Caliphate

A caliphate, (from the Arabic خلافة or khilaafah), is the Islamic form of government representing the political unity and leadership of the Muslim world. The head of state's position (Caliph) is based on the notion of a successor to Prophet Muhammad's political authority; according to Sunnis elected by the people or their representatives,, or he may seize power or inherit it. From the time of Muhammad until 1924, successive caliphates were held by the Umayyad, Abbasid, and finally Ottoman dynasties. The Shia counterpart is the Imamate.

The caliphate is a form of governance that has full approval in traditional Islamic theology, along with monarchy [5] and "is the core political concept of Sunni Islam, by the consensus of the Muslim majority in the early centuries." Andrew Hammond reports that medieval caliphates "enjoyed scientific and military superiority globally - both absent today".

History

The caliph, or head of state, was often known as Amīr al-Mu'minīn (أمير المؤمنين) "Commander of the Faithful", Imam al-Ummah, Imam al-Mu'minīn (إمام المؤمنين), or more colloquially, leader of all the Muslims. Each member state (Sultanate, Wilayah, or Emirate) of the Caliphate had its own governor (Sultan, Wali or Emir). Dar al-Islam (دار الإسلام lit. land of Islam) was referred to as any land under the rule of the caliphate, including a land populated by non-Muslims and land not under rule of the caliphate was referred to as Dar al-Kufr (lit. land of non-Islam), even if its inhabitants were Muslims, because they were not citizens under Islamic law. The first capital of the Caliphate after Muhammad died was in Medina. At times in Muslim history there have been rival claimant caliphs in different parts of the Islamic world, and divisions between the Shi'a and Sunni parts.

The first four caliphs were Muhammad's Sahaba (disciples); Abu Bakr, then Umar ibn al-Khattab, then Uthman ibn Affan, and the fourth was Ali ibn Abi Talib. Sunni Muslims consider Abu-Bakr to be the first legitimate Caliph, Shi'a consider Ali to have been the first truly legitimate Caliph, although they concede that Ali accepted his predecessors, because he eventually sanctioned Abu-Bakr [6].

After the first four caliphs the Caliphate was claimed by the dynasties such as Umayyads, the Abbasids, and the Ottomans, and for relatively short periods by other, competing dynasties in al-Andalus, Northern Africa, and Egypt. Mustafa Kemal officially abolished the last Caliphate, the Ottoman Empire, and founded the Republic of Turkey, in 1924. The Kings of Morocco still label themselves with the title Amīr al-Mu'minīn for Moroccans, but lay no claim to the Caliphate.

First four

Abū Bakr nominated Umar as his successor on his deathbed, and there was consensus in the Muslim community to his choice. His successor, Uthman, was elected by a council of electors (Majlis), but was soon perceived by some to be ruling as a "king" rather than an elected leader. Uthman was killed by members of a disaffected group. ˤAlī then took control, and although very popular, he was not universally accepted as caliph by the governors of Egypt, and later by some of his own guard. He had two major rebellions and was assassinated after a tumultuous rule of only five years. This period is known as the Fitna, or the first Islamic civil war.

Muˤāwiyya, a relative of Uthman, and governor (Wali) of Syria became one of ˤAlī's challengers. After ˤAlī's death, Muˤāwiyya managed to overcome other claimants to the Caliphate. Under Muˤāwiyya, the caliphate became a hereditary office for the first time. He founded the Umayyad dynasty.

In areas which were previously under the Persian or Byzantium rule, the Caliphs lowered taxes, provided greater local autonomy, greater religious freedom for Jews, indigenous Christians, and brought peace to peoples demoralized and disaffected by the casualties and heavy taxation that resulted from the years of Byzantine-Persian warfare.

Umayyads, 7th-8th century

Main article: Umayyad

The Caliphate, 622-750

Under the Umayyads the Caliphate grew rapidly geographically. Islamic rule expanded westward across North Africa and into Spain and eastward through Persia and ultimately to Sind and Punjab in India. This made it one of the largest unitary states in the history of West Eurasia, extending its entire breadth, and one of the few states in history to ever extend direct rule over three continents (Africa, Europe, and Asia). Although not ruling all of the Sahara, homage was paid to the Caliph by Saharan Africa usually via various nomad Berber tribes.

