Lisan al-gaib

“...charismatic leaders ought to come with the warning label: may be dangerous to your health.” - Frank Herbert

In a despotic society, there will be a section of people who feel invisible and oppressed. They might have endured so many decades of subjugation that they aren’t recognised. When this happens for too long, they are so desperate for help that they hang onto any hope they can get in any form.

The minute they experience a small action of recognition or have someone to hear them out, this immense hope springs back into their life like a ray of sunshine in their otherwise dire lives. But sometimes such strong yearning dangerously reshapes into blind faith very quickly. 

When a person in power or authority lends a helping hand to them, this treacherous hope elevates them to menacing heights, building a false image of a liberator inside the people’s minds. They conjecture and create myths to justify their perception of the person in power as the “saviour”. It is no longer “hope” but conviction. 

Dune (the movies) explores this idea flawlessly. The people of Arrakis - the Fremen, repressed by the Harkonnens for decades, feel absolute delight when they finally have our hero Paul Atreides, a Duke, help them fight against their oppressors. They look up to him so much so that they make Paul the proponent of an age-old fallacious prophecy and tend to him as the ultimate warrior who will free them from the shackles of Harkonnens’ oppression.

“You underestimate the power of Faith.” - Princess Irulan

If this creed and harmful persuasion exists in a society, it has threatening repercussions. It will hinder the rational thinking of the people and they will fail to recognise the mistakes and wrongdoings of their leader. They will defend and account for the leader’s flaws.

A perfect example of this is Stilgar from Dune. When Paul denies being the Fremen’s saviour by saying “I’m not the messiah”, Stilgar immediately objects to Paul himself by telling him “You’re too humble to say so”. His dense enthusiasm whenever Paul achieves a feat further spurred on the people of Arrakis.

This unhealthy creed poisons the minds of the people, filling them with hatred towards anyone who doesn’t share the same belief as them. They don’t bother listening to others’ views, thoughts or criticism. They turn into vicious, devout fanatics and divide society further. 

No one bothers to hear Chani out and acknowledge or support her when she refuses to accept Paul as their leader in Dune. 

“I don’t care what you believe, I believe!” - Stilgar

But what happens when the leader treats the lie as the truth? What happens if he expropriates a belief system and uses it to fulfil his selfish desires? When people are handed a position of authority, they feel untouchable. They will fully take advantage of the mindless conviction and manipulate the people. 

In Dune, fuelled by the erroneous belief of Stilgar and the Fremen, Paul starts seeing himself exactly how they do - their saviour, Lisan al-gaib. He deceives the people of Arrakis and uses the prophecy to avenge the deaths in his family by defeating the Harkonnens. 

“It’s not a prophecy, it’s a story.” - Paul Atreides

This is extremely detrimental to society as it breaks down the morals it might be built on. It brings about countless tragedies. So how can one stop this? People need to realise no matter how charismatic and honourable their leader is, they cannot sit still and wait for him to be the “rescuer”. They can’t lead their lives believing false narratives in the hopes that it will be the answer to the pain.

In Dune, Stilgar believes a false prophecy so much that he doesn’t follow Paul blindly, but instead makes Paul the person he wants to follow blindly. The result? An intergalactic war. 

We as a society can only truly advance when flaws are acknowledged and the leaders are held accountable. We should break free from the wrong perception of those in power and not mindlessly follow them. 

“I won’t be fighting for him. I’ll be fighting for my people” says Chani in DUNE, refusing to give into the prophecy and being rational. 

People need to realise that these leaders they look up to as saviours are in the end, mere humans that eventually do what serves their deepest desires. 

Because in the end - “It is not that power corrupts, but that it is magnetic to the corruptible.“

Inspired by DUNE Part 1 & 2, directed by Dennis Villeneuve.