The Charismatic Leadership Phenomenon in Radical and Militant Islamism.

• Author: Smith, Anthony
• Position: Book review

THE CHARISMATIC LEADERSHIP PHENOMENON IN RADICAL AND MILITANT ISLAMISM

Author. Haroro J. Ingram

Published by. Ashgate, Farnham, Surrey, 2013, 262pp, 65 [pounds sterling].

What is (or was) the charismatic ability of a figure like Osama bin Laden and perhaps other militants in the Islamic world? Given the austere theocratic vision, promising constant struggle, articulated by bin Laden, many will have wondered exactly what the appeal is. In fact answering that question has prompted something of a debate by observers with explanations ranging from humiliation of the Muslim world through to the rewards of paradise. To add to this, the specific appeal of an individual jihadist can be hard to access for outsiders. Media commentators often tell us that bin Laden had charismatic appeal, whereas his successor, Ayman al-Zawahiri, supposedly does not. What is the judgment that lies behind these assessments?

Ingram, therefore, offers an intriguing premise in the title of this volume. He traverses the well-known literature of leadership and even management concepts, establish the main elements of charismatic authority. Ingram distinguishes between three types within this movement: charismatic leaders (for example bin Laden), neo-charismatic (jihadist leader in Iraq, Zarqawi), and the spiritual guide (like the so-called Blind Sheikh, imprisoned for the first attack on the World Trade Center). We discover, however, that bin Laden as founder, organiser and source of spiritual pronouncements might, in Ingram's view, traverse all three--a convenient way to circumvent the theory? Other prominent figures considered here are Jamal al-Din al-Afghani (an early Islamist figure), Hasan al-Banna (founder of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood), Sayyid Qutb (Brotherhood ideologue who would influence militants worldwide), Abdullah Azzam (original founder of the network bin Laden would inherit), and Anwar al-Awlaki (Yemini American cleric who would appeal to radicalised individuals in the English speaking medium as editor of Inspire magazine). The author does not say if all these figures are regarded equally as terrorists, although al-Awlaki perhaps more squarely fits the bill.

In partial answer to one of the questions posed above, Ingram correctly notes that the main means to judge charismatic appeal is in the devoted reactions of followers. Charismatic leadership is a bond, or a relationship, and is particularly notable in a time of profound crisis.

While this volume...