Turkish court lifts ban on Sayyid Qutb’s Milestones following prosecutor’s review

A Turkish court has overturned a nationwide ban on the printing, distribution and sale of Milestones (Ma’alim fi al-Tariq), a book by Egyptian Islamic thinker Sayyid Qutb, following a review that questioned the grounds for linking the publication to the Islamic State (ISIS).

The First Criminal Peace Court in Antalya reversed the restrictions on 16th October 2026, after accepting a request submitted by the Antalya Public Prosecutor’s Office, according to Turkish news outlet TRHaber.

The prosecutor’s request followed an investigation by the Counter-Terrorism Department of the Antalya Provincial Security Directorate, which identified a chronological inconsistency in claims connecting the book to ISIS.

Investigators noted that Qutb was executed in 1966, decades before ISIS emerged in 2013, raising questions about the basis for the original prohibition.

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According to the report, the court approved the prosecutor’s request, registered under case number 2026/664, and ordered the removal of all restrictions previously imposed on the publication.

The earlier decision had prohibited the printing, distribution and sale of Milestones across Turkey and resulted in the confiscation of copies.

The ban prompted criticism from Turkish cultural and publishing organizations, including the Turkish Press and Publishing Union, which argued that the restrictions undermined freedom of expression and publication.

The union had called for the prohibition to be lifted and for the confiscation measures to be reversed.

The court’s decision restores the legal circulation of the book in Turkey and follows a public debate over restrictions on intellectual and religious publications.

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