Criminal Justice

At least 550-900 word essay, no abstracts needed only three scholastic references no other than five years old.

ANSWER

Rational Choice Theory and Terrorism

There are different theories surrounding jihadist Islamic beliefs and suicide terrorism. Some scholars state that suicide bombing is an altruistic behavior due to indoctrination and others believe that it is fatalistic and that it is a result of a person’s desire to escape an oppressive doctrine (Cornish & Clarke, 2017). Other scholars believe that suicide terrorism can be a result of both altruism and fatalism. Another perspective that suicide bombing can take is the rational choice whereby a person decides to be a suicide terrorist for the rewards they will get after. The rational choice theory is usually applied to other types of criminals and, in this case, can also be applied to Islamic jihadists.

Fundamentalists usually use jihad in the Islamic texts and rituals to promote their suicide operations (Hedström & Stern, 2017). The people that are used are suicide bombers who believe that martyrdom will be considered in God’s glory and that in conducting the suicide bombing, they will receive rewards. Islamic fundamentalists do not view suicide bombing as suicide but as a holy act of martyrdom. Therefore the people who subscribe to being used as suicide bombers make a deliberate, rational choice to be martyrs for the rewards they will get. They believe that they are fighting the divine holy war.

According to Islamic jihadists, martyrdom comes with religious rewards, such as having eternity in paradise (Perry & Hasisi, 2015). They believe that those who kill themselves in the course of defending their religion will earn a high place in paradise and eternal life. Another pro of martyrdom is they get the chance to see Allah’s face and get to meet Prophet Muhammad. Some jihadists have an intrinsic need to be with Allah and meeting the prophet such that this is their main motivation for participating in what they term as the holy war. Another thing that leads to jihadists being motivated to martyrdom is the belief that once they sacrifice themselves, they will be wedded to seventy-two virgins in paradise whose only task will be to give them pleasure. They also believe in social rewards and personal rewards such as fame, feeling morally superior, and their family is given monetary help and upgrades. The only pro one can derive from the teachings is that they will be leaving their family behind, but that is a small price to pay for the rewards that await them in paradise.

Rational choice theorists have researched and proven that suicide bombers are not motivated by altruism but are rational situational choices. It is clear that one goes through a series of experiences and lessons before choosing to pursue the path of jihads (Perry & Hasisi, 2015). It is also clear that not all Islamic leaders believe in jihad, and therefore they can be used as tools to change the minds of young fundamentalists who want to follow the path of jihad. The studies by rational choice theorists can be used to turn young Muslim jihadists who fall to the belief that martyrdom has rewards in store of them and that by hurting innocent people, they will gain favor in the eyes of Allah and the prophet. Rational choice theory can be used to understand the motivations of suicide bombers and help defuse the threat of motivated martyrdom. The war on terrorism can be less violent by identifying gullible Muslims who might be led to believe that martyrdom will get them greater rewards than those on earth and help them unsubscribe from such beliefs with the help of non-jihadist Muslim leaders.

References

Cornish, D. B., & Clarke, R. V. (2017). Understanding crime displacement: An application of rational choice theory. In Crime Opportunity Theories (pp. 197-211). Routledge.

Hedström, P., & Stern, C. (2017). Rational choice theory. The Wiley‐Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social Theory, 1-7.

Perry, S., & Hasisi, B. (2015). Rational choice rewards and the jihadist suicide bomber. Terrorism and Political Violence, 27(1), 53-80.