There was an interesting snippet in Psychology Today (August 2007) that said that the Muslim faith contributed to suicide bombings... not totally because of the doctrine(s) but mostly because it permitted polygamy.
Almost all of the Muslim suicide bombers are young unmarried males. The reasoning was that polygamy is good for women, bad for men (women benefit because there's a better chance for them to be financially supported by a man; men do not benefit because there are less women to go around, so the poor or unappealing men cannot acquire mates).
This is very valid and to extent upon it, the problem just gets worse and worse.
There's young suicide bombers then there's young suicide bombers
"Children as young as six are being used by the Taliban in increasingly desperate suicide missions, coalition forces in Afghanistan claimed yesterday."
""They placed explosives on a six-year-old boy and told him to walk up to the Afghan police or army and push the button," said Captain Michael Cormier, the company commander who intercepted the child, in a statement. "Fortunately, the boy did not understand and asked patrolling officers why he had this vest on.""
Nato accuses Taliban of using children in suicide missions | Special reports | Guardian Unlimited
"SAIMA KHAN wants to die a martyr. Life is transient, she told her father in a telephone call last week, and the real glory is to sacrifice it for Allah. Her statement would be alarming at any age, but Saima is only 10.
As she spoke, rifle shots rang out, the acrid smell of tear gas drifted over Islamabad and hundreds of troops surrounded the pro-Taliban Red Mosque, a religious school complex in the heart of Pakistan's capital where Saima was among hundreds of children being held as virtual hostages in a stand-off between militants and the government.
Saima and her 14-year-old sister, Asma, were embroiled in a struggle for the soul of Pakistan in which up to 70 militants died last week and more than 100 were injured, according to mosque officials."
Brainwashed children plead to die as martyrs in Red Mosque siege - Times Online
So there are many young males with no outlet for their sex drive, and they are promised 72 virgins for martyring themselves. Thus, these men are more prone to going through with it, having nothing to lose and something to gain.
And what they wish to gain is "property", a womans virginity. This can be have some rather brutal outcomes
"The campaign is being launched at the start of the summer holidays, during which young girls - mainly from African communities - are thought most at risk.
Mutilation involves the partial or total removal of external female genitalia for cultural reasons.
Up to 7,000 girls in the UK are seen as at risk of this form of circumcision."
BBC NEWS | UK | Police plea on genital mutilation
I know China has had issues due to the "one child" rule; and in a culture that reveres boy babies more than girl babies, in order to carry on the family name and traditions, this means there is now a large inequity between male and female in the culture. (I think the ratio is 55-60% male, 45-40% female). And because of this and a lack of women to go around, male aggression and energy is directed outward and crime/violence goes up.
India also has the aborton problem
"More than 10m female births in India may have been lost to abortion and sex selection in the past 20 years, according to medical research."
BBC NEWS | South Asia | India 'loses 10m female births'
"People say, you have two girl children, you have done some sins in your past life"
BBC NEWS | South Asia | India's lost girls
Womens rights need to be argued and fought for to overcome the dogmatic wall of cultural and religious beliefs.
How many more humans have to shrink into a dark corner, cowering, shivering and sobbing in the foetal position, searching their brains for what they have done wrong to deserve this brutalization. Their only "crime", being born a female, if they get to be born at all.
These beliefs come in many forms and degrees, from the seemingly innocuous definition of gender roles within a relationship in the Christian Institution which then goes on to permuate through out society, to the barbaric circumcision of females, finally through to the abortion of foetus's with two X Chromosomes.
Why is religion and culture so breastaphobic? I like breasts. Some of my best friends have breasts. Damn some of my best friends are married to people with breasts. Do people think breasts have some sort of higher metabolic rate that takes nutrients away from the brain and makes women dumber? If anything breasts seem to make males dumber. Perhaps Freud should have written about breasts envy and not penis envy.
The world should know, breasts are good, people attached to breasts are better and worth keeping on the planet. Through out our planets history half the people born with genius level intelligence have been female, less than 1% of them have gotten the opportunity to let their brilliance shine.
How long does our species have to continue this insanity of battling its way along in the universe with one of its intellectual hands tied behinds its back?