MEMRI: Latest News
Terminology referring to suicide bombers is sometimes debated in the Arab media. The following are excerpts of opinions relating to this debate:

The Syrian Position: Martyrs Not Suicide Bombers

Unlike most of the Arab media, which use the term "martyrs" when referring to suicide attackers, the London-based Saudi daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat uses the term "suicide attackers" in its news reporting, though not on its editorial pages. Officials and intellectuals in the Arab world have been sharply critical of this practice.

At the "Towards the New Arab Media" symposium, held in Tripoli, Lebanon, in early May, Syrian Minister of Information Adnan Omran was asked for his opinion on media "that call the martyrs 'terrorists' and 'killed.'"


Omran replied: "To tell the truth, many Western terms have begun to infiltrate our media. We would like to hope that this infiltration stems from naivete. But what is even more dangerous is the infiltration of ideas. Two days ago, we heard one [Arab journalist] say in a radio interview that 'suicide operations against the Zionist enemy are acts of violence and terror.' Even if the life of that person is more precious to him than his land and his honor… he must not interfere with the martyr who has decided to revive his homeland by sacrificing himself; he must let the martyr do his duty [and leave him alone]."


"There is a mistake that comes from the West. Washington has asked all Arab countries to condemn the [phenomenon of] martyrdom. The Americans are denying facts from their own history in which they take pride – as we have seen in Hollywood-produced movies on [American military] suicide missions behind enemy lines."

Referring to the Japanese kamikaze operations during World War II, Minister Omran said, "All this was done by peoples to attain their independence and secure their legitimate rights. Yet the heroic Fidai [martyrdom] operations in Israel that harm the Zionists occupying the land are considered by the U.S. to be a great crime. This is an [attempt] to hold in contempt not only the honor of our faith, but even Western societies' own values.
http://www.memri.org/news.html#1021056911