Australian Muslims’ Perceptions of Leadership

Abstract

This chapter presents an analysis of what leadership means to Australian Muslims; evidence of good leadership; leadership deficiencies, and the location of Islamic principles on the leadership map. The chapter demonstrates some of the salient challenges that face Australian Muslim leaders. The chapter identifies a number of leadership problems in main Islamic organizations, which include the absence of naked leadership leading to mistrust and a lack of confidence in existing leadership settings. Additionally, there were problems of absence of adequate organizational structures, generational gaps, and political instability. The view about existing organizations is rather pessimistic, where followers feel that they have been let down by their leaders who are more concerned about their ‘status’ than the welfare of their communities.