&gt; I don&#x27;t think I&#x27;ve ever, in my life, wondered what the &#x27;founder&#x27; of my religion would do. I highly doubt most people do, and I&#x27;d like to see some evidence - some research - showing that it influences more than a tiny fraction.<p>When I was a Buddhist, many of my fellow Buddhists took great pains to emulate the Buddha. It was also important to study the teachings of a particular sect, if one belonged to once, such as Dogen in Soto Zen. In fact, the master-disciple relationship is incredibly important in some forms of Buddhism, with the master ultimately deriving his authority from his lineage, which is rooted in a founder.<p>I think it would be difficult for Christians, whose name essentially means &quot;Christ-like&quot;, to not consider what the founder of their religion would do. Perhaps it&#x27;s not as big of a movement anymore, but there was a &quot;What Would Jesus Do?&quot; movement in Protestantism that wore bracelets bearing WWJD, to remind themselves to act in a Christ-like manner. As an Orthodox Christian, the goal of theosis is inextricably entwined with behaving like Christ.<p>I am sorry for downvoting you, but as someone who has seriously practiced multiple religions, and as someone with a degree in religious studies, I think that saying that founders&#x27; actions don&#x27;t influence their followers is quite difficult to swallow (note: I&#x27;m making no specific statement about Islam, but rather only trying to clarify this particular point).