Qutbism (also Kotebism, Qutbiyya, or Qutbiyyah) is the radical strain of Islamic ideology and activism, based on the thought and writings of Sayyid Qutb, a celebrated Islamist and former leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood who was executed in 1966. Qutbee or Qutbi (also Qutbists) are followers of these ideals. These terms originated from, and are mainly used by opponents of the Muslim Brotherhood in general and Qutb in particular, and by Muslims who seek to distance themselves from the activities of militant groups based on or influenced by Qutbism. Islam (Arabic: ; ( ▶ (help· info)), the submission to God) is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions and the worlds second-largest religion. ... Sayyid Qutb Sayyid Qutb (IPA pronunciation: ) (Arabic: ‎; 9 October 1906[1] – 29 August 1966) was an Egyptian intellectual author, and Islamist associated with the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. ... The Muslim Brothers (Arabic: الإخوان المسلمون al-ikhwān al-muslimūn, full title The Society of the Muslim Brothers, often simply الإخوان al-ikhwān, the Brotherhood or MB) is a world-wide Sunni Islamist movement and the worlds largest, most influential Islamist group[1]. The MB is the largest political...

Qutbism has gained notoriety from its association with jihadi extremists like Osama bin Laden. According to some observers, jihadi extremists “cite Sayyid Qutb repeatedly and consider themselves his intellectual descendants.”^[1] Osama bin Muhammad bin Awad bin Laden (Arabic: ‎; born March 10, 1957[1]), most often mentioned as Osama bin Laden or Usama bin Laden, is a Saudi Arabian militant Islamist and is widely believed to be one of the founders of the organization called al-Qaeda. ...

Sayyid Qutb

Sayyid Qutb File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Sayyid Qutb File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

Tenets

The main tenet of Qutbist ideology is that the Muslim community (or the Muslim community outside of a vanguard fighting to reestablish it) "has been extinct for a few centuries" ^[2] having reverted to Godless ignorance (Jahiliyya), and must be re-conquered for Islam. Jahiliyyah is an Islamic concept referring to the spiritual condition of pre-Islamic Arabian society. ...

Qutb outlined his ideas in his book Ma'alim fi-l-Tariq (aka Milestones). Other important principles of Qutbism include Maalim fi-l-Tariq or Milestones (Arabic: معالم في الطريق), first published in 1964, is a book by Egyptian Islamist author Sayyid Qutb in which he lays out a plan and makes a call to action to re-create the Muslim world on strictly Quranic grounds, casting off what Qutb calls...

• adherence to Sharia as sacred law accessible to humans, without which Islam cannot exist
• adherence to Sharia as a complete way of life that will bring not only justice, but complete freedom from servitude, peace, personal serenity, scientific discovery and other benefits;
• avoidance of Western and non-Islamic "evil and corruption," including socialism and nationalism;
• vigilance against Western and Jewish conspiracies against Islam
• a two-pronged attack of 1) preaching to convert and 2) jihad to forcibly eliminate the "structures" of Jahiliyya.
• the importance of offensive Jihad to eliminate Jahiliyya not only from the Islamic homeland but from the face of the earth.

Some, such as Dale C. Eikmeier, a strategic planner at the US Army War College, give a broader definition of Qutbism. Eikmeier calls it "a fusion of puritanical and intolerant Islamic orientations," that includes not only Qutb's ideas but those of Abul Ala Maududi, Hassan al Banna, and even Shia elements, Sharia (Arabic: transliteration: ) is the body of Islamic law. ... Sharia (Arabic: transliteration: ) is the body of Islamic law. ... Socialism refers to a broad array of ideologies and movements which aim to improve society through collective and egalitarian action; and to a socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to control by the community. ... Eugène Delacroixs Liberty Leading the People, symbolising French nationalism during the July Revolution 1830. ... Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi (Urdu: ابو الاعلى مودودی, Arabic: أبو الأعلى المودودي; alternative spellings of last name Maudoodi, and Mawdudi) (September 25, 1903) - September 22, 1979),[1] also known as Mawlana (Maulana) Sayyid Abul Ala Mawdudi, is considered an influential Islamic thinker of the 20th century. ... Hassan al Banna, the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood. ... Shiʻa Islam (Arabic شيعى follower; English has traditionally used Shiite) makes up the second largest sect of believers in Islam, constituting about 30%–35% of all Muslim. ...

"to justify armed jihad in the advance of Islam, and other violent methods utilized by twentieth century militants. ... Qutbism advocates violence and justifies terrorism against non-Muslims and apostates in an effort to bring about the reign of God. Others, i.e., Ayman Al-Zawahiri, Abdullah Azzam, and Osama bin Laden built terrorist organizations based on the principles of Qutbism and turned the ideology of Islamic-Fascism into a global action plan."^[3] Group photo of Ayman Al Zawahiri, Usama Bin Laden & Abu Hafs Prosecution Trial Exhibit from the trial of Zacarias Moussaoui Sheikh Dr. Ayman Muhammad Rabaie al-Zawahiri (Arabic: ‎) (born June 19, 1951) is a prominent member of the al-Qaeda group, a physician, author, poet, and formerly the head of... Dr. Abdullah Yusuf Azzam (1941-1989) also known as Shaikh Azzam or the “Godfather of Jihad”, was a central figure in the global development of the militant Islamist movement. ... Osama bin Muhammad bin Awad bin Laden (Arabic: ‎; born March 10, 1957[1]), most often mentioned as Osama bin Laden or Usama bin Laden, is a Saudi Arabian militant Islamist and is widely believed to be one of the founders of the organization called al-Qaeda. ...

History of the word "Qutbee"

Following Qutb's death Qutbist ideas spread throughout Egypt and other parts of the Arab and Muslim world, prompting a backlash by more traditionalist and conservative Muslims, particularly Wahhabi/Salafi scholars. The word Qutbee is said to have first been used by Saudi Arabian Wahhabi Muslims to refer not only to explicit devotees of Qutb's ideas, but to Muslim Brotherhood members and their sympathizers in general (despite the fact that there is a range of opinion among Muslim Brethren on Qutb's ideas.) The word Qutbee is similar in its use (though not its meaning!) to the term Wahhabi, in that it is used not by the Qutbees and Wahhabis themselves but by their opponents.

Takfir

The most controversial aspect of Qutbism is Qutb's idea that Islam is "extinct," and therefore those who say they are Muslims--with the exception of Qutb's Islamic vanguard--are not. Intended to shock Muslims into religious re-armament it also had the effect, if taken literally, of making non-Qutbists who claimed they were Muslims in serious violation of the traditional Sharia law (law that Qutb very much supported) potentially finding them guilty of Apostasy in Islam and their blood fit to be shed. Because of these serious consequences, Muslims have traditionally been reluctant to practice takfir, i.e. judge professed Muslims (even Muslims in violation of Islamic law) unbelievers.^[4] This prospect of fitna, or internal strife, between Qutbists and "takfir-ed" mainstream Muslims, was put to Qutb by prosecutors in the trial that led to his execution, ^[5] and is still made by his Muslim detractors. [1] [2] Apostasy in Islam (Arabic: ارتداد, irtidād or ridda) is commonly defined as the rejection of Islam in word or deed by a person who has been a Muslim. ... In Shia terminology, takfir also refers to the practice of crossing the arms when standing upright during salat (or takattuf, called qabd by Sunnis). ... Fitna is an Arabic word for civil war, disagreement, division within Islam. ...

Qutb died before he could clear up the issue of whether jahiliyya referred to the whole "Muslim world," to only Muslim governments, or only in an allegorical sense.^[6] But that his critics fear of fitna was legitimate and would seem to have been borne out by a serious campaign of Islamist terror --or what Qutb might have called "physical power and jihad" against "the organizations and authorities" of "jahili" Egypt--in the 1980s and 1990s. Victims included the president of Egypt (Anwar Sadat), head of the counter-terrorism police (Major General Raouf Khayrat), a parliamentary speaker (Rifaat el-Mahgoub), dozens of European tourists and Egyptian bystanders, and over 100 Egyptian police. [3] Other factors, (such as economic dislocation/stagnation and rage over President Sadat's policy of reconciliation with Israel) played a part in instigating the violence, ^[7] but Qutb's takfir against jahili society, and his passionate belief that Jahiliyya government was irredeemably evil and must be destroyed [4] played a key role.^[8]

Traditionalist criticism

While Ma'alim fi-l-Tariq (Milestones) was Qutb's manifesto, other elements of Qutbism are found in his works Al-'adala al-Ijtima'iyya fi-l-Islam (Social Justice in Islam), and his Quranic commentary Fi zilal al-Qur'an (In the shade of the Qur'an). Ideas in (or alleged to be in) those works also have come under attack from traditionalist/conservative/Wahhabi Muslims. They include Maalim fi-l-Tariq or Milestones (Arabic: معالم في الطريق), first published in 1964, is a book by Egyptian Islamist author Sayyid Qutb in which he lays out a plan and makes a call to action to re-create the Muslim world on strictly Quranic grounds, casting off what Qutb calls... In the Shade of the Quran (Arabic: ) is a highly influential commentary on Islams holy book, the Quran, written by the Egyptian Islamic philosopher and leader, Sayyid Qutb (d. ...

