Caliphate

A caliphate or khilāfah (Arabic: خِلَافَةْ [xi'laːfah]) is a monarchical form of government (initially elective, later absolute) that originated in the 7th century Arabia, whose political identity is based on a claim of succession to the Islamic State of Muhammad and the identification of a monarch called caliph^[1]^[2]^[3] (/ˈkælɪf, ˈkeɪ-/; Arabic: خَلِيفَةْ [xæ'liːfæh], pronunciation^ⓘ) as his heir and successor. The title of caliph, which was the equivalent of titles such as king, tsar, and khan in other parts of the world, had led to many civil wars, sectarian conflicts, and parallel regional caliphates. Historically, the caliphates were polities based on Islam which developed into multi-ethnic trans-national empires.^[4]^[5]

During the medieval period, three major caliphates succeeded each other: the Rashidun Caliphate (632–661), the Umayyad Caliphate (661–750), and the Abbasid Caliphate (750–1517). In the fourth major caliphate, the Ottoman Caliphate, the rulers of the Ottoman Empire claimed caliphal authority from 1517 until the Ottoman caliphate was formally abolished as part of the 1924 secularisation of Turkey. An attempt to preserve the title was tried, with the Sharifian Caliphate, but this caliphate fell quickly after its conquest by the Sultanate of Nejd (current Saudi Arabia), leaving the claim in dormancy. Throughout the history of Islam, a few other Muslim states, almost all of which were hereditary monarchies, have claimed to be caliphates.

Not all Muslim states have had caliphates. The Sunni branch of Islam stipulates that, as a head of state, a caliph should be elected by Muslims or their representatives.^[6] Shiites, however, believe a caliph should be an imam chosen by God from the Ahl al-Bayt (the "Household of the Prophet"). Some caliphates in history have been led by Shiites, like the Fatimid Caliphate (909–1171). From the late 20th century towards the early 21st century, in the wake of the invasion of Afghanistan by the USSR, the war on terror and the Arab Spring, various Islamist groups have claimed the caliphate, although these claims have usually been widely rejected among Muslims.

^ Hassan, Mona. "Conceptualizing the Caliphate, 632–1517 CE." Longing for the Lost Caliphate: A Transregional History, Princeton University Press, 2016, pp. 98–141, http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1q1xrgm.9 Archived 17 January 2023 at the Wayback Machine
^ March, Andrew F. (2019). The Caliphate of Man: Popular Sovereignty in Modern Islamic Thought. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. doi:10.2307/j.ctvp2n3ms. ISBN 978-0-674-98783-8. JSTOR j.ctvp2n3ms. S2CID 204443322. Accessed 17 January 2023.
^ El-Hibri, Tayeb (2021). The Abbasid Caliphate: A History. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press. pp. 284–285. ISBN 978-1-107-18324-7. Today the term 'caliphate' has come to denote in journalistic use a form of political and religious tyranny, a fanatical version of the application of Islamic law, and a general intolerence toward other faiths – another interpretation, albeit a distorted one, at the beginning of the twenty-first century. It may be useful to recall that such radical perceptions of the term float mostly in the realm of media coverage and are far removed from the actual historical reality of the achievements when a caliphate existed in the medieval period. If we take a longer view of the influence of the office of the caliphate on changes in Islamic society, it may be worth noting that most of the dramatic social and legal reforms instituted by, for instance, the Ottomans in the 19th century were only feasible because of the ability of the sultan to posture as caliph. The Gulhane Reform of 1839 which established the equality of all subjects of the empire before the law, the reforms of 1856 which eliminated social distinctions based on religion, the abolition of slavery in 1857, and the suspension of the traditional penalties of Islamic law in 1858 would all have been inconceivable without the clout that the umbrella of the caliphate afforded to the office of the reforming monarch.
^ Al-Rasheed, Madawi; Kersten, Carool; Shterin, Marat (2012). Demystifying the Caliphate: Historical Memory and Contemporary Contexts. Oxford University Press. p. 3. ISBN 978-0199327959. Archived from the original on 17 January 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
^ Ringmar, Erik (2020). "4. The Muslim Caliphates". History of International Relations. OBP collection. Open Book Publishers. pp. 73–100. ISBN 978-1783740246. Archived from the original on 7 April 2022. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
^ "The Roots of Democracy in Islam". Irfi.org. 16 December 2002. Archived from the original on 22 February 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2014.

[1] Hassan, Mona. "Conceptualizing the Caliphate, 632–1517 CE." Longing for the Lost Caliphate: A Transregional History, Princeton University Press, 2016, pp. 98–141, http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1q1xrgm.9 Archived 17 January 2023 at the Wayback Machine

[2] March, Andrew F. (2019). The Caliphate of Man: Popular Sovereignty in Modern Islamic Thought. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. doi:10.2307/j.ctvp2n3ms. ISBN 978-0-674-98783-8. JSTOR j.ctvp2n3ms. S2CID 204443322. Accessed 17 January 2023.

[3] El-Hibri, Tayeb (2021). The Abbasid Caliphate: A History. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press. pp. 284–285. ISBN 978-1-107-18324-7. Today the term 'caliphate' has come to denote in journalistic use a form of political and religious tyranny, a fanatical version of the application of Islamic law, and a general intolerence toward other faiths – another interpretation, albeit a distorted one, at the beginning of the twenty-first century. It may be useful to recall that such radical perceptions of the term float mostly in the realm of media coverage and are far removed from the actual historical reality of the achievements when a caliphate existed in the medieval period. If we take a longer view of the influence of the office of the caliphate on changes in Islamic society, it may be worth noting that most of the dramatic social and legal reforms instituted by, for instance, the Ottomans in the 19th century were only feasible because of the ability of the sultan to posture as caliph. The Gulhane Reform of 1839 which established the equality of all subjects of the empire before the law, the reforms of 1856 which eliminated social distinctions based on religion, the abolition of slavery in 1857, and the suspension of the traditional penalties of Islamic law in 1858 would all have been inconceivable without the clout that the umbrella of the caliphate afforded to the office of the reforming monarch.

[4] Al-Rasheed, Madawi; Kersten, Carool; Shterin, Marat (2012). Demystifying the Caliphate: Historical Memory and Contemporary Contexts. Oxford University Press. p. 3. ISBN 978-0199327959. Archived from the original on 17 January 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2017.

[5] Ringmar, Erik (2020). "4. The Muslim Caliphates". History of International Relations. OBP collection. Open Book Publishers. pp. 73–100. ISBN 978-1783740246. Archived from the original on 7 April 2022. Retrieved 7 April 2022.

[6] "The Roots of Democracy in Islam". Irfi.org. 16 December 2002. Archived from the original on 22 February 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2014.

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