Plunging into enemy lines to kill and be killed

My title refers to the Islamic concept of Inghimas, a word which literally means "to plunge into" and which in Islamic history and culture refers to the mujaheed (practitioner of jihad) gaining the ultimate prize -- winning eternal pleasure in Paradise rather than eternal torment in Hell -- by "plunging into" the enemy in order to kill as many of them as possible before getting killed.  For such a Muslim "martyr" (shaheed), he is finally free of that almost unbearable uncertainty that haunts all Muslims: the uncertainty of their fate after death.  The torments of Hell in Islamic holy texts and tradition are frightful, taught and received in a cultural context of literalism, and in Islamic theology the Muslim is not at all guaranteed to avoid Hell even if he slavishly performs all the ritual minutiae of his faith all his life.  The one guarantee in Islam for avoiding Hell and winning Paradise is found, among many other places in Islamic teaching, in Koran 9:111:

Verily, Allah has purchased from the believers their selves and their possessions in exchange for the gift of Paradise; they fight in the path of Allah; they kill, and are killed; that is a promise binding upon Allah in the ... Koran; and who fulfils his covenant truer than God? So rejoice in the bargain you have made with Him; that is the mighty triumph.  

Of course, not all Mohammedan killing involves plunging into enemy lines and stabbing as many Infidels as possible, hoping to be killed to go to Paradise.  In two essays I've written here -- Two more Arabic words to learn from the global insane asylum called Islam, and Islam Amok, Asian Style -- I show that it has been a major style of Qital (religious killing) in Islamic history.  Especially the latter essay delved into this concept of "plunging into the enemy lines to kill and be killed".  What both essays kind of assumed, at the time, was that this was a curious pathology pertaining to the orbit of Islam, but mostly in the relatively distant past, and mostly found in eastern Islam (India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines).

When a few years ago I read a report on Jihad Watch about Muslims behaving this way in China ("Muslims kill dozens in a stabbing attack at a railway station in Xinjiang region of China"; repeated again three years later -- "Muslim kills 8 in random stabbing attack in Xinjiang region of China"),  I assumed it was a rare reassertion of that older Asian style of jihad, appropriately happening in China.

Then, however, when I kept noticing stories over the past couple (or few) years coming out about Muslims here, there, and nearly every-damn-where -- including in the West -- suddenly stabbing people in crowds, I have begun to see this is, indeed, a general Muslim phenomenon. And like most Islamic phenomena, there is little distinction between "medieval" and our 21st century.

Note: The following ghastly list of gruesome stabbings exemplifying this style of Inghimas, like most such lists when it comes to Islam, is incomplete.  Also, it is important to keep in mind that for Islam, the entire world that has not yet submitted to Allah and His Prophet is the Dar-al-Harb ("the House of War"); a combat zone for the various styles of jihad -- most of them not ostensibly violent -- to be deployed for the ultimate goal of world conquest for Allah. 

Finland: Muslims screaming “Allahu akbar” go on stabbing spree, woman and baby among victims 

Russia: “A man was running along the main streets stabbing people,” eight injured

Muslim who stabbed cop at Michigan airport repeats “Allahu akbar” at bail hearing

Italy: Muslim migrant goes on stabbing spree at Milan train station

Italy: Muslim migrant screaming “I want to die for Allah” stabs police officer, police say it’s not terrorism

Israel: Three "Palestinian" men attacked a group of police officers, killing one, before being shot dead.

“Palestinian” Muslim girl: “Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab!…Knock on heaven’s door with the head of a Jew”

London: Three Muslimas screaming “Allah will get you” stab woman, cops not treating it as terrorist 

Jerusalem: "Palestinian" Muslim attacks border guards with knife, wounding three, is shot dead. 

“Palestinian” Muslim stabbing spree leaves two Israelis dead, one wounded 

France: Muslim migrant stabs woman and her three daughters for being scantily dressed 

Canada: Muslim walks federal government office, slashes soldier behind the counter in the arm with a “large knife,” then tries to stab a female soldier before being subdued, says at the scene “Allah told me to do this. Allah told me to come here and kill people.” 

Israeli woman dies after being stabbed by Muslims screaming “Allahu akbar” 

Germany: Teen Muslima who stabbed police officer went to mosque every Friday and had memorized Qur’an 

Flint, Michigan: Muslim screaming “Allahu akbar” stabs police officer in “possible act of terrorism” 

Italy: Muslim tries to run down police, then stabs officer 

UK: Muslim, 66, stabs four women in supermarket parking lot 

Ohio State University: Muslim man, 34, "randomly" stabs woman in abdomen, then fled to a mosque with ties to previous jihad plots and attacks. Muslim man had a history of screaming in public at women as "F**CK YOU AMERICAN SLUTS!" 

Another Muslim at Ohio State University: Abdul Razak Ali Artan drove a car into a crowd of people, then got out and stabbed several more before he was shot and killed by campus police.

Mexico: Muslim stabs priest at the altar of Mexico City’s Metropolitan Cathedral 

Germany: Muslim who stabbed four screamed “Infidel, you must die” as well as “Allahu akbar” 

France: Muslim stabs a Jew and assaults two other Jews in Marseille 

University of California Merced: Smiling Muslim stabs four people 

Austria: Muslim drives car into crowd, killing 3, then gets out and stabs passersby 

Hamburg, Germany: Muslim kills one, injures six, in knife attack at supermarket 

Ohio: Muslim “armed with knives” attempts to stab police at Columbus airport 

“Palestinian” tried to stab Israelis so he could “marry virgins in Paradise” 

Egypt: Muslim stabs Christian surgeon to death 

Israel: Muslim opens fire on bus, uses screwdriver to stab shoppers buying groceries, six wounded 

Minnesota: Muslim stabs 8 in mall, made references to Allah and asked potential victims if they were Muslim 

Machete-wielding Muslim slashes man’s throat in London tube station 

Norway: Two Iranian converts from Islam to Christianity stabbed, called “kuffar” 

Morocco: Muslims hack tourists with knives at holiday destination 

UK: Muslim kills one, wounds 5 in stabbings, cops say “no evidence of radicalisation” 

Video׃ Turkish Muslims want to kill non-believers: “I shall stab them one by one wherever I find them” 

Australia: Muslim who screamed “Allahu akbar” as he killed woman said he wanted to “kill everybody” 

Australia: Muslim stabs man walking dog, attacks police when they arrive 

Video from Israel: Muslim stabs, critically wounds Israeli supermarket employee 

Another “Palestinian” Muslim woman attempts to stab Israeli security guard 

Sweden: Muslim migrant lectures Swedes about “racism,” then stabs man four times 

UK: Hijab-wearing Muslima tries to stab teen on bus 

France: Muslim screaming “Allahu akbar” stabs farmer, media silent on attack 

Uruguay: Muslim stabs Jew to death while screaming "Allahu akbar" 

Jerusalem: Qur’an-toting Muslim teen girl tries to stab Jews, is arrested, tries again two weeks after release 

Ramadan finale in Indonesia: Muslims screaming “Allahu akbar” stab police officer to death

Update:

See my follow-up report about more recent stabbing incidents by Muslims.

And hot off the presses this week:

France: Muslim screaming “Allahu akbar” attacks seven people, including three police officers 

Paris: Muslim screaming “Allah” attacks soldier with knife outside metro station

France: Muslim screaming “Allahu akbar” injures two women with a hammer

P.S.:

The lists above are relevant to my recent essay, Qualitative vs. Quantitative.