2014

ISIL & The Caliphate Dream

Edited By: Riadh Alayyoobi, in response for Mr !haled Diab and his editorial on
Chroni"ler: # a s$%%essf$l Caliphate in si& simple steps ',
http:((%hroni"ler%om(refle%tions(belief(isis)%aliphate(
*irst of all ,I thin" Mr Diab needs to $pdate his $nderstandin+ of ISIL sin%e their
tar+eted Caliphate is none abo$t ,mayyad or Abbasid dynasties I also s$++est that he
addresses the -estern -orld in a m$%h more than s$perfi%ial manner that is mainly abo$t
sar%asm rather than bein+ s$b.e%ti/e in an iss$e that is more li"e a 00III 1 ISIS slo+an
as sho-n all aro$nd Mos$l says # An Islami% State In The Co$rse of The 2rophe%y' The
era in -hi%h Ab$ 3$4ass and that in -hi%h 5mar Al"hayyam e/er li/ed date to %ent$ries
after the 2rophet4s rei+n# 5mar Al"hayyam 6789)66:6' -hile Ab$ 3$4ass -as born 68;
years after the <i.ra date and died 6== years after that 1 I pi%"ed -hat needs %larifi%ations
and a/oided the rest ,sort of a+reein+ to it
6 The e&amples Mr Diab bro$+ht re+ardin+ -ine taboo and Caliphs %o$rt style of
>$nabashed? poetry of Ab$ 3$4ass and 5mar Al"hayyam are mentioned in
history and arts boo"s if -e -ere to belie/e -hat poems are tellin+ $s # for after
all, Arabs poetry is a h$+e and dependable /erbal and -ritten re+ister or ar%hi/e
appro/ed by most M$slim s%holars of so many so%ietal %ond$%ts, diale%ts and
li/in+ styles' b$t the lines Mr Diab $sed as Ab$ 3$4ass poetry form only a /ery
narro- %aption of the /ast -a/elen+th of e/ents -ithin the %o$rt of the Abbasid
Caliph <aro$n Alrasheed ,both in fre@$en%y of in%iden%e and effe%t too If there is
one poem for Ab$ 3$4ass or 5mar Al"hayyam that is -ine)bo$nd then there are
some tho$sand folds of %o$nter poems that are all abo$t Islami% themes of
%hastity, hi+h esteems and ethi%s, piety, -isdom and else, none of -hi%h de/iates
from Islami% tea%hin+s and Shari4a s%ope Additionally, ,mayyad & Abbasid
Caliphates that Mr Diab based his editorial on do not appeal to the 0ahabi ISIL
ISIL is an a%id f$ndamentalist entity see"in+ the first %ent$ry of Islami% state # at
least a%%ordin+ to their de%lared propa+anda' and not anythin+ ne&t to the first
fo$r Caliphates Sin%e this editorial is e&pe%ted to rea%h too many o$tsiders -ho
"no- little of Islam, -e need to %larify that the first fo$r Caliphs are a+reed to be
the best that M$slims e/er had ne&t to their 2rophet4s rei+n in Medina Their rei+n
is %alled # Ri+hteo$sly)Led Caliphate, or Al"hilafa Alrashida' 0hat follo-ed as
,mayyads and Abbasids %an hardly be %alled Caliphate Still, ISIL %hoi%e of
brin+in+ ba%" that early Caliphate does not fit life in the se%ond Millennia , that is
for s$re, b$t -hat the Arab -orld needs today is somethin+ far better than the
%$rrent style of re+imes r$lin+ all o/er the Middle East ,the ones ISIL is after
topplin+ The Caliphate style loo"s appealin+ to all Arab %itiAens -ho lost any
hope in reformin+ of the %$rrent re+imes sin%e the theme of .$sti%e and e@$ity is
the %ommon mis+i/in+ to all peoples of Arab %o$ntries I don4t thin" that it is the
Islami% %on@$ests and -a+in+ -ars that people are after, it is .$sti%e and ha/in+
