6 Contributors
in this discussion.
It can be hard to find a balance for justice against such horrible acts. Many people may wish to simply execute the terrorists, so they no longer exist. But, when you are dealing with people who see the world through an extreme religious viewpoint, rational responses do not necessarily work. Terrorists believe that they will be rewarded in death. They believe that not only will it aid their cause, but it will also bring them eternal rewards in the afterlife. From both standpoints, secular and religious, execution is exactly what the terrorist wants.
Even if one does not subscribe to the beliefs of terrorists, one is still fulfilling the terrorist's wish to attain martyrdom by executing them. They, the terrorists, are being executed because of their religious beliefs, which is the very definition of martyrdom: being scorned or punished for one's beliefs, religious, or otherwise. By executing the terrorists, we are contradicting our goal of deterring terrorism and vindicating the terrorists and their worldview. By executing these terrorists, we lose, and they win.
Executing a terrorist only insures that the terrorist will no longer be a threat to innocent civilians who would otherwise be targeted, if this person were allowed to live. Martyrdom is in the eye of the beholder and, if we win the war on terror, then no terrorists will be seen as martyrs, so long as we establish good relationships with foreign countries.
No, I do not think executing terrorists will grant their wishes by making them martyrs, because they are not able to carry out their work. One of the definitions of a martyr is to inflict torment over religious beliefs. In this case, terrorists are not able to carry out their viscous work.
I think that, if you stop them from carrying out their plan, then they won't be martyred. Even if it does make them a martyr, it is still one less terrorist who can carry out a bombing that could kill many innocent people. Martyrdom is an arbitrary concept designed to give the opposition no way of killing the enemy.
If we execute a terrorist, he may or may not be mentioned on the news. The fact that he is a martyr is very short lived and therefore his legacy does not live long. If however he would have continued living, he would have continued creating chaos in the world, which is more of his wish than being a martyr.