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Dostoevsky vs. Qutb

Reader comment on item: Ahmadinejad or Mousavi?

Submitted by linda (United States), Jun 21, 2009 at 00:44

In the finaly analysis, it doesn't matter who is in charge. From The Lion and the Mouse: Dostoevsky and the Hideous Schizophrenia of the West, by Jack Moran, Associate Prof. of Political Science and International Affairs, Kennesaw State Univ., Georgia:

Prepared for the 2006 American Political Science Association Conference Philadelphia Marriott Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Saturday, Sep 2, 2006 (4:15 PM) Panel: 41-6 Morality, Power, and Politics in Literature Abstract: It is the argument of this paper that a clearer understanding of the "schizophrenia" described by Sayyid Qutb and other Islamic fundamentalist thinkers might enable Westerners to grapple more effectively with the ideology of Islamic fundamentalism.

At the very core of Qutb's critique of the modern West is his analysis of the West's contradictory nature – its "distinction between religion and life." Importantly, there is nothing uniquely Islamic about this message, a point that could not be made more clear than in comparing Qutb's concern about Western schizophrenia with that of one of the most devout Christian novelists read in the West, Fyodor Dostoevsky.

By examining his novel, The Idiot, this paper intends to address Dostoevsky's understanding of the conflicted nature of the West and its effects upon those who live within it. Ultimately Dostoevsky not only gives us a clear (and disapproving) picture of Western "schizophrenia," but he comes to a very different conclusion about how to deal with it than did Qutb. He seemed to anticipate the empty promises of the grandiose, utopian philosophies which promised an end to societal contradictions (nationalism, fascism, Marxism, and Islamic fundamentalism).

Indeed, he foresaw the one pivotal lesson of the 20 th century – any imposed solution to end the modern world's schizophrenia is far worse than the original condition to begin with.

http://www.allacademic.com//meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/1/5/2/5/9/pages152597/p152597-1.php

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Title Commenter Date Thread
change [25 words]Jon PurizhanskyJun 27, 2009 10:12158066
--appeasing the islamists [142 words]joe oreillyJun 26, 2009 18:48158025
Iran, Iraq, somalia, ... [148 words]donvanJun 27, 2009 21:40158025
donvans comments [182 words]joe o'reillyJun 29, 2009 13:22158025
WESTERN CONFUSION AND EVENTS IN IRAN [37 words]AHMEDJun 24, 2009 04:43157871
Who knows if Mousavi has changed [15 words]P PotaznikJun 22, 2009 03:53157753
Do you think it is just a game? [36 words]SvetlanahJun 23, 2009 09:45157753
Mousavi is Bait [344 words]Nehama, UKJun 25, 2009 08:20157753
Iran needs neither of them to lead. [68 words]M.D'SouzaJun 21, 2009 18:52157737
Chain rule of revolution. [165 words]SvetlanahJun 21, 2009 16:27157734
An Apology for Daniel Pipes [31 words]Aymenn JawadJun 21, 2009 13:30157726
Very Shocking- The Government of Iran basically says shut up to the people. [240 words]AnneJun 21, 2009 10:54157721
A pattern is perhaps identifiable ? [143 words]John BJun 21, 2009 10:29157719
Ahmadinejad or Mousavi? [104 words]HCJun 21, 2009 08:37157714
So what is this choice for? [90 words]Abir ChaabanJun 21, 2009 08:23157713
The more things change... [170 words]Barry GoldbergJun 21, 2009 08:17157712
DEMOCRACY IN IRAN ONLY AHMADINEJAD AND AYATOOLLAH KHAMENEII SHOULD BE IN PRISON FOR LIFE [56 words]TIRDAAD GHARIBJun 21, 2009 06:48157711
Dostoevsky vs. Qutb [290 words]lindaJun 21, 2009 00:44157703
Dostoevsky and the Roots of Modern Terrorism [56 words]Jack MoranAug 10, 2009 13:17157703
A Tsunami of Revolution [199 words]Fay VoshellJun 20, 2009 17:11157688
Change for the better [120 words]Ralph C. Whaley MDJun 20, 2009 11:32157682
In the unlikely, though I suppose still possible event that [44 words]Carl SesarJun 20, 2009 09:43157680
We support Life and justice [626 words]Salah AliJun 20, 2009 09:32157679
Slow boil is better [224 words]Murray OrbuchJun 20, 2009 08:53157678
Post proelia praemia [72 words]Rebecca MouldsJun 20, 2009 08:35157676
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Right on! [195 words]SUsan WarnerJun 20, 2009 07:23157674
Leftist Proven Incompetent again. [63 words]SvetlanahJun 20, 2009 05:02157672

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