Shahid

In the course of the eighteenth century, there were several wars of independence within the colonial territories of the Muslim World. Many of the soldiers who died during these conflicts were given the title shahid upon their burial.[18]

Malcolm X, who was assassinated in 1965, is considered to be one of the most prominent martyrs of the twentieth century.

During the Islamic Revolution (1978/79) and the subsequent Iran-Iraq war (1980–1988) the cult of the martyr in Iran has had a lasting impact on the dynamics of revolution and war.[19] The soldiers, clergy, and other individuals who died during the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran were regarded as martyrs and have often been buried in special martyrs' cemeteries. In the 1980–88 Iran–Iraq War, commanders of both the Sunni Iraqi and the Shi'ite Iranian forces in particular commonly used martyrdom as a source of motivation for their fellow combatants. Tens of thousands of Iranian youths—many motivated by the religiously-based ideas of Ayatollah Khomeini and the Islamic Revolution—volunteered to serve in the armed forces during the conflict, sometimes participating in human wave attacks against the Iraqis. Those who died in battle were considered martyrs.[18]

During the Bosnian war, the term was used among troops of the Bosniak Muslim Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina[20]

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In contemporary jihadism, it has become common for Islamic militants to portray themselves as martyrs; especially the perpetrators of suicide bombings typically record "martyrdom videos" to inspire emulation in others.

Militants responsible for terrorism in the Gaza Strip and West Bank of Palestine have referred to their suicide bombers as martyrs. Whether suicide bombings are a valid practice of jihad has been disputed, as the Qur'an explicitly prohibits suicide.[21]

In a martyrdom video from 18 January 2000, titled "19 martyrs", the hijackers in the September 11 attacks justify their beliefs and profess their last will and testament.[22]

Afghans in the Taliban heartland claim Osama bin Laden to be al-Qaeda's "number one martyr".[23]

Islamic extremists have used the term "shahid" in their efforts to make "legitimate the use of violence, warfare, and terrorism" against Western groups of "unbelievers".[24]

ISIL regularly described those were killed in either attacks, operations, suicide attacks and who fell victim to airstrikes "martyrs".

As a consequence, the most prevalent use of the term in western media is with respect to Islamic terrorism. Nerina Rustjomi has argued, "Americans" have used a skewed perception of the Islamic "shahid" and "houri" to depict Islam as "a religion characterized by sensuality, violence, and irrationality".[25]

A woman is considered "shahida" (شَهِيدَة šahīdah) if she dies during the fulfillment of a religious commandment. A woman can also be considered a martyr if she dies during childbirth.[26] There are examples of women fighting in war such as Nusaybah bint Ka'ab. The first martyr (male or female) in Islam was Sumayyah bint Khayyat, who was executed for her conversion to Islam. She died after Abu Jahl, an anti-Muslim leader of the Quraysh stabbed her in the abdomen.[27] Though her name is not common in the modern Muslim dialogue, ancient Islamic literature makes note of the events at the end of her life.[28]

Over a period of time, the word "shahid" began to be used by non-Muslims such as Arab Christians to denote their own martyrs. So the word is still used by Christians in Arab-speaking countries, including the names of churches. Examples are the Forty Martyrs Cathedral (Arabic: كنيسة الأربعين شهيد‎) in Aleppo, Syria and the Saint George the Martyr Cathedral (Arabic: كنيسة القدّيس الشهيد مار جرجس‎)[29]in Damascus.

In South Asia, Hindus adopted the word "shahid" as a synonym to the Sanskrit word "hutātmā" (हुतात्मा in Devanagari and হুতাত্মা in Bengali; हुत् and হুত্ hut = sacrificing, आत्मा and আত্মা ātmā = soul, thus hutātmā = sacrificing soul / martyr), to denote Hindu martyrs. The Sikhs also adopted the word to denote their martyrs;[30] examples include shahid Bhai Mati Das and shahid Bhagat Singh.

The word shahid (Punjabi: ਸ਼ਹੀਦ) is also found in Sikhism, a religion founded by Guru Nanak in the northwest part of the Indian subcontinent (now Pakistan and India). It means a martyr.[31][32][33]

The term was borrowed from the Islamic culture in Punjab when Sikhism was founded, and before the start of the British Raj it referred to the Sikh people who met death at the hands of Muslims.[31] Another related term is shahid-ganj, which means a "place of martyrdom".[31][34]

The most discussed shahid in Sikhism have been two of their Gurus, namely Guru Arjan and Guru Tegh Bahadur for defying Islamic rulers and refusing to convert to Islam.[33] Guru Arjan was arrested under the orders of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir and asked to convert to Islam.[35][36] He refused, was tortured and executed in 1606 CE.[35][37] Historical records and the Sikh tradition are unclear whether Guru Arjan was executed by drowning or died during torture.[35][38] His martyrdom, that is becoming a shahid, is considered a watershed event in the history of Sikhism.[35][39]

Guru Tegh Bahadur's martyrdom resulted from refusing to convert and for resisting the forced conversions of Hindus in Kashmir to Islam because he believed in freedom of conscience and human rights.[40] He was publicly beheaded in 1675 on the orders of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in Delhi.[41][42] Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib in Delhi marks the shahid-ganj, or place of execution of the Guru.[43]

The Sikh have other major pilgrimage sites, such as the shahid-ganj in Sirhind, where two sons of Guru Gobind Singh were buried alive by Mughal Empire army in retaliation of their father's resistance. In Muktsar, near a lake is a shahid-ganj dedicated to forty men who died defending Guru Gobind Singh.[34]