Sayyid Qutb is an Egyptian educational civil servant, as well literary critic, and essayist. He turned to Islam and started studying the Qur’an at the age of about forty, refusing secularism. First of all, Qutb’s views were influenced by a trip to the United States, which was intended to reduce the degree of radicalism the essayist was showing in his works. However, he was shocked by the sexual freedom, racism, and materialistic values he observed in the West. Additionally, upon his return to Egypt, Qutb got to the Muslim Brotherhood, and later, he was put in prison with them. During his imprisonment, he witnessed torture and murder, which may also have shaped his religious views. In particular, Qutb came to the conclusion that only a government that is bound by the doctrines of Islam is capable of not committing such atrocities.
The main theological innovation for which Qutb is known is the development of a political theory based on sharia law. Qutb suggested that the Qur’an be viewed as a set of direct rules both for political and social life. In particular, he believed that the principles of Islam can be the only source of governance, as well as prescribe the rules of life. Notably, Qutb considered the expansion of the Islamic order through preaching and Jihad as a necessity. He believed that the ultimate goal was the elimination of everything non-Muslim, as well as the restoration of pure Islam. For Qutb, the principles of Islam have become the only aspect capable of transforming society.
The Egyptian government of that period was pro-Western, which made Qutb’s perception contradictory to the political agenda. Closeness with the Muslim Brotherhood has allowed Qutb to develop the concept of a coup against what he sees as the country’s non-Islamic government. Gamal Abdel Nasser first used members of the Muslim Brotherhood and Qutb to overthrow the monarchist government, but later it turned out that he had no intention of establishing an Islamic government in the country. Realizing the true plans of Nasser Qutb and the members of the Brotherhood plotted against him but were imprisoned. A few years later, the ideologue of Salafi-Jihadism was released from prison but was later sentenced to execution by hanging for plotting against the President and Egyptian officials.