My dear friend Bassam offered (in private communication) his strong objections to a post I wrote against suicide bombings a few days ago (see below). He makes good points (yes, he is foul mouthed):"The fucking hereafter is a byproduct event. Period. Death is, therefore,embraced psychologically as byproduct after the decision is already made.The hereafter is not part of the decision-making even if it appears so from the perspective of the observer.Otherwise, all the muslims everywhere would be doing it.What makes what you're saying problematic, really, is when you say"especially those who are driven . . . by religious motives," as though thehereafter plays any significant role among the other suicide bombers who are not driven by religious motives.Given the racist bullshit in the media and academia, I think these words reflect poor judgement."