The history of Sunni theology (kalam) is little known, but the impact of its demise has profoundly shaped modern Islam. This book explores the correlation between anti-theological thought and the rise of Islamism in the twentieth century. It focuses specifically on Egypt"s Muslim Brotherhood and the leadership of Umar al-Tilmisani (d. 1986). In doing so, the sociopolitical implications of anti-theological creedalism and its postcolonial intermarriage with the modern nation-state are analyzed. Ultimately, this study seeks to know whether a revival of Sunni theology, as a rational discourse on religion, can dilute the absolutism of increasingly pervasive Islamist thought in the contemporary Muslim world.