Martyrs?

Governments lie to their people all the time. Organized religion lies to their followers all the time. Both are crimes against humanity and have been committed since the beginning of civilization. However, as disgusting and disingenuous as governments can be there can certainly be no bigger crime against humanity than an organized religion that offers their followers a pathway to their God and/or an afterlife, however fictional, that forces them to suffer and die in belief that that’s their only way to achieve the original lie they have been brainwashed into believing. Now combine them both and we’re able to witness live the morally criminal nature of a Government and a Religion as they work together in Palestine. This culture has been propagated by the Islamic religion with the celebration of martyrs as a phenomenon in Palestine since at least 1968, but became considerably more widespread in the early 1990s. Palestinian nationalistic factions have used it as a political tool to influence public opinion. Education of children, visual media, community events, ceremonies, leaflets and posters all indoctrinate and contribute to positive cultural misconceptions of martyrdom from a young age, portraying killed Palestinians, often children, as heroes in the struggle against Israeli occupation. The shahid concept of a victim who falls or suffers at the hands of an oppressor became a symbol of the First Intifada and was consistent with the deceitful political dynamics of the time when efforts were made to lobby international support for Palestinians’ pursuit for independence. While the shahid concept speaks to victimization, the proactive concept of istishhadi highlights heroism in the sacrificial act. Both are lies that a nationalist religion tells its followers. Hamas upholds martyrdom as the highest expression of jihad and Islamic belief. Hamas asserts that the use of suicide bombers, often women and children, have empowered the Palestinian people strategically, attributing it to "Palestinian innovative genius”. Hamas officials reject claims that suicide attacks harm the Palestinian cause, asserting that “martyrdom operations” reflect the triumph of the Muslim soul, faith, and spirituality over the Israeli or Western “technological mindset.” "Martyrdom is life, a life of heroism and valor." This is a lie. This is a crime against not only the Palestinian population but once again, a crime against humanity. To support or encourage this misguided mindset in any way is a moral failure of the individual and must be considered nothing less by society.