Sayyid Qutb Reader Selected Writings on Politics, Religion, and Society

In 2003, the journalist and political writer, Paul Berman published a new classic and well known piece in the "New York Times" magazine called '"The Philosopher of Islamic Terror".' The subject of that piece was a hitherto relatively obscure Egyptian Islamic thinker by the name of Sayyid Qutb. Qutb was a radical Islamic fundamentalist theorist who rose to prominence in the Muslim Brotherhood. He was imprisoned in Egypt from 1954 to 1966 following an assassination attempt on Egyptian President Nasser. During his imprisonment, he penned an astonishing thirty volume commentary on the Q'uran entitled "In the Shade Q'uran". Albert Bergesen, a professor of Sociology and a long time researcher on political violence and transnational terrorism brings together for the first time the writings of the man who has been called in the media 'bin Laden's brain.' "The Sayyid Qutb Reader" is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding the mind of the world's most infamous terrorist and the ideology which motivates the global movement he has spawned.
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Preface
Acknowledgements
Permissions acknowledgements
PART 1 Life, context, and core ideas
Sayyid Qutb in historical context
Albert J. Bergesen
Qutb's core ideas
Albert J. Bergesen
PART 2 Selected writings
Milestones
Prologue, from In The Shade of the Qur'an, Volume 7: Surah 8, Al-Anfal (The spoils of war)
Characteristics of the Islamic approach
The liberation of mankind
How defensive is jihad?
A stage of no fighting
What justification for jihad?
A gulf too wide!
A further point of view
Misgivings about jihad
The essence of jihad
For God's cause
Islam's revolutionary message
Characteristics of the call for an Islamic change
The need for jihad and its objective
The universal revolution
The Battle of Badr
Rejecting wise counsel
Qur'anic comments
Why believers fight
To sum up
The basis of inter-communal relations, from In The Shade of the Qur'an, Volume 8: Surah 9, Al-Tawbah (The repentance)
Overview
Peace or no peace
Under strong pressure
The nature of Islamic international relations
Crystallizing attitudes
An announcement is made
The principles of international relations
Honouring commitments
When the period of grace is over
Asylum for the enemy
No peace possible
No obligation honoured
An attitude confirmed by history
Hostility unabated
Doubts dispelled
An order to fight
Who may tend God's houses
Attitudes shaped by feelings
Reminder of a great event
Large forces avail nothing
The earth's suffocating expanse, from In The Shade of the Qur'an, Volume 8: Surah 9, Al-Tawbah (The repentance)
Overview
A very special contract
A true promise and a profitable deal
The characteristics of true believers
An example to follow
Acceptance of repentance
A turn of mercy
The hour of difficulty
The case of one honest man
Vacillating between extremes
The whole world seems too narrow
A reward for every little thing
A task akin to fighting
Uncompromising fight
Islamic war ethics
Hypocritical attitudes
The Prophet's relationship with the believers
Conclusion
Religion and society in Christianity and in Islam, from Social Justice in Islam
Sorrows of the countryside, from A Child from the Village
Notes
Index