From Secularism to Jihad: Sayyid Qutb and the Foundations of Radical Islamism

by Adnan A. Musallam

The modern political idea of jihad―a violent struggle against corrupt or anti-Islamic regimes―is essentially the brainchild of one man who turned traditional Islamic precepts inside out and created the modern radical political Islamist movement. Using the evolution of Sayyid Qutb's life and writings, Musallam traces and analyzes Qutb's alienation and subsequent emergence as an independent Islamist within the context of his society and the problems that it faced. Radicalized following his stay in the United States in the late 1940s and during his imprisonment from 1954 to 1964, Qutb would pen controversial writings that would have a significant impact on young Islamists in Egypt for decades following his death and on global jihadist Islamists for the past quarter century. Since September 11, 2001, the West has dubbed Qutb the philosopher of Islamic terror and godfather ideologue of al-Qaeda. This is the first book to examine his life and thought in the wake of the events that ignited the War on Terrorism.

A secular man of letters in the 1930s and 1940s, Qutb's outlook and focus on Quranic studies underwent drastic changes during World War II. The Quran became a refuge for his personal needs and for answers to the ills of his society. As a result, he forsook literature permanently for the Islamic cause and way of life. His stay in the United States from 1948 to 1950 reinforced his deeply held belief that Islam is man's only salvation from the abyss of Godless materialism he believed to be manifest in both capitalism and communism. Qutb's active opposition to the secular policies of Egyptian President Nasser led to his imprisonment from 1954 to 1964, during which his writings called for the overthrow of Jahili (pagan) governments and their replacement with a true and just Islamic society. A later arrest and trial resulted in his execution in August 1966.

Genres: Religion

280 pages, Hardcover

First published September 5, 2000

Reviews

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is basically a timeline for Sayyid Qutb's life. Qutb was an Egyptian intellectual who wrote some of the first Islamist literature. Unfortunately, he later was inspirational for al-Qaeda and other Islamic extremists. He was executed by the Egyptian government for his views, since he advocated violence against the government in defense of Islam.

Qutb visited the U.S. and also became involved with the Muslim Brotherhood, an Egyptian Islamist group still in existence. A member of the Muslim Brotherhood won the first presidential election in Egypt after the Arab Spring protests, recently.

Some have thought that Qutb's involvement with the Muslim Brotherhood dictated his later thought, but this book points out that he came to most of his views before his involvement with them. It also tells how his trip to the U.S. affected him.

A good book, but it doesn't answer the main question of how and why Qutb came to hold the views he did. As I say, it is mainly a timeline, not a philosophical or religious investigation of his thought. Solving the mystery of his thought will require reading some other books.