The 2 June 2008 issue of the New Yorker has a major article by Lawrence Wright on Dr Fadl, formerly a leading theoretician in Al-Qaeda.
Now ensconced in the Egyptian prison system, Fadl (real name Sayyid Iman al-Sharif) has decided that terrorism is an altogether bad thing. Given the somewhat uncomfortable nature of his surroundings, that is perhaps no surprise. However, as Wright points out, such a change, known as 'the revisions' has been occurring within Egyptian Islamist thinking for well over a decade.
This has led to a furious debate with Fadl's fellow Egyptian, and Al Qaeda number two Ayamn al-Zawahiri, who insists that through attacks such as 9/11, and on-going conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia, the US is being ground down.
Interestingly Wright also cites an on-line discussion where al-Zawahiri blamed the Hezbollah TV station Al Manar for claiming that the Israelis were behind 9/11:
"The objective behind this lie is to deny that the Sunnis have heroes who harm America as no one has harmed it throughout its history".
Wright concludes that radical Islam is undergoing a rebellion within its own ranks, conclusions backed up by evidence from Cairo based ex-Islamists such as Kamal Habib and Karam Zuhdy, who now question the direction they took in the past.
A nuanced understanding of such debates - or even recognition that they exist - is lacking in 9/11 'truth' circles. Theirs is an entirely Eurocentric or perhaps more accurately Americentric view of the world.
To their mind, all that matters, and all that could really effect our lives for the worse, comes from the USA (with some blame being placed at the door of the Israelis).
It is a view that must be resisted, and exposed for what it is.
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