• Qutb's assertion that slavery is now illegal under Islam, as its lawfulness was only temporary, existing only "until the world devised a new code of practice, other than enslavement." Traditionalist critics maintain `Islaam has affirmed slavery ... And it will continue so long as Jihaad in the path of Allaah exists."` (Shaikh Salih al-Fawzaan) ^[9][10]
• Proposals to redistribute income and property to the needy. Opponents claim they are "socialist" and innovations of Islam. [5] [6] [7] (Ironically, Qutb strongly disapproved even of "Islamic socialism" seeing it as compromise with jahiliyya, though he was in favor of "social justice".)
• Describing the Prophet Musa (Moses) as having an "excitable nature"--this allegedly being "mockery," and "mockery of the Prophets is apostasy in its own,'" according to Shaikh ‘Abdul-Azeez Ibn Baz. [8]
• Dismissing fiqh or the schools of Islamic law known as madhhab as separate from "Islamic principles and Islamic understanding."[9]
• Desiring to unite the four madhhab schools of Islam into one school--allegedly an innovation.[10]
• Favoring the overthrow of tyrants, when Islam teaches that "when you cannot correct a wrong thing be patient! Allah ... will correct it."[11]

Accusations against Qutbism include some that may be very questionable, such as one alleging that Qutb believed "Christians should be left as Christians--Jews as Jews," since he believed in hurriyatul-i'tiqaad (freedom of belief) [12]^[11] Madhhab (Arabic مذهب pl. ...

To some extent these attacks may represent Qutbism's success or its logical conclusion as much as its failure to persuade some critics. If the heart of Qutbism is cleansing the Islamic world of jahili Western ideas and concepts, then Wahhabi and traditionalist critics may simply be taking this idea one step further, cleansing more thoroughly. Qutb sought Islamically-justified alternatives to European ideas like Marxism and socialism and proposed Islamic means to achieve the ends of social justice and equality, redistribution of private property, political revolution. Traditionalists now attacking him want to replace not just Western means but ends as well. [13]

Despite these attacks on Qutbism, at least commentator believes there is an ambivalence towards him, noting that "his books are found everywhere and mentioned on most neofundamentalist websites", and arguing his "mystical approach" and "pessimistic views on the modern world" have resonated with traditionalistists.^[12]

Science and learning

On the importance of science and learning, the key to the power of his bete noire, western civilization, Qutb was ambivalent. He wrote that

Muslims have drifted away from their religion and their way of life, and have forgotten that Islam appointed them as representatives of God and made them responsible for learning all the sciences and developing various capabilities to fulfill this high position which God has granted them.

... and encouraged Muslims to seek knowledge.

A Muslim can go to a Muslim or to a non-Muslim to learn abstract sciences such as chemistry, physics, biology, astronomy, medicine, industry, agriculture, administration (limited to its technical aspects), technology, military arts and similar sciences and arts; although the fundamental principle is that when the Muslim community comes into existence it should provide experts in all these fields in abundance, as all these sciences and arts are a sufficient obligation (Fard al-Kifayah) on Muslims (that is to say, there ought to be a sufficient number of people who specialize in these various sciences and arts to satisfy the needs of the community). (Qutb, Milestones p.109)

On the other hand, Qutb believed some learning was forbidden to Muslims and should not be studied, including:

principles of economics and political affairs and interpretation of historical processes ... origin of the universe, the origin of the life of man ... philosophy, comparative religion ... sociology (excluding statistics and observations) ... Darwinist biology ([which] goes beyond the scope of its observations, without any rhyme or reason and only for the sake of expressing an opinion ...). (Qutb, Milestones p.108-110)

and that the era of scientific discovery (that non-Muslim Westerners were so famous for) was now over:

The period of resurgence of science has also come to an end. This period, which began with the Renaissance in the sixteenth century after Christ and reached its zenith in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, does not possess a reviving spirit. [Qutb, Milestones p.8]

