Burying Jihadis Bodies Between State, Territory, and Identity [Hardcover]

What should states do with the bodies of suicide bombers and other jihadists who die while perpetrating terrorist attacks? This original and unsettling book explores the host of ethical and political questions raised by this dilemma, from (non-)legitimization of the 'enemy' and their cause to the non-territorial identity of individuals who identified in life with a global community of believers. Because states do not recognize suicide bombers as enemy combatants, governments must decide individually what to do with their remains. Riva Kastoryano offers a window onto this challenging predicament through the responses of the American, Spanish, British and French governments after the Al-Qaeda suicide attacks in New York, Madrid and London, and Islamic State's attacks on Paris in 2015. Interviewing officials, religious and local leaders and jihadists' families, both in their countries of origin and in the target nations, she has traced the terrorists' travel history, discovering unexpected connections between their itineraries and the handling of their burials. This fascinating book reveals how states' approaches to a seemingly practical issue are closely shaped by territory, culture, globalization and identity.

List of Maps

Introduction

Part One. Body, Land and Territory
Chapter One. The Power of Discourse
Chapter Two. The Question of Burial: A Name, a Place and a Trace
Chapter Three. The Territory at Stake: To Die for Palestine

Part Two. 9/11 - New York
Chapter One. The Hijackers' Trajectories and Their Burial
Chapter Two. Local History and Its Global Representation
Chapter Three. The Global Nation and Its Enemies

Part Three. 11M - Madrid
Chapter One. Trajectories and Burials
Chapter Two. Between Spain and the Maghreb: The Transnational Issue

Part Four. 7/7 - London
Chapter One. Trajectories and Burials
Chapter Two. The Homegrown Terrorist
Chapter Three. The End of Multiculturalism?

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