Army of Roses: Inside the World of Palestinian Women Suicide Bombers

Author - Barbara Victor ... [Goo?] [Posters]

This Hardcover Book item from Rodale Books was reviewed on 3-Nov-2008.

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1) Hardcover Book Army of Roses: Inside the World of Palestinian Women Suicide Bombers by Rodale Books. In Army of Roses, Barbara Victor´s predetermined hypothesis is that the motivating factor for Palestinian women becoming suicide bombers is related to the "second-class status of women in that part of the world". That is, women decide to blow themselves up not because they are living under the frustrating conditions of occupation, as their male counterparts are, not even because they are misguided by religious and/or nationalistic drives, and certainly not because they are politicized and deeply engaged in the struggle for statehood. Women become suicide bombers (or shahida), according to the author, in order to escape the unbearable religious and traditional constraints imposed on them by the Islamic rules, patriarchal society and individual male family members; they do so to escape personal family problems and/or to uphold men´s honor. Victor also argues that women fall much more easily into the prey of the manipulative male leaders (of course she never elaborates on the stories of male suicide bombers).

In the beginning of the book, Victor states that by focusing on the life stories of shahidas (as well as relying on interviews with survivors, officials, etc. on both side of the Green Line), she wants to find answers as why and how these women choose the path they do. However, since the author seems to already have answers to her questions, what she ends up doing with her collected data is to selectively highlight instances of personal problems and present them as the ultimate motivating factors. Victor´s depiction of women´s lives is unskillful in that the life stories in themselves betray her argument.

All but one of the women we are introduced to in the book (either actual shahidas or those who had attempted to be so) are active participants in their society. Furthermore, they all have their share of occupation -related burdens and frustrations, as well as their share of being lured and mislead by the dominant political and religious discourse into taking such an extreme and tragic measure as suicide bombing. Yet, it is striking how the author searches, almost desperately, for a reason "behind the surface" which would explain these women´s choices. Inevitably, it is revealed that one woman was childless and disgracefully divorced, another woman, inspired to study, was under pressure to marry, yet another woman was molested as a teen and so on and so forth. It is this personal dimension of women´s lives that is given weight as a reason for wanting to become shahida. The most telling example of such partial depiction is the case of Ayat Al-Akhras.

Ayat, the last child of a large and economically well-off family was happily engaged with a young man and inspired to become a journalist "to communicate to the world the Palestinian cause" when she took her life as a suicide bomber at a young age. She is described by her friends and family members as "fiercely opinionated", "the most outspoken within the family", and one who always "dominated conversations". As a child, Ayat witnessed her brother being jailed twice for throwing stones at Israeli soldiers. Another brother was shot by Israeli bullets and her sister "suffered miscarriage when Israeli tanks rolled into the camp and prevented access to ambulance and hospital." Ayat, we are told, developed a hatred for Israelis from young age, and expressed it intellectually.

A while before she blew herself and two Israelis, Ayat was visiting a friend when the Israelis soldiers shot through the windows and killed a teenaged boy residentof the home while watching TV. The older brother who was present at the scene remembers: "Ayat got hysterical ... I picked up my brother, who was bleeding badly, and ran with him in my arms towards the nearest hospital. Ayat ran with me, sobbing and screaming ... My brother died in my arms, and Ayat collapsed."

In the author´s mind neither the harsh past life experience of Ayat nor the circumstances under which her personality developed the way it did, nor the trauma she experienced shortly before her final action seem to provide any motivation whatsoever - albeit unjustifiably- for her to become a suicide bomber. Instead, Victor is convinced that Ayat blew herself up so that the honor of being a shahida would restore her father´s reputation who was the target of a growing accusation and hostility by the Palestinian community for allegedly collaborating with the Israelis. She sacrificed herself, we are told, for the sake of her father and her family. In a bizarre attempt to provide proof that Ayat did indeed take her life for the sake of her family´s honor, Victor refers to Ayat´s last testimony, customarily video-taped by all suicide bombers right before their death. Victor maintains: "As a woman and a daughter, she wanted to be the one to save her father and prove that she was stronger than her brothers. It was telling in her final video that she alluded to the importance of the powerful Arab nations when they did not come to the aid of the Palestinians". It is amazing how a plain political statement could be domesticized and personalized through the lens of Orientalism!

