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

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

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 radical political Islam. 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 which 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 Qur'anic studies underwent drastic changes during World War II. The Qur'an 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.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Essential if you want to understand Islamist origins
I had the opportunity to meet the author some weeks ago. We had a great conversation so I decided to read his book. The first chapter is an excellent historical survey of Egyptian intellectual shifts from European secular framework to an Islamic and fundamentalist framework. The following chapters explain the disillusionment one secular Egyptian student felt with the colonial system of administration and traces his search for an intellectual and cultural identity. This book is a fascinating study for anyone interested in understanding the appeal of, and to some extent the sociology, of Islamic fundamentalism. I strongly recommend this book!

5 Stars If a better understanding of is a thrill -then this book is pure ecstasy!
Adnan Musallam puts in a hardback capsule, the understanding of the life and trials of one Muslim Man's growth and struggle's with God in relationship to his fellow man's social structure.

Profoundly articulate, scientific and even artful in its presentation of the man- Sayyid Qutb and his life's work as a, poet, writer, critic, author, Bureaucrat , educator, philosopher and Radical Islamic Ideologue; all combine to make this book a must read for anyone interested in today's fast paced political world.

Dr. Musallam takes you on an extraordinary, systemic journey of understanding;just how this one man's thoughts and ideas developed from early childhood as a secularist to his execution as a devout Islamist- and beyond!

After reading this book you will not only better understand the man- Qutb; but also more importantly just how his thoughts and ideas have been woven so tightly since his execution (by so many others )so as to now form the very fabric of the flags being waved throughout today's volatile Muslim World

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1. Identity and Religion in Palestine – The Struggle between Islamism and Secularism in the Occupied Territories, Princeton Studies in Muslim Politics
2. Syria: Ballots or Bullets – Democracy Islamism and Secularism in the Levant
3. Secularism and Muslim Democracy in Turkey (Cambridge Middle East Studies)
4. A Short History of Secularism
5. Modernity, Islam and Secularism in Turkey – Bodies, Places and Time – Public Worlds
6. Faces of the State – Secularism and Public Life in Turkey
7. Secularism Confronts Islam
8. Modernist and Fundamentalist Debates in Islam – A Reader
9. Jihad – The Rise of Militant Islam in Central Asia
10. My Year Inside Radical Islam, A Memoir

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