Milestones (Maʿālim fī al-Tarīq, 1964), one of Sayyid Quṭb’s most prominent books, is widely renowned as a cornerstone of most of contemporary radical Islamic movements. While the book contains several references to the need for violent action in order to fight the condition of ignorance (Jāhilīyah)of the time, it equally includes a message based on universal values such as Total Harmony, Universal Freedom and Justice.
Therefore, the following paper seeks to investigate the opposition/co-existence of universalism and dualism in Milestones and unveils the multiple lines of tension permeating Qutb’s thought.
In order to approach this study, the paper will first analyze the tension between universal and dualistic principles in Qutb’s general theory. This section will specifically take the two founding concepts of Universal Harmonization and Jāhilīyah under scrutiny.
The paper will then delve into the circularity of Qutb’s thought by analyzing the simultaneous presence of universalistic and dualistic elements in single concepts such as Dār al-Islām, the Islamic Community.
This analysis will lead us to conclude on the paradoxical opposition/co-existence of universalism and dualism in Qutb’s theory wherein antagonistic and universal elements are equally present. This concluding observation thus stimulates a number of reflections on the subsequent interpretation of Milestones that tends to bring its dualistic aspect to the extremes while overlooking its universal elements.
