Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1
Ph.D. Candidate in Political Science, with a concentration in Political Thought, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
2
Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
Abstract
This study aims to explore the influence of Sayyid Qutb’s theory of political Islam on the ideological orientation and political action patterns of the Islamic Movement of Afghanistan. It seeks to answer the central question: Which intellectual components of Sayyid Qutb’s thought in the 1960s and 1970s shaped the political thinking and behavior of the leaders of Afghanistan’s Islamic Movement? According to the research hypothesis, Qutb’s ideas on divine sovereignty (hakimiyyah), the reinterpretation of Jahiliya within the context of modern secular systems, and the necessity of forming a “vanguard group” to establish an Islamic revolution served as a legitimizing ideological framework that influenced the revolutionary actions of the movement’s leaders. In this study, the independent variable is the ideological discourse of Qutb’s political Islam, and the dependent variable is the extent of its influence on the Islamic Movement of Afghanistan. The theoretical framework is grounded in the radical political Islamic concepts articulated by Qutb, who regarded secular regimes as manifestations of Jahiliya and proposed Islamic revolution and jihad as the only means of reform. The methodology employed is qualitative, based on historical and content analysis of ideological texts and related historical documents. The findings indicate that key leaders of the Islamic Movement of Afghanistan, having studied Qutb’s works, came under the direct influence of his political-ideological discourse. Through intellectual circles within student networks, they propagated the core elements of Qutbist political Islam in the ideological and political environment of Afghanistan at that time.
Keywords: Afghanistan, Islamic Movement, Political Islam, Muslim Brotherhood, Sayyid Qutb.
Extended Abstract
Purpose: This study systematically examines the influence of Sayyid Qutb’s political Islamic thought on the intellectual formation and political practices of the leaders of the Islamic Movement of Afghanistan during the 1960s and 1970s. This period represents a critical juncture in Afghanistan’s contemporary history, marked by the growing dominance of secular, nationalist, and particularly Marxist discourses within the political structure, educational institutions, and intellectual sphere of the country. In response to these transformations, the Islamic Movement of Afghanistan emerged as a religious, political, and identity-based reaction that sought to construct an Islamic alternative to the prevailing order. Within this context, the ideas of Sayyid Qutb, the prominent theorist of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, played a decisive role in shaping both the ideological framework and practical strategies of the movement.
The central research question of this study is which components of Sayyid Qutb’s thought exerted the greatest influence on the intellectual orientations and political behavior of the leaders of the Afghan Islamic Movement, and how these ideas were transferred, internalized, and localized within Afghanistan’s specific socio-political context. The study advances the hypothesis that Qutb’s key concepts—most notably divine sovereignty (ḥākimiyyat Allāh), modern jahiliyya, the necessity of revolutionary jihad, and the formation of a vanguard group—provided an ideological framework that legitimized radical political action and militant resistance among the movement’s leadership.
Methodology: Methodologically, the research adopts a qualitative approach grounded in historical and textual analysis. It draws upon ideological writings, Persian translations of Qutb’s works, historical documents, and narratives related to the activities of Afghan Islamist leaders. The theoretical framework is based on Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe’s discourse theory, which enables an analysis of Sayyid Qutb’s thought as a hegemonic political discourse. Within this framework, the “Islamic state” is conceptualized as the master signifier, “jihad” as discursive praxis, “jahili society” as the constitutive Other, and the “vanguard group” as the discursive subject.
Findings: The findings indicate that key leaders of the Islamic Movement of Afghanistan—such as Ghulam Muhammad Niazi, Burhanuddin Rabbani, and some leaders—were directly influenced by Qutb’s discourse through their education in Arab academic institutions, particularly al-Azhar University, as well as through student intellectual networks, the translation and teaching of Qutb’s works, and informal ideological circles. This influence was not confined to the theoretical realm; rather, it profoundly shaped political strategies and patterns of action. Within this discursive framework, the Afghan ruling regimes were portrayed as manifestations of “modern jahiliyya,” rendering political participation, compromise, or gradual reform illegitimate.
The discourse analysis reveals that Qutb’s ideas established rigid identity boundaries between “us” and “the Other,” thereby facilitating an antagonistic stance toward competing discourses, including secular nationalism, communism, liberal democracy, and even reformist or politically quietist interpretations of Islam. In this context, jihad was redefined as the central revolutionary praxis—simultaneously destructive of the existing order and constructive of the envisioned Islamic state. This reconceptualization provided ideological justification for the use of political violence and armed struggle, which gradually became normalized and institutionalized within the movement’s political culture.
At the same time, the study demonstrates that the transfer of Sayyid Qutb’s ideas to Afghanistan produced ambivalent and often problematic consequences. While Qutb’s discourse contributed to ideological cohesion, identity consolidation, and mobilization capacity within the Islamic Movement, it also suffered from a lack of critical reinterpretation and insufficient sensitivity to Afghanistan’s complex social, ethnic, and cultural realities. The reduction of a highly pluralistic society to a binary opposition between “Islam” and “jahiliyya” fostered political radicalization, marginalized nonviolent alternatives, and intensified intra-Islamist fragmentation.
Conclusion: Ultimately, this research argues that the Islamic Movement of Afghanistan represents a paradigmatic case of how transnational Islamist discourses can shape local movements in profound yet contradictory ways. Sayyid Qutb’s political thought offered a powerful framework of resistance against secularism and Marxism, but its absolutist and revolutionary logic, when transplanted without contextual adaptation, contributed to long-term instability and ideological polarization. Examining this experience is therefore valuable not only for understanding Afghan political Islam but also for illuminating the broader dynamics through which imported ideological frameworks interact with local social conditions, generating both mobilizing potential and unintended destabilizing effects in contemporary Muslim societies.
Keywords
Main Subjects
)