The Koran strictly prohibits taking one’s own life, let alone taking the life of another human, only God gives life and God alone can take it back. So, the suicide Bombers are not motivated by Islam or religion, no matter how eager we are to blame a religion or how much they want to make idiots out us in their narrative.
It is tempting to condemn the suicide bombers who take other persons’ lives, but that does not solve the problem, as a Pluralist I draw upon the wisdom from every faith tradition and Jesus is one of my mentors. He said, condemn the sin and not the sinner, and that applies here directly. If we condemn the suicide bomber we have no chance of redeeming him or others who are on the same path, on the other hand if we condemn his act, we have a chance of redeeming him and others.
What would make one a suicide bomber? If he has witnessed his family or neighborhood destroyed right in front of his eyes, he is automatically put in a vengeance mode. The only satisfaction he is pushed to have is – destruction of his perceived enemy. Since he does not have an F-16 to load megaton bombs and erase his enemy into the oblivion, he chooses to wrap the miniscule bombs around his chest to do the damage a few.
It is like a toddler, you prevent him from doing things, he goes berserk and throws things around, that is the only choice he has to take his frustration out. You mess with a weak person, the only choice he has is to spit on you, or bite and curse you.
When people lose their hope, a hope to live a normal life, a life where they can kick the soccer ball into a goal or take it away from the opponents kicking the goal, they have a source of satisfaction. When a father feels safe that his daughter can go to school and come back home without being harassed, he lives in peace. When you get a big tip in a restaurant, you have a source of satisfaction
The suicide bomber is pushed to receive his only satisfaction in life by hurting you. You have pushed him to be one, and like all humans, he or she makes attempts to justify his acts by blaming religion, and like a dumb ass, we are eager to buy that and also bark aimlessly at religion.
This madness and sadistic element on both sides has to stop; both sides are vying to do the maximum damage to the other. If we are intelligent and smart beings, we need to look at their acts – what leads them to do it?
The responsibility to bring security, safety, peace and harmony falls squarely on the powerful. The power can be harnessed into understanding and bringing justice and security to both. I cannot be safe if people around me are not safe and it behooves me to build safer societies and not messing them up and live in more fear.