One wonders if Palestinian women in general are so oppressed and victimized and so easily manipulated by their male family members, why don´t we see women suicide bombers in rates at lease equal to men?
¤

2) Hardcover Book Army of Roses: Inside the World of Palestinian Women Suicide Bombers by Rodale Books. Barbara Victor´s work as a journalist has taken her through the Middle East since the early Eighties. The backdrop of her experiences there forms the seed of this book (sensationally titled Les Femmes Kamikazes in its European printing). Victor also directed an accompanying documentary film-also called Les Femmes Kamikazes-that parallels her book. The bases of her research are interviews conducted with the families of four shahidas, the Arabic word for female suicide bombers. She also interviews a host of Israeli "terrorism experts", (a problematic tactic, as their expertise exclusively supports Zionist ideology) as well as journalists, members of the Israeli secret police and psychologists on both sides of the Green Line. Prefaced with a foreword by Christopher Dickey, Newsweek´s Paris bureau chief and Middle East editor, the 20 short chapters of her book tell the stories of the shahidas, and other women who have taken an active role in the uprising.

A novelist and non-fiction author, Barbara Victor has made women her topic in the past, with subjects as diverse as Madonna and Hanan Asrawi. It is hard not see that the extremes represented by those subjects haunt this work-perhaps not the benefit of her argument. For example Victor´s preoccupation with the physical appearance of her subjects has an odd relationship with the feminist principles that her book purports to espouse. Wafa Idris, the first female Palestinian suicide bomber in history is described as having "perfect makeup" and "beautifully manicured nails" to match the "smart, western-style coat" she wore on her final trip to the mall. Victor reports that, according to the sales clerk who survived the blast, Idris was trying to free her knapsack from the doorway of a store while watching herself reapply makeup in a compact when it suddenly exploded. Darine Aisha, the second shahida in history is described as having had "a captivating smile" while Ayat Al-Akhras-the third-wore makeup and "smart, western clothes." Victor uses the language of western fashion and style to suggest something of the interior lives of the women she profiles, a rhetorically dubious and politically retrograde tactic. There may indeed be something worth exploring in the ways these women choose to present themselves but Victor isn´t interested in the larger implications of these choices. For example "Zina" (a pseudonym) wore a halter-top and tight pants to aid a male suicide bomber in completing his mission and initially eluded capture by miming an exaggerated cell phone conversation to convince patrolling Israeli soldiers she was an American tourist. This suggests that rather than an unconscious longing for western freedoms represented by makeup and clothing that Palestinian women are acutely aware of the way that western styles render them invisible, often as a precursor to the final disappearance of their martyrdom.

Victor refuses to acknowledge the political agency of their choices, portraying the shahidas instead as young women with "personal problems" who were exploited by male relatives into sacrificing themselves. Victor cites the now-familiar boogeyman of fundamentalist Islam as the prime motivator in this phenomenon. Ironically this narrative often runs counter to the testimony that she collects from the surviving families and friends of the martyred women. Wafa Idris´ mother, Mabrook contends that her daughter was motivated "more by nationalistic fervor than religion." Indeed Idris was known for having an "independent mind and a profound feeling of resentment toward the occupation." In another example, Darine Aisha, a "brilliant" student of English literature at Al-Najah University, became a shahida after being sexually humiliated by Israeli border guards. The guards taunted her, tore off her headscarf and forced her to kiss and embrace her male cousin in front of a crowd of Palestinians waiting to cross into Israel. She tried to defend herself but acquiesced so that the guards would allow a nearby woman with a dying infant in need of medical attention to pass. A deeply religious woman she was also, according to her friends "a feminist in the true sense of the word", once having won an essay contest by writing "I am a Muslim woman who believes her body belongs to her alone, which means how I look should not play a role in who I am or what response I evoke from people who meet me. Wearing the hijab gives me freedom, because my physical appearance is not an issue." This statement shouldn´t be interpreted as a universal defense of the veil but rather proof that the woman who wore it knew what she was doing with her life...and her death.

Victor positions the testimony of the Palestinians who knew the shahidas against the assertions of Israeli "experts" who consistently blame "fanatical" religious practices and the second class status of women in Palestinian society for their actions as opposed to the host of issues raised by living under Israeli occupation. For example, Mira Tzoreff, an Israeli academic says "(Palestinians) are living in a not very democratic surrounding...This is a reactive national culture, a collective atmosphere. We are talking about post-modern versus nationalistic, and that makes all the difference. People cannot stand alone or think for themselves...they must have a national explanation, and that is to see Israel and the United States as the ultimate enemy...." Statements like this one reveal the Orientalist character that mars Army of Roses as a work of serious scholarship, although it provides a revealing (if unintended) view of the misapprehensions underlying this conflict. The Israeli academic describes the Intifada as the longing for a "national explanation," while the Palestinians themselves describe it as the longing for a nation.

