More from Cook on Islam and Martyrdom

Cook writes:

Martyrdom in Islam is in general not a passive act on the part of the believer, but more of an active action in which the martyr seeks out the circumstances that will lead to his or her own martyrdom. One of the dominant themes, therefore, is the close relationship between martyrdom and jihad, rather than between martyrdom and missions, as in the case in other missionary religions such as Buddhism or Christianity...The fighting martyr is the type that stands out in the overall category of Muslim martyrdom. p. 166

Now this is interesting because it helps us remember how Christian martyrdom is different and to explain that this is so.

As a meta-discussion, though: what place might comparative religion have in the business of Christian theology?

Islam and the martyr's rewards

Photo: Nantes Cathedral

Frequently in media discussions of Islamic martyrdom rather shocked mention has been made of the prospect of heavenly rewards offered to those who are martyred in Islam. According to the account by David Cook called Martyrdom in Islam this description is probably not unfair: the Islamic tradition gives special prominence to the rewards reserved especially for martyrs. He writes:

The rewards for the martyr described by the Muslim jihad literature are very lurid. Althought it is popular in anti-Muslim polemic to concentrate upon the sexual rewards of the martyr - and there can be no question that these are important - it is interesting to note that probably the most frequently cited tradition listing these rewards is entirely devoid of such content...However, no one who read the jihad and martyrdom literature can avoid the frequent and graphic descriptions of the sexual delights of paradise. Although it is impossible to be certain, the fact that this material is so well attested and descriptive suggests that along with the spiritual aspects of being a martyr, there was a strong sexual pull as well. p. 37

The criticism that usually arises here is, does not the reward corrupt the very idea of martyrdom? Certainly, Augustine fought very hard against a similar tendency in Christianity (not the sexual nature of the rewards, but against the reward mentality). There is a prize that awaits us in heaven; but, our treasure is God himself. That changes everything.

Martyrdom in Islam is different

Cook (see last post) writes:

The classical Muslim framework of martyrology is different from that of other faiths. Although the initial Meccan phases involve some physical violence against Muslims for the sake of Islam, this became nothing more than a historical memory. Overwhelmingly, perhaps because of the very success of the faith, Islam had to seek other conceptions of martyrdom. These have been most obviously filled by those martyrs killed in battle - a category comparatively lacking in other faiths - and to some extent those killed in plagues...The Muslim ideal for a martyr became that person - usually a man - who through his active choice sought out a violent situation ... with pure intentions and was killed as a result of that choice. Ideally his actions expressed courage and defiance of the enemy, loyalty toward Islam and the pure intention to please God, since the acceptable manner of jihad was to 'lift the Word of Allah to the highest' (Qur'an 9:41). p. 30

Uniquely, Christians have Christ of course: a death which is a single and unsurpassable pattern for martyrdom and yet which is not merely a martyrdom.

Martyrdom in Islam by David Cook

I received today my copy of a new book by David Cook entitled: Martyrdom in Islam

I purchased this book because I figured that though I am giving a theological account of martyrdom from a confessional standpoint, the phenomenology of martyrdom is a growing field, and the interest in Islamic martyrdom is widespread. It is certainly worth asking the question from the religious studies point of veiw: 'is Christian martyrdom an entirely different entity to Islamic martyrdom?' Cook is a defender of Islam from reduction to its radical elements and argues the case that Islamic martyrdom is not at root about suicide and militancy to the extent that it has been portrayed in the West. His diagnosis of the fear and loathing with which the West regards the whole reverence for martyrs is very interesting, too.

He gives a brief sketch of the rise of Jewish martyrdom in the Seleucid period and beyond as recorded in the books of the Maccabees. Jesus for him is 'the best known Jewish martyr'. What he doesn't ask is whether there were pagan sources which are relevant for the study of Christian martyrdom (and are thus inherited by Islamic hagiographers): interestingly, the early Christian theologians like Origen and Tertullian do make comparisons with the great pagan noble heroes of yore in their descriptions of martyrdom. As with Christianity, the martyrs of Islam are a crucial reference point for the business of shaping the identity of the group.