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Numerous and serious debates took place inside the Muslim Brotherhood regarding the proper way to cope with such a corrupt government, as they saw it. Opinions inside the Islamic movement advocated two opposing methods to deal with Sadat. Some thought that there was no point of using violence, and that only long-term social reform is the best solution, while others advocated the use of armed struggle to change the current situation. The party favoring the latter opinion ended up splitting from the Muslim Brotherhood, and was extremely inspired by the successful Islamic Revolution of 1979 in Iran, while taking Qutb’s “Signposts on the Road” as their role guide for their armed struggle against the state of jahiliyya they had seen under Sadat’s regime.
The re-reading of Qutb resulted directly in the formation of the most dangerous Islamized militant organizations such as Takfir and Hijrah, Al-Jama’ah Al-Islamiyah, and Tanzim-ul-Jihad that succeeded finally in 1981 to assassinate the president Sadat himself. The combination between the unsettlement of the Palestinian case, the American exaggerated siding with Israel, and its support to Arab autocracies that have always exerted coercion and repression against the Islamic movements, has resulted in the revival of Qutb’s ideas, legitimizing the use of force to achieve the desired "happy" ending. It was this line of thinking that subsequently led to the existence of organizations like Al-Qaeda, as well as the so-called international terrorism.
In conclusion, it could be deduced that while both Plato and Qutb had similar objectives to establish in their ideal role theoretical models, the means they considered to be suitable for the achievement of their respective utopias turned their dreams into a frightening nightmare. While Plato’s “Republic” provided a useful guideline for totalitarian regimes, Qutb’s “Signposts on the Road” provided the working agenda for global militant Islamized groups. Even the assumption contending that the initial intentions of Plato and Qutb were of very virtuous and idealistic nature is a bit questionable. If we imagine that Plato’s or Qutb’s utopias came into existence, then it might be drawn from the “Republic” as well as “Signposts on the Road” that the overall atmosphere created by the rules, codes, and regulations would made these models to be nothing but rigid totalitarianships, founded on a justice that is the advantage of the stronger, and in which the best rules the worst, or the vanguard rule the masses.
Paradoxically, Plato fell into contradicting his anti-sophist notion of justice, by providing a model that would never work unless it would be founded on a justice that is the advantage of the stronger, just like what a vigorous sophist would have suggested. Furthermore, Qutb faithfully followed Plato’s footsteps, and even added a more violent contribution by setting forth methods that perfectly matched the notion by which the French revolutionaries tried to bring up their ideals of liberty, equity, and brotherhood on the edges of guillotines. Ironically, even the French Revolution itself fell into the same contradiction, when it resulted in a series of nightmares by the birth of the imperialist France and the Napoleonic wars.
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Writer Profile
Saladin
My name is Ayman el-Hakea, I am a Construction Engineering graduate from the American University in Cairo. My origins date to an interesting mixture of Yemeni, Moroccan, Albanian, and Egyptian ancestors. I always try to be a moderate Muslim, I like animation, geopolitics, comparative religion, and football. I like to be with "people"...and I hope my writing isn't boring for anyone.
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Comments
Keep on the good work Naglaa Muhammad | Jan 14th, 2007
MASHALLAH,i did really enjoy reading it ,it's quite very informative too
Inspiration by plato Nathan Vogel | Feb 6th, 2007
I don't really think that all the theorists since Plato were inspired by the Republic because they were all responding to contemporary crises. That is just what theorists do. And probably Plato was not the first. If I eat because I'm hungry, I'm not being inspired by the first person who used eating to alleviate hunger. I could totally be wrong though, so I'd love to hear what you think.
Reply from the author Ayman El Hakea | Feb 26th, 2007
I totally agree about your well-said points, however, we should not neglect the cumulative influence of ancient thinkers on present-day politics. I invite you to have a look on Plato's influence on modern Neo-Conservative thinkers in the US, such as Leo Strauss, as an example: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Strauss#Philosophy
Politics Patricia Sudi | Mar 8th, 2007
What is your view of Plato,s theory on current day political and democratic institutions especially in developing countries?
Neo-Platonism Ayman El Hakea | Mar 20th, 2007
Well Patricia, I think that idealistic models , whether hyper-radical Islam or Neo-Conservatism, are extremely inspired by Paltonism.
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