Monthly Archives: November 2021

When we hear of a suicide bombing, our hearts go out to the victims and their families. That’s natural and appropriate. But do we ever wonder about the man or woman who killed themself?

We’ve got busy lives and maybe it seems a waste to give thought to those who choose to kill themselves in an evil effort to kill others. I get that, but sometimes I wonder: What do they want? What do they expect to happen? What could be so important or make them so desperate? As my friend David Weston asks in his provocative essay, “[what is the] reasoning behind the motivation that leads a person to literally give up their lives by taking the lives of others, often in a most violent and gruesome way?”

I’m not satisfied with answers like, “That’s the way Muslims are,” or “Of course they do it. They instantly get 70 virgins in paradise.” Almost no Muslims are that way, including the cowards who recruit, coordinate and deploy the bombers. And the women who strap on the vest don’t do it for the virgins.

However true those motives are, I wonder what else might be going on.

Author and professor, Adam Lankford contends that Muslim suicide bombers are people who want to kill themselves, but need an “Allah approved” way to do it. When you want to die, but Islam tells you that taking your own life is a ticket to Hell, maybe you look for another way.

How many are motivated by revenge similar to Samson, arguably one of the very first recorded suicide attackers? And if so, revenge for what?

And how many die believing, hoping their sacrifice expands the kingdom and glory of God?

Could you do me a favor? I had an article published this week on the very popular Denison Forum site. Please give it a look and a comment. I’d appreciate it.

One of my favorite things to say is, “I had no idea.” Not only does this honor the person you say it to: They were, after all, trying to tell you something novel, it also shows a bit of humility and helps cultivate a delight in the world God has created.

I had no idea that the richest person in history was a Muslim guy named Mansa Musa who lived from 1280 to 1337. He inherited his kingdom from his dad (Still the best way to be super rich!) then multiplied his holdings with gold and salt. It has been said that he had so much wealth, it couldn’t really be assessed. When Musa led his entourage of 60,000 people on Hajj to Mecca in 1324, he gave away so much gold along the way that he crashed the economic system of a good portion of North Africa!

Some of the currently richest Muslims in the world are ones who own countries or who married into the royal family. For instance, Princess Lalla Salma, the former wife of the king of Morocco is reportedly worth $2.5 billion. Many others have made their fortunes in finance and business. Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, a 67 year old Emerati, took over his uncle’s bank and now is said to have $2.7 billion, well, in the bank.

After his dad’s death in 1966, 21 year old Azim Premji left Stanford, mid-way through his engineering studies, to return to India and take over the family business. He did ok with it, expanding into the tech world and eventually being dubbed, Czar of the Indian IT Industry.  In 2013, Premji signed the Giving Pledge, the first Indian to do so, and agreed to give away at least half of his $11 billion fortune, including over $2 billion to education causes in India.

Jesus said, “it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven.” Let’s pray that these and many others would be the camels who could!

PS: Got any thing you’d like to see addressed in Muslim Connect? Questions you’re wondering about? I’d love to give them some thought and maybe write about them in coming weeks. Shoot me an email. Thank you.