Islamic State: The Digital Caliphate by Abdel Bari Atwan

Author:Abdel Bari Atwan
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9780520289284
Publisher: University of California Press
Published: 2015-09-07T16:00:00+00:00

THE BIRTH OF THE DIGITAL CALIPHATE

When Islamic State and the new caliphate were declared on July 1, 2014, much of the world’s media made fun of the idea, claiming it is a medieval concept, with no place in the modern world. In fact there has been an almost unbroken succession of Islamic caliphates, in one form or another, for 1,300 years, with the only significant gap occurring between the demise of the Ottoman Empire in 1922 and 2014.

A very brief history of the Islamic caliphate is in order here. The caliph is, literally, a “successor” of the Prophet Muhammad and is the undisputed head of state. After Muhammad’s death, the first caliphate was established by his followers and family to continue the religious, judicial, and social systems he had established. The first four caliphs were collectively known as the Rashidun Caliphate, starting with Abu Bakr al-Siddiq. He nominated his successor (Umar ibn Khattab) on his deathbed. A majlis (council) elected Khattab’s succesor, Uthman ibn Affan, but he was killed by a rebel group, and Ali ibn Abi Talib proclaimed himself caliph. A civil war between the Muslims, known as fitna, ensued over succession to the caliphate, resulting in the Sunni-Shi‘a schism: those who followed Ali were known thereafter as the Shi‘a (“Shiat Ali” meaning the “party of Ali”).

The next caliph, Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan, was governor of Syria and a relative of Uthman. He established the principle of a hereditary caliphate, which the Umayyad dynasty ruled from 661 to 750 CE, a period of rapid expansion through three continents (Africa, Asia, and Europe). The Umayyad Caliphate became one of the biggest unitary states in world history. Islamic State aspires to reclaim all these territories.

The Abbasid Caliphate, which overthrew the Umayyads in 750 CE is considered the “golden age” of Islam, rich with intellectual, cultural, and scientific achievements and innovations; Baghdadi frequently refers to this idealized period. The Abbasid family were from Mecca, and their dynasty produced an unbroken line of caliphs for almost 300 years. Then the regional rulers of various parts of the huge Islamic state began to agitate for greater autonomy, fragmenting the whole—which remained a nominal caliphate nonetheless—into sultanates and monarchies.

Abu Bakr al-Husseini al-Qureishi al-Baghdadi—to give the current self-proclaimed caliph of Islamic State his full, chosen name—references (and lays claim to) previous caliphates with this moniker. Abu Bakr was the first caliph, and Imam Husseini was the Prophet’s grandson. The Qureysh are the tribe from which Muhammad emerged, and the “true caliphs” are meant to be from this tribe too, descendants of the Prophet. Like any leader of a new state, Baghdadi is particularly keen for new immigrants with useful skills: “We make a special call to the scholars, fuqaha [experts in Islamic jurisprudence], and especially the judges, as well as people with military, administrative and service expertise, and medical doctors and engineers of all different specializations and fields.”18

Two days after proclaiming himself caliph, on the first Friday in Ramadan, Caliph Ibrahim (Baghdadi) emerged from the shadows

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