In this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC Professor John Esposito — one of the world’s foremost scholars on political Islam — unpacks 120 years of modern Islamic movements.
From Afghani and Abdu’s 19th-century reformist vision, through Hassan al-Banna and Maududi’s activism, to Sayyid Qutb’s radical turn, we trace the intellectual and political forces that shaped the Muslim world.
We explore the Iranian Revolution, the Afghan war, democratic Islamists, authoritarian crackdowns, and how the West’s perceptions of Islamism were forged. This is a masterclass in the history, ideas, and global impact of political Islam.
UNAPOLOGETIC is hosted by Ashfaaq Carim
Chapters
0:00 – Intro & episode setup
2:33 – Esposito’s unlikely journey
5:41 – Immersion in Muslim scholarship
10:14 – Plan: 120 years’ history
12:14 – Afghani & Abdu’s vision 15:45 – Islam as civilization & faith
18:09 – Abdu’s modernist reform ideas 22:02 – Anti-colonial political Islam roots
23:54 – Al-Banna & Maududi emerge
26:44 – Movements spread transnationally
30:58 – Ideas spread without media
33:15 – Critique of elites & clerics
38:58 – Sayyid Qutb’s radical turn
43:39 – America through Qutb’s eyes
47:14 – Nasser’s crackdown & prisons
50:33 – Cross-pollination of movements
52:47 – Iranian revolution reshapes politics
55:03 – Authoritarianism fuels radicalisation
57:12 – Gradualists vs violent factions
1:04:05 – Revolution’s impact on perceptions
1:09:58 – Shah, hostage crisis, US errors
1:18:22 – Afghan jihad to al-Qaeda
1:27:05 – Democratic Islamists in power
1:35:48 – Post-Cold War Islamism shifts
1:40:19 – 9/11 & war on terror
1:49:15 – Arab Spring & Brotherhood
1:53:32 – Egypt’s coup & repression
2:02:08 – Islamism, democracy & inclusion
2:07:39 – Misrepresentation in Western discourse