Largely due to the fact that they were not elected via Shura, the Umayyad dynasty was not universally supported within the Muslim community. Some supported prominent early Muslims like az-Zubayr; others felt that only members of Muhammad's clan, the Banū Hashim, or his own lineage, the descendants of ˤAlī, should rule. There were numerous rebellions against the Umayyads, as well as splits within the Umayyad ranks (notably, the rivalry between Yaman and Qays). Eventually, supporters of the Banu Hisham and the supporters of the lineage of Ali united to bring down the Umayyads in 750. However, the Shiˤat ˤAlī, "the Party of ˤAlī", were again disappointed when the Abbasid dynasty took power, as the Abbasids were descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib and not from ˤAlī. Following this disappointment, the Shiˤat ˤAlī finally split from the majority Sunni Muslims and formed what are today the several Shiˤa denominations.

Abbasids, 8th-13th century

Main article: Abbasid

The Abbasids had an unbroken line of Caliphs for over three centuries, consolidating Islamic rule and cultivating great intellectual and cultural developments in the Middle East. By 940 the power of the Caliphate under the Abbasids was waning as non-Arabs, particularly the Berbers of North Western Africa, the Turkish, and later the Mamluks in Egypt in the latter half of the 13th century, gained influence, and sultans and emirs became increasingly independent. However, the Caliphate endured as both a symbolic position and a unifying entity for the Islamic world.

During the period of the Abassid dynasty, Abassid claims to the caliphate did not go unchallenged. The Shiˤa Said ibn Husayn of the Fatimid dynasty, which claimed descendency of Muhammad through his daughter, claimed the title of Caliph in 909, creating a separate line of caliphs in North Africa. Initially covering Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya, the Fatimid caliphs extended their rule for the next 150 years, taking Egypt and Palestine, before the Abbassid dynasty was able to turn the tide, limiting Fatimid rule to Egypt. The Fatimid dynasty finally ended in 1171. The Umayyad dynasty, which had survived and come to rule over the Muslim provinces of Spain, reclaimed the title of Caliph in 929, lasting until it was overthrown in 1031.

Shadow Caliphate, 13th century

1258 saw the conquest of Baghdad and the execution of Abassid caliph al-Musta'sim by Mongol forces under Hulagu Khan. A surviving member of the Abbasid House was installed as Caliph at Cairo under the patronage of the Mamluk Sultanate three years later; however, the authority of this line of Caliphs was confined to ceremonial and religious matters, and later Muslim historians referred to it as a "shadow" Caliphate.

Ottomans, 15th-20th century

Main article: Ottoman Caliphate

The Ottoman Caliphate.

Ottoman rulers were known primarily by the title of Sultan and used the title of Caliph only sporadically. Mehmed II and his grandson Selim used it to justify their conquest of Islamic countries. As the Ottoman Empire grew in size and strength, Ottoman rulers beginning with Mehmed II began to claim Caliphal authority.

Ottoman rulers used the title "Caliph" symbolically on many occasions but it was strengthened when the Ottoman Empire defeated the Mamluk Sultanate in 1517 and took control of most Arab lands. The last Abbasid Caliph at Cairo, al-Mutawakkil III, was taken into custody and was transported to İstanbul, where he reportedly surrendered the Caliphate to Selim I. According to Barthold, the first time the title of "Caliph" was used as a political instead of symbolic religious title by the Ottomans was the peace treaty with Russia in 1774. The outcome of this war was disastrous for the Ottomans. Large territories, including those with large muslim populations, such as Crimea, were lost to the Russian Empire. However, the Ottomans under Abdulhamid I claimed a diplomatic victory by assigning themselves the protectors of Muslims in Russia as part of the peace treaty. This was the first time the Ottoman caliph was acknowledged as having political significance outside of Ottoman borders by a European power. As a consequence of this diplomatic victory, as the Ottoman borders were shrinking, the powers of the Ottoman caliph increased.

