Sayyid Qutb and the Quran

Radical Reform

2009-03-04T16:42:00.000-08:00

I thought Tariq Ramadan's introduction was particularly interesting in light of Qutb's writings about Islam. The idea of reforming Islam in a way that does not undermine it (i.e. not a Western way of reforming Islam) provides an insight into an alternative way of thinking. While Qutb has been so influential for extremist groups, Ramadan's writings provide another answer to modernization and the changing world.

I thought Ramadan's attention to the problems with Western (or Christian) thought being imposed on Islam was particularly striking, and significant. It is true, that Islamic reform cannot, and really should not take the form of Christian periods of reform such as the Reformation or the Vatican II (14). Ramadan's point that this is an attempt to import Christian experience on to Islamic experience is important, I feel. The rejection of these ideas by the Muslim people is only logical, as the idea of asserting Christian history onto the Muslim tradition is completely absurd.

Instead, Ramadan attempts to outline how reform itself has been present in Islamic culture. I really enjoyed how he explored how change could fit into the Muslim understanding of their own religion, without turning to Western examples. While he recognizes that Islam has been in a time of crisis (29), he also argues that Islam can revive itself by staying true to tradition. As he says, "adapting does not - or does not necessarily - mean questioning, criticizing, or challenging" (33). I find his assertion that the resistance to self-criticism and renewal stems from a lack of self-confidence (36). This seems to fit well with the psychological aspects of fundamentalism I am exploring in my paper.

In general, I thought it was interesting to see a juxtaposition to Qutb's writings. Milestones reaches such an extreme in comparison to A Child From the Village. The call to revert to traditional Islam, but a selective and specific view of traditional Islam, that Qutb holds does not seem as logical as Ramadan's call to look at reform using traditional Islamic values.

Milestones: Chapters 1 and 2

2009-02-26T21:14:00.000-08:00

Chapter 1 of Milestones focuses on the uniqueness of the Qur'anic Generation. Similar to writings Qutb had on the Qur'an, he discusses at great lengths the importance of the Qur'an, and how it was specifically sent for the Islamic population. He also talks about the purpose of the Prophet, and how Muhammad had specific instructions that were all part of God's plan, and not therefore not to be fully comprehended by the common people.

Qutb also discusses that the Qur'an came down in installments in order to address the needs of the people at the time, which I thought was particularly interesting. The idea that the Qur'an grew with the needs of the people is an enlightening way of understanding how the Qur'an formed.

In the second Chapter Qutb expands his views on the Qur'an. He discusses the Meccan portion of the Qur'an, and how it was formed to address the big question of faith, and how people should relate to God. He discusses how Islam is practical, and when practiced corretly will reflect the needs of the people.

One part of the Chapter that interested me was Qutb's metaphor of religion as a tree. His discussion of religion as a tree that extends to all aspects of life, and provides order and strength. The analogy of the roots of the tree is also an interesting reference to traditionalism.

Milestones: Introduction

2009-02-26T21:00:00.000-08:00

The introduction to Sayyid Qutb's Milestones is an interesting transition from the Qur'an commentary. The introduction definitely starts as sort of "call to action" in response to the lack of values of humanity. As he says "the turn of the Islam and the Muslim community has arrived," he is clearly calling for a specific call to action that is more direct than his past writings.

Milestones also has a more fundamentalist tone to it - Qutb uses phrases like "it is neccessary that the Muslim community be restored to its original form" that call for a return to a more traditional and fundamentalist form of Islam.

I thought it was interesting that the last part of the introduction discussed that the first few chapters stem from the Qur'an commentary, but were reworked for Milestones.

Religious Fundamentalism: Peter Herriot

2009-02-19T23:29:00.000-08:00

In reading Peter Herriot's Religious Fundamentalism: Global, Local and Personal, (I admit I have not finished it), Herriot provides a lot of interesting insight into the formation and development of fundamentalist ideas and movements. By examining different fundamentalisms from around the world, Herriot comes up with 5 main features of fundamentalisms (reactive, dualist, importance of a holy book, reading of the holy book is selective, and the belief that God to fully establish His rule over the world in the future). He also stresses that fundamentalism is a twentieth century idea, as fundamentalisms are reactions against modernity.

