The Mindset of Individuals, Societal Leadership

THE MINDSET OF INDIVIDUALS, SOCIETAL LEADERSHIP It is precisely the task of understanding and reforming the modern mind, Ulama’s most pressing task. Without reforming people’s thinking, no sort of practical political effort can ever succeed. A s indicated above, the individual’s condition is of the utmost importance, while political or societal leadership is that of the outer structure. If the state of the former (i.e., the individual) is good, then inevitably, that of the latter will also be so, and then no conspiracy can cause it to deviate from the right path. The caliphate of Abu Bakr and Umar provides this example. Moreover, when people’s ways of thinking (mindset) become corrupted, even a just ruler cannot transform society into a perfect one, simply by wielding political power. In the present day, we are confronted with the painful reality that all the efforts of the Ulama in practical politics have continuously proven to be ineffective. As we mentioned earlier, Sayyed Ahmad Barelvi established an ‘Islamic government’ in the Peshawar