Qutb's Assumptions and Interpretations

Qutb states that “this religion (Islam) is really a universal declaration of the freedom of man from servitude to other men and from servitude to his own desires, which is also a form of human servitude; it is a declaration that sovereignty belongs to God alone and that He is the Lord of all worlds” (131-132). First off, Qutb automatically assumes that there is a God, and that we should all worship the same God, specifically his. He allows for no variations in religion and definitely rules out the possibility of someone not believing in God at all. Qutb wants to remove all oppressive governments so that everyone can follow his God’s rule. Yet, how would they be sure that God’s word was followed without some sort of government? Moreover, that particular government that enforces the rule of God would be oppressive in some ways as well. So ultimately, people will be oppressed in some way or another. Of course, there is the possibility of not having any government, but that is neither plausible nor practicable. It does not make sense to me why each individual cannot choose to worship whatever he wants. Why is Qutb’s god the best god? Qutb makes some outrageous statements such as “Islam that is the submission to God-is a universal message which the whole of mankind should accept or make peace with” (131). Later Qutb even goes as far to say, “If someone does this, then it is the duty of Islam to fight him until either he is killed or until he declares his submission” (131). Qutb recognizes that the Quran says you should be peaceful but he automatically dismisses that claim. His basic response to those, who respond to him with statements from the Quran, is that they are in a sorry state of the present Muslim generation. Ultimately, he says those who are peaceful toward others and are not Islamic will be defeated. Instead of Qutb recognizing that other cultures have different beliefs, he simply rejects them. He assumes that his beliefs are true, not even taking into consideration others from his own religion that do believe and live by his God’s rule.