A Note On Some Recent Western Writing On Islamic Resurgence

Chapter 6 : Europe and the Study of Islamism

It is important at this juncture to stress that a number of well­ researched studies, done mainly in Europe, treat the subject of Islamism in its cultural and theological, and not only political, dimensions. One study is that of Olivie Carre's, Mystique et politique: lector revolutionnaire du Coran par Sayyid Qutb, frere musulmane radical, [^36] which is an indispensable contribution to our understanding of the Qur'anic principles and contents of, what has been termed, the Qutbian discourse (the thought-structure of Sayyid Qutb).

Carre, who bases his study on a thorough analysis of the principal themes of Sayyid Qutb's major exegesis, Fi zilal al-Qur'an, [^37] adopts a comparative method of analysis. He, for instance, keeps referring to the major exegesis by the Syrian Rashid Rida, [^38] Tafsir al-manar, and its impact, in terms of method and terminology, on Qutbian tafsir.

The main difference between Rida's tafsir and Qutb's Zilal is that Rida presented a traditional Qur'anic commentary which was in line with traditional Islamic exegesis, whereas Qutb, who came from a secular background of learning, did not follow in the footsteps of traditional exegesis. This is the case mainly because Qutb was more effective than Rida in relating the Qur'anic reality [al-haqiqah al ­qur'aniyyah] [^39] to the modern exigencies of life.

Qutb's main goal, as Carre shows throughout his study, is to free the Qur'anic text from the obscurantism and scholasticism of the `ulama' who emphasize the doctrinal at the expense of the social, and the ethical at the expense of the political. Qutb's interpretation is based primarily on (1) philological understanding; (2) the primary social and political context of the verses (circumstances of the revelation); (3) and the present meaning that can be derived from the above. As sums, his theoretical reflections gain a new significance; far from restricting himself to philology and past meaning, he is concerned about the relevance of the Qur'anic text to the present.

Carre explains correctly that Qutb's method rests on a number of interdependent principles: theology, philosophy, sociology, politics, and hermeneutics. Experience also plays a significant part in his methodological construct. Therefore, the expressions Qutb relates should be understood as part of a whole stream of consciousness emanating from the historical experience of a religious figure in a highly diversified intellectual context.

Hence Qutb's formula of Qur'anic knowledge is understanding through experience and reflection. We witness the intersection of the personal and the epistemological from his early work, and thus we can not easily escape the methodological problematic as construed by Qutb. He was not objective; neither was he subjective. He was pragmatic and idealistic at the same time. His justification was marred by speculative idealism and social pragmatism.

We are here concerned with the theological, social, cultural, and ideological formulations of Sayyid Qutb as they appear in the Zilal. We believe that these formulations are culmination of his mature intellectual effort that began before his joining the Muslim Brotherhood in 1952. Therefore, Qutb's pre-Zilal ideas bear a direct relevance to what we are trying to study in the Zilal. That is to say, Qutb's oeuvre has to be considered in its totality before any sound judgement on the value of this work could be made.

What we have in mind are two significant goals: (1) to study Qutb's Qur'anic weltanschauung; i.e., the ontology of his thought, and (2) to discuss his basic concepts in relation to the larger issues and problems that have preoccupied modern Arabic/Islamic thought, such as, revival, westernization, tradition, the role of the intelligentsia, sacred and profane theories of knowledge, and the place of religion in general in the modern world.

Carre proceeds in his discussion to argue that, "The author, Sayyid Qutb, does not interest us himself. But some elements of his life are uniquely utilized in order to comprehend certain fragments of discourse that make up the Zi1al." [^40] The Zilal has furnished the theoretical framework of thinking and behaviour for Islamic movements, not only in Egypt, but throughout the Arab World, and in some other Muslim countries as well. In many passages in the Zilal, Qutb owes to the thought of two major Indian Muslim thinkers, Nadwi and Mawdudi.

Carre attempts to lay down the principal themes of Zilal: (1) questions of Qutbian method and discourse; (2) the normative foundations of Islamic society; (3) the political form of ideal Islamic state; (4) questions of peace and war; (5) Jahiliyyah vs. Islam; (6) the People of the Book, especially Jews and Christians; (7) proper Islamic economic system and social structure; (8) family structure and role of women in society. Thus one can see that the themes of the Zilal revolve around doctrinal, philosophical, and social issues and questions.

[^36]. Olivie Carre, Mystique et politique: lectur revolutionnaire du Coran par Sayyid Qutb, frere musulman radical (Paris: Editions du Cherf,1984).

[^37]. Sayyid Qutb, Fi zilal al-Qur'an ('In the Shade of the Qur'an') (Beirut, 1974).

[^38]. Rida was born in what is called today Lebanon. He died in 1937 in Egypt after becoming one of the most influential disciples of Shaykh Muhammad `Abduh (d. 1905). See Albert Hourani's excellent analysis of part of Rida's life: Albert Hourani, Islam in European Thought (New York: Oxford University Press, 1991). A recent important book is: Emad Eldin Shahin, Through Muslim Eyes: M. Rashid Rida and the West (Herndon: The International Institute of Islamic Thought, 1993), especially chapter one.

Notes:

[^39]. On the elaboration of this term, see Martin Lings, What is Sufism? (London, Islamic Texts Society, 1993), and his Symbol and Archetype: A Study of the Meaning of Existence (London: Quinta Essentia,1991).

[^40]. Carre, p.19.