de/oted r$lers in stead The most prominent %ornerstone and shiny thin+ to re%all
from the days of the se%ond Caliph, 5mar Bin Al"hattab, for instan%e -o$ld be
his appro/al of -hat one man responded -ith -hile the Caliph -as doin+ a
sermon, that if the Caliph strays a-ay from ri+ht M$slims -o$ld $se their -ords
to %orre%t him It did not harass the %aliph nor did it %ost the Beda-in his life li"e
is the %ase for a %o$nter s%enario these days 1 To .$d+e all Caliphates thro$+h
those -ine)bo$nd poems d$rin+ Abbasid rei+n %ontradi%ts -hat all fo$r Caliphs
# as -ell as too many ,mayyad & Abbasid Caliphs too' -here re+ardin+ the iss$e
of -ine 5mar deri/ed a p$nishment for dr$n"en M$slims based on interpolation
and analo+y be%a$se no M$slim dared to sho- dr$n"en in days of the prophet and
the first Caliph Ab$ Ba"r Alsiddee@ too Alternately, the s$++estion of appointin+
a +ay %o$rt poet is also one stan%e that Mr Diab had pi%"ed and +eneraliAed as if
a r$le of th$mb for any Islami% Caliphate In fa%t Ab$ 3$4ass -as repeatedly
imprisoned for the loose style he had, -hether by <aro$n Alrasheed or his
s$%%essor and son, Mohammad Alameen Ab$ 3$4ass himself repented and there
are bea$tif$l poems of him pleadin+ to Bod for for+i/eness and repentin+
,mayyad & Abbasid S$ltans #and not Caliphs, sin%e ea%h of them -as a
monar%hy based on a tribal dynasty rather than Islami% Caliphate, most of them
$sed the Caliph title sin%e it -o$ld +rant them a di/ine a$thority' in +eneral -ere
said to ha/e a tenden%y to en.oy a /ery loose ni+ht time partyin+ en+a+in+ li@$or,
h$mor, m$si% playin+ and dan%in+ of female sla/es , b$t this -as not the %ase
-ith the first fo$r Caliphate as relayed thro$+h a+es 0e are tal"in+ abo$t t-o
e&tremely different styles of +o/ernors here, both $sin+ the Caliphate title
Re/ertin+ ba%" to the editor4s idea of allo-in+ poets into the Caliphs %o$rts,
poetry -as sort of a taboo d$rin+ the first fo$r Caliphates It -as mainly be%a$se
<oly C$ran e&%l$ded poetry o$t of Mohammad4s diale%t and bein+ # D=::D' as
-ell as mentionin+ poets as # ones -ho prea%h -hat they don4t pra%ti%e amon+st a
fe- other short%omin+s # EE8,EE;,EED & EEF: ED'
E The di/ersity part is indisp$table Apparently, ISIS is after a mono%hromati% state
-ith only Arab M$slims as the main %onstit$ent This may be a %o$nter a%t for
-hat Shiites ha/e been after sin%e E77: do-nfall of Ira@i state in Ba+hdad and
do-n so$th 5ther minorities residin+ in ISIS stron+holds seem to fa%e the option
of payin+ the GiAia ta& or %on/ert to Islam The Christians fa/ored a third option
as they fled in masses all the -ay to !$rdistan B$t ISIS is missin+ one thin+
here Ira@i Christians are not prone to GiAia ta& be%a$se they are not any other
Christians of those early times -hose %o$ntry has .$st been %on@$ered and
anne&ed to a lar+er Islami% empire li"e -as the %ase d$rin+ early Islami%
%on@$ests The fa%t that -e are li/in+ in this se%ond Millennia demands /ie-in+
life as it is and dealin+ -ith it in an open mind style Someho-, it is -orth
%ontemplatin+ here that the GiAia ta& is not a /ery %ostly ta& %ompared to any
