Interview with Pierre Rehov, documentary filmmaker, on psychology behind suicide bombings

The Counterterrorism Blog ^ | July 27, 2005 | Andrew Cochran

[Jabba the Nutt]

On July 15, I appeared on MSNBC's "Connected" program to discuss the 7/7 London attacks (you can see video of the segment on the linked page). One of my fellow guests was Pierre Rehov, a French filmmaker who has filmed six documentaries on the intifada by going undercover in the Palestinian areas. Pierre's upcoming film, "Suicide Killers," is based on interviews that he conducted with the families of suicide bombers and would-be bombers in an attempt to find out why they do it. Pierre agreed to my request for a Q&A interview here about his work on the new film. Many thanks to Dean Draznin and Arlyn Riskind for helping to arrange this special interview.

What inspired you to produce “Suicide Killers,” your seventh film?

I started working with victims of suicide attacks to make a film on PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) when I became fascinated with the personalities of those who had committed those crimes, as they were described again and again by their victims. Especially the fact that suicide bombers are all smiling one second before they blow themselves up.

Why is this film especially important?

People don't understand the devastating culture behind this unbelievable phenomenon. My film is not politically correct because it addresses the real problem—showing the real face of Islam. It points the finger against a culture of hatred in which the uneducated are brainwashed to a level where their only solution in life becomes to kill themselves and kill others in the name of a God whose word, as transmitted by other men, has became their only certitude.

[snip] Read the rest here.

[Jabba the Nutt]

This interview was broadcast on MSNBC 10 days along. It sank without a peep, showing that no one watches MSNBC.

Here's another snippet from Pierre Rehov: "I came to the conclusion that we are facing a neurosis at the level of an entire civilization. Most neuroses have in common a dramatic event, generally linked to an unacceptable sexual behavior. In this case, we are talking of kids living all their lives in pure frustration, with no opportunity to experience sex, love, tenderness or even understanding from the opposite sex. The separation between men and women in Islam is absolute."

As long as Islam was neurotic within it's own borders, it was left alone. As a libertarian, who tends toward a non-interventionist foreign policy, I've been forced to give that up in the face of this neurotic civilization, because they're exporting their neuroses and are murdering and attacking us. Bin Laden, Arafat, Saddam and the rest of them have invited us in to provide the cure. Unfortunately, in my opinion, we do not have a choice. Doing nothing is not an option, it'll will only encourage the killers. They would inevitably end up with WMD's to attack us with.