I have thought for some time that radical Islam of the al Qeada variety, is a totalitarian ideology like communism or fascism. Michael Totten has a column that has a similar theme.
Al Qaeda came through Islam and used it to enter Iraqi lands. They are killers, insurgents, they don’t respect humanity. They don’t belong to Islam or have religious beliefs. They have no kind of religious beliefs.”
Don’t assume Mahmoud is dissembling when he says this. It may appear that some Muslims are being overly defensive by saying Osama bin Laden is not a real Muslim, but there is a solid case to be made that radical Islamism is, in fact, a totalitarian cult unhinged from the religion as it is actually practiced by the majority. It is they, after all, who blow up mosques in Iraq. I know of at least one mosque in Ramadi that is considered “blackened” because insurgents used it as a base. No one will set foot in it now.
I think this is the case. The stories about the 9/11 hijackers visiting strip clubs were thought odd given that they were supposed to be devout Muslims. Now those stories seem to fit this theme.