ta&ation system in E$ropean %o$ntries , S-eden for instan%e In fa%t the Ira@i
Christians seem to be s$b.e%ted to a m$%h hi+her %ost of li/in+ in !$rdistan that
they fo$nd ref$+e in1 The o/erall balan%e seems to be in fa/or of GiAia, f$nny
findin+ 1 The %on/ertin+ to Islam part is not %on/in%in+ too, sin%e it %ontradi%ts
the <oly C$ran itself, that those -ho opt to belie/e let them do and those -ho opt
not let them do too In fa%t there is at least one HAya in <oly C$ran that tells $s to
lea/e .$d+ment for Bod <imself on G$d+ment Day # ;:D=' -hile another HAya
%redits Ge-s & Christians -ho pra%ti%e their faith ri+hteo$sly # E:6==' The thin+
to mention re+ardin+ GiAia ta& is that, at those early de%ades the only re/en$es of
the Islami% enfant state -ere those spoils of -ar mainly 3o- -e ha/e oil ,
minerals , a+ri%$lt$re, ind$stry and %$stoms of trade The -hole system is
%ompletely altered so -hy sti%" to the past -ith this GiAia iss$e I
: The Toleran%e part: It is a %redit to re/ie- ho- Islam and the prophet himself
fo%$sed on patroniAin+ all Thimmies # Ge-s & Christians li/in+ -ithin an Islami%
so%iety or state' b$t the %onte&t had ne/er been the same all the time sin%e then
0hen 5mar Bin Al"hattab %on@$ered Ger$salem he a/oided prayin+ in a %h$r%h
lest M$slims -o$ld %onfis%ate that %h$r%h later on, b$t his r$les or+aniAed too
many thin+s pertainin+ to Christians, thin+s li"e their formal dress, reli+io$s
e/ents and the %h$r%h bells rin+in+ Altho$+h 5mar -as not a prophet b$t his
r$les -ere %onsidered a r$le for a %onte&t that had been there for the first time to
M$slims, ha/in+ e&panded in siAe so enormo$sly to in%l$de all those fa%tions and
in%apa%itate them one -ay or another It -as a ne- order -ith impro/ised r$les of
%o$rse This %onte&t +ot altered on%e a+ain d$rin+ and after the nine Cr$sades, it
%reated a ne- $nderstandin+ of a%%eptin+ Christians as I tend to belie/e Ge-s
themsel/es +ot prose%$ted same as M$slims d$rin+ the In@$isition of Spain ne&t
to the do-nfall of Andal$sia for the hi+h de+ree of freedom they en.oyed $nder
the r$lership of ,mayyads of Andal$sia The relation bet-een M$slims, Ge-s
and Christians -itnessed too many %han+es, no -onder -hy Christians ended $p
these days as $nli"ely %itiAens d$e to too many of them appla$din+ for Bashar
Asad in Syria and e/en for 3oori Almali"i in Ira@
8 i The Gihad thin+: Mr Diab o/erloo"ed the fa%t that Israel had been -a+in+ a
<oly 0ar of its o-n sin%e 6=89 ISIS is $sin+ the same do%trine rather than
introd$%in+ it for the first time , ie the Reli+io$s State style The late BaAa -ar
is b$t an e&ample -here more than t-o tho$sands 2alestinians paid for only three
%as$alties on the Israeli side This lea/es no spa%e for reasonin+ and opens the
+ates of /en+ean%e %hain rea%tions Any radi%al or+aniAations resortin+ to
/iolen%e does not loo" spitef$l to Arabs and M$slims, it inspires retaliation and
positi/e str$++le in stead 3ot only Israel ,almost all Arab re+imes resort to
e&treme s$ppression te%hni@$es a+ainst any resistan%e to +$ard $pon their
thrones The tort$re -ithin the se%$rity d$n+eons is -hat -e need to %ondemn at
