Sayyid Qutb: An Intellectual Biography (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780815637424)

No Arab historical figure is more demonized than the Egyptian literati-turned-Islamist Sayyid Qutb. A poet and literary critic in his youth, Qutb is known to have abandoned literature in the 1950s in favor of Islamism, becoming its most prominent ideologist to this day. In a sharp departure from this common narrative, Sabaseviciute offers a fresh perspective on Qutb's life that examines his Islamist commitment as a continuation of his literary project. Contrary to the notion of Islam's incompatibility with literature, the book argues that Islamism provided as Qutb with a novel way to pursue his metaphysical quest at a time when the rising anti-colonial movement brought the Romantic models of literature to their demise. Drawing upon unexplored material on Qutb's life--book reviews, criticism, intellectual collaborations, memoirs, and personal interviews with his former acquaintances--Sabaseviciute traces the development of Qutb's thought in line with his shifting networks of friendship and patronage. In a distinct sociological take on Arab intellectual and literary history, this book unveils the unexplored dimensions of Qutb's involvement in Cairo's burgeoning cultural scene.

Author: Giedre Sabaseviciute
ISBN-10: 081563742X
ISBN-13: 9780815637424
Publisher: Syracuse University Press
Language: English
Published: 12/27/2021
Pages: 300
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.31lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.81d

Review Citation(s):
Choice 10/01/2022