“Beneath the Qur’anic veneer of Qutb’s Islamist writings resides a structural resonance with modern-era ideological currents. That is to say, Qutb imbibed and repackaged in Islamic form Jacobin characteristics of the European revolutionary tradition.”
-John Calvert

This quote is taken from the introduction. There are many notes I’ve made prior to it and some that will require mentioning as they relate directly to the substance of this particular quote. Obviously, I find these two sentences especially interesting, not only as they illustrate the “modern-era” structure of Sayyid Qutbs ideology, but also, John Calverts perception of that ideology.

First let’s explore what “Jacobin characteristics of the European revolutionary tradition” is in general and then what its implications are with respect to Sayyid Qutb’s ideology.

Dr. Benedict Anderson is Aaron L. Binenkorp Professor of International Studies Emeritus at Cornell University. The genesis for Imagined Communities were the Indochina armed conflicts during 1978 to 1979. Anderson posits that the modern understanding of nationalism and nation states were developed due to the decline of kingship, scope of religious territories, among other factors. Anderson explains the communities people espouse to be members of are essentially imagined by the fact that one is unable to possibly know everyone in their ‘nation’. In this exploration of nationalism Anderson is less refuting Marxist historiography and Marxist theory than he is reassessing the place nationalism holds within the two as is his opinion that nationalism has been largely ignored by both theories.

Certain topics within the text are especially pertinent to my topic as he explains the sacral languages of major religions around the world where communities without any definable borders insofar as the common language used between members of the community was the sacral language. While this still remains true within the context of the Salafiyya, Sayyid Qutb and the more general global jihad ( the jihadist group al-Shebaab of Somalia is very diverse having called members of the Ummah to make hijjra from all over the world) contradictions occur when a Muslim who refuses to adopt their fiqh is considered a member of the jahiliyya.

Aslan, Reza. No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of
Islam. New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2011.

Aslan has a Master Theological Studies degree from Harvard Divinity School and a Doctorate of the Sociology of Religions from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is a contributor to many newspapers and periodicals. In No god but God Aslan gives a contemporary and somewhat view secularist view of the Islamic narrative including where it should and may go from today’s current circumstances. This text is topical as he examines the global jihadist movements origins, he connects the salafiyya movement with Sayyid Qutb and he gives his opinion on how to mitigate the problem.

Calvert, John. Sayyid Qutb and the Origins of Radical Islam. New York,
Chichester West Sussex:Columbia University Press, 2010.

John Calvert is associate professor of history at Creighton University in Nebraska. In this study of Qutbs life and evolution of Islamic philosophy Calvert is careful to not misjudge Qutb and to dispel currently held misconceptions about his ideology with regards to radical Islam. He manages to bring Sayyid Qutb into the context of a man of his time and circumstances. This text is central and essential to my topic as it contains much of the information necessary to formulate a cohesive study of Global Jihadism. This text gives evidence of how global jihadist movements such as al Qaeda have adopted much of Qutbs ideology into theirs. Calvert espouses that the majority of Qutbs work is not violent and is respected by many members of the non violent traditionalist and salafi movements as well as many Muslims in general.

Hegghammer, Thomas. “Jihadi-Salafis or Revolutionaries? On the Religion and Politics in the study
of Islamism”. Global Salafism: Islam’s New Religious Movement. Ed.
Roel Meijer. New York, Chichester, West Sussex:Columbia University
Press, 2009. Pages 244-266.

Thomas Hegghammer is a Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School and a Senior Research Fellow at the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment. In Hegghammers contribution to this text and overall dialogue of radical Islam, as well as the Salafi Movement and Global Jihad he strives to get to the core of what a Jihadi-Salafi most accurately is given its multi-layered and highly complex nature. In this anthology there are entries regarding the Salafi movement in different locations internationally and their role as either apolitical, political and its subgroup of radical Islamists. Hegghammer argues that it may be more beneficial when trying to analyze violent political behavior to shed the term Salafi and any other religious connotations as Salafis in different political movements often have different political goals. Ultimately, willy-nilly overuse of ambiguous religious terminology corrupts scientific research as its true meaning is lost and usurped by a vague unscientific pre-notion.

