While we were waiting in Egypt at a restaurant, a man carrying a prayer rug under his arm and laid on the ground, took his shoes off and began the prayer required five times a day by Muslims. Alternately standing with arms positioned, he would knee and touch his forehead to the ground. It reminded me of an article I had just read in the International Herald Tribune by Professor of History Leor Halevi at Texas A & M University about Muslim beliefs. According to the article, Muslim doctrine is that between the moment of death and the burial ceremony, the spirit of a deceased Muslim goes to heaven and hell were it has a view of the bliss or torture. The Spirit returns to the body where two angels, Kakir and Munkar, with bluish faces and huge teeth conduct a trial of the dead Muslim. If the answers are satisfactory then the grave is transformed into a luxurious space until final judgment. But, if the answers are not satisfactory, the earth begins to weigh down heaving until the rib cage collapses and there is horrible pain. The torture continues off and on until final judgment where God may forgive them.

But, Muslims can escape this trial and torture of the grave by dying as a martyr. In Islam a martyr can be someone who dies in a fire or by drowning or in a collapsed building. Their spirits do not go back to the corpse and instead enter the Garden of Eden where they receive new bodies. They recline on couches, have meats and fruits and enjoy the company of "houris" while listening to the sound of flowing rivers until the resurrection. This might help explain the willingness of young people to die as suicide bombers. It gave me insight as to the willingness of Muslims to offer their lives in the name of a holy war.