What were Islamist terrorists trying to accomplish when they attacked Paris on Friday, killing over 300 French civilians? A growing number of analysts now agree with Juan Cole's theory about the extremists' strategy in France, which he raised after the the Charlie Hebdo attacks, writing:

"The problem for a terrorist group like al-Qaeda is that its recruitment pool is Muslims, but most Muslims are not interested in terrorism. Most Muslims are not even interested in politics, much less political Islam. France is a country of 66 million, of which about 5 million is of Muslim heritage. But in polling, only a third, less than 2 million, say that they are interested in religion. French Muslims may be the most secular Muslim-heritage population in the world... In Paris, where Muslims tend to be better educated and more religious, the vast majority reject violence and say they are loyal to France.