Qutb in Greeley

Theodore Dalrymple compares Marxism to the Islamism of Muslim Brotherhood philosopher Sayyid Qutb and finds, unsurprisingly but in his usual style, some similarities.

This gives me an excuse to put up a few links about Qutb and how his six months in the temperance town of Greeley, Colorado turned a secular reformer into a Muslim fanatic, an inspiration for you-know-who, and, well, a fine writer of porn:

"[T]he American girl is well acquainted with her body's seductive capacity. She knows it lies in the face, and in expressive eyes, and thirsty lips. She knows seductiveness lies in the round breasts, the full buttocks, and in the shapely thighs, sleek legs — and she shows all this and does not hide it.

Psssst, Sayyid. Drool. That's from Qutb's wiki; John Calvert, an assistant professor of history at Creighton and translator of Qutb's autobiography, said in a Q & A with Worldpress:

Qutb had nothing good to say about the United States. He was critical of the American concern with lawn care. He said he could not get a good haircut there [durka durka jihad!--ed.]. He was dismayed by what he regarded as the promiscuous relationships between men and women.

There’s a famous episode where Qutb attended a sock hop at a Greeley church, and the pastor played on the gramophone the famous Big Band song of the day, “Baby, it’s Cold Outside.” Qutb was scandalized as he watched young people dancing with each other.

Here's a piece in the Smithsonian about Qutb: "A Lesson in Hate"; and here's an NPR piece from 2003 that includes the sock hop (he drools again) and lascivious American girl quotes, but allows (Muslim) interviewees to emphasize his passion for "social justice" (by imposition of shariah*, they don't mention), and somehow never notes how influential Qutb's beliefs are among Muslim extremists today (or even back in 2003).

*that's how AP spells it.

(via Tim Blair)

Update: I like the New English Review, and Lord knows nobody's perfect, but--too many typos.