I was raised to be a Jihadist, and I know exactly how it feels to be obsessed with Jihad and martyrdom. Some family members still are. I had forgotten how powerful the feeling that drives these desires are.
My brother got himself 10 years in prison for that. He's been out for a few months now, and he keeps sending links to articles and videos about the subject. But I'm not worried about him. He's harmless. However, these links reminded me of what can make Muslims feel so strongly about their beliefs that their ultimate wish would be to die for it.
It bothers me. I know that people of all religions claim to experience miracles that affirm their beliefs, and that's the reason I stopped believing the stories told by Muslims. This particular issue, however, still bothers me a little. It's hard for me not to feel something when I search YouTube for "smiling dead" or so, and see that almost all the relevant results are of Muslim martyrs.
It's easy to imagine that when you spend a good portion of your life obsessed with the idea of martyrdom that when you're on the verge of death you'd feel peace and happiness, because you've finally gotten your ultimate wish, although for the smile to hold after the muscles die out is a little weird.
Then of course there are the stories of martyrs' corpses not decomposing, but that's easier to debunk, and I haven't seen any proof that this actually occurs. Plus, apparently, it happens to Christians too, and they even have a name for them: The incorruptibles.
I think this is a serious matter. As silly as it may seem to some of you, this is the kind of thing that drives a person to blow themselves up in the name of Islam. These are the kind of "miracles" that are effective on a subconscious level, and are the perfect tool for brainwashing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpJnp9B3V6E