At this point, someone is bound to object that a group does indeed need a leader, and that whenever two Muslims come together for any purpose, one of them must be appointed the amir. So how does this square with all that I’ve said so far?
Well, let me ask then, how would you go about ‘ruling’ your friend? If you value his friendship, would you even use such a word as ‘rule’ or ‘lead’? No, of course not; such titles tend to be arrogant and abrasive, while your friendship was established on a basis of equality. If you become a leader, does that mean you can no longer be friends? What we see in the world around us, of course, is precisely that; a difference in position is usually the death-knell for all ordinary friendships. But Islamic friendship is no ordinary friendship, and Islamic leadership is no ordinary leadership. Islamic friendship is multi-dimensional, not superficial; principled, not expedient; long-term, not impulsive. Islamic leadership, on the other hand, is functional, not positional; temporary, not hereditary; conditional, not absolute. You have heard that ‘Absolute power corrupts absolutely,’ and that is true of all creation. It is not true, of course, of God, the Absolute, the Incorruptible. And God is the Friend of the believers. (Q3:68) Power and friendship – both can be found in God, and in those whom He loves.
Perhaps, now, you will object, ‘But we have a verse in the Qur’an (4:59) which says, O believers, obey AL-LAH, and obey the Messenger, and those in authority among you. And my reply is, ‘Yes, but how did we arrive at those in authority among you? What is the basis of their authority?’ It just so happens that the verse immediately before this one makes the conditions of authority quite clear: Truly God commands you to entrust responsibilities to those who are most worthy of assuming them, and when you decide among men that you decide with justice.
Now responsibilities differ, and competencies differ likewise. Not all men are qualified for all things. In each situation, a different leader may be chosen according to that situation’s requirements. No one man can master every task, nor should he, for that would be depriving others of their God-given capacity to learn and grow, to be decisive and responsible for what they, each one in his own way, can do best. To deprive a man of his God-given capacity for leadership in his particular field of expertise would be unjust. If there is to be one leader of all these various leaders who make up a group of believers, then he will be the one who best obeys this command to justice, and gives every leader his due.
What am I talking about – a leader of leaders? Yes, I mean it. Strange but true. Birds of a feather flock together. We have this image of different groups, each with one leader and a mass of followers, but it is wrong, misleading. True leaders attract leaders. Followers attract followers. In both groups it is hard to know who is leading whom, but for different reasons. False leaders, would-be leaders, attract followers who would be leaders if they could. Their obedience is conditional upon their leaders’ giving them what they need and telling them what they want to hear. True leaders, on the other hand, exercise authority without appearing or even wanting to possess it. And so we have two main types of groups – groups of followers, in each of which one pretends to be the leader but actually dares not disobey the whims of his followers, and groups of leaders, in which claims to be ‘the’ leader are almost never heard.
In a group of followers, the leader follows his passions, and the others follow him and their passions as well. Which means that they too want to be leader. They, and he, regard leadership as a source of power and prestige, a thing to be desired, to be taken by force if necessary or possible. A tense, gloomy sense of insecurity permeates such groups. The leader does not trust his followers, nor they him. If he makes but one misstep, they are ready to pounce. He knows that, and so he keeps them at a distance, where they are less likely to notice his faults.
Observe the qualities of such a leader. He arrives late, and leaves early. He is rarely available to his followers, but associates frequently and for long periods with those whom he regards as his peers or superiors – for he too is a follower of false leaders further up the pyramid. Such a leader holds his followers at a distance by keeping them busy with menial tasks. They must report back to him, but briefly, and preferably in writing. He abhors personal, face-to-face contact – so inefficient, so unpredictable, so wasteful! When he does, perforce, meet his inferiors, he dominates the conversation, imposing his view of events by sheer force of ‘character’. Or he refers them to someone further down in the chain of his command. (If action is taken later, he can either stymie it or take credit for it.) Or he listens with a mixture of polite condescension and barely concealed annoyance; after all, he is so important, and therefore very busy. He claims to delegate responsibility to committees and subcommittees, but none of them can act meaningfully without his approval and scrutiny. He is, in short, obsessed with control – the only antidote he has to fear. He suffocates others that he might breathe a bit more easily. He plays a zero-sum game in which all Muslims are losers.
Such groups, I should add, are easily subverted, toppled, and destroyed. There are a hundred different ways to achieve that. You could play rough and kill such a leader, blackmail him, bribe him, intimidate him, or cut off a few of his perks and privileges. Or you could play a more subtle game, and start funding either a rival organization or a powerful subordinate. You could spread a false rumour and hope it turns true, or simply exert some steady, unrelenting pressure in the form of official harassment, lawsuits, or intense and critical media coverage. Not being an expert, I cannot begin to describe the permutations. The problem with such groups is that they present so many juicy targets. You have a huge, swollen head on a tiny, scrawny body; just thinking about it is enough to see it fall.
The GOD You Already Know 