first If -e -ere to analyAe ISIS -e need to /ie- the Syrian and Ira@i re+imes
before in order to $nderstand -hy do they +et all that appla$se and a%%eptan%e of
yo$th
ii The I.tihad thin+: Altho$+h I.tihad #theolo+i%al le+islation ,that is, %omin+ o$t
-ith ne- reli+io$s re+$lations and interpretations a%%ordin+ to the pro+ress of
time and the introd$%tion of ne- iss$es' is /ital for the Shari4a and for life to +o
on , it had al-ays been a so$r%e of di/ision and de/iation to e&tremes amon+st
s%holars d$e to ea%h fa%tion /ie-in+ history from an alternate perspe%ti/e and
so$r%e <istory is an infrastr$%t$re for Shari4a sin%e they d-ell in the same spa%e
#Arabi% lan+$a+e too' Most terms of <oly C$ran are /ery s$++esti/e of this and
that at the same time, hen%e the diffi%$lty of tryin+ to ded$%t and interpolate
-itho$t f$rther di/isions %a$sed 0hat M$slims need today is a mira%le in deed It
is partly d$e to the fa%t that M$slims had dele+ated their %leri%s for a+es by no-,
to do the #Read' part of their reli+ion and %ome o$t#0rite' -ith do+mas and
personal /ie-s @$ite often -hen in fa%t e/ery M$slim is mandated to be his o-n
%leri%, <oly C$ran orders all M$slims to do so 1 ISIS has their o-n /ision
apparently, they had settled on one interpretation for ea%h set of %onfli%ts, hen%e
the e&tremely radi%al theolo+y
; The Se%$larism 2art: I thin" that Mr Diab needs to first define >Se%$larism? here
sin%e -e are tal"in+ abo$t an oriental habitat that la%"s m$%h, espe%ially the Shiite
fa%tion more than else It does not a%%ept the -estern se%$larism and -o$ld fi+ht
any side tryin+ to impose it Jo$ %an4t impose a se%$lar re+ime on an i+norant
so%iety that had lon+ been ta$+ht to %onsider %leri%s as re/ered as Bod himself 1
Too many a/era+e Arabs #and M$slims too' mi& se%$larism -ith atheism for the
lon+ time all those %leri%s from both s%hools "ept on tar+etin+ Se%$larism -ith
re.e%tion and sti+matiAin+ Almost all Ira@i +o/ernments that pro%eeded the E77:
-ar -ere se%$lar, b$t some -ere based on a military %o$p d4Ktat th$s hardly
%alled se%$lar In aro$nd ei+hty years Ira@ tried monar%hy, military a$thorities,
rep$bli%an re+ime and totalitarian one too 3one of them allo-ed reli+io$s %ler+y
%h$r%hes to inter/ene b$t the Shiite %h$r%h had al-ays been o$t of harmony -ith
any +o/ernment of those The se%$larism alternati/e that Mr Diab is s$++estin+
here is a potential -inner pro/ided that both %h$r%hes are ne$traliAed and left for
mere reli+io$s d$ties and minor details and no more than that The @$estion is: Is
it any feasible to apply in a tribal habitat li"e o$rs -here reli+ion is /ery pre/alent
IA habitat in -hi%h both %h$r%hes deri/e their po-ers from the i+norant massesI
ISIS is b$t a third player here -hen it %omes to $sin+ reli+ion as a %o/er or a basis
for +o/ernan%e so the treatment sho$ld be %omprehensi/e, no theolo+i%al
+o/ernan%e at all and for all ri/als The @$estion is: -ho %an implement it and
ho-I
A successfu c!"#$!%e "& s"' s"(#e
s%e#s

By !haled Diab
ISIS really doesnt get what restoring the caliphate means. Heres how in six simple
steps, from Caliphornian wine to cultural melting pots.
