&gt;I don&#x27;t see how temporary alliances with a secular regime indicate lack of true religious conviction.<p>Group C that claims to be defenders of group A against group B, secretly allies itself with B against A. How does that not indicate lack of religious conviction. The general narrative of ISIS, is that they  are the most strictest in adherence to medieval Islam. But to me it looks that they are the most flexible in their adherence in favour of tactical pragmatism.<p>&gt;&quot;staunch the flow of true believers to their ranks.&quot;<p>What makes you think that the majority of followers of ISIS is attracting are true believers?<p>Looking at the profiles of the foreigners who are joining :
Coulibaly who attacked the french supermarket was previously arrested on drug offences:
<a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.huffingtonpost.com&#x2F;2015&#x2F;01&#x2F;09&#x2F;amedy-coulibaly-paris-kosher-market_n_6444418.html" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.huffingtonpost.com&#x2F;2015&#x2F;01&#x2F;09&#x2F;amedy-coulibaly-par...</a><p>Abaaoud, the alleged mastermind of the current attacks, was previously jailed for theft and assault :
<a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.nytimes.com&#x2F;2015&#x2F;01&#x2F;25&#x2F;world&#x2F;europe&#x2F;belgium-confronts-the-jihadist-danger-within.html?_r=0" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.nytimes.com&#x2F;2015&#x2F;01&#x2F;25&#x2F;world&#x2F;europe&#x2F;belgium-confr...</a><p>According  to the Sun (admittedly less reliable source; make of it what you will) Jihadi John was into drugs, and alcohol. By other accounts he was rebellious, socially isolated, and on the wayward side of society.<p>Most of the people recruited seem to follow a pattern of rebelliousness, impulsiveness, poor decisions (frequently  involving drugs, jailtime, etc.),  rather than sever religiosity through years of attending madrasas. In the west people of a similar disposition might find themselves joining gangs, or in a downward spiral of hard drugs, or making other poor decisions. The ones  with the most severe prognosis might end up as school shooters, or doing hard time. ISIS has set itself as a cult to attract such people and has given them a cause.<p>Quote from former AQ member turned informant : 
<a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.bbc.com&#x2F;news&#x2F;magazine-31700894" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.bbc.com&#x2F;news&#x2F;magazine-31700894</a>
&quot;There is no single process of radicalisation. Some people, it took them years to be convinced of coming to the jihad and some people it took them minutes. Some people were studying in religious seminaries - they&#x27;re a minority by the way - and then decided to come and some people basically just came straight out of a night club you know while he was consuming alcohol basically to come and seek redemption there in the jihadist world.
So you know you see immediately that you know there isn&#x27;t one single classical journey there, that there are so many journeys.&quot;<p>There are many scattered reports of defections by disillusioned members, but we won&#x27;t probably know the  real truth until after the conflict. Of course, one doesn&#x27;t simply cash in their last paycheck and walk away from such an organisation, so even if there were mass  defections it would be in secret because of fear for safety of them and their families.