Again and again throughout her book the Palestinians point to the Israeli occupation as the main motivator in the phenomenon of suicide bombing (by either sex) and Victor continually returns to her original thesis: that Palestinian society uses fundamentalist Islam to shame troubled girls into killing themselves. In her introduction Victor recalls touring the Sabra and Shatilla refugee camps in Beirut in 1982 after the Lebanese Christian Militia and Israeli army massacred thousands of Palestinian occupants. She encountered a woman there who was the sole survivor of her family. The woman answered her questions "in surprisingly good English" telling her "You American women talk constantly of equality. Well, you can take a lesson from us Palestinian women. We die in equal numbers to the men." Perhaps if she had heard her differently Barbara Victor would have written another sort of book.¤

3) Hardcover Book Army of Roses: Inside the World of Palestinian Women Suicide Bombers by Rodale Books. When a bunch of ladies decide to become suicide bombers, I think it is proper to ask what´s going on.

We´re not seeing a spontaneous reaction. Most folks don´t blow themselves up. Most ladies don´t do it. And even if one suddenly decided to do so, most do not have access to the explosives.

This book explains some of the pressures these women were put under, and how they were led into such destructive tasks.

It´s touching and heartbreaking.

The author shows us how six-year old girls in first grade are indoctrinated to the extent that they all are eager to be martyrs, so they can cause deaths of Jews and go to Paradise. As we learn, to prospective martyrs, Paradise is a place no Jews ever get to!

Still, there are some outstanding questions I´m sure we all have. First, is this tactic, um, working? Will it achieve something? Second, just what is the overall goal of those who send these ladies out on such missions, if any? Third, just where is the support and funding coming for the entire operation, including the propaganda and training? Fourth, what can be done to stop it?

To some extent, the tactic is "working." Suicide bombings are big news. I think antizionists have long realized that deaths play in their favor, whether they be deaths of Jews or Arabs. Suicide bombing gives one both, what could be better than that? And this book seems to confirm my suspicions in that regard. Meanwhile, whatever the overall goal may be, the result has been to afflict "an entire generation with a consuming desire to die."

As for the support and funding, well, it has come from Arafat and his coterie. Victor shows that they´ve force-fed hatred to an entire population. And they´ve obtained fiscal and political support from Arab nations as well as the European Union.

To her credit, Victor shows the analogy between the sacrifice of today´s young Arabs and the sacrifices of the, um, Youth in the defence of Berlin in 1945.

But isn´t there a goal? Freedom? Land? Maybe so! But even here, Victor allows us to be warned that this may not be achievable. After all, Israel is small. It may appear to some people that either the West Bank and Gaza or all of Israel is just the right size to accommodate a new Arab nation: all one has to do is dispose of all the Jews there. But that´s not necessarily the case. What if it is simply too small? What if the Arabs that demand a new nation can´t fit into just the West Bank and Gaza, or even into all of Israel? Or what if some space is to be left for the Jews? Victor quotes an Israeli general who recommends that some space in the Sinai may be needed to provide enough room.

Victor does make a few errors. One is her claim about UN resolution 242. She says the French version requires Israel to withdraw from "all territories," while the official and binding one says "the territories." But the truth is that the binding one says "territories," and has no "the." Neither version has an "all." This was a major issue in the debate over the resolution. It is no small error on Victor´s part.

Victor describes the five pillars of Islam. She gets the last four right: charity, fasting (by day) during Ramadan, pilgrimage to Mecca, and ritual prayer five times a day. But the first one is "Shahadah." That means affirming the Lord (of Ibrahim) and the Prophet. Victor says it is "martyrdom, the declaration of faith." Again, this is no small error.

The author does make some interesting distinctions among various radical Islamist terrorist groups, telling which ones favor starting by eliminating Israel and which ones prefer to start by creating an Islamic terrorist state in the region.

While Victor does not do a good job in addressing the causes of the Arab fight against the Jews, she does have some ideas for solving it. And while I disagree with them, I think they are worth thinking about. She points out that the moderates on each side won´t be able to make peace. For one thing, their stands are too far apart. For another, neither can be trusted, as neither speaks for those who are less moderate. She concludes that peace must be made between the extremists on both sides, thus, the positions of the extremists are the most important! Besides, Victor says, extremists have a tendency to say what they mean, quite openly. That may introduce an element of truth and trust.

