Some people ar more susceptible to carbohydrates than others. Those people do well on the Akins diet because it gets rid of the sugar cycle that causes intense hunger and overeating.
I am trying the Atkins diet beginning tomorrow. My husband has been on it two weeks and has lost 16 pounds, plus he has more energy and has now worked up to walking 4 miles a day (something he would never have been able to do until his energy level increased.)
People who have done well on the diet are naturally enthusiastic. I think it a stretch to equate them with islamic fundamentalists, to say the least.