However important scientific discovery was or is, an important tool to achieve it (and to do everything else) is to follow Sharia law under which Sharia (Arabic: transliteration: ) is the body of Islamic law. ...

blessings fall on all mankind, [and] leads in an easy manner to the knowledge of the secrets of nature, its hidden forces and the treasures concealed in the expanses of the universe. [Qutb, Milestones p.90]

Qutbism and non-Muslims

Other elements of Qutbism deal with non-Muslims, particularly Westerners, and have drawn attention and controversy from their subjects, particularly following 9/11. Though their terminology, issues and arguments are different from those of the Islamic traditionalists, Westerners also have criticism to make. The date that commonly refers to the attacks on United States citizens on September 11, 2001 (see the September 11, 2001 Attacks). ...

Islamic law and freedom

Qutbism postulates that sharia-based society will have an almost supernatural perfection, providing justice, prosperity, peace and harmony both individually and societally. [14] Its wonders are such that the use of offensive jihad to spread of sharia-Islam throughout the non-Muslim world will not be aggression but "a movement ... to introduce true freedom to mankind." It frees humanity from servitude to man because its divine nature requires no human authorities to judge or enforce its law. [15].

Vigilance against conspiracies

Qutbism emphasizes the evil designs of Westerners and Jews against Islam, and the importance of Muslims not trusting or imitating them.

The West

Western Imperialism, for example, is not as (leftist) Westerners would have us believe, economic exploitation of weak peoples by the strong and greedy, nor were the medieval Crusades merely an attempt by Christians to reconquer the formerly Christian-ruled, Christian holy land. Both were different expressions of the West's "pronounced ... enmity" towards Islam, including plans to "demolish the structure of Muslim society." ^[13] Imperialism is "a mask for the crusading spirit." ^[14] Examples of Western malevolence Qutb personally experienced and related to his readers include an attempt by a "drunken, semi-naked ... American agent" to seduce him on his voyage to America, and the celebration of American hospital employees upon hearing of the assassination of Egyptian Ikhwan Supreme Guide Hasan al-Banna. For the computer game, see Imperialism (computer game). ... The Siege of Antioch, from a medieval miniature painting, during the First Crusade. ...

Qutb's Western critics have questioned whether Qutb was likely to arouse interest of American intelligence agents (as he was not a member of the Egyptian government or any political organization at that time), or whether many Americans, let alone hospital employees, knew who Hasan al-Banna or the Muslim Brotherhood were in 1948. [16]

Jews

The other supposed anti-Islamic conspirator, according to Qutb's paranoid Judeophobic argument, is "World Jewry," which he believes is engaged in tricks to eliminate "faith and religion", and trying to divert "the wealth of mankind" into "Jewish financial institutions" by charging interest on loans [17] Antisemitism (alternatively spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is discrimination, hostility or prejudice directed at Jews[1] as a religious, racial, or ethnic group. ...

Jewish designs are so pernicious, according to Qutb's Judeophobic logic, that that `anyone who leads this [Islamic] community away from its religion and its Quran can only be Jewish agent,` causing one critic to point out that apparently means that "any source of division, anyone who undermines the relationship between Muslims and their faith is by definition a Jew"! ^[15] Antisemitism (alternatively spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is discrimination, hostility or prejudice directed at Jews[1] as a religious, racial, or ethnic group. ...

Western corruption

Qutbism emphasizes the importance of Islamic superiority over the West. One example of "the filth" and "rubbish heap of the West." (Qutb, Milestones, p.139) was the "animal-like" "mixing of the sexes." Qutb quotes a young American woman as informing him

The issue of sexual relations is purely a biological matter. You ... complicate this matter by imposing the ethical element on it. The horse and mare, the bull and the cow ... do not think about this ethical matter ... and, therefore live a comfortable, simple, and easy life. ^[16]

Critics complain that this opinion was wildly unrepresentative and the incident highly improbable. Even at the height of the sexual revolution in America 30 years later, most Americans would disagree with his statement, but at the time of his visit to America, sex out of wedlock, let alone "animal-like" promiscuity, was rare, with the overwhelming number of Americans married as virgins or only had premarital sex with their future spouse. [18]^[17]