2aintin+ by JahyL ibn MahmMd al)0LsitN
Ima+e so$r%e: Jor%" 2ro.e%t
T$esday 6F G$ne E768
To the Islami% State in Ira@ and Breater Syria #ISIS',
I $nderstand yo$ -ish to restore the %aliphate in Ira@ and Syria B$t are yo$ s$re this is
really -hat yo$ -antI As a se%$lar, liberal Arab li/in+ in the E6
st
%ent$ry, I4m not "een on
t$rnin+ ba%" the %lo%" in this -ay, b$t I thin" I4m better prepared for it than yo$
G$d+in+ by yo$r br$tal and bloodthirsty beha/io$r and the t-isted r$leboo" yo$4/e
released, I ha/e this snea"in+ s$spi%ion that yo$ ha/e no idea -hat brin+in+ ba%" the
%aliphate a%t$ally means or in/ol/es Let me +i/e yo$ a %l$e, it -o$ld entail thri/in+ in
di/ersity, pennin+ odes to -ine, in/estin+ in s%ien%e, patroniAin+ the artsO not to
mention appointin+ a +ay %o$rt poet
*or yo$r benefit and other .ihadist no/i%es, here is my +$ide to ho- to b$ild a s$%%essf$l
%aliphate P or >brin+ ba%" +lory of the Islami% Caliphate?, to @$ote yo$ P in half a doAen
simple steps:
6 )!"#$*+&"!& ,"&e !&- )!"#$*+&"c!%"*&
In spring if a houri-like sweetheart
Gives me a cup of wine on the edge of a green cornfield,
Though to the vulgar this would be blasphemy,
If I mentioned any other Paradise, Id be worse than a dog.
5mar al)!hayyam #translated by !arim Emami'
ISIS has banned al%ohol, as -ell as dr$+s and %i+arettes, in the domain $nder its %ontrol
B$t -hat these fanati%s seem to mis$nderstand is that al%ohol may be prohibited
reli+io$sly #haram' in Islam, b$t there -as plenty of f$ll)bodied Caliphornian -ine
aro$nd, as the abo/e /erse by 5mar al)!hayyam ill$strates, -hi%h follo-s in the
tradition of khamariyat, or -ine poetry
>Commanders of the faithf$l? they may ha/e been b$t Caliphs -ere "no-n to ind$l+e in
the $nholy +rape These in%l$ded the ,mayyads and the Abbasids E/en <ar$n al)Rashid,
-ho is re+arded as the most >ri+htly +$ided? of the later %aliphs, is rep$ted to ha/e dr$n"
And e/en if al)Rashid himself did not parta"e, his %o$rt did, as mytholo+ised in many
stories of the 6,776 Arabian 3i+hts, espe%ially his +ay %o$rt poet Ab$ 3$-as, -ho
definitely preferred -ine to +irls
ont cry for !eila and dont re"oice over #ind
Instead drink to the rose from a rosy red wine.
$ glass which, when tipped down the drinkers throat,
!eaves its redness in both the eye and the cheek
Camp, o$tra+eo$s, irre/erent and -itty, Ab$ 3$-as -as %onsidered the +reatest poet of
his time and is still $p there amon+ the +reats, despite the more p$ritani%al a+e -e li/e in,
-here his odes to male lo/e -o$ld ma"e a modern M$slim bl$sh
%ome right in, boys. Im
a mine of lu&ury ' dig me.
(ell-aged brilliant wines made by
monks in a monastery) shish-kebabs)
*oast chickens) +at) rink) Get happy)
and afterwards you can take turns
shampooing my tool.
