Muslims have been taught that suicide, in all its form and for whatever reason, is 'haram'. There are verses in the Quran that stresses this, for example:

"O ye who believe!... [do not] kill yourselves, for truly Allah has been to you Most Merciful. If any do that in rancour and injustice, soon shall We cast him into the Fire ..." (Qur'an 4:29-30).

We're also told that even in a 'jihad' situation, going to war with the 'niat' (intention) of dying as a martyr is also 'haram'.

So if suicide is a huge sin in Islam, but why do suicide attacks by so-called Muslims happen? Why would they resort to such desperate actions when they know it is 'haram' and evil to kill civilians?

Saudi Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Sheikh said: "The Prophet (peace be upon him) told us to combat evil. But there is a general rule to look at both advantages and disadvantages. And if fighting an evil leads to a greater one, then that fight is forbidden."

The situation is becoming increasingly ridiculous. Sometime in June, a woman blew herself up near a group of US soldiers who were dishing out sweets to Iraqi children. The blast killed one soldier, injured several others, but killed and injured something like 20 children. Is the life of one US soldier worth 20 Iraqi children?

The Prophet Muhammad forbade the harming of innocent bystanders, even in times of war - women, children, all non-combatants, and even trees and crops. I remember reading a story of him diverting a column of his soldiers to avoid scaring or injuring a dog suckling its pups. No human being or animal is to be harmed if they do not bear arms against Muslims.

There is strictness in the conduct of war which Muslims are bound to observe as demanded by God and by the practices of the Prophet.

So perhaps in an effort to curtail or even stop this heinous practice of suicide bombings, 'ulama' around the world should come out with a 'fatwa' (decree) that Muslim suicide bombers cannot be considered martyrs, nor can they be buried as Muslims (provided of course their body parts can still be buried.