Editing Martyr (section)

== Martyrdom in the Middle East ==

In contemporary Middle Eastern cultures, the term for 'martyr’ (Arabic ''[[shahid]]'') has more uses than the English word ‘martyr’.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fierke |title=Martyrdom in the contemporary Middle East and north Africa |journal=Political Self-Sacrifice: Agency, Body and Emotion in International Relations |date=2012 |page= 198|doi=10.1017/CBO9781139248853.011|isbn=9781139248853 }}</ref>

While the term can be narrowly used for a person who is killed because of their religion, it is more generally used to mean a person who died a violent death. Thus it can arguably mean a general ‘victim’.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Whitaker |first1=Brian |title=Martyrs, never victims |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/oct/13/israel12 |work=The Guardian |date=October 12, 2000}}</ref>

A person is a martyr if they were killed because of their identity, because  of natural disasters like earthquakes,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Akasoy |first1=Anna |title=Islamic Attitudes to Disasters in the Middle Ages: A Comparison of Earthquakes and Plagues |journal=The Medieval History Journal |date=2006 |volume=10 |issue=1–2 |page=398 |doi=10.1177/097194580701000214 |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/097194580701000214}}</ref> or while performing relief or health care work. For example, [[İbrahim Bilgen]] was killed by Israel in the 2010 [[Gaza flotilla raid]]. Because he died as a humantiarian activist, he is called a martyr by [[Al Jazeera Arabic|Al-Jazeera]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Keddie |first1=Patrick |title=Remembering the Mavi Marmara victims |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/7/21/remembering-the-mavi-marmara-victims |publisher=Al Jazeera |date=21 Jul 2016}}</ref>

Martyrdom is also tied with nationalism, because a martyr can be a person who died in the context of national struggle.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Buckner, Elizabeth and [[Lina Khatib|Khatib, Lina]] |title=The Martyrs' Revolutions: The Role of Martyrs in the Arab Spring |journal=British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies |date=2014 |volume=41 |issue=4 |page=370 |doi=10.1080/13530194.2014.918802 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13530194.2014.918802}}</ref> For example, in Beirut, [[Martyrs' Square, Beirut|Martyrs' Square]] is a public square that's dedicated to Lebanese nationalists who were executed by the Ottomans.

In Palestine, the word ‘martyr’ is traditionally used to mean a person killed by Israeli forces, regardless of religion.<ref name="MA01182">{{cite web |date=January 4, 2018 |title=The Culture of Palestinian Shaheeds |url=https://www.terrorism-info.org.il/app/uploads/2018/01/E_002_18.pdf |access-date=9 December 2023 |website=The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fierke |title=Martyrdom in the contemporary Middle East and north Africa |journal=Political Self-Sacrifice: Agency, Body and Emotion in International Relations |date=2012 |page= 216|doi=10.1017/CBO9781139248853.011|isbn=9781139248853 }}</ref> For example, [[Shireen Abu Akleh]] was a Palestinian Christian journalist who was killed by Israeli forces, and Arabic media calls her a ‘martyr’.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Alamuddin |first1=Baria |title=Shireen Abu Akleh: A martyr to the truth of Israeli inhumanity |url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/2082786 |publisher=Arab News |date=May 16, 2022}}</ref>  This reflects a communal belief that every Palestinian death is part of a resistance against Israeli occupation.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Raja Abdulrahim and Hiba Yazbek |title=For Palestinians, a Rush to Claim 'Martyrs' Killed by Israel |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/31/world/middleeast/palestinian-martyrs-israel.html |work=The New York Times |date=December 31, 2022}}</ref> Children are likewise called martyrs, such as the late children of journalist [[Wael Al-Dahdouh]] who were killed in an Israeli airstrike.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Abu Mazen |first1=Saddam |title=كتاب وأدباء عرب: صلابة وائل الدحدوح نموذج للجسارة الفلسطينية [Arab writers and writers: Wael Al-Dahdouh's toughness is a model of Palestinian courage] |url=https://www.aljazeera.net/culture/2023/10/28/%D9%83%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%A8-%D9%88%D8%A3%D8%AF%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%A1-%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%A8-%D8%B5%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%A9-%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%A6%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D8%AD%D8%AF%D9%88%D8%AD |publisher=Al Jazeera |date=October 28, 2023}}</ref>

The label of martyrdom is used as a form of memoralizing the dead within some narrative, such as how the victims of the [[2020 Beirut explosion]] were called ‘martyrs of corruption’ as a form of protest against the government.<ref>{{cite web |last1=ICSR Team |title=Martyrdom in Lebanon: An Evolution of Memory-Making |url=https://www.xcept-research.org/martyrdom-in-lebanon-an-evolution-of-memory-making/ |website=International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation|date=10 May 2023 }}</ref>

The wide usage of ‘martyr’ is not restricted to Arabic. Armenian culture likewise uses the term for the victims of the [[Armenian genocide]], who are called ''Holy Martyrs''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Holy Martyrs of the Armenian Genocide |url=https://armenianchurch.us/the-saints/holy-martyrs-of-the-armenian-genocide/ |website=The Armenian Church, Eastern Diocese of America |access-date=28 October 2023}}</ref> April 24 is [[Armenian Genocide Memorial Day]], and also called "Armenian Martyrs Day".<ref>{{cite web |last1=The Genocide Education Project |title=President Biden formally recognizes the Armenian Genocide |url=https://genocideeducation.org/president-biden-formally-recognizes-the-armenian-genocide/}}</ref>