Sayed Qutb

About the Author

Sayed Qutb (1906-1966) was an Egyptian intellectual, poet, and leading figure in the Islamist movement whose writings profoundly influenced modern Islamic thought and activism. Born in a small village in Upper Egypt, Qutb initially pursued a career in education and literature, contributing to Egypt's cultural scene through poetry and literary criticism in the 1930s and 1940s. His exposure to Western society during a stay in the United States in the late 1940s deepened his disillusionment with materialism and secularism, leading him to embrace a more radical interpretation of Islam upon his return. Joining the Muslim Brotherhood in 1952, Qutb's ideas evolved into calls for societal reform and resistance against perceived oppression, culminating in his seminal work Milestones, a manifesto advocating for the establishment of a truly Islamic society free from jahiliyyah, or ignorance. Imprisoned by the Egyptian government in 1954, he continued writing from prison, refining his revolutionary ideology until his execution in 1966, which cemented his status as a martyr for many in the Islamic world.