CHAPTER 3
THE CELL
Radicalization is usually seen as a process through which extremist groups or “hate preachers” groom vulnerable Muslims for jihadism by indoctrinating them with extremist ideas.
What is striking about the stories of wannabe jihadis is their diversity. There is no “typical” recruit, no single path to jihadism.
The usual clichés about jihadis—that they are poor, uneducated, badly integrated—are rarely true. In fact, most are highly educated young people from comfortable families who speak English at home. Dr. Khaled Fadel fit this profile perfectly. He was not the poor, uneducated, brainwashed zealot stereotypically associated with the jihad. To the contrary, Dr. Fadel was well educated and wealthy beyond imagination. Why then would a man of such wealth and privilege d
