Friday, December 04, 2009

What would Sayyid Qutb say today?

What would he say about the Muslims who've killed and maimed tens of thousands of Iraqis in the name of Islam? What would he say about the Muslims today who are so willing to murder Muslims in Mosques?

'Sayyid Qutb (Arabic: سيد قطب‎; October 9, 1906[1] – August 29, 1966) was an Egyptian author, educator, Islamist, poet, and the leading intellectual of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood in the 1950s and '60s. Some Muslims even consider him a martyr (shahid) because of his execution by Nasser's government.

Author of 24 books, including novels, literary arts’ critique, works on education, he is best known in the Muslim world for his work on what he believed to be the social and political role of Islam, particularly in his books Social Justice and Ma'alim fi-l-Tariq (Milestones). His magnum opus Fi Zilal al-Qur'an (In the shade of the Qur'an), is a 30 volume commentary on the Qur'an that has contributed significantly to modern perceptions of subjects such as jihad, and ummah.

Even though most of his observations and criticism were leveled at his own society and culture, Qutb is also known for his intense disapproval of the society and culture of the United States[2][3] which he saw as obsessed with materialism and violence, "animalistic desires," and "awful sins."[4] In his estimate, "Civilization should favor humanity, not act against it"[5].

There are widely varying opinions on Qutb. While his supporters normally see him as a great artist and intellectual who died for his principles[6][7], many Western observers say his writings helped shape terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda[8][9][10][11] or Islamists in general.[12] Today, his jihadist supporters are often identified as Qutbists[13] or "Qutbee", though they do not use the term to describe themselves.'

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