From Banna to Qutb and "Qutbism": The Radicalization of Fundamentalist Thought Under Three Regimes

Abstract

From Hasan al-Banna of the monarchy period to Sayyid Qutb of the Gamal Abdel Nasser period there is an obvious continuity. The Islamic extremism of the Sadat-Mubarak years is rooted in the writings of Qutb, and in some of Banna's, and may justly be termed "Qutbism." Discussing the questions of nation, society, state, law, and social justice in their modern context, Hasan al-Banna reflected a deep conviction that the Islamic faith is necessarily political. He has expressed this very precisely: The Islam in which the Muslim Brethren believe envisages the political power as one of its pillars. The first phase of Sayyid Qutb's thought is expressed chiefly in his work Social Justice in Islam, written in Arabic and translated into English during his studies in the United States. Qutb's radicalization is clearly reflected in the refutation written in 1969 by Banna's successor as the "guide" of the Muslim Brethren, Hasan al-Hudaybi, for some of the younger Brethren jailed in 1965.