Most interestingly, Herriot discusses the development of the self, and how in order to fully function in a fundamentalist organization, an individual must fully identity with the fundamentalist group. From this, a group or social identity is more important than an individual identity. This is necessary in order to have complete dedication to the group's cause, as well as to build up the individual's self-esteem that their actions are morally correct. From here, Herriot analyzes Sayyid Qutb as a case study, and shows that throughout Qutb's writings, one can trace a growing sense of group identity (as a believing Muslim) and less on his individual identity (as a successful scholar and teacher in Cairo). This change, especially marked by Qutb's visit to the U.S., caused a change in the way Qutb viewed Islam, particularly in his writings about jahiliyyah. The more Qutb discusses jahiliyyah and the more he identified it as a group aim, the more fundamentalist his writings became.

The America I Have Seen (1951)

2009-02-19T13:35:00.000-08:00

Qutb's thoughts on American culture are fascinating. As this article was written for a magazine, Qutb candidly describes encounters he had throughout his time in Greeley, Colorado that provide great insight into how he formed his opinions of the West, and the United States in particular.

The culture clash is very evident in Qutb's writings. His descriptions of Americans are greedy and animalistic are easily explained by his reactions to things such as his views of science as a substitute for religion and the game of football. I particularly liked his commentaries about football. The way he describes the sport certainly does make it seem absurd...

I also thought his writings about churches was interesting. The fact that he joined a church because "it was an important part of the culture" was intriguing. I thought his comments on the priest were very entertaining. There are certainly clear differences between the American church and the mosques in Egypt. Here, the separation of church and state seems to cause many problems for him, as the churches need to "sell themselves" in order to gain the more members than other churches in the area.

Overall, Qutb's writings provide an outsiders prospective on American culture, that show why he has such a violent reaction against the West.

Al-Tabari

2009-02-10T17:23:00.000-08:00

The commentary by Al-Tabari is set up in a very different manner from Qutb's In the Shade of the Qur'an. Al-Tabari's commentary was harder for me to follow, which probably makes sense from the time period it was written from, as I assume that Qutb's commentary is more modern. Qutb's commentary also separates the Arabic from his writing, which was probably a decision made by the translator to make it more acceptable for english speaking readers.

I thought it was interesting that the commentary by Al-Tabari included numerous opinions and interpretations, which differed from Qutb's rigid interpretation of the Sura's importance and meanings. Qutb's commentary does echo a more fundamentalist look at the Quranic verses, as there is really no room for multiple interpretations and opinions. However, the commentaries are similar in that they both take short verses, and have lengthy interpretations of the meanings and importance.

This is exciting....

2009-02-10T15:20:00.000-08:00

This has nothing to do with our reading this week, but I am so excited that I'm going to blog about it anyway.

For my senior capstone in the psychology department, I am studying how the motives for religious fundamentalism can be understood psychologically. For this project, I ordered a book called Religious Fundamentalism: Global, Local and Personal by Peter Herriot. In this work he writes up a case study about Sayyid Qutb! Of course, I read this chapter first even though it comes about half way through the work, and I am really excited about what I found.

First of all, Herriot discusses Qutb's role in the Muslim Brotherhood, and provides interesting details, such as the fact that Qutb served as head of the Brotherhood's propaganda department. Herriot goes at great length to explain Qutb's ideas about jahilyahh and how this affected why people felt compelled to follow him.

However, my most exciting find from this chapter about Qutb is that Herriot cites an article written by Qutb called "The America I Have Seen" (1951) about his time in the United States. From this, I went on google and found his writings on his trip to America!!

They can be found at:
http://www.bandung2.co.uk/books/Files/Education/
The%20America%20I%20Have%20Seen
%20-%20Sayyid%20Qutb.pdf

I'm excited.

Sura 10

2009-02-05T13:26:00.000-08:00

I found it interesting that Qutb describes the disbelief that a man could be chosen as the messenger of God is a failure of man to recognize how God has honored him (35). Qutb says that man must fully accept the praise that God has given him, and that this will not seem so overwhelmingly miraculous if one understands the true nature of God. I just thought this was an interesting interpretation of why people doubt the Prophet's validity as a messenger. This is one of those sections where Qutb's passion really comes through in his writing. He goes on to argue in subsequent sections (37 and following) that there are logical reasons for why God chose man as his messenger. From here, Qutb goes on to discuss how those whose beliefs are based on jahiliyyah will think that by acknowledging God's existence they have achieved faith (41-42).

This commentary seems to differ slightly from the commentary on Sura 4 which I read earlier. In this critique, there seems to be more of a personal tone included in Qutb's writings. For example, in discussing Verses 37-44, Qutb relates the writings about the amazing distinction of the Qur'an between other texts to a story of his travels across the Atlantic on the way to America (82-83). This personal influence seemed to be missing from his earlier writings in the Qur'an commentary.

