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NDD, that was just the skinny on Sageman's book. I'm not going to participate in this argument because I lack credentials to do so, but IMHO the only way it can progress is to agree upon several 'facts' which can then be interpreted differently by each argument. 'Facts' which I can think of off the top of my head are-
The recruiting methods
The religious upbringing of different elements in the movement
The geography of those in and recruited by the movement
The interpersonal links which allowed members to be recruited
The Koranique (textual) basis which the movement uses to support its claims
The history of AQ as a movement, and other Salafist Groups
The structure of AQ et al.
There are probably others, but my thoughts are that without agreeing on such a set of stated assumptions, this argument will not be able to progress because no one will be interpreting the same situations.
JMO, backing out as fast as possible,
Solid
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