Islamic leadership models: Lessons from early Islam

Abstract

Previous scholarly work has explored how religion influences behavior at both the macro and micro level. Specific attention has been given to the role Islam plays as a variable in the behavior of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship as experienced within the context of the Islamic faith. This chapter extends the previous researches in the field by drawing on exemplars that would allow further research on what effective leadership within an Islamic context looks like. Meritocracy, honesty, tolerance, personal courage, and compassion for others were essential underpinnings of the expansion of Islam from the borders of China to the Atlantic coast of Spain. A model for a conceptualization and examination of Islamic Leadership has been developed. The model involves a refinement of previously proposed, but not fully conceptualized, frameworks of Islamic Leadership.