Introduction: Sura 10: Jonah

2009-02-05T13:04:00.000-08:00

The Introduction to this Volume (containing Sura 10 and Sura 11) is interesting. It focuses on Qutb's imprisonment, and how this affected his views on violence and the Brotherhood's attempt to change the Egyptian government. Apparently, Qutb turned down many government positions because he felt he could be more useful as an advisory who was removed from direct government involvement. After his first prison sentence, Qutb took it upon himself to advise younger members of the Islamic movement, and urged them to stay true to the Qur'an and the expectations that Allah and the Prophet outline for the correct way to achieve change.

In the Prologue to Jonah, Qutb outlines the main themes of the Sura, which coincide with Adil Salahi's introduction. As Sura 10 emphasizes the difference between believers and non-believers, Qutb describes these important themes, which seems to coincide with the message he was giving to the young members of the movement.

A few more thoughts on Sura 4: Women

2009-02-05T12:36:00.000-08:00

As we discussed, of particular interest in this Sura for many scholars (particularly feminist scholars) is Verse 34 that permits men to hit their wives. It is interesting that Qutb sets up this section by restating that men and women have equal rights in the eyes of God, as he preached in Social Justice of Islam. While he does seem to want to emphasize the justice of this "punishment" system that is set up for men to use against their wives, I have a hard time following the morality component he has supposedly outlined.

While Qutb does emphasize that men cannot beat their wives unnecessarily without being punished in the eyes of Allah, it still seems to be up to the man's discretion to decide how much and in what way he can hit his wife. Also, the precursor to hitting your wife is to shun her emotionally, which I suppose could be seen as a type of emotional abuse.

All in all, I do not follow Qutb's "rationalization" of this Verse in Sura 4. Even though I am outside the culture...I don't think I buy his argument.

Qutb's explaination of sura 4 (Part 1)

2009-01-27T21:54:00.000-08:00

Qutb's commentary on Sura 4 is extremely long (which may make sense considering the length of the sura itself). So far, I have run across some similarities to the way that he discusses women in Social Justice in Islam. In his explanation of inheritance, he uses the same argument to explain why the difference between men and women is not derogatory, but logical.

However, I do have a hard time following Qutb's argument about polygamy. He seems to me to be hypocritical in his explanation about why a man can take multiple wives. At one point, Qutb writes that a man may need to take a second wife to satisfy his sexual needs when the first wife is old or unwilling. Yet, a page later Qutb says that carnal desires is never an acceptable reason for taking a second wife. I was unable to tease out what the distinction between the two situations Qutb was attempting to make.

Social Justice in Islam: Equality

2009-01-22T22:56:00.000-08:00

I found it interesting that in the first 100 pages or so of Social Justice in Islam Qutb focuses on the main pillars of social justice: mainly the unity and mutual responsibilities of individuals and communities. Obviously, these themes can be seen through Qutb's description of his village in A Child from the Village, and I think interesting parallels could be made between the two works.

Qutb's interpretation of Islam is overwhelmingly positive. His descriptions of respect and cultural unity create a sense of real strength within Islamic communities. I found Qutb's description of equality between men and women of particular interest, particularly due to my reading of Leila Ahmed last year. His description of how men and women are spiritually equal, and his reasoning for gender differences and interesting and specific and provide helpful reasoning into the logic of the system.

Social Justice in Islam

2009-01-21T18:31:00.000-08:00

The tone of Social Justice in Islam is a stark contrast to Qutb's writings in A Child From the Village. Almost immediately, Qutb's tone is harsh and reflects a seriousness that was not present in his earlier book. There is a clear departure from his earlier laid-back style of writing. It would be interesting to read Qutb's texts inbetween these two works to see how this style changed and developed with his views on Egypt and Islam.

The work begins with a sharp criticism of both Egypt and the surrounding world. In Qutb's discussion of imports, he forcefully describes how the nation does not look within in order to build itself up, but relies on outside sources from the West. Qutb suggests that the nation will also begin looking for ways of importing faith and spirituality according to western traditions, which clearly goes against his view on the importance of cultural heritage and strength that can be found within Islam and Egypt.

