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In Arabic, a martyr is termed "shahid" (literally, "witness"). The concept of the shahid is discussed in the Hadith, the sayings of Muhammad; the term recurs frequently in the Qur'an, but usually with its literal meaning of "witness". The first martyr in Islam was the old woman Sumaya bint Khabbat [1] , the first Muslim to die at the hands of the polytheists of Mecca (specifically, Abu Jahl .) A famous person widely regarded as a martyr - indeed, an archetypal martyr for the Shia - is Husayn bin Ali, who died at the hands of the forces of the caliph Yazid I at Karbala.
See Persecution of Muslims for more detail.
The term has since been used metaphorically for people killed in a historical struggle for some cause, such as Steve Biko or Rachel Corrie, or those whose deaths served to galvanize a particular movement, such as Matthew Shepard.
In the 20th century, many Muslims called suicide bombers belonging to Islamist and Palestinian nationalist groups "martyrs". Such usage is very controversial and generally has not occurred in the English media. On the other hand, the Arab word " shaheed" has been sometimes used since in English it carries no obvious emotional baggage.
A person who was expelled from school for his or her religious beliefs may be called a school martyr , no matter whether the cause for expulsion is the student's religious beliefs or those of his or her parents.
The term "martyr" is in some ways semantically interchangeable with "hero" — both are almost always controversial. The phrase 'one man's hero is another's criminal' is a simple way of expressing this disparity. Warriors throughout history returning from battle are typically revered for "heroism" and "bravery". In recent history, those that commit criminal acts during war run the risk of military courts martial. In all cultures, war dead are considered to be in some sense "martyrs." This is true of U.S. soldiers killed in foreign military operations — the U.S. President commonly refers to "their sacrifice" as being "for the cause of freedom." The actual word "martyr" is not used, however.
Suicide bombers in Palestine are typically hailed as "martyrs" by many Palestinans (the actual percentage is also disputed) due to Islam's prohibition against suicide. It is generally believed by most people, except for the militants involved themselves, that the cause of Palestinian freedom or nationalism tends to be hurt by the targeting of Israeli civilians by terrorists.Such terrorist attacks are generally denounced around the world due to the indiscriminate and intentional targeting of civilians.
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