You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
Psychoanalysis has taken a lot of flak in recent years. However, September 11, 2001, has injected new life into the “talking cure,” both by serving therapeutic needs and by illuminating the causes of terrorism. The traumatic separation of the sexes in Islamic societies is a major cause of fundamentalism and the search for violent political activity. Suicide bombing is one result of hating one's sexual impulses. Of all disciplines, psychoanalysis is best able to deal with the irrational components of terrorism. But although psychoanalysis now shapes the way people in the West look at the world, not all of its principles are universal. It should now give more attention to the Islamic world in the hopes of developing a global talking cure.