Publisher : Presses universitaires de Montréal - Montreal
French
Sayyid Qutb. Architect of Radical Islamism
The thought of Sayyid Qutb (1906–1966) has profoundly shaped a wide range of religio-political movements, from the Muslim Brotherhood to Salafi-jihadists, radicalizing political Islam and inspiring groups such as Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. Yet Qutb’s thought transcends mere calls to violence; it skillfully interweaves a critique of the West, a search for identity, and an aspiration to an absolute, legitimate Islamic order.
How did Qutb, a man passionate about poetry and literature, embrace an ideology demanding society’s total transformation along Islamist lines? What philosophical, historical, and cultural forces drove his radicalization? This book addresses these questions, departing from prevailing psychological or ideological interpretations and grounding its analysis in meticulous translations of his works. The author examines the very architecture of the Egyptian writer’s discourse, the internal coherence of his thought, and the gradual deepening of its fundamental principles—offering a work that will engage readers interested in history, politics, or philosophy, as well as religious and Islamic studies.
La pensée de Sayyid Qutb (1906-1966) a marqué de nombreuses organisations politico-religieuses, des Frères musulmans aux salafistes djihadistes, et a contribué à radicaliser l’islam politique en inspirant des groupes comme Al-Qaïda et l’État islamique. Mais elle ne se limite toutefois pas à un simple appel à la violence et mêle finement critique de l’Occident, quête identitaire et aspiration à un ordre islamique absolu et légitime.
Comment Qutb, un homme passionné de poésie et de littérature, a-t-il pu endosser une idéologie appelant à la refonte totale de la société selon une vision islamiste? Quelles sont les racines philosophiques, historiques et culturelles de sa radicalisation? Cet ouvrage tente de répondre à ces questions en s’éloignant des interprétations psychologiques ou idéologiques dominantes habituelles et s’appuie sur un travail de traduction rigoureux de l’oeuvre. L’autrice prend en compte la structure même du discours de l’écrivain égyptien, la cohérence interne de sa pensée et l’approfondissement progressif de principes fondamentaux dans un ouvrage qui saura répondre à la curiosité de tout lecteur qui s’intéresse à l’histoire, à la politique ou à la philosophie ainsi qu’aux sciences des religions ou à l’islamologie.
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