I disagreed with quite a bit of what Victor wrote. But I still thought this book was worth reading.
¤

4) Hardcover Book Army of Roses: Inside the World of Palestinian Women Suicide Bombers by Rodale Books. Although the author has conducted some valuable interviews, she appears to be entirely ignorant of the local language--Arabic--and the culture and tenets of Islam. To give just two examples, her transcription of a simple and common Arabic phrase, "God is Great," is "Allahu Akhbar," (which, if it means anything, means something like "God is best informed"), instead of the simpler "Allahu Akbar." No exotic gutteral sounds, not very tough to write down. But--like authors who transcribe "jihad" as "ji´had" in order to make it seem even more foreign and troubling than it is--Victor chooses consistently and in the smallest details to make Palestinians and Muslims appear as different from "us" as possible.

A more troubling and stupid error occurs on p. 184, where she writes that the "five pillars of Islam" are "martyrdom, the declaration of faith. . .charity,. . .fasting for the month of Ramadan,. . . the pilgrimage to Mecca, and. . .ritual prayer." Even if Victor can´t count, the reader should be able to enumerate six items here, the first of which, "martyrdom," is decidedly NOT one of the pillars of Islam. Aside from demonstrating the author´s basic ignorance--and possibly simply her bad faith--it demonstrates that the book is poorly edited.

Again, many of the interviews are interesting and useful. But the author has a big ax to grind, and both her facts and interpretations need to be treated with caution.¤

5) Hardcover Book Army of Roses: Inside the World of Palestinian Women Suicide Bombers by Rodale Books. Quite interesting how people who already have an axe to grind against everybody´s favourite whipping boy - Israel - hate the book. The fact is that Palestinians of every age are constantly bombarded by anti-Semitic hate propaganda in every single media - TV, books, newspapers and videos - 24-7. This has been demonstrated time and time again and is irrefutable. To deny it or ignore it is the height of either ignorance or stupidity - you choose. It´s no wonder that women as well as men and boys choose to kill themselves. They are glorified and encouraged to murder the so-called ´descendants of pigs and apes´ by Palestinian political and religious leaders. All day - everyday. It´s like Nazi Germany only much, much worse. (Hitler didn´t have TV and music videos at his disposal.)

A reviewer from BC wrote, "....her simplistic analysis of ´what makes a suicide bomber´ and her conspicuous silence on the overwhelming role of the barbaric Israeli occupation." This statement only illustrates how incredibly uninformed the reviewer is, and by extension how worthless her opinion of the book actually is. She probably has not a single clue as to how and why Israel actually came into posession of any of its territories in the first place. As for Israel´s ´overwhelming role´, well, the reviewer must be privy to some information that the rest of the world lacks. Either that, or she´s just a typical, uninformed dingbat.

Having said that, there are probably as many individual reasons for suicide bombers as there are suicide bombers. It´s not reasonable to believe that the author has found ´THE REASON´ for the recent phenomenon of female Palestinians shredding themselves. However, to many readers, it isn´t good enough unless somehow the evil Jews can be blamed.

BTW - Tamil females were doing it before the Palestinians latched onto the idea. Arafat and his cronies have made the horrific crimes of suicide and murder seem like something other than what it truly is : a barbaric act perpetrated by a society which has been brain-washed into losing its collective sense of right vs wrong. Although it´s hard to blame Sharon for that, I´m sure many will try nonetheless.¤

6) Hardcover Book Army of Roses: Inside the World of Palestinian Women Suicide Bombers by Rodale Books. On January 27, 2002, Wafa Idris blew herself up in a shopping mall in Jerusalem, killing one Israeli and injuring dozens of others. Credited with being the first female martyr (shahida) of the Palestinian cause, Idris changed the face of terrorism forever. Based on first-hand interviews with the families of four women who died in suicide attacks and through discussions with more than half a dozen other women who tried and failed to die for Palestine, Army of Roses is an investigation into what motivated them to sacrifice themselves in the name of Allah. Journalist Barbara Victor reveals the personal motivations and social and political pressures that gave birth to the shahida phenomenon. All the women were marginalized within Palestinian society: accused of promiscuity, an ´abnormal´ desire to remain unmarried and continue their education, or because a male relative had been accused of collaborating with the Israelis. Weaving together personal testimony and interviews with both Palestinian and Israeli religious leaders and politicians, Victor brings to life the problems plaguing the Middle East.¤

Page Updated: Robert N. Goolsby, 1-Dec-2008, 157954830X9781579548308, 030-190-940-520-800-0X1-8

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