Hi class,
Sorry it took me a while to finally get around to this, just been working hard on a couple of other, more urgent things. But I didn’t want to let it hanging, because it seemed to me that a lot of you were very specifically interested in something Mr. Krieger & Mr. Roesler mentioned in their presentation, and that was the issue of how radical Islamist movements justify terrorist attacks on fellow Muslims, especially those in power. As I mentioned then, the key concept that is deployed in justifying this is the doctrine of takfir – which literally means the action of declaring something or someone to be an unbeliever (kafir). You can have an initial look on the Wikipedia entry for takfir, but I am not sure if the explanation is all that clear. As you can see, takfir is often connected with the idea of apostasy (that is, abandoning/rejecting one’s own faith faith). In Islam, apostasy is regarded as a major issue, and the punishment can be death.
The two things that seem clear, though, are (i) that takfir – like any other religious or political idea we have discussed in our class – is open for debate and interpretation, with some people/groups taking a moderate view, and other taking a much more extreme view, and (ii) that those that take an extreme view of it believe that (ii.a) they have the right/authority/legitimacy to declare something/someone takfir themselves and (ii.b) that someone then becomes an acceptable target for violence. This has given rise to a takfiri movement within radical Islamists, which is of great importance in understanding contemporary Islamists terrorism.
This current within political Islam is relatively recent, and most authors seem to pinpoint its doctrinary origin to Egypt’s political turmoils in the late 1960’s and 1970’s. As Abdel Aziz Ramadan summarizes,
After 1967, the ideas of hakimiyya and takfir became more powerfully attractive to extremist youth groups emerging from the Muslim Brotherhood and to other more radical and violent religious groups. Some of them formed secret organizations aimed at overthrowing the state and establishing an Islamic government. The idea of takfir varied from one Islamic organization to another; interpretation ranged from branding the ruler alone with atheism, to so branding the whole society with him. (Ramadan 1991: 157)
From left to right: Sayyid Qutb in an Egyptian jail; Shukri Mustapha (deceased leader of the Takfir al-Hijra movement); and Salih Siriyya.
Some of the earliest organizations espousing this doctrine, and at times using it to legitimize the use of political violence against other Muslims, were the Military Technical College Organization, (under the leadership of Salih Abd Allah Siriyya) the Takfir w’al-Hijra organization (under Shukri Mustapha), and the Jamaat al-Jihad (under Muhammad Faraj). There is fair bit of literature out there dealing with this development, and it all seems to agree on some of the central points: (i) the origins in radical islamist politics in Egypt following Israel’s victory in the 1967 war, (ii) the direct connection between those early movements/leader and some of the top people in the loose al-Qaida network today, (iii) and their common links – ideologically but also personally – to Sayid Qutb, one of the most important ideologues in radical political Islam.
Below I offer some annotated sources that you may want to consult on both contemporary (post-1967) takfirism, and on Sayid Qutb.
1. Takfirism
Syed Saleem Shahazad, a great reporter with the Asia Times Online who specializes in Islamist and jihadi movements in Pakistan and Afghanistan, has this short piece in Le Monde Diplomatique summarizing some of the key aspects of takfirism. It’s probably the best place to get started – basic but very informative.
Elie Podeh has a chapter on ‘Egypt’s struggle against militant Islamic groups’ which discusses some of the similarities and differences between salafist, jihadi and takfiri currents within Islamist groups in that country. You can find it in in this book, on pp. 45-47. You can think of these three borad currents as concentric circles: the largest, most inclusive circle if that of Salafism; within that there is a smaller circle of Jihadists who believe in the use of violent means to advance their salafist ideals; and finally within that circle there is a smaller circle of takfiris, who justify the use of violence even against fellow Muslims (often against the large majority of the population around them, not only governments).
For a short take on this, see this piece by Bruce Livesey for the American PBS TV station, based on research done by Gilles Kepel.
Steve Brooke has a piece which traces the genealogy of takfir doctrine somewhat differently, from 13th century philospher and theologian Ibn Taymiyya down to Muhammad al-Maqdisi, the Palestinian-Jordanian (former) mentor of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi – the (now very dead) legendary commander of “al-Qaida in Iraq”.
2. On Qutb
In the years since the 9/11 attacks, there has been an enormous ressurgence of interest in the life and writings of Sayyid Qutb – to the point that it has become almost a cottage industry in certain academic and journalistic circles. While I am always suspicious of such fads and what they bring along (for instance, putting too much emphasis on Qutb as the key ideologue of 20th century salafism/jihadism, and forgetting equally crucial figures such as Shukri Mustapha or Muhammad Faraj), I certainly think that you should make yourselves familiar with Mr. Qutb’s life. As we have discussed in class, understanding the ideas/frames of mind which influence individuals and groups in their terrorist activities is an important part of studying terrorism.
You can have a look at Wikipedia’s entry on Qutb, but bear in mind that he was/is an immensely controversial figure – so apply the critical thought I have sought to encourage in you to all sources you consult. Also, remember the dangers of knowing an author only through secondary sources while ignoring his own words – if you were a writer, do you think people would know you better by reading your own words, or books written after you 50 years after your death? The right answer is, of course BOTH, and ignoring either is not good critical thinking. Of his books, by far the most widely read and influential is Milestones (also sometimes translated as “signposts [along the road]“), but there are many others such as In the Shadow of the Quran, or Islam and Social Justice. If you wish to have a broad overview of his thought, then the best place to start is The Sayyid Qutb Reader, edited by Albert Bergesen. (Also, the introductory chapter by Bergesen to the life and thought of Sayyid is definitely worth a look!) The Uni Bibliothek does not have a copy, but you can search it with Inter-Library Lending, I think there is a copy at either Goettingen or Hannover, certainly one in Hamburg.
Of the mass of books, articles, conference papers and journalism pieces that have come out on Qutb, his thought and influence in recent years, I would recommed the following, if you have the time:
Lawrence Wight’s best-selling The Looming Tower starts with a very accessible, and well-researched, political biography of Sayyid Qutb. The book may have been translated into German.
Another very good political biography of Qutb is by Adnan Musallam, in his 2005 book From Secularim to Jihad: Sayyid Qutb and the foundations of radical Islamism. The book is well researched, and not only does it link Sayyid Qutb’s evolution as a political thinker to the events in his personal life, but also to the wider social and political developments in Egypt. Well worth a look!
A short overview of utb’s thought which links it well with the contemporary Islamist revival is Charles Tripp’s ‘Sayyid Qutb: the political vision’ in Ali Rahnema’s (2005, 2nd ed.) edited volume Pioneers of Islamic revival. The whole book is an interesting read, situating Qutb among a number of other important intellectual figures that have contributed to Islamist views on politics.
Finally, Sayed Khatab – yes, I know, very similar name! – has two good books out on Qutb and his political thoght, although they may be a bit more difficult/dense. They are The Political thought of Sayyid Qutb – the theory of jahiliyyah (2006) and The Power of Sovereignty – the political and ideological philosophy of Sayyid Qutb (2006). Unfortunately, neither is available for closer inspection on Google Books… I have both books, however, as well as most of the books mentioned in this post, so if you are intrested just shoot me an email.
Happy readings, and I hope you are now much clearer on takfir, and how it has been used to justify Islamist political violence.
