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Strategies & Market Trends : The Epic American Credit and Bond Bubble Laboratory -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Haim R. Branisteanu who wrote (79097)	2/17/2007 5:15:59 PM
From: Haim R. Branisteanu	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 110194

OT - The symbolic nature of Qutb’s death caused an explosion of interest in his work. Students, aware of the government’s condemnation of Qutb, were known to have secretly copied Milestones by hand.11 At the time, Qutb’s ideas were assimilated into the decisions of many Muslim leaders in Syria, Lebanon, Tunisia, and the Sudan who were sympathetic to the Muslim Brotherhood.12 Although Qutb was a Sunni Muslim, his message of a politicized Islam was influential to Ayatollah Khomeini and the Shiite revolution in Iran. Qutb’s political message was so potent 30 years ago in part because he voiced a deep philosophical criticism of the two superpowers at that time, the United States of America and the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union has since dissolved, yet Qutb’s critique of America and Europe, which he collectively refers to as the "West," remains extremely powerful today. Consequently, Sayyid Qutb remains a significant and influential thinker in the Muslim world to this day. Professor Muhammad Qutb, Sayyid’s brother, was a teacher and mentor to the young Osama Bin Laden, who has grown to lead the radical Islamic terrorist movement. Today’s radical Islamic groups, such as al-Qaeda and Islamic Jihad, have borrowed much from the thought of Qutb in justifying their vision for the world and the violence they promote. In his introductory chapter to Milestones, Qutb wrote with urgency and warned that "Mankind today is on the brink of a precipice…because humanity is devoid of those vital values for its healthy development and real progress."14 This failure he attributed to the prevalent theories of both the East and West which the Muslim people had allowed to go unchallenged. Similarly, many of today’s Muslims resent the power of the West and view it not only as a physical enemy, but also as a philosophical and ideological one. They feel that the West, the United States in particular, still controls their civilization; as a result, they yearn for what they view as liberation from the West and its values. These desires are undeniable and manifest throughout the Middle East. The recent terrorist attacks in the United States have called attention to al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups which seek to destroy the West by any means necessary. The writings of Sayyid Qutb have provided Muslim leaders like Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri with a foundation for the philosophical defense of a staunch and intense dislike of the West and its ultimate consequence, terrorism. The United States and other European powers are presently capable of militarily defeating belligerent Islamic regimes and groups. However, unless the West has a deeper understanding of the ideas which bring about support for terrorist activity, those ideas will continue to resonate within the hearts of certain Muslims and continue to perpetuate violence. Unless the West can respond to the philosophical arguments of men like Sayyid Qutb, its victory over groups like al-Qaeda can never be total and final. Therefore, this thesis is written to be a fair and concise presentation of the thought of Sayyid Qutb as it is relevant to today’s political world. It is up to the people of the West and their leaders to fire back the next philosophical shot. ashbrook.org