Islamic Foundations of Multicultural Leadership in International Relations: A Framework for Pluralism, Tolerance, And Global Cooperation

Abstract This article examines the theoretical and practical dimensions of leadership in Islam as a framework for multicultural engagement in international relations. Drawing on primary Islamic sources, the Qur’an, Sunnah, and early Islamic political charters and contextualized through historical and contemporary case studies, the study demonstrates how Islamic ethics promote pluralism, religious freedom, and intercultural dialogue. Rather than presenting Islam as monolithic, the article distinguishes between moderate, historically-rooted interpretations and extremist deviations that distort its core principles. Through comparative analysis of pluralistic models in Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates, and engagement with international institutions such as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the article argues that Islamic leadership offers a viable and underutilized epistemology for addressing contemporary global challenges, including forced migration, climate justice, and interfaith peacebuilding. The study contributes to decolonial and post-Western approaches in IR by foregrounding non-Western knowledge systems as legitimate sources of normative theory.