Around 1880 Sultan Abdulhamid II reasserted the title as a way of countering the spread of European colonialism in Muslim lands. His claim was most fervently accepted by the Muslims of British India. By the eve of the First World War, the Ottoman state, despite its weakness vis-à-vis Europe, represented the largest and most powerful independent Islamic political entity. But the sultan also enjoyed some authority beyond the borders of his shrinking empire as caliph of Muslims in Egypt, India and Central Asia.

Khilafat Movement, 1920

Main article: Khilafat Movement

See also: Partitioning of the Ottoman Empire

In the 1920s the Khilafat Movement, a movement to defend the Ottoman Caliphate, spread throughout the British colonial territories in Asia. It was particularly strong in British India, where it was a rallying point for Muslim and Hindu communities led by Maulana Muhammad Ali Jouhar. It was the first significant anti-British Indian political movement to enjoy support among Hindus and Muslims, including Gandhi as a member. However, after the arrest or abscondment of its leaders, and a series of offshoots the movement lost its momentum.

End of Caliphate, 1924

Further information: [[:Atatürk's Reforms]]

On March 3, 1924, the first President of the Turkish Republic and its leader, Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, along the Atatürk's reforms, constitutionally abolished the institution of the Caliphate. Its powers within Turkey were transferred to the Turkish Grand National Assembly (parliament) of the newly formed Turkish Republic and the title has since been inactive. Though very unlikely, the Turkish Republic still retains the right to reinstate the Caliphate, if it ever chooses to do so.

Scattered attempts to revive the Caliphate elsewhere in the Muslim World were made in the years immediately following its abandonment by Turkey, but none were successful. Hussein bin Ali, a former Ottoman governor of the Hejaz who aided the British during World War I and revolted against Istanbul, declared himself Caliph two days after Turkey relinquished the title. But his claim was largely ignored, and he was soon ousted and driven out of Arabia by the Saudis, a rival clan that would have no interest in the Caliphate. The last Ottoman Sultan Mehmed VI made a similar attempt to re-establish himself as Caliph in the Hejaz after leaving Turkey, but he was also unsuccessful. A summit was convened at Cairo in 1926 to discuss the revival of the Caliphate, but most Muslim countries did not participate and no action was taken to implement the summit's resolutions.

Though the title Ameer al-Mumineen was adopted by the King of Morocco and Mullah Mohammed Omar, former head of the now-defunct Taliban regime of Afghanistan, neither claimed any legal standing or authority over Muslims outside the borders of their respective countries. The closest thing to a Caliphate in existence today is the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), an international organization with limited influence founded in 1969 consisting of the governments of most Muslim-majority countries.

Reestablishment

Once the subject of intense conflict and rivalry amongst Muslim rulers, the caliphate has lain dormant and largely unclaimed since the 1920s. Many surveys show that since the U.S.-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, many Muslims have seen the war against terrorism as a war on Islam. Muslims regard themselves as members of the ummah, or community of believers, that forms the heart of Islam, and as the earthly head of that community, the Caliph is cherished both as memory and ideal, many interviews indicate. The caliphate is still esteemed by many ordinary Muslims. Tight restrictions on political activity in many Muslim countries coupled with the obstacles to uniting over fifty nation-states under a single institution have prevented efforts to revive the caliphate. Popular apolitical Islamic movements such as the Tablighi Jamaat identify a lack of spirituality and decline in personal religious observance as the root cause of the Muslim World's problems, and claim that the caliphate cannot be successfully revived until these deficiencies are addressed. No attempts at rebuilding a power structure based on Islam were successful anywhere in the Muslim World until the Iranian Revolution in 1979, which was based on Shia principles and whose leaders did not outwardly call for the restoration of a global Caliphate.

