
http://www.wunrn.com/news/2007/05_07/05_28_07/060307_iraq.htm
SoWal Expert
Interesting idea.
I'd say the large number of bombings has more to do w/ it being harder to brainwash someone into continuing to shoot suffering people amid a scene of carnage then getting them to quickly trigger a bomb.
Additionally, I was under the impression that there are a large number of war widows (many unable to provide for their families because of fundamentalist regulations) and a shortage of young men in many of the countries this applies to due to years of war and strife.
While I believe that these young men are motivated by futility & frustration in their lives, I don't think it's all of the sexual nature.
Young single men are also the most impressionable, and thus easier to convince to do suicide bombings. They do not have the wisdom or years of experience, or wives or children they worry about leaving behind.
I'd say the large number of bombings has more to do w/ it being harder to brainwash someone into continuing to shoot suffering people amid a scene of carnage then getting them to quickly trigger a bomb.
Additionally, I was under the impression that there are a large number of war widows (many unable to provide for their families because of fundamentalist regulations) and a shortage of young men in many of the countries this applies to due to years of war and strife.
While I believe that these young men are motivated by futility & frustration in their lives, I don't think it's all of the sexual nature.
Young single men are also the most impressionable, and thus easier to convince to do suicide bombings. They do not have the wisdom or years of experience, or wives or children they worry about leaving behind.
Edited
Beach Fanatic
It has a lot to do with sex, or, in this case, the absence of sex.
.
As someone who has railed against me a number of times for ?bringing my bedroom into the public sphere???
?For instance, there is a poster on here who would shout from the mountaintop if the public sector (i.e. the state) decided to step into his bedroom, but he parades his bedroom to the public sector on a regular basis.?-6thGen
The fact that you are now interested in discussing the sex lives of Muslims is an interesting development. Could this be a delicious example of HYPOCRACY?
If anyone here needs to get laid, clearly it is you. And since you?re such a fan of double standards, perhaps you need to invest in a double headed sex toy someday???
SoWal Expert
I've heard a lot of dumb reasons why someone needs to get laid, but "or I'll become a suicide bomber" is a new one.😀
Beach Fanatic
I've heard a lot of dumb reasons why someone needs to get laid, but "or I'll become a suicide bomber" is a new one.😀
Destined to be one of THE top pick up lines of '07...................
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