Sayyid Qutb (1906-1966) was the most important radical Islamist ideologue in modern times.

This groundbreaking new study analyses Qutb's thinking from his early years in Cairo to the radical Islamist stance he adopted towards the end of his life.

Occidentalism and Orientalism are mere "duelling essentialisms" and shows that Qutb's views of the Christian European "Other" are much more nuanced. Of particularly importance are Qutb's views on the West in the light of the escalation in violent attacks by militant Islamists targeting Western values.

The book covers, amongst others, the following topics:

The discovery & perceptions of the West in the Modern Age

Qutb's early encounter with modern Western civilisation

The West-East duality, and Qutb's early views on Islam in relation to Christianity and Judaism

Qutb's Islamism as a drastic discontinuity of Islamic cumulative tradition