Islamist call

A number of Islamist political parties and Islamist guerrilla groups have called for the restoration of the caliphate by uniting Muslim nations, either through peaceful political action (e.g. Hizb ut-Tahrir) or through force (e.g. al-Qaida). Various Islamist movements have gained momentum in recent years with the ultimate aim of establishing a Caliphate or some other form of an Islamic State; however, they differ in their methodology and approach. Some, such as the Justice and Development Party in Turkey, are locally-oriented, mainstream political parties that have no apparent transnational objectives.

One of al-Qaida's clearly stated goals is the re-establishment of a Caliphate.[7] Al Qaeda recently named its Internet newscast from Iraq "The Voice of the Caliphate."[8]

In Pakistan the Tanzeem-e-Islami, an Islamist organization founded by Dr. Israr Ahmed, calls for a Caliphate.

The Muslim Brotherhood advocates pan-Islamic unity and implementing Islamic law, it is the largest and most influential Islamic group in the world, and it's offshoots form the largest opposition parties in most Arab governments. Officially sanctioned Islamic institutions in the Muslim world generally do not consider the Caliphate a top priority and have instead focused on other issues. Islamists argue it is because they are tied to the current Muslim regimes.

One transnational group particularily strong in Central Asia, and now growing in strength in the Arab World[9], Hizb ut-Tahrir (lit. party of liberation), has tried to recruit the world's Muslims to a renewed caliphate, aiming to ultimately form a pan-Islamic government.

U.S. Presidential Position

United States President George W. Bush has warned repeatedly in speeches on the War on Terror that the Caliphate is at the heart of radical Islamic ideology. President Bush has said Iraq is a pivotal battleground in a larger conflict between advocates of freedom and radical Islamists.

Bush said that Al Qaeda terrorists and those that share their ideology

"hope to establish a violent political utopia across the Middle East, which they call caliphate, where all would be ruled according to their hateful ideology...This caliphate would be a totalitarian Islamic empire encompassing all current and former Muslim lands, stretching from Europe to North Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia."[10]

On 4 February 2006 United States Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said U.S. allies should increase military spending to prevent the creation of a "global extremist Islamic empire."

Various commentators, such as NBC and Buzzle, have criticized this approach, saying Bush is seeking to replace the red menace with a new illusory 'green menace' caliphate run by extremists, using an Appeal to fear.[11][12]

Political system

Electing or appointing a Caliph

Fred M. Donner, in his book The Early Islamic Conquests (1981), argues that the standard Arabian practice during the early Caliphates was for the prominent men of a kinship group, or tribe, to gather after a leader's death and elect a leader from amongst themselves, although there was no specified procedure for this shura, or consultative assembly. Candidates were usually from the same lineage as the deceased leader, but they were not necessarily his sons. Capable men who would lead well were preferred over an ineffectual direct heir, as there was no basis in the majority Sunni view that the head of state or governor should be chosen based on lineage alone.

This argument is advanced by Sunni Muslims, who believe that Muhammad's companion Abu Bakr was elected by the community and that this was the proper procedure. They further argue that a caliph is ideally chosen by election or community consensus, even though the caliphate soon became a hereditary office, or the prize of the strongest general.

Al-Mawardi has written that the caliph should be Qurayshi. Abu Bakr Al-Baqillani has said that the leader of the Muslims simply should be from the majority. Abu Hanifa also wrote that the leader must come from the majority. [13]

Shi'a Muslims disagree. They believe that Muhammad had given many indications that he considered ˤAlī ibn Abī Talib, his cousin and son-in-law, as his divinely chosen successor making a majority vote or elections irrelevant. They say that Abū Bakr seized power by threat against Ali and that the 3 caliphs before ˤAlīwere usurpers. ˤAlī and his descendents are believed to have been the only proper leaders, or imams regardless of Democracy and what the majority wanted, in the Shia's point of view. This matter is covered in much greater detail in the article Succession to Muhammad, and in the article on Shi'a Islam, although it is worth mentioning that ˤAlī himself did not rebel against the majority choosing Abu Bakr though he may have disagreed. Some shia's argue that in the absence of a Caliphate headed by their Imams, the system termed Vilayat-e Faqih suffices.

