The Leadership Crisis in the Muslim Community To lead successfully, one must have a goal

Mirza Yawar Baig To light up the world by igniting minds Work Experience: International Speaker, Trainer, Consultant with 16 years in Corporate General Management, 23 years in Training & Organizational Development. Director / Professional Member: Cranes Software International Limited Indian Society for Applied Behavioural Science Entrepreneur: 1994: Founded Education: IIM-A, P-CMM®, MBTI©, WSA©, ISABS Books: The Holy Cat Hiring Winners Present Your Way to the Top Leadership is a Personal Choice The Business of Family Business Member Consultant Panel: USA GE Corporate University, Crotonville Oracle Corporate University, CA AMA International, New York Andersen Corporate University, MN India Osmania University, Hyderabad Loyola Academy, MBA College, Hyderabad Indian National Police Academy, Hyderabad SSB Academy, Gwaldam, India Clients Include: GE, Oracle, Motorola, Microsoft, IBM, Digital-Compaq, National Semiconductor, Unilever, BSNL, Tata Indicom, Colgate, Asian Paints, Siemens, Wartsila, MphasiS, Bangalore Labs, EXL Service, World Bank-CGIAR, Tata Corporate, J & J, Accenture, Zeneca Seeds, Shanta Biotech, Advanta, Reuters, Air India, Yusuf Bin Ahmed Kanoo, Olam, Regal Beloit, Reliance World, NIS Sparta, AMKA, Emami Group, Suzlon, JP Morgan 2

What is our goal? Who does it inspire?

What is leadership? To understand the crisis we need to understand the nature of leadership 4

Changing times – Others & We MonarchyDemocracy 5 KhilafatMonarchy Apparent democracy Do we have a modern definition of leadership?

Khilafat without knowledge The Khulafa-e-Raashida were also Ulama When Khilafat changed to monarchy compliant Ulama were encouraged and Ulama-ul-Haq were tortured and killed When preservation of family and wealth became the priority, Islam and its needs were discarded 6 Abul Fazal was one of the biggest Ulama of his time He helped Akbar to create Deen-e-Ilaahi

Values of leadership changed When our leadership changed its nature, its values changed as well Our leaders enslaved the people instead of being their servants This eroded their stature and moral authority and encouraged people to rebel against a leader who was no different from themselves Respect is a state of the heart and must be earned. Respect is not a function of authority or power.

Leaders feared followers It was only Sayyidina Omar ibn al Khattab (R) who could sleep under a tree Al Walid (715) recalled Musa Bin Nusair & Tariq bin Ziyad at the height of the Spanish campaign and his successor Sulaiman stripped them of all rank and they died in obscurity in Damascus Mohammad bin Qasim was recalled from India and was executed 8 Ask: What happens to young leaders in our organizations today?

Elsewhere in the Muslim world The same story was repeated in other parts of the Muslim world The Moghals are a prime example Aurangzeb imprisoned his father, killed his brothers and conquered Muslim kingdoms of Golconda and Bijapur His Commander in Chief was Maharajah Mirza Jai Singh commanding an army of Rajputs and Marathas 9 Unfortunately this story was not new and was repeated again and again

Changed priorities From creating a moral society To amassing wealth, enjoyment, display From serving people To enslaving people, forcing subordination From opening doors for Islam To conquest of land and people People were discouraged from entering Islam For fear of losing the revenue from jizya 10 The injustice of caste was actively supported

Lessons not learnt Unfortunately our cherry picking way of teaching Islamic history successfully prevents us from learning its lessons Nations which dont learn from their history are condemned to repeat it 11 Our biggest weakness is the unwillingness to look at ourselves critically

Nature of the crisis Our crisis today is not a lack of leadership but a lack of followership Question: If you are asked to elect an Ameer for all Muslims, who will you pick? Will your choice be accepted by all? 12 Today we have 1.5 Bn. Khulafa Just as we have 1.5 Bn. Muftis

Window of Opportunity In the life of every man and woman comes a time when they have a unique opportunity to make an impact and influence others. Those who succeed, are the ones who anticipate and prepare for it and recognize it and act when it opens. The choice is ours. So is the benefit.

6, Steps for a Solution What we created, we can change

Re-create the Ummah Bridge the gap between Ulama & others Create a Jamiat-ul-Ummah (include others) One for all, all for one Practice this concept & react as needed Create platforms of common interests Learn to live with differences 15 Only we can prevent Divide and Rule

Change our Attitudes Principles must always take precedence Everything begins with moral authority Encourage critical dissent & analysis Blind obedience creates paralyzed minds Learn how to dispute effectively Disagreeing without being disagreeable Learn & teach how to think To draw lessons from history & create strategies 16 Respect must be earned, not inherited

Change our Valuation Primacy of obedience to Allah Boycott the willfully disobedient Value knowledge & those who have it Knowledge is the source of all power Value and encourage social service Islam will triumph by the winning of hearts 17 Lead by personal example

Change our teaching Curricula must be reviewed With a focus on application in todays world Teaching methods must change Use the best of modern methods and tools Become techno-savvy This must be a basic qualification 18 Teach with love

Change our focus Actively seek to lead in all walks of life Develop the skills to inspire leadership Enter politics, administration, army Wealth without power is a recipe for disaster Put expiry dates on leaders: Emeritus Elders And make succession planning a part of life Focus on higher education Seek to influence by leveraging knowledge 19 Seeking excellence is the best way to inspire. Complacency is the mother of all evil.

Change our definition Define us in terms of global impact For that is the definition of the Quran Do a Contribution Audit in all spheres Put teeth in it: Change ineffective leaders Focus on providing solutions Because people love problem solvers 20 Intention is not the same as achievement Only achievements can be encashed

People remember us, not by what we consumed – But by what we contributed.

Our Window is open now What are we ready to do?

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