This is frequently expressed in his famous catchphrase, "I want to be Caliph instead of the Caliph" ("je veux être calife à la place du calife"), which has passed into everyday French for qualifying over-ambitious people who want to become chief.
Dette kommer stadig frem gennem hans berømte erklæring: "Jeg vil være kalif i stedet for kaliffen", som har fået en plads i fransk daglig tale om mennesker, som gerne vil være ledere.