Citation

Stein R. Psyche (E Klett) 2005; 59(2): 97-126.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, Ernst Klett Verlag)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The letter to the September 11 terrorists is analyzed in an effort to understand the state of mind of a religious suicide-killer. Contrary to what would be expected, the letter exudes a solemn, serene, even joyful tone that is infused with love of God and a strong desire to please Him. The author suggests that incessant incantation of prayers and religious sayings while focusing attention on God led to a depersonalized, trancelike state of mind that enabled the terrorists to function competently, while dwelling in a euphoric state of enthrallment with God. On a psychodynamic level, the theme of father son love is used to explain the ecstatic willingness of the terrorists to do what they saw as God's will and to undergo transformations from hatred (towards "God's enemies" projected from oneself) toward love (of God), and from pervasive discontent and anxiety to a focused and circumscribed fear of God. Homoerotic bonding and longing, coupled with repudiation of "femininity", explain an inability to "kill" the primal murderous father, as the mythological Primal Horde did. Freud's description of the sons' (the group members') hypnotic love for their father-leader, which, when not reciprocated, turns into masochistic submission, seems pertinent for the understanding of the sons' "return" to an archaic, cruel father imago. "Regression" to the father is compared with classical maternal regression.

Language: de

Keywords

suicide; identity; review; love; psychodynamics; religion; terrorism; September 11; depersonalization; euphoria; Evil; Homoerotic bonding; Identificational love; Regression to the father; The sons' hypnotic love for his father