The Problem with Islamic Leadership

      This is not the typical article on why Islamic Leadership is going south. From Sudan to Somalia, nations where Muslim are at the helm of leadership are branded as fail leaders leading failed states. This is not the typical article because most articles call for a return to leaders who are piety( Ulama) and more "Islamic" in their worldview. Well the writer is not saying that Ulama shouldn't lead, than would be mere generalization that won't serve any purpose. Rather, the writer is calling for the right leaders, whether Ulama or not, to lead Islamic nations.

The leaders must be equipped with knowledge of economy, world affairs, science and technology. Having a strong grounding in Islamic theology is a huge plus. The leaders must also be of sound character, not evil and corrupt leaders. The Muslims must accept that in order to progress, leaders who are progressive must lead, not traditionalist. Only then can the Ummah be a force to be reckoned with, not bullied like we are today.

Another problem with Islamic Leaders today is their lack of inclusiveness. We can see that in Egypt, President Morsi failed to get the support of the Liberals and the Non-Muslims. He relied heavily on the Islamic Brotherhood to cling to power. The revolution that dethroned Mubarak was the result of a unified Egypt, the Islamist, the Liberals and the Non-Muslims.

 The pillars that lead to Morsi's Presidency were abandon that led to the collapse of the Morsi's short Administration. Egypt is now back to a pseudo-military administration under General Sisi, back to square one.

Another example is Iraq. The Sunnis and Shias are fighting each other instead of rebuilding their nation into the glory of what used to be. Iraq was a beckon of knowledge, Science and Technology until the Mongols invaded. The leaders of Iraq should tap into that rich history and its oil money to bring back the glory days. Instead, Iraqi President Nuri Al-Maliki chose to use the Sunni Vs Shia narrative.

He didn't include Sunni Leaders in his administration, and ignored the Kurds. Now both the Sunni and Kurds are creating damage in Iraq due to the sectarian violence in that country. Again lack of inclusiveness is causing damage to an Islamic country.

It is poignant to point out that one of the major stories of the Prophet Muhammad(PBUH) is how he united the Ansar and Muhajirn during Hijrah. The Ansar and Muhajirin are to different types of people.

 Similarly, the Prophet(PBUH), also created a unified people, united in the worship of Allah S.W.T instead of the tribal nature of the society there before the arrival of Islam. The Muslims and Non-Muslims prospered under the rule of Prophet Muhammad and his successors. So it is sad that being inclusive is a major weakness in Islamic leadership today.

Finally, Islamic Leaders must not depend on others for help, instead they must strengthen their nations and ensure that these countries can rise up to the challenge of Globalization. The economies of their nation shouldn't rely on western powerhouses like US and UK, instead they should strive to make it the opposite, just like when Muslims control world trade and the spice trade. The same can be said in foreign policy.

Islamic Leaders must encourage their people to equip themselves with knowledge in the sciences, just like past Islamic leaders had done that saw the rise of the great doctor Ibn Sina, the great mathematician Al-Khwarizmi and so on. Muslims must be experts in their respective fields. Only when Islamic leaders start to do the above and more can Muslims pull themselves out of the malaise that they are in today.

Religious Zealism

     There have been many instances of overzealousness when it comes to religion. No, this is not one of the articles that blame religion for all the ills in the world. The writer believes that religion is a force for good that can definitely make the world a better place.

But religion, although a question of faith, must also be paired with reason. God must have reasons when God endows humans with the faculty to think. When religion is used together with our ability to think, then we can achieve a lot more here on earth.

In Malaysia recently, there are events that show the effects of religious overzealousness. Firstly, the act of the Penang Islamic Authority in seizing a the remains of they claim as a Muslim. The court later ruled that the person was not a Muslim. This caused severe embarrassment to the country.

 Not only that the objective of "dakwah" will not be met as people will view Islam negatively, it also caused unnecessary tension between Muslims and Non-Muslims. If religion is paired with reason, then the authorities would have done a through investigation and approached it differently than just storming in and confiscating the body. That is not what the religion is teaching the followers to do.

 In a hadith where Prophet Muhammad(PBUH) stood up in respect of the dead in a funeral eventough the body was a person of Jewish faith( Sahih Bukhari-1250, Sahih Muslim- 961). This is one of the beauty of Islamic teachings, we are thought to respect others.

 However when one is too extreme, we shut down our faculty to think and just act aggressively and insensitively on the precept we are being defenders of the religion, but the opposite is true. Therefore if the authorities had stop and think how the Prophet( PBUH) would have acted, they will not had gone through with the raid. They would have thought of a different way, a way that will show the light of Islam to the Non Muslims.

Another case is the raid of a wedding said to be involving transgenders. Again, the objective of "dakwah" has been lost. The raid cast Islam as an insensitive religion, uncompassionate towards another human being. Instead of taking the opportunity to dakwah and show the light of Islam, the authorities just acted in a belligerent manner that had the opposite effect to the already bad image of Islam.

What would the Prophet(PBUH) do in such a situation?, raid, arrest and charge? Did he do that when he was facing strong resistance in Mecca and when he went to Madinah. The way I see it, he went a do Dakwah feverishly, with strong persistence and tenacity, as can be seen in his efforts to make his beloved Uncle Abu Talib to embrace Islam. We should follow the Prophet( PBUH) on how he handled many issues and being belligerent and overzealous are not the way.

I hope that the Islamic authorities will learn and change their ways. They are seen as arrogant and oblivious to the feelings of Muslims and Non-Muslims alike. Their ways will weaken the respect they have as Islamic authorities among Muslims and will scare away Non-Muslims in embracing the religion. Muslims in the world in general and particularly in Malaysia must adopt new ways in dealing with cross religious issues if we are to be respected and our ways to adopted by others.

 But first the Islamic model of governance that is practiced by Muslims must bring fairness and justice to mankind in a way no other models can. No point saying to others that this is not what my religion is teaching their followers to do when they see Muslims themselves doing it without a care in the world. Action speaks louder than words.