Helbawy, Kamal. “The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt: Historical Evolution
and Future Prospects”. Political Islam: Context versus Ideology.
Ed. Khaled Hroub. London: SAQI in association with London Middle
East Institute, 2010. Pages 61-85.

Dr. Kamal El-Helbawy is a graduate of Cairo University. He has been a member of the Muslim Brotherhood since he was twelve years old. Since then El-Helbawy has occupied many senior positions within the group. He stepped down in 1997 and helped create many Muslim Associations and Interfaith outreach groups. In this anthology the various Islamic political movements are discussed and brought to light regarding their history and contemporary significance as well as the various movements taking hold in Western Europe. El-Halbawys contribution discusses the formation the Muslim Brotherhood, it’s foundations, evolution and its current and future trajectory. This text is quite informative as it studies at length Imam al-Banna, the founding member of the Muslim Brotherhood and a very influential figure for Sayyid Qutb. I do find it odd that El-Helbawy does not even mention Qutb in his text at all. The Fleshing out of the Muslim Brotherhood is extremely important as they have in the past and continue to have extensive outreach programs and charities all over the world.

Salahi, Adil. Muhammad: Man and Prophet. Markfield Leicestershire, The
Islamic Foundation, 2010.

Adil Salahi is an Instructor of Islamic Studies at The Markfield Institute of Higher Education, an associate college of the University of Gloucestershire. He also has a column called “Islam in Perspective” in the Saudi based news site Arab News. Salahi has written a glowing biography of the prophet Muhammad. More than an obvious bias as a believer he also is the translation of a thirty volume set of Sayyid Qutbs In the Shade of the Qur’an. In Salahis biography of Muhammad he praises Sayyid Qutb and references his work. This particular biography of the prophet Muhammad is topical insofar as it gives a unique understanding of Qutb and one of his major admirers approach to their tafsir.

Have you ever seen something original that was good, maybe great, then saw a remake and decided to pull the good ‘ol suicide note out of your copy of Purpose Driven Life  and tie the chord to the chandelier after realizing there is no hope mankind. Who gives a damn about global warming when there are Michael Bay movies. This isn’t the battle of generations. I listen to a lot of contemporary new music. Radiohead, Muse, Nuerosis, Interpol, Last of the Shadow Puppets, Libertines, Babyshambles, Mastodon, Melvins, they are all great bands in my opinion. This is a battle about bastardization and taste.

Ultimately I see Paco De Lucia as the father of Flamenco-Jazz Fusion. Every time I hear it I feel like howling  like a slowly dying dog.

This blessed oasis

Solitude is not enough

to alleviate my desperation

Cupped in a united palm

of the three magi

They are the rays reaching out through the campanario

In the shadow of St. Francis de Paula

Toll for my sorrow

Toll for my sorrow

The garden never thirsts

It drinks from the mountains Sacramento

Drink from my sadness

An elixcer for the cottonwoods

To forget spring

Enrique Morente with Lagartija Nick from the album Omega. A wonderful mix of cante jondo with rock. It builds to a chilling climax. The video is very creative and fitting for the lyrics which are from Federico Garcia Lorcas poem Cuidad sin Sueño (The Dreamless City).The poem translated to English is also quite chilling, ideal for a conte jondo with plenty of duende. This song reminds me of the skeletal song Bells for the Poet or Companas por el Poeta (video below) from Morente’s Lorca release. I am unsure of who the female singer is inBells for the Poet, it could be his daughter Estrella Morente (whom I have read sings often with him) or The Bulgarian Choir who sing with him on the song Song of the Soul from the same album Lorca.

I found a great website to help me learn some theory and get me started plucking some songs. The website is www.learnclassicalguitar.com. The instructor supplies PDF files and video showing how the songs are played. He also provides countless instruction via his website as well as a very well written music notation and theory primer sent through email. I started out with Hush Little Baby  and now on lesson #9 which is a simplified Bach.

I have yet to open my beginners flamenco book again but I am very happy with what I have learned thus far.