Beyond Samson’s story in Judges 16, one should also read Judges 11:30-40. Jephthah killed his daughter to fulfill a vow he made during a war against the Ammonites. Beyond the straight biblical text, medieval Jewish history is replete with examples of mass suicide. For example, in 1190, there was a mass suicide of Jews in the city of York.

Traditionally, the word shahid referred to a Muslim who fell in battle in a sacred war. The closest Muslim social institution to the suicide bomber was the assassin who expected to be executed after his deed, and yet there is no Quranic verse that I know of that endorses such behavior.

If anybody, and I repeat anybody, knows of any verse in the Quran that endorses suicide bombing, please let me know. The Quran does promise heaven to warriors who die in battle, a promise that has led to suicidal charges in battle by Muslim warriors over the centuries. Yet, I am unaware of any part of the Quran that specifically endorses suicide. If I am wrong, cite the chapter and verse from the Quran. You might even try citing the Hadith.

The Quran has its flaws, but an endorsement of suicide bombing isn’t one of them. I would also argue that the mental gymnastics necessary for promoting suicide bombing in Islam are more convoluted than the mental gymnastics necessary to promote suicide bombing in Judaism and Christianity. The main reason why such mental gymnastics have not been attempted in the West partly because our culture is not nearly so backward as the culture of Middle Eastern Islam and partly because Middle Eastern culture has a definite preference in favor of ideas created, rejected, and discarded by the West.