Islamist suicide terrorism and erich fromm’s social psychology of modern times
Author(s) / Creator(s)
Aysha, Emad El-Din
Abstract / Description
Mainstream social science has struggled to explain the appeal of suicide terrorism to so many Muslim youths, relying as it does on standard socio-economic indicators and research meant to identify suicidal tendencies. The existential emphasis is missing. This commentary is inspired by the work of clinical psychologist Erich Fromm (1900-1980) and his investigation of the social psychology of modernity, as well as how this intermingles with existential fears related to mortality (death-related fears) and the passage of time (the end of the world or apocalypse). Modernity, explained Fromm, makes one feel small, insignificant and isolated in the larger scheme of things. This demands a violent response, often involving self-sacrifice, to reassert the balance, which allows Islamists to take advantage of death-related anxieties and exaggerate the sense of confrontation with the world through apocalyptic prophecies. Current psychological research on death and studies of terrorism and religious extremism both confirm many of Fromm’s findings and expand on them. In this commentary I argue that the religion of Islam, far from being a source of suicide terrorism, has historically restrained both suicidal tendencies and political violence directed at civilians, but it is the slow yet sure encroachment of modernity that has eroded these theological and communitarian defences. Other problems, such as household politics, gender roles, and theological teachings concerning death likewise feed this process, as documented by Arabic researchers in contexts other than political violence.
Keyword(s)
suicide self-harm Islam terrorism modernity apocalypse gender family Freud DurkheimPersistent Identifier
Date of first publication
2017-02-03
Journal title
Journal of Social and Political Psychology
Volume
5
Issue
1
Page numbers
82–106
Publisher
PsychOpen GOLD
Publication status
publishedVersion
Review status
peerReviewed
Is version of
Citation
Aysha, E. E.-D. (2017). Islamist suicide terrorism and erich fromm’s social psychology of modern times. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 5(1), 82–106. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v5i1.284
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Aysha, Emad El-Din
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PsychArchives acquisition timestamp2018-11-26T12:45:47Z
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Made available on2018-11-26T12:45:47Z
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Date of first publication2017-02-03
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Abstract / DescriptionMainstream social science has struggled to explain the appeal of suicide terrorism to so many Muslim youths, relying as it does on standard socio-economic indicators and research meant to identify suicidal tendencies. The existential emphasis is missing. This commentary is inspired by the work of clinical psychologist Erich Fromm (1900-1980) and his investigation of the social psychology of modernity, as well as how this intermingles with existential fears related to mortality (death-related fears) and the passage of time (the end of the world or apocalypse). Modernity, explained Fromm, makes one feel small, insignificant and isolated in the larger scheme of things. This demands a violent response, often involving self-sacrifice, to reassert the balance, which allows Islamists to take advantage of death-related anxieties and exaggerate the sense of confrontation with the world through apocalyptic prophecies. Current psychological research on death and studies of terrorism and religious extremism both confirm many of Fromm’s findings and expand on them. In this commentary I argue that the religion of Islam, far from being a source of suicide terrorism, has historically restrained both suicidal tendencies and political violence directed at civilians, but it is the slow yet sure encroachment of modernity that has eroded these theological and communitarian defences. Other problems, such as household politics, gender roles, and theological teachings concerning death likewise feed this process, as documented by Arabic researchers in contexts other than political violence.en_US
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Publication statuspublishedVersion
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Review statuspeerReviewed
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CitationAysha, E. E.-D. (2017). Islamist suicide terrorism and erich fromm’s social psychology of modern times. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 5(1), 82–106. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v5i1.284en_US
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ISSN2195-3325
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Persistent Identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12034/1425
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Persistent Identifierhttps://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.1829
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Language of contenteng
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PublisherPsychOpen GOLD
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Is version ofhttps://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v5i1.284
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Keyword(s)suicideen_US
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Keyword(s)self-harmen_US
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Keyword(s)Islamen_US
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Keyword(s)terrorismen_US
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Keyword(s)modernityen_US
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Keyword(s)apocalypseen_US
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Keyword(s)genderen_US
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Keyword(s)familyen_US
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Keyword(s)Freuden_US
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Keyword(s)Durkheimen_US
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Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)150
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TitleIslamist suicide terrorism and erich fromm’s social psychology of modern timesen_US
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DRO typearticle
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Issue1
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Journal titleJournal of Social and Political Psychology
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Page numbers82–106
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Volume5
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Visible tag(s)Version of Record