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The Rebellion Within
31 May 2008"The Rebellion Within," Lawrence Wright's long New Yorker account of theological rifts between leading Islamist militants, defies easy summary. That's because Wright' story is a story, not a thesis or a set of talking points backed up by illustration. That won't stop some readers from responding to the weakest line in this otherwise brilliant piece of reporting: "...rumors that imprisoned leaders of Al Jihad were part of a trend in which former terrorists renounced violence." Trends, rumours, and renunciation. That's the cliff's notes version. Don't cheat yourself -- read the whole thing, an engrossing and important work of intellectual history, not a trend report. That's right -- "intellectual history," often (but not often enough) the most revealing kind of reporting.
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