Terrorism as the Weapon of the Weak in Yasmina Khadra's Novel the Sirens of Baghdad

Abstract

Terrorism emerges in Yasmina Khadra’s The Sirens of Baghdad not as a calculated political strategy, but as a last, anguished cry of the powerless· Through the intimate and psychologically charged narrative of a young Iraqi man’s descent into radicalism, the novel challenges reductive portrayals of extremism by foregrounding the emotional devastation wrought by occupation, humiliation, and cultural erasure· What begins as a quiet life in a rural village unravels into a profound crisis of identity, masculinity, and belonging, culminating in the protagonist’s tragic embrace of violence· Drawing on postcolonial theory, trauma studies, and masculinity discourse, this analysis traces how Khadra reframes terrorism as a consequence of violated dignity and sustained invisibility· Through introspective monologues and vivid depictions of psychological collapse, The Sirens of Baghdad offers a haunting meditation on the emotional costs of war, ultimately positioning terrorism as a weapon of the weak a desperate assertion of selfhood in a world that has rendered the protagonist voiceless and expendable·