Explanation: Sayyid Qutb was an Egyptian student who published scathing criticism of what he perceived as the moral degeneracy of American society, like ‘women existing in public’ and ‘jazz music’, when he returned from two years in the USA. Unfortunately for him, he returned to an Egypt that was increasingly secular itself, and Qutb would be arrested after participating in a (unsuccessful) plot to kill the President of Egypt, Gamal Abdel Nasser.
Qutb’s ultraconservative writing and Islamist political leanings have ensured he has remained influential on fundamentalists up to the modern day.
This is that music that the Negroes invented to satisfy their primitive inclinations, as well as their desire to be noisy on the one hand and to excite bestial tendencies on the other.
Jesus.
Religion is such a stain on humanity. More harmful than any political/economical ideology.
Don’t worry, Qutb was one of those fine fellows who believed in outright theocracy. All three for the price of one!
People often say that but I am not so sure how much religion itself is at fault. Sure, it is often used to propagate hatred but I ask myself: would people really behave differently without religion? Or is it just a convenient reason to attack people with different beliefs? Would people not just find another reason?
I think the real issue is deeper. I would argue the most harmful thought is that “we” are better than “them” - with changing definitions of we/them (racism, antisemitism, social darwinism, …). Sure, religion is one way to do that. It is not the only way. People can commit atrocities without any religion.
You could say that people would find another reason for conflict, and before theologically intolerant religions arose, they largely did…
… but that doesn’t mean that religion, even pluralist religion, isn’t harmful. Religion is a very ‘easy’ tribe to ‘lock in’ to, as it rejects any notion of proof or dispute with the divine, which cultivates attitudes that are both dangerous intransigent and frighteningly fanciful. While religions may cultivate these attitudes to different degrees, almost all religion encourages them to some degree.
