IDEA 37
The Ambivalent Character of Popular Opinion
Now the doctrines which find most favour with the populace are those which are either contentious and pugnacious, or specious and empty; such, I say, as either entangle assent or tickle it. And therefore no doubt the greatest wits in each successive age have been forced out of their own course; men of capacity and intellect above the vulgar having been fain, for reputation’s sake, to bow to the judgement of the time and the multitude; and thus if any contemplations of a higher order took light anywhere, they were presently blown out by the winds of vulgar opinions. So that Time is like a river, which has brought down to us things light and puffed up, while those which are weighty and solid have sunk. [Francis Bacon. The Great Instauration: Preface]
What was true of Francis Bacon’s time and place, namely 17th-century England, is even more on the mark today, when minds of all stripes are swayed back and forth by the great waves being made in social media. As participants in this worldwide tidal ebb and flow, Muslims have become increasingly trapped in floods of opinion and interest that often have little to do with their actual concerns. What comes ‘down the river’ to them, as Bacon depicts this stream of news and views, are the puffed-up pieces designed to attract the most followers and the largest revenue. Anything weighty that resists the trend of popular attention and is not to the taste of the consuming public rests quietly on the riverbed, probably unseen, unheard, and ignored by the rush and roar of bubbling and babbling above.
In Q6:116, AL-LAH declares, And if you obeyed the greater part of those on Earth, they would divert you from the path of GOD. They follow nothing but opinion, and they only make conjectures.
In the previous post, I discussed the need for our leaders to listen to the people they are leading, as the Prophet (may GOD bless him and give him peace) himself was ordered to do: And consult them in the [public] matter. (Q3:159) Some commentators believe that this passage, plus another one in Q42:38 — And their affairs [are done] by [public] consultation — constitute proof that Islamic government is basically democratic, i.e., that the people decide matters. But consultation and decision are quite different in character and in outcome.
How much weight a leader gives to the voices of his people depends on how much weight those voices actually have. When they are aired in public, the transient nature and poor quality of most opinions come to light. In an assembly replete with “good speech, rational argument, and calm debate” — something we rarely see or hear in social media — the best and most balanced views have a chance to make headway. If they do not, perhaps because they are shouted down, denounced as self-interested, dismissed as impractical, or drowned out in a deluge of trivial demands and disputes, then a wise leader still has a chance to hear the soundest advice and retain it for future use. He should also be powerful enough to resist the flood of passion and partisanship that could arise in public forums and make his decision later, quietly, in the company of those whose advice he trusts. He gave the public their chance to speak openly, and perhaps found them to be hollow and unreliable. And when you see them, their exteriors impress you. And when you hear them speak, they are like blocks of wood propped up. (Q63:4)
On the other hand, a weak, corrupt leader will utilize the fickleness of the public as an excuse to solidify his rule and increase the divide between him and the members of the community most likely to oppose his dictates with reasons and principles. Indeed, the unreliability of the masses is such a useful tool that a despot will be eager to make his people even more distracted and stupefied by spreading rumours, fomenting divisions in the community, and creating imaginary enemies for public consumption.
Rather than educating the people and gradually guiding them to become more responsible, more rational, and thus worth listening to, a bad leader will do everything in his power to disparage public discussion as useless and divisive. It often is, of course, but that can only be cured by constant, patient counselling and a persistent focus on matters of fundamental importance — matters such as poverty, illiteracy, lack of participation, inattention to the problems of women and youths, and dependence on the secular powers — rather than quarrels over minor issues of religious doctrine and practice that continue to split many Muslim communities today.
A good leader does not ‘obey’ his people, but neither does he abandon them to their whims and passions. Democracy means rule (kratos) by the people (demos), and despite what many essays and books have claimed in recent years, nowhere in the Qur’an or Sunnah is that principle of government proclaimed or defended. The people are, however, to be listened to, consulted, cared for, instructed, and guided, and a true leader will never separate himself from them. When we say that sovereignty belongs to AL-LAH, we mean that it is by His revelations and rules that leaders are expected to lead. Those leaders are chosen by and from the people whose voices have been heard and uplifted in public forums, through enlightened debate and the respectful exchange of ideas, and it is in those forums, by GOD’s Will, that we may develop the minds and hearts capable of both leadership and obedience.
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