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Title: Useful as a window into religious totaliterianism
Review: I'm divided over how to rate this book - on its twisted hair-raising totaliterianism or its value in giving the English speaking reader a window into this mindset. The Orwellian logic is the most startling. "Freedom" is defined as serving only God. Islamic freedom does not include the freedom to dissent or live in anyway contrary to the norms of Sharia, which Qutb defines in all-encompassing terms, controlling "political, relationship, social, and economic" matters. One is "free from coercion" in terms of belief, but clearly one would not be permitted to act upon one's belief if it in any way contradicts Islamic norms. In theory Qutb is describing a kind of Islamic anarchism in which imperfect human authority disappears and is replaced by the direct, perfect rule of God. In reality, we all know, it would give everyone, Muslim or not, over to the whims of unchecked, absolute power in the form of an oligarchy of Sharia interpreters.
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