Egyptian author formed the ideology that underpins ISIS, al-Qaeda, Muslim Brotherhood

(New York, NY) – The world’s most dangerous terror groups, including ISIS and al-Qaeda, share a common ideological foundation in the writings and teachings of Egyptian author and Muslim Brotherhood ideologue Sayyid Qutb. More than 50 years after his death, Qutbism continues to propel the modern jihadist movement, the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) said today in highlighting Qutb’s violent legacy.

According to al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, “Sayyid Qutb’s call…was the spark that ignited the Islamic revolution.” Osama bin Laden, Zawahiri, and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi built their respective terrorist organizations on the pillars of Qutbism, which advocates for the use of terrorist violence to establish governance under Islamic law. Esteemed Egyptian political commentator Aly Salem once wrote, “It is not an exaggeration to say that Qutb is to Islamism what Karl Marx is to communism.”

A leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood in the 1950s and 1960s, Qutb was convicted of plotting the assassination of Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser and was executed on August 29, 1966.

To read CEP’s report on Qutbism, please click here.

To learn more about Sayyid Qutb’s violent legacy, please click here.