Here is an interesting piece from the Foreign Policy Research Institute which, among other things, points out what could be called a utopian element in the thought of some of these radical Islamic groups:
The Khartoum period is critical, because what these violent Salafists basically want to do is to create a Salafi state in a core Arab country. Salafi (from Salaf, “ancient ones” or “predecessors” in Arabic) is an emulation, an imitation of the mythical Muslim community that existed at the time of Mohammed and his companion, which Salafists believe was the only fair and just society that ever existed. A very small subset of Salafis, the disciples of Qutb, believe they cannot create this state peacefully through the ballot-box but have to use violence. The utopia they strive for is similar to most utopias in European thought of the nineteenth to the twentieth centuries, such as the communist classless society.
There is a lot that can be said about all that. Thanks for the link, Fred.
I would write more, but, alas, as I wrote in my previous post, I am still swamped with end-of-semester work. I'm beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel, though.
The Khartoum period is critical, because what these violent Salafists basically want to do is to create a Salafi state in a core Arab country. Salafi (from Salaf, “ancient ones” or “predecessors” in Arabic) is an emulation, an imitation of the mythical Muslim community that existed at the time of Mohammed and his companion, which Salafists believe was the only fair and just society that ever existed. A very small subset of Salafis, the disciples of Qutb, believe they cannot create this state peacefully through the ballot-box but have to use violence. The utopia they strive for is similar to most utopias in European thought of the nineteenth to the twentieth centuries, such as the communist classless society.
There is a lot that can be said about all that. Thanks for the link, Fred.
I would write more, but, alas, as I wrote in my previous post, I am still swamped with end-of-semester work. I'm beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel, though.