D$rin+ to the apparent .ealo$sy of his mentor in <ar$n al)Rashid4s %o$rt, Qiryab, the
S$ltan of Style, fled to the ri/al ,mayyad %o$rt in Cordoba, -here, amon+ other thin+s,
he ta$+ht E$ropeans ho- to be%ome fashion sla/es
E .%+e&/%$ "& -"0e+s"%1
Di/ersity and m$lti%$lt$ralism -ere the hallmar" of Islam4s most s$%%essf$l %aliphates
and %aliphs In fa%t, the li+htnin+ speed -ith -hi%h the Arabs -ere able to %on@$er a /ast
empire -as partly fa%iliated by the +reater freedom and lo-er ta&es they offered lo%al
pop$lations %ompared to the bi%"erin+ former imperial masters This -as %o$pled -ith an
early form of -elfare state established by the se%ond %aliph, the a$stere ,mar Ibn al)
!hattab -ho li/ed in a simple m$d h$t to be %lose to the poor and belie/ed in so%ial and
e%onomi% e@$ality
,nder the ,mayyads, -hether %entred in Damas%$s or Cordoba, and the early Abbasids,
Islam4s >+olden a+e? -as %hara%terised, rather li"e today4s Ameri%a, by a %omple&
synthesis and symbiosis bet-een the %$lt$res -hi%h fell $nder Islami% %ontrol as -ell as
nei+hbo$rin+ %i/ilisations It in%orporated Christian, Ge-ish, an%ient Bree", ByAantine,
2ersian and e/en Chinese ideas and added to them to %reate a ne-, dynami% -hole The
5ttomans -ere also at their most s$%%essf$l -hen they tolerated and promoted di/ersity
This is a far %ry from the $niform p$ritanism ISIS see"s to impose on its self)des%ribed
%aliphate
: 2*e+!&ce "s ! -u%1
The ISIS ad/an%e has res$lted in the mass fli+ht of Christians from northern Ira@ And the
Chaldean Catholi% Ar%hbishop of Mos$l fears they -ill ne/er ret$rn, -hile the an%ient
Assyrian %omm$nity of Bartella -ait in terror
This fear is hardly s$rprisin+ +i/en the treatment ISIS has meted o$t on fello- M$slims,
s$%h as the mass e&e%$tions of Shi4a soldiers, not to mention the oppressi/e r$les ISIS
has o$tlined for M$slims in its %on@$ered territory
This is /ery different from the ideals of reli+io$s toleran%e -hi%h Islam4s /ario$s
%aliphates often aspired to, -ith probably the ,mayyads and 5ttomans in their heydays
-innin+ top priAe in this %ate+ory, and @$alifyin+ as the most enli+htened of their a+e
E/en the traditional notion that non)M$slims are dhimmis #prote%ted minorities' -ho are
free to pra%tise their faith b$t are inferior to M$slims %ontradi%ts the prin%iples of e@$ality
embedded in Islam This is amply ill$strated in the Constit$tion of Medina drafted by
M$hammad himself -hi%h stip$lates that M$slims, Ge-s, Christians and pa+ans all ha/e
the same politi%al and %$lt$ral ri+hts So it -o$ld seem that Islam, as pra%tised by its
prophet, +a/e M$slims an ad/anta+e in the hereafter, not the here and no-
Moreo/er, the C$rani% in.$n%tion on >no %omp$lsion in reli+ion? also means that ISIS
has no ri+ht to for%e M$slims to pray, -hether in the mos@$e or other-ise
8 34%"$!- !&- %$e /+e!%e+ 4"$!-
ISIS and other /iolent .ihadists not only %ond$%t >holy -ar? in%orre%tly, inh$manely and
for the -ron+ reasons, they also i+nore the >+reater .ihad?, the str$++le to b$ild a better
self and so%iety
In addition, their fi&ation on implementin+ >sharia? is bafflin+ This is partly be%a$se
their interpretation of it is at odds -ith traditional s%holarship Moreo/er, sharia has
differed si+nifi%antly o/er time and pla%e
More f$ndamentally, the b$l" of -hat is re+arded as Islami% la- today -as rea%hed
thro$+h the reasonin+ of early Islami% s%holars Sin%e -e li/e in radi%ally different times,
it is hi+h time to reopen the +ates of i"tihad P -hi%h -ere sealed by the Abbasids in a bid
to %ement their a$thority P and to rethin" and rein/ent the Islami% le+al system
In its heyday, the Abbasid Caliphate4s %apital Ba+hdad P -hi%h ISIS are perilo$sly %