From Sayyad Qutb to Seyyed Khamenei: The Islamist Challenge of Modernity

April 7th 2017
Abbas Milani is the Hamid & Christina Moghadam Director of Iranian Studies at Stanford University and a Professor (by courtesy) in the Stanford Global Studies Division. He is also one of the founding co-directors of the Iran Democracy Project and a research fellow at the Hoover Institution. His expertise include U.S.-Iran relations as well as Iranian cultural, political, and security issues.
For the last century, modernity has been the most enduring challenge facing Muslim societies of the Middle East. What does Sayyad Qutb, the grand theorist of the Muslim Brotherhood in predominantly Sunni Egypt, share with Sayyad Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the predominantly Shiite Iran, in their challenge to Modernity?

[@jonnymambo2697]

One of the best lectures I have ever heard, in my opinion. So understandable, so thought provoking, so much diversity, so likable.

[@kanaka108]

The question' s part should be very interesting.

[@bomberdomme7308]

Also Said Qutb love of Martin Heidegger exported Heideggerianism to Iran. Martin Heidegger is one of the very rare western Philosophers teached on Iranian Universities. His rejection of modernity and his open admiration of the Nazis and his Death Cult Philosophy directly influenced the Death Cult of Islamism. But Qutb also read and admired other haters of modernity postwar WW II like Ernst Jünger and Alexis Carrel the same right wing Intellectuals who a quoted by today's german right wing Party AFD when they fear monger against all of Islam... They lie anyways... because they don't have a problem with Islamism, like they like to claim as long as it is in countries of the middle east or Persia... they hate only Muslims, Non muslism Arabs in Germany. And its so important to show this same Far right wing Writers Islamist and Nazis, New far right wingers admire all together. The First the thing German right wing Party did after the syrian war was sending delegates to Assad to make a Deal to send refuges back... even people who would have killed by the Syrian Regime... the AFD loves to make Deals with Islamist... Now after the attacks of Hamas... there is no word about supporting non-radical Muslism against Islamism... they claim to be solidaric to Israel only with their arguments of deporting Muslims from Germany... while they still would do deals with Assad this islmist open Isreal hating Dictator ! The truth is radical Islamist ideas and radical right wing ideas profit by each other.

[@thedavid00100]

Judeo Christian lmfaoo
This lecturer lost some points by just stating that nonsense

[@islamicalevism8587]

Both Qutb and Khomeni were Terrorists , The Godfathers of Modern day Sunni terror groups and Usuli shia terror groups.
And The Islamic Golden Age was mastermind by the Ismaili Fatimids of Egypt , North Africa and the Lavant plus the Mu'tazili Abbassids of Baghdad and Persia . Both have nothing to do with the Sunnism of Qutb and Usuli Shiism of Khomeni .
Ismailis view the divine Law in an Esoteric manner , they called it " Batini Ta'wil " and they trash the Literal Meaning of the law
Mu'tazilites View the divine law in a rational manner , they trash everything going against Logic and reason .
Both Ismailis and Mu'tazilis rejects the divine laws as understood by Sunnism and Usuli Shiism .

[@whocares4744]

You have no idea what you are talking about. Mu'tazila thought was very influencial on the Jafari-Shia school, which rules modern day Iran. Its no coincidence that Iran is doing so well in all fields regarding science, technology and innovation, its by far the most successful islamic country regarding that. Also the Jafari Shia-Ulama which governs Iran and other Shia lands such as Iraq and Lebanon is very open towards a lot of diffrent islamic and pre-islamic intellectual thinkers, from the Golden Age and later on. Khomeini himself was deeply influenced and educated in the thought of thinkers like ibn Sina, Suhrawardi, ibn Arabi or even Plato.