Contrary to the Shia, Sunni Muslims believe that the caliph has always been a merely temporal political ruler, appointed to rule within the bounds of Islamic law (Shariah), and not necessarily the most qualified in Islamic law. The job of adjudicating orthodoxy and Islamic law (Shariah) was left to Islamic lawyers, judiciary, or specialists individually termed as Mujtahids and collectively named the Ulema. The first four caliphs are called the Rashidun meaning the Rightly Guided Caliphs, because they are believed to have followed the Qur'an and the sunnah (example) of Muhammad in all things.

Majlis al-Shura: Parliament

Main article: Shura

or Majlis-e-Shoora

Traditional Sunni Islamic lawyers agree that shura, loosely translated as 'consultation of the people', is a function of the caliphate; the people's will is represented in the form of the Majlis al-Shura which is similar to a parliament. This is premised on the following verses of the Quran:

• "...those who answer the call of their Lord and establish the prayer, and who conduct their affairs by Shura. [are loved by God]" [42:38]
• "...consult them (the people) in their affairs. Then when you have taken a decision (from them), put your trust in Allah" [3:159]

The majlis is also the means to elect a new caliph. Al-Mawardi has written that members of the majlis should satisfy three conditions: they must be just, they must have enough knowledge to distinguish a good caliph from a bad one, and must have sufficient wisdom and judgment to select the best caliph. Similarly Hizb ut-Tahrir have put no extra conditions that only Muslims should be part of the majlis. Al-Mawardi also said in emergencies when there is no caliphate and no majlis, the people themselves should create a majlis, select a list of candidates for caliph, then the majlis should select from the list of candidates. [14]

Accountability of rulers

Sunni Islamic lawyers have commented on when it is permissible to disobey, impeach or remove rulers in the Caliphate. This is usually when the rulers are not meeting public responsibilities obliged upon them under Islam.

Al-Mawardi said that if the rulers meet their Islamic responsibilities to the public, the people must obey their laws, but if they become either unjust or severely ineffective then the Caliph or ruler must be impeached via the Majlis al-Shura. Similarly Al-Baghdadi believed that if the rulers do not uphold justice, the ummah via the majlis should give warning to them, and if unheeded then the Caliph can be impeached. Al-Juwayni argued that Islam is the goal of the ummah, so any ruler that deviates from this goal must be impeached. Al-Ghazali believed that oppression by a caliph is enough for impeachment. Rather than just relying on impeachment, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani obliged rebellion upon the people if the caliph began to act with no regard for Islamic law. Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani said that to ignore such a situation is haraam, and those who cannot revolt inside the caliphate should launch a struggle from outside. Al-Asqalani used two ayahs from the Quran to justify this:

• "...And they (the sinners on qiyama) will say, 'Our Lord! We obeyed our leaders and our chiefs, and they misled us from the right path. Our Lord! Give them (the leaders) double the punishment you give us and curse them with a very great curse'..." Al-Ahzab: 67-68 [15]

Islamic lawyers commented that when the rulers refuse to step down via successful impeachment through the Majlis, becoming dictators through the support of a corrupt army, if the majority agree they have the option to launch a revolution against them. Many noted that this option is only exercised after factoring in the potential cost of life. [16]

Economy and Banking

Main article: Islamic economics

Main article: Islamic banking

A Caliph would exercise several prerogatives related to trade and economics. One would be to protect property and commerce from theft or unethical business practices, such as usury or fraud, and to establish bureaucracies to do the same. A Caliph can also put in taxes and regulations, include those which are not explicitly mentioned in the Sharia, as long as they do not impose excessive burden on property and commerce, and are done for the benefit of the society. A Caliph should not interfere with the private property of his subjects [17].