Qutb compares Christianity and Islam, and argues about why Islam has cultural superiority. While he obviously has respect for Jesus as speaker with a positive message, Qutb calls attention to what he views as negative aspects of Christianity, such as its disunity with culture, particularly in Europe. Although I never thought about the problems Christianity creates in comparison to Islam in its hierarchal nature, I found this critique on Christianity to be particularly interesting. Unlike the division caused by the fight of Christian power through a separation of church and state, Islam is the center of culture in Muslim countries. Religion is life and life is religion. No distinction needs to be made between society and religious rituals. This call to look at culture is used by Qutb to show that no importation of spirituality is necessary, as it is in his mind, already a built in facet of the culture. The lack of superior religious leaders, Qutb argues, creates the opportunity for all men to be equal in their relationship with Allah. Again, this is an interesting contrast to Christianity which creates a hierarchy of spiritual leaders.

Social Justice in Islam: Introduction

2009-01-21T17:36:00.000-08:00

The introduction to this work is just as interesting as the introduction from A Child from the Village. Hamid Alger gives a more descriptive background of Qutb's history, particularly about Qutb's life after he studies in Cairo. Some of the same details emerge, such as the importance of his various writings, including Ashwak (Thorns). Here, too, Alger dicusses the involvement of Qutb's siblings in the Islamist movement, citing that his sisters were part of the Brethren for women, and were arrested at the same time Qutb was imprisoned.

The Child From the Village: Patriotism and Authority

2009-01-15T15:18:00.000-08:00

In reading the ending of The Child From the Village, there is a growing sense of patriotism and fear of certain members of authority from outside of the community. Qutb's love of books and reading, in conjunction with his father's nationalist meetings, inspired Qutb to have a growing sense of nationalist pride and concern for events that affected the village.

The story Qutb tells after this inspiration of patriotism about the confiscation of weapons creates an interesting sense of the negative results that come from authority. While Qutb has respect for the authoritative hierarchy within the village, the soldiers who come into the village are cruel and hated. The fear that is immediately associated with them (although the fear of the soldiers is obviously a legitimate one) echoes Qutb's earlier descriptions of the doctors.

The ending of the work sheds light on Qutb's future as he heads off to Cairo to continue his education. His concern for his families workers who have less than him, as well as his mother's fear over loss of money and honor create the set-up for Qutb's later success in education as well as his drive to change the world around him.

The Child From the Village: The 'afarit

2009-01-14T19:38:00.000-08:00

The stories of the 'afarit are extremely interesting, both in Qutb's preoccupation with them and the stories themselves. The superstition in the village concerning the power of 'afarits is a unique look into a powerful force in the community. The extreme measures taken by the people in the village to appease the spirits and avoid the pain they presumably bring provide glimpses into the effect of superstitious belief on every day life.

As Qutb describes how his belief in the power of the 'afarit begins to dwindle once his teachers attempt to show that their is no reason for their fear, it is interesting that he still has moments that cause him to revert back being scared. At the end of the chapter, it is interesting that Qutb says the power of the myth of the 'afarit is "more deeply embedded in his soul than education" and will "inhabit his imagination forever" (77). I am unsure what Qutb means by this statement. What about the myth is so embedded in his person, that it is more important in his nature than his education which he speaks so strongly about earlier in the work?

The Child From the Village

2009-01-13T15:00:00.000-08:00

In the Introduction, the translators set up an interesting history of Sayyid Qutb's life. I did not know that Qutb worked as a teacher immediately following his secondary schooling, nor that he had been sent to study in the United States. The commentary on Qutb's disdain for the lack of American culture and morality is in interesting juxtaposition to the dedication he felt towards his family's honor and involvement in his village in Egypt. In the beginning of the book, his diligence in studying the Qu'ran in order to prove his school's legitimacy over the kuttab shows a dedication to the responsibility of tradition. I think it would be interesting to explore Qutb's commentary on his trip to the U.S., and how that influenced his later extremist writings.

In what I have read so far, Qutb's writings are very different from what he wrote later on his life. It is interesting that this work was written before his turn to the more radical Islamic ideologies he was later known for. I also find the writing style very interesting, as he is referring to himself as "the boy" throughout the stories. The style is very different from what I expected.

In starting to read the work, Qutb's dedication and enthusiasm for his school are interesting. The competitiveness and need for honor come through not only in Qutb's desire to please his parents, but in his own drive, particularly in the rigorous memorization of the Qu'ran in order to prove the school's worth in contrast to the kuttab. His leadership in undertaking the goal of establishing that legitimacy and his emotional connection to the school is interesting considering his later work and leadership.