Qutb saw a spiritual wasteland, and yet belief in God was nearly unanimous in the United States at the time. It was easy to be misled by the proliferation of churches, religious books and religious festivals, Qutb maintained; the fact remained that materialism was the real American god. ‘The soul has no value to Americans,’ he wrote to one friend. ‘There has been a Ph.D. dissertation about the best way to clean dishes, which seems more important to them than the Bible or religion.’ Many Americans were beginning to come to similar conclusions. The theme of alienation in American life was just beginning to cast a pall over the postwar party. In many respects, Qutb’s analysis, though harsh, was only premature.
I prefer a society with clean dishes, anytime. There is a number of interesting articles about Qutb and his meeting with Western civilization.
- Berman, Paul "The Philosopher of Islamic Terror" New York Times Link
- Drehle, David von "A Lesson in Hate" Smithsonian Magazine Link
- Potts, Rolf "The Tourist Who Influenced the Terrorists" Vagablogging Link
- Siegel, Robert "Sayyid Qutb's America" National Public Radio Link
- Wright, Lawrence "What Turned Sayyid Qutb Against America?" History News Network Link