The Bayt al-Mal or state treasury was the financial institution responsible for the administration of taxes, and state finance. It served as a treasury for the caliphs and sultans, managing personal finances and government expenditures. Further, it administered distributions of zakah revenues for poor relief. Among others, the taxes named Jizyah, Ushr, Kharaj, Khums and Zakah were traditionally levied by the Bayt al-Mal.

Foreign policy and Jihad

The land that the Caliphate was at war with was referred to as Dar al-Harb (Arabic: دار الحرب "land of war") , and the Caliph could declare war if it was considered a just war, or Jihad. Only a Muslim ruler, such as a Caliph, can declare a jihad for offensive purposes, and in order to allow Islam to be practiced in foreign land or to protect the interests of Muslims. Not all wars done by a Muslim state may be considered jihad, for example wars done because of tribal interests or for personal gain [18].

Famous caliphs

Main article: List of caliphs

• Abu Bakr - First rightly guided caliph of the Sunnis. Subdued rebel tribes in the Ridda Wars.
• Umar ibn al-Khattab - Second rightly guided caliph. During his reign, the Islamic empire expanded to include Egypt, Jerusalem, and Persia.
• Uthman ibn Affan - Third rightly guided caliph. The Qur'an was compiled under his direction. Killed by rebels.
• Ali ibn Abu Talib - Fourth and last rightly guided caliph, and considered the first imam by Shi'a Muslims. His reign was fraught with internal conflict.
• Muawiya I - First caliph of the Umayyad dynasty. Muawiya instituted dynastic rule by appointing his son Yazid as his successor, a trend that would continue through subsequent caliphates.
• Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz - Umayyad caliph considered by some (mainly Sunnis) to be a fifth rightly guided caliph.
• Haroon al-Rasheed - Abbasid caliph during whose reign Baghdad became the world's preeminent centre of trade, learning, and culture. Haroon is the subject of many stories in the famous work 1001 Arabian Nights.
• Suleiman the Magnificent - Early Ottoman Sultan during whose reign the Ottoman Empire reached its zenith.

Further Reading

• The History of Al-Khilafah Ar-Rashidah (The Rightly Guided Caliphates) Scool Textbook, By Dr. 'Abdullah al-Ahsan, `Abdullah Ahsan
• The Crisis of the Early Caliphate By Richard Stephen Humphreys, Stephen (EDT) Humphreys from The History of al-Tabari
• Reunification of the Abbasid Caliphate By Clifford Edmund (TRN) Bosworth, from The History of al-Tabari
• Return of the Caliphate to Baghdad By Franz Rosenthal from The History of al-Tabari
• The Caliphate, Its Rise, Decline, and Fall. From Original Sources By William Muir
• Pan-Islamism: Indian Muslims, the Ottomans and Britain (1877-1924) By Azmi Özcan
• Ottomanism, Pan-Islamism, and the Caliphate Discourse at the Turn of the 20th Century American University in Cairo
• Baghdad during the Abbasid Caliphate from Contemporary Arabic and Persian Sources By Guy Le Strange
• The Fall of the Caliphate of Cordoba: Berbers and Andalusis in conflict By Peter C. Scales

See also

• Emir
• Sultan
• Shah
• Sheikh ul-Islam
• History of Islam
• Muhammad
• Succession to Muhammad
• Category:Caliphs
• Sunni Islam
• Hizb-ut-Tahrir
• Islamic State
• Rashidun

References

• Crone, Patricia & Hinds, Martin -- God's Caliph, Cambridge University Press, 1986
• Donner, Fred -- The Early Islamic Conquests, Princeton University Press, 1981

External links

• The return of the caliphate The Guardian Newspaper
• "The Golden Caliphate" by Anne Berg, Director of the Chicago Board of Trade, Adviser to the UN, World Bank, and writes for the Financial Times editorial page.
• "From Bishkek to Baghdad, the Caliphate's time has come" By Simon Jones; freelance journalist based in Tashkent
• Worldstatesmen.org
• Ottomanism, Pan-Islamism,and the Caliphate The American University in Cairo, Middle East Studies Program
• Various Articles on Khilafah (Caliphate)