Sayyid Qutb

SAYYID QUTB (1906–1966) is widely regarded as the leading proponent of Islamic fundamentalism in the twentieth century. Born in a small village in rural Egypt, Qutb started out as a novelist and a poet before beginning to write critically of the government on both social and religious grounds. He later became a key member of the Muslim Brotherhood, editing their journal and producing fierce polemics against the diminishment of traditional Islamic virtues throughout the Muslim world. In 1954...