Religious government in Sayyid Qutb's thought from theory to practice

The establishment an Islamic government has always been an ambition for many Islamic thinkers. Meanwhile, Sayyid Qutb by presenting the theory of the ignorant society and the need to change it in order to achieve Islamic rule has a great influence on contemporary radical and jihadist groups. The following essay examines and critiques Sayyid Qutb's thought on mechanism of establishing a religious government. Many authors have studied and criticized the ideas of Sayyid Qutb in this field; however, no one has considered Sayyid Qutb's strategy of establishing a religious government and has not examined his thoughts on the mechanism of this goal. The present study examines Sayed Qutb's strategy and his methodology in establishing an Islamic government, explaining his discourse in three axes: model society, ignorant society and the way to deal with it, providing details on establishing a religious government with emphasis on military jihad. The result of this research is that according to the Qur'anic verses, the correct path to a religious government crosses from internal revolution of individuals in society, leading to a cultural revolution in the society. Religious government will be achieved by members of society - not military act.