Talk:Michael Burleigh

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This statement of John Gray's -- quoted in order to criticize Michael Burleigh -- is surely incorrect? :-

"... there is nothing peculiarly Islamic about suicide bombing, which was first developed by the Tamil Tigers..."

The Tamil Tigers first used suicide bombing in 1987 -- see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vallipuram_Vasanthan . It had already been used several years earlier by Shi'ite Muslim groups in the Lebanon. A number of suicide bombings occurred in the latter country in the period 1981-1983, and they appear to have been the first such in modern times -- see, for example, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_Beirut_barracks_bombing . So it is highly likely that the Tamil Tigers, beginning in 1987, _copied_ those tactics. Davidpringle (talk) 18:43, 25 November 2007 (UTC)