Muslim Brotherhood

Controversy over Qutbism is in part an expression of the disagreement of two of the main tendencies of the Islamic revival: the more traditional salafi/wahhabi Muslims, and the more politically aware and active Muslim groups associated with the Muslim Brotherhood,^[18] the group Qutb was a member of for about the last decade and a half of his life. This article is on the beliefs of the followers of the Salaf. ... Wahhabism (sometimes spelled Wahabbism or Wahabism) is a movement of Islam named after Muhammad ibn Abd al Wahhab (1703–1792). ... The Muslim Brothers (Arabic: الإخوان المسلمون al-ikhwān al-muslimÅ«n, full title The Society of the Muslim Brothers, often simply الإخوان al-ikhwān, the Brotherhood or MB) is a world-wide Sunni Islamist movement and the worlds largest, most influential Islamist group[1]. The MB is the largest political...

Although Sayyid Qutb was never head (or "Supreme Guide") of the Muslim Brotherhood,^[19] he was the Brotherhood's "leading intellectual," ^[20] editor of its weekly periodical, and a member of the highest branch in the Brotherhood, the Working Committee and of the Guidance Council.^[21] The Muslim Brothers (Arabic: الإخوان المسلمون al-ikhwān al-muslimūn, full title The Society of the Muslim Brothers, often simply الإخوان al-ikhwān, the Brotherhood or MB) is a world-wide Sunni Islamist movement and the worlds largest, most influential Islamist group[1]. The MB is the largest political...

Main article: Sayyid Qutb

After the publication of Ma'alim fi-l-Tariq, (Milestones), opinion in the Brotherhood split over his ideas, though many in Egypt (including radicals outside the Brotherhood) and most Brethren in other countries are said to have shared his analysis "to one degree or another" ^[22] Sayyid Qutb Sayyid Qutb (IPA pronunciation: ) (Arabic: ‎; 9 October 1906[1] – 29 August 1966) was an Egyptian intellectual author, and Islamist associated with the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. ... Maalim fi-l-Tariq or Milestones (Arabic: معالم في الطريق), first published in 1964, is a book by Egyptian Islamist author Sayyid Qutb in which he lays out a plan and makes a call to action to re-create the Muslim world on strictly Quranic grounds, casting off what Qutb calls...

References

Bibliography

• Kepel, Gilles (1985). The Prophet and Pharaoh: Muslim Extremism in Egypt. Al Saqi. ISBN 0-86356-118-7. 
• Kepel, Gilles (2002). Jihad, The Trail of Political Islam. Belknap Press of Harvard University. ISBN 0-674-00877-4. 
• Moussalli, Ahmad S. (1992). Radical Islamic Fundamentalism: the Ideological and Political Discourse of Sayyid Qutb. American University of Beirut. 
• Qutb, Sayyid (2003). Milestones. Kazi Publications. ISBN 1-56744-494-6. 
• Roy, Olivier (2004). Globalized Islam : the Search for a New Ummah. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-13498-3. 
• Sivan, Emmanuel (1985). Radical Islam : Medieval Theology and Modern Politics. Yale University Press. 

External links

• Stanley, Trevor Sayyid Qutb, The Pole Star of Egyptian Salafism.
• El-Kadi, Ahmed Great Muslims of the 20th Century ... Sayyid Qutb.
• Swenson, Elmer Sayyid Qutb's Milestones.
• Sayyid Qutb and his works.
• Who was Sayyid Qutb?
• Reformer Qutb Thinks Himself Superior to Madhhab Imams.
• Reformer Qutb Invites People to Stand Up and Shout Against the Dictators.
• Mawdudi, Qutb and the Prophets of Allah.

See also

• Note on Salafi vs. Wahabi vs. Qutubi
• Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, winner of the King Faisal Award.

