The most worrisome development in the evolution of Al Qaeda’s influence since 9/11 is the growth of pockets of Islamist radicalism in Western populations.
Lawrence Wright, CC BY-SA 4.0
The best ally in the struggle against violent Islamism is moderate Islam.
Lawrence Wright, CC BY-SA 4.0
The tug-of-war between Scientologists and anti-Scientologists over Hubbard’s legacy has created two swollen archetypes: the most important person who ever lived and the world’s greatest con man. Hubbard was certainly grandiose, but to label him merely a fraud is to ignore the complexity of his character.
Lawrence Wright, CC BY-SA 4.0
In response to nearly a thousand queries, the Scientology delegation handed over forty-eight binders of supporting material, stretching nearly seven linear feet.
Lawrence Wright, CC BY-SA 4.0
Listen, bin Laden is - you know, he's not irrelevant. He was important all along. Just the fact that he was able to elude capture or being killed for nearly a decade, actually more than a decade if you go back to the embassy bombings in 1998 when we first went after him. He's been a symbol of resistance and also of the failure of American policy to reach out and stop this kind of terror. It emboldened other imitators all around the globe. So getting bin Laden is immeasurably important.
Lawrence Wright, CC BY-SA 4.0
Bin Laden is dead. Al-Qaida eventually will die. But the model that al-Qaida has created of an asymmetric terror group that has enormous consequences in the world well beyond the size of the group, that's going to endure. Other groups are going to try to follow that model.
Lawrence Wright, CC BY-SA 4.0

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Nationalities: United States
Languages: English
Years active: 1979–
Genres: documentary
Notable works: The Looming Tower
Education: The American University in Cairo, Tulane University, Woodrow Wilson High School