A well-researched and applicable analysis of Muhammad’s leadership.
An acclaimed Islamic scholar offers lessons in leadership based on the example of Muhammad in this historical work.
As a professor of strategic thought at the National Defense College of the United Arab Emirates, the author or editor of more than a dozen books, and a former tutor to Prince William, Hayward is undeniably one of academia’s most visible Islamic thinkers. Though the author’s scholarly bona fides are on full display, as seen in the work’s full command of Islamic theology and the Arabic language as well as its rich endnotes, this concise volume eschews academic and religious jargon for an accessible narrative geared toward the general public, both Muslim and non-Muslim. First, the author dismantles a simplistic notion that equates Muhammad’s success solely to his personality traits, such as his piety, compassion, and courage, noting that successful leaders throughout history have included “deeply flawed, corrupt or wickedly cruel people.” Avoiding a “moral assessment as the primary basis” of its analysis, this book instead looks at Muhammad’s conceptualization of leadership and his practical actions that offer insights for today’s leaders on effective strategies. Muhammad, for example, had a “common touch,” like his enthusiasm for wrestling, that allowed him to “relate and appeal” to average people. This was complemented by a “consultative leadership” style that prioritized participatory decision-making. Perhaps most important for the prophet was his theological understanding that true leaders are not self-made but are chosen by God and should submit to his will. Moreover, the best leaders, according to Muhammad, serve as “shepherds,” rather than tyrants, who protect and guide those whom they are responsible for managing. Additional commentary is presented on Muhammad’s specific leadership strategies as a military tactician and diplomat. While the author’s use of the trendy language of modern self-help (such as its emphasis on “Maximising Human Potential,” “Strategic Vision,” and “Strategic Communication”) borders on kitsch, this volume is nevertheless a learned history of Islam and Muhammad that succeeds in its goal of providing contemporary and future managers with valuable insights from his life on successful leadership strategies.
A well-researched and applicable analysis of Muhammad’s leadership.Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-80011-989-5
Page Count: 164
Publisher: Claritas Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 3, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
An important dialogue at a fraught time, emphasizing mutual candor, curiosity, and respect.
Two bestselling authors engage in an enlightening back-and-forth about Jewishness and antisemitism.
Acho, author of Uncomfortable Conversations With a Black Man, and Tishby, author of Israel: A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth, discuss many of the searing issues for Jews today, delving into whether Jewishness is a religion, culture, ethnicity, or community—or all of the above. As Tishby points out, unlike in Christianity, one can be comfortably atheist and still be considered a Jew. She defines Judaism as a “big tent” religion with four main elements: religion, peoplehood, nationhood, and the idea of tikkun olam (“repairing the world through our actions”). She addresses candidly the hurtful stereotypes about Jews (that they are rich and powerful) that Acho grew up with in Dallas and how Jews internalize these antisemitic judgments. Moreover, Tishby notes, “it is literally impossible to be Jewish and not have any connection with Israel, and I’m not talking about borders or a dot on the map. Judaism…is an indigenous religion.” Acho wonders if one can legitimately criticize “Jewish people and their ideologies” without being antisemitic, and Tishby offers ways to check whether one’s criticism of Jews or Zionism is antisemitic or factually straightforward. The authors also touch on the deteriorating relationship between Black and Jewish Americans, despite their historically close alliance during the civil rights era. “As long as Jewish people get to benefit from appearing white while Black people have to suffer for being Black, there will always be resentment,” notes Acho. “Because the same thing that grants you all access—your skin color—is what grants us pain and punishment in perpetuity.” Finally, the authors underscore the importance of being mutual allies, and they conclude with helpful indexes on vernacular terms and customs.
An important dialogue at a fraught time, emphasizing mutual candor, curiosity, and respect.Pub Date: April 30, 2024
ISBN: 9781668057858
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Simon Element
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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