Martyr is a person who voluntarily sacrifices himself or herself for a particular belief or cause. The term martyr is usually associated with certain religious traditions. However, it is also commonly used to describe individuals willing to suffer for political, social, and other causes.
The word martyr comes from the Greek word meaning witness. Early Christians used the word martyr to describe fellow believers whom the Roman authorities executed for refusing to give up their faith. They considered such individuals to be bearing witness to the truth of their beliefs. Most of the saints of the Roman Catholic Church are martyrs who died as a result of Roman persecution during the 300 years following Jesus’s death around A.D. 30. The Catholic Church still officially regards martyrdom as the most direct path to sainthood. After the Roman Empire adopted Christianity at the end of the 300’s, the term martyr was used increasingly to describe Christian fighters who died in military campaigns thought to be holy. These campaigns included the Crusades, a series of wars waged by Christians against Muslims from 1096 to the 1500’s.
In the Islamic tradition, the word for martyr is shahid, which comes from the Arabic word for witness. Chronicles of the Muslim conquest of the Mediterranean region in the 600’s and 700’s often refer to Muslims who died in the jihad (struggle) against their opponents. Muslim sources also mention martyrs who died fighting for Islam during the Crusades or during the Christian reconquest of Spain from the 1000’s to the late 1400’s.
Since the late 1900’s, some Muslims have revived the term shahid in reference to individuals who die fighting against the governments of Israel and the United States, which they view as enemies. These individuals may be members of an army or militia, or suicide bombers. The vast majority of Muslims reject the idea that suicide bombers, whose actions might cause the deaths of innocent bystanders, are true Muslims or martyrs.
