FROM THE editors June 21, 2004 Issue

Prayer for suicide bombers

Editor

Nearly every news cycle these days churns out stories that are so disheartening that it's tempting to just turn off the TV, put aside the newspaper, and try to forget that the world is in turmoil. But one can't, because the world needs prayer. Sadly, feelings of despair and injustice have reached a point in some parts of the world that for a growing number of people—especially young Muslim men—the solution is to commit suicide in assassination attempts, while simultaneously killing as many innocent bystanders as possible.

In a recent Op-Ed piece in The New York Times, columnist Thomas Friedman commented on the impact, or lack of impact, reports of suicide bombers are having on people around the world. He wrote, "We're so shell-shocked, we just treat this [news] as another day, another suicide bomb in Iraq. But we need to think about this. My rough estimate is that there have been 50 to 75 suicide bomb attacks in Iraq in the last year. So the first question I have is this: Where are all these suicide bombers coming from? How do you just get these people off the shelf?" ("The search for P.M.D.'s," May 23, 2004).

Friedman poses a cogent question. Yet for those who want to take a spiritual approach to problem-solving, the first question might be, How does one reach the heart of the potential suicide bomber before it's too late? Isn't there something in each person—even someone determined to commit an atrocity—that yearns for assurance that he or she has something valuable to contribute, positively, here and now? Given this situation, it is imperative to include these young people in our prayers.

Send a comment to the editors

This is the end of the issue. Ready to explore further?

Online features Audio