Exploring the Relation between Violence in Islamic Fundamentalism and the Ideas of Ibn Taymiyya and Sayyid Qutb

Author

PhD, Political Thought, University of Tehran, Tehran,PhD, Political Thought, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran Iran

Abstract

The issue of religious fundamentalism and terrorism is a critical and pressing concern for Islamic countries and, indeed, the entire world today. When exploring the roots of these phenomena, attention must be given to the ideological foundations and the specific interpretations of religion and tradition adopted by fundamentalist Islamic groups. These groups consider their particular interpretation of religion to be the only legitimate and valid one, rejecting any opposing views by labeling them as heresy or polytheism and deeming them unjustifiable. According to the majority view, Ibn Taymiyya and Sayyid Qutb are the intellectual fathers and most influential figures shaping Islamic fundamentalist groups, often referred to as “Salafi,” “terrorist,” or extremist Islamist groups. While the intellectual influence of these two thinkers on Islamic fundamentalism cannot be overlooked, a deeper examination reveals significant differences between their ideas and the militant approaches, as well as certain theoretical aspects, of these groups. The primary aim of this article
is to clarify and understand the relationship between the violent actions of Muslim fundamentalists and the ideas of Ibn Taymiyya and Sayyid Qutb. The violence employed by fundamentalist groups can be categorized into three types: reactive violence, in response to restrictive and oppressive government actions; ideological violence, as a strategic approach of radical ideological Islamic groups; and sectarian violence, characterized by widespread violence targeting civilian targets. The violence of the Islamic fundamentalist groups discussed in this article primarily falls within the second and, in particular, the third categories.The main research question is whether the type and extent of violence employed by these groups can be justified by referencing the ideas of the two aforementioned thinkers. The research hypothesis is that the type and extent of violence used by these groups can hardly be justified through the ideas of these two intellectual figures; rather, significant evidence in their works contradicts such violence. The approach of this article is text-centered, with consideration of the historical and social context, and the method employed is analytical-interpretive, relying on library documents and sources. Key points of divergence between the ideas of the two thinkers studied in this article and the
violent actions of Islamic fundamentalist groups include the avoidance of widespread excommunication (takfir) of Muslims, the prohibition of indiscriminate killing, particularly of the People of the Book, the emphasis on preserving Islamic unity, and the necessity of combating external enemies. Therefore, the article’s final conclusion supports the research hypothesis.