Islamist is sometimes also used for a scholar who studies Islam and Muslim societies. ... Islamic fundamentalism is a term used to describe religious ideologies seen as advocating literalistic interpretations of the texts of Islam and of Sharia law. ... Pan-Islam is a religious movement calling for the Muslims of the world to unite. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wahhabism (sometimes spelled Wahabbism or Wahabism) is a movement of Islam named after Muhammad ibn Abd al Wahhab (1703–1792). ... This article is on an Islamic movement. ... The Deobandi (Urdu: دیو بندی devbandÄ«) is an Islamic revivalist movement which started in South Asia and has more recently spread to other countries, such as Afghanistan, South Africa and the United Kingdom. ... Al-Qaedaism (or Al-Qaedism) refers to the set of religious and political doctrines, and of terrorist objectives and methods, inspired by Al-Quaeda. ... Talibanization is a neologism coined after the rise of the Afghani Taliban describing the process by which a strict and repressive Islamist regime comes to power within which Islamist terrorism and religious persecution of non-Muslims is tolerated or encouraged, in reference to how the Taliban took control of Afghanistan... The Muslim Brothers (Arabic: الإخوان المسلمون al-ikhwān al-muslimÅ«n, full title The Society of the Muslim Brothers, often simply الإخوان al-ikhwān, the Brotherhood or MB) is a world-wide Sunni Islamist movement and the worlds largest, most influential Islamist group[1]. The MB is the largest political... Jamaat-e-Islami (Arabic: جماعتِ اسلامی, Islamic Assembly Jamaat, JI) is an Islamic political movement founded in Lahore by Syed Abul Ala Maududi on 26 August 1941. ... Hizb ut-Tahrir (Arabic: حزب التحرير; English: Party of Liberation) is an international, Sunni, pan-Islamist vanguard[2] political party whose goal is to unite all Muslim countries in a unitary Islamic state or caliphate, ruled by Islamic law and headed by an elected head of state (caliph). ... Al-Gamaa al-Islamiyya (Arabic: ألجماعه الاسلاميه ) (Arabic for the Islamic Group; also transliterated Gamaat Islamiya, Jamaat al Islamiya, al-Jamāah al-Islāmiyah etc. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The emblem of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad shows a map of the land they claim as Palestine (roughly, present-day Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip) superimposed on the images of the Dome of the Rock, two fists and two rifles. ... The National Islamic Front is the political organization that controls Sudan. ... For other uses, see Hezbollah (disambiguation). ... The Islamic Salvation Front (Arabic: الجبهة الإسلامية للإنقاذ, al-Jabhah al-Islāmiyah lil-Inqādh) (French: Front Islamique du Salut) is an outlawed Islamist political party in Algeria. ... Hamas (Arabic: ; acronym: Arabic: , or Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya or Islamic Resistance Movement,[1]) is a Palestinian Sunni Islamist organization. ... The Taliban (Pashto: , also anglicized as Taleban) are an extremist fundamentalist Sunni Muslim and ethnic Pashtun movement that ruled most of Afghanistan from 1995 until 2001, when their leaders were removed from power by a cooperative military effort between the United States and the Northern Alliance. ... The Abu Sayyaf Group (Arabic: جماعة أبو سياف; ; ASG), also known as al-Harakat al-Islamiyya is one of several militant Islamist separatist groups based in and around the southern islands of the Philippines, in Bangsamoro (Jolo, Basilan, and Mindanao) where for almost 30 years various groups have been engaged in an insurgency... Al-Qaeda (Arabic: القاعدة, the foundation or the base) is the name given to a worldwide network of militant Islamist organizations under the leadership of Osama bin Laden. ... The Armed Islamic Group (GIA, from French Groupe Islamique Armé; Arabic al-Jamaah al-Islamiyah al-Musallaha) is a militant Islamist group with the declared aim of overthrowing the Algerian government and replacing it with an Islamic state. ... Motto: none Anthem: none Capital formerly Mogadishu and Kismayu Largest city n/a Official languages Somali and Arabic Government Sharia Krytocracy  - Executive Chairman Sharif Sheikh Ahmed  - Shura Chairman Hassan Dahir Aweys Civil War Faction Has not declared autonomy or independence   - Established June 6th 2006 in Mogadishu  Area  - Total not finalized... Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) is a takfeeri militant group which is playing an active role in the Iraqi insurgency. ... Members parade in Sadr City The Mahdi Army, also known as the Mahdi Militia, Mehdi Army or Jaish al Mahdi (Arabic جيش المهدي) , is a militia force created by the Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in June of 2003. ... Fatah al-Islam, (Arabic: فتح الإسلام, English: Conquest of Islam) is a Sunni Arab Islamist group that first formed in November 2006. ... Taqi al-Din Ahmad Ibn Taymiyyah (Arabic: )(January 22, 1263 - 1328), was a Sunni Islamic scholar born in Harran, located in what is now Turkey, close to the Syrian border. ... Jamāl al-DÄ«n al-AfghānÄ«, also known as Sayyid JamāluddÄ«n AsadābādÄ« and Sayyid Muhammad Ibn Safdar al-Husayn (1838[1]-1897), was one of the founders of Islamic modernism,[2] and a political activist and Islamic nationalist in Afghanistan, Iran (then Persia), Egypt... It has been suggested that Introduction of Islam (book) be merged into this article or section. ... Hassan al Banna (October 14, 1906 - February 12, 1949) was an Egyptian Islamist best known for founding the Muslim Brotherhood or Ikhwan ul Muslimeen. ... Sayyid Qutb Sayyid Qutb (IPA pronunciation: ) (Arabic: ‎; 9 October 1906[1] – 29 August 1966) was an Egyptian intellectual author, and Islamist associated with the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. ... Omar Abdel-Rahman Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman (Arabic: عمر عبد الرحمن) (born May 3, 1938) is a blind Egyptian Muslim cleric who is currently serving a life sentence at the Federal Administrative Maximum Penitentiary hospital in Florence, Colorado, United States. ... Ayatollah Khomeini founded the first modern Islamic republic Ayatollah Seyyed Ruhollah Khomeini (آیت‌الله روح‌الله خمینی in Persian) (May 17, 1900 – June 3, 1989) was an Iranian Shia cleric and the political... Abdullah Yusuf Azzam (1941–1989) (Arabic عبدالله عزام) also known as Shaikh Azzam was a central figure in the global development of the militant Islamist movement. ... Group photo of Ayman Al Zawahiri, Usama Bin Laden & Abu Hafs Prosecution Trial Exhibit from the trial of Zacarias Moussaoui Sheikh Dr. Ayman Muhammad Rabaie al-Zawahiri (Arabic: ‎) (born June 19, 1951) is a prominent member of the al-Qaeda group, a physician, author, poet, and formerly the head of... This article or section seems to contain too many quotations for an encyclopedia entry. ... Osama bin Muhammad bin Awad bin Laden (Arabic: ‎; born March 10, 1957[1]), most often mentioned as Osama bin Laden or Usama bin Laden, is a Saudi Arabian militant Islamist and is widely believed to be one of the founders of the organization called al-Qaeda. ... Dr. Hassan Abd Allah al-Turabi (الدكتور حسن عبد الله الترابي in Arabic), commonly called Hassan al-Turabi (sometimes transliterated Hassan al-Tourabi) (حسن الترابي), is a religiopolitical leader in Sudan, who may have been instrumental in institutionalizing Islamic Sharia law in the northern part of the country. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ... Islamofascism is a controversial neologism suggesting an association of the ideological or operational characteristics of certain modern Islamist movements with European fascist movements of the early 20th century, neofascist movements, or totalitarianism. ... For other uses, see Jihad (disambiguation). ... Sharia (Arabic: transliteration: ) is the body of Islamic law. ... A caliphate (from the Arabic خلافة or khilāfah), is the Islamic form of government representing the political unity and leadership of the Muslim world. ... ‹ The template below has been proposed for deletion. ... Jahiliyyah is an Islamic concept referring to the spiritual condition of pre-Islamic Arabian society. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Mujahideen (مجاهدين; also transliterated as mujāhidīn, mujahedeen, mujahedin, mujahidin, mujaheddin, etc. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... This article is about an Islamic term. ... The takfiri organization Jamaat al-Tawhid wal Jihad members with Jack Hensley and with the banner in the background. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Muhammad al-Mahdi. ... For other uses, see Vilayat-e Faqih. ... - - - Islam as a political movement has a diverse character that has at different times incorporated elements of many other political movements, while simultaneously adapting the religious views of Islamic fundamentalism, particularly the view of Islam as a political religion. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Islamic Studies is the academic discipline which focuses on Islamic issues. ... Maalim fi al-Tariq (Arabic: معالم في الطريق) or Milestones, first published in 1964, is a book by Egyptian Islamist author Sayyid Qutb in which he lays out a plan and makes a call to action to re-create the Muslim world on strictly Quranic grounds, casting off what Qutb calls... The Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam is a book by Islamic scholar Yusuf al-Qaradawi [1]. Publishers forword: List of Sunni books Prose contains specific citations in source text which may be viewed in edit mode. ... This article is on the beliefs of the followers of the Salaf. ... It has been suggested that Introduction of Islam (book) be merged into this article or section. ...

Further reading

• Berman, Paul. Terror and Liberalism. W. W. Norton & Company, April 2003.

Berman devotes several chapters of this work to discussing Qutb as the foundation of a unique strain of Islamist thought.