Martyrs and Martyrdom

The word martyr comes from the Greek noun martus meaning “witness.” But the term martyr in general speech is used elastically. Often little distinction is made between someone who puts up with difficult circumstances and is therefore considered a bit of a martyr, someone of political significance who is assassinated and subsequently proclaimed a martyr, someone caught in the cross fire of a political or religious confrontation or conflict and dies a martyr, or someone who believes so strongly in something that they are willing to die a heroic, often violent death as a result of remaining steadfast in their convictions and so die rather than relinquish or concede their faith or ideals. Thus, the way martyrs and martyrdom is interpreted is fundamentally interdependent with the sociocultural, religious, and political context in which it occurs; one person's martyr is another person's traitor, suicide, or victim. The features of a successful martyr will subsequently be identified, and the nature and function of a range of martyrologies from early Jewish, Christian, and Islamic tradition will be outlined.

Through martyrdom, the martyr creates a boundary between his or her own belief system and the belief system of the oppressing and ultimately murderous other. The boundary is literalized through the action of martyrdom in a way that provides evidence of independent identity and gives increased value to the beliefs of those who support the martyr—their cause is something worth dying for. Those who may have lacked direction and focus may gain cohesion through the martyr's action. However, dying a martyr may not have an easily quantifiable or immediate effect; Christianity, for example, had to wait another 300 years after the death of Christ and the writings of Matthew, Luke, Mark, John, and Peter before the faith was truly recognized.

How to Become an Effective Martyr

For a martyr's death to achieve the maximum effect, a number of processes are necessary: the martyr must have suffered, the oppressor must be perceived as evil and unjust by the audience of the martyr's narrative, the martyr must have acted in defiance of the oppressor, and finally, the martyr must die. Preferably, spectators to the martyrdom are complicit or acquiesce in the face of the challenge posed; they might have taken action to support the oppressed but did not. These people, ideally, should feel guilty for their lack of resolve when faced with “evil.” It is this guilt that can be utilized to rally people together to “right” the “wrong” experienced by the martyr and to join together against the “evil” or ruling/oppressive forces. A collective desire to expiate the failure to intervene is the reason behind a number of commemorative rituals practiced by certain faith communities: Lent for Christians or the Ashura commemoration for Shiite Muslims are examples. In addition, the event must gain publicity through an audience. This audience may not be physically present during the martyrdom, but it is essential that the event is communicated through some agent so that the important performance and narrative of death is passed on and made a part of historical memory.

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