Keywords

References

The Holy Quran.
Ahmadi, H. (2005). Islamic movements and violence in the Middle East. Markaz-I pāzhūhish-hā-yi ʿilmī va muṭāliʿāt-i istrātijīk-i Khāvarmiyāna, 1, 31-56. [In Persian]
Ahmadi, H. (2014). Sayr-i taḥavvul-i junbish-hā-yi Islāmī, az nahḍat-i Salafiya-ye Sayyid Jamāl tā bīdārī-yi Islāmī (1249-1390) (2nd ed.). Tehran: Imam Sadiq University. [In Persian]
Al-Husayni, A. M. (2008). Ikhwān al-Muslimīn, buzurgtarīn junbish-i Islāmī-yi muʿāṣir (S. H. Khosroshahi, Trans.; 3rd ed.). Tehran: Etelaat. [In Persian]
Alikhani, M., & Ghasemi, A. (2022). Mabānī takfīr min manẓūr-i Ibn Taymiyya. Salafī-pajūhī, no. 16, pp. 47–71. [In Persian]
Dekmejian, H. (2011). Junbish-hā-yi Islāmī-yi muʿāṣir dar jahān-i ʿArab (6th ed.;
H. Ahmadi, Trans.). Tehran: Keyhān. [In Persian]
Enayat, H. (2010). Andīsha-yi siyāsī dar Islām-i muʿāṣir (5th ed.; B. Khorramshahi, Trans.). Tehran: Kharazmi. [In Persian]
Enayat, H. (2015). Sayrī dar andīsha-yi siyāsī-yi ʿArab (13th ed.). Tehran: Amir Kabir. [In Persian]
Faraj, M. ʿA. (n.d.). Al-Jihād: al-farīḍat al-ghāʾiba. [In Arabic]
Fozi, Y., & Hashemi, A. (2014). Contemporary Islamist movements: a regional study. Tehran: Research Institute for Imam Khomeini and Islamic Revolution. [In Persian]
Ḥalabī, ʿA. (2013). Tārīkh-i ʿilm-i kalām dar Irān va jahān-i Islām (4th ed.). Tehran: Asātīr. [In Persian]
Ibn Taymiyya, A. (1986). Minhāj al-sunnat al-nabawiyya fī naqḍ kalām al-Shīʿa wa-l-Qadariyya (Vol. 1). Riyadh: Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University. [In Arabic]
Ibn Taymiyya, A. (1989). Al-Siyāsat al-sharʿiyya fī iṣlāḥ al-rāʿī wa-l-raʿiyya (2nd ed.). Beirut: Dār al-Jīl, Dār al-Āfāq al-Jadīda. [In Arabic]
Ibn Taymiyya, A. (1996). Majmūʿ al-fatāwā (Vol. 13, A. Qāsim, Ed.). Medina: Majmaʿ al-Malik Fahd li-Ṭibāʿat al-Muṣḥaf al-Sharīf. [In Arabic]
Khosroshahi, S. H. (2014). Andīsha-yi siyāsī-yi Sayyid Quṭb (Lecture at the conference on examining Sayyid Qutb's thoughts at the University of Tehran). URL= https://B2n.ir/ds4937 [In Persian]
Laoust, H. (1941). Naẓariyāt Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyya fī al-siyāsa wa-l-ijtimāʿ (M. ʿA. ʿAlī, Trans.). Cairo: Dār al-Anṣār. [In Arabic]
Moradi, M. (2003). Taqrīr-i guftimān-i Sayyid Quṭb. ʿUlūm-i siyāsī, no. 21,
pp. 195–216. [In Persian]
Movasaghi, S. A. (2007). Junbish-hā-yi Islāmi-yi muʿāṣir (9th ed.). Tehran: SAMT. [In Persian]
Mushʿabī, ʿA. (1997). Manhaj Ibn Taymiyya fī masʾalat al-takfīr (Vol. 2). Riyadh: Maktabat Aḍwāʾ al-Salaf. [In Arabic]
Qutb, S. (1978). Maʿālim fī al-ṭarīq. Beirut: Dār al-Shurūq. [In Arabic]
Qutb, S. (1993). Social justice in Islam (13th ed.). Beirut: Dār al-Shurūq. [In Arabic]
Qutb, S. (1999). Nishāna-hā-yi rāh (M. Mahmoudi, Trans.). Tehran: Ehsan. [In Persian]
Qutb, S. (2000). Social justice in Islam (25th ed.; S. H. Khosroshahi, M. Gerami, Trans.). Tehran: Kalbah-yi Shurūq, Markaz-i Barrasī-hā-yi Islāmī. [In Persian]
Qutb, S. (2001). Dirāsāt Islāmiyya (10th ed.). Cairo: Dār al-Shurūq. [In Arabic]
Qutb, S. (2007). Future in the realm of Islam. (5th ed.; S. A. Khamenei, Trans.). Tehran: Daftar-i Nashr-i Farhang-i Islāmī. [In Persian]
Qutb, S. (2012). Islam and global peace. (7th ed.; Z. Ghorbani, S. H. Khosroshahi, Trans.). Tehran: Daftār-i Nashr-i Farhang-i Islāmī. [In Persian]
Qutb, S. (2012). Mā chi mīgūyīm? (23rd ed.; S. H. Khosroshahi, Trans.). Tehran: Daftār-i Nashr-i Farhang-i Islāmī. [In Persian]
Rabbani Golpayegani, A. (2012). Darāmadi bar ʿilm-i kalām. Tehran: Andisheh-ye Mowlana. [In Persian]
Sayyid Qutb. (n.d.). Nāmi bi Āyatullāh Kāshānī (What Sayyid Qiṭb wrote in his letter to Ayatollah Kāshānī). URL= https://psri.ir/?id=1xbk11658v [In Persian]
Zaryab, A. (1995). Ibn Taymiyya. In: Dāʾirat al-maʿārif-i buzurg-i Islāmī (Vol. 3;
2nd ed.; K. Mousavi Bojnourdi, Ed.). Tehran: Center for the Great Islamic Encyclopedia. [In Persian]
Islamic Political Studies
Volume 7, Issue 2
July 2025
Pages 227-246

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics