Habib, Sandy (2017). Dying for a cause other than God: Exploring the non-religious meanings of martyr and shahīd. Australian Journal of Linguistics, 37(3), 314-327.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/07268602.2017.1298395
Abstract:
This paper looks into the non-religious meanings of English martyr and its near Arabic equivalent شهيد shahīd. It compares and contrasts them and provides an explication of each, using NSM. Both concepts refer to a person who was killed. Both are hailed for sacrificing their lives. To be called a martyr, a person has to have been killed for adhering and fighting for a higher cause, such as peace, the environment or their country; this person can be from any country and of any ethnicity. To be called شهيد shahīd, on the other hand, a person must have been killed on political grounds only and has to have been an Arab living in an Arab country.
The two explications are built out of mostly simple and universal words. This means that they are easy to comprehend and translatable into any language. Their translatability grants cultural outsiders access to their exact meaning.
Rating:
Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
