Simon Moncke
Pronouns: He/him/his
Research Mentor(s): Murad Idris
Co-Presenter:
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Political Science / LSA
Presentation Date: April 20
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: Session 3 – 1:40pm – 2:30 pm
Room: League Ballroom
Authors: Simon Moncke, Murad Idris
Presenter: 76
Abstract
Sayyid Qutb, deemed an originator of Islamism by Western scholars, to this point has been set in a strict discursive confinement. Most studies of Qutb have relied upon his writings which disapprove of Western culture. These readings enable greater Western discourse on Islamism. This study analyzes the positioning of Qutb by academics and reconceptualizes his thought by analyzing his “middle period”. The study consists of analyzing the perspectives of Western academics on Sayyid Qutb. This involves the analysis of all Western syllabi which have assigned Qutb and the works centered in these courses; the recreation and analysis of the bibliographies in major academic works on Qutb; and the analysis of Qutb’s use by these academics concerning Islamism. Tracking these authors’ perspectives on Qutb has made evident their focus on his late “radical Islamist” period. Studies center Qutb’s anti-Westernism and writings which contain illiberal passages. This focus conspicuously neglects Qutb’s “middle period”, which contains his treatment of political economy and Orientalism. The study of Qutb, who exemplifies radical Islamism, is part and parcel of a security studies apparatus that treats Muslims as a problem. At the same time, recovering Qutb’s “radical” thoughts about political economy and orientalist raises broader questions about the ways in which the Islamist intellectual is contained by Western discourse.
Social Sciences
