I'm struggling with this a bit:

I think I know what he's trying to ask, but I can't find any better way to articulate it.

Islamism is a political movement and philosophy which sometimes results in violence. A leader within that movement was killed. Is violence subsequently less likely within said movement? What studies indicate this? .. is what I think he's getting at, but I can't come up with a suggestion on how to narrow it down.

Maybe I don't understand Islamism enough to know, or maybe it just can't be narrowed down.

@TimPost just come across this ... on reflection, perhaps part of the problem is that I was asking about both popularity and tactics? I like your reformulation of the second question (although I was probably more interested in responses to the first, to be honest). Not sure whether it's worth attempting to edit and push for reopening at this point, though.