Of the 98 fellow Muslim Brotherhood prisoners with whom Qutb discussed his new confrontational ideology in 1964, 35 were strongly supportive, 23 strongly opposed, and 50 hesitant. Despite his intellectual status and prestige, Qutb had failed to persuade the majority of like-minded inmates under conditions of repression.
比如影响本·拉登和其他势力的伊斯兰知识分子赛义德·库特布。为削弱其影响，库特布于1966年8月在埃及被加梅尔·纳赛尔的独裁政权执行死刑。这一举动产生了惊人的反作用。在1964年与库特布讨论其全新对抗理念的共98名穆斯林兄弟会犯人中，35人强烈支持，23人坚决反对，其余50人举棋不定。尽管拥有知识份子的威望和地位，库特布仍然未能在高压环境下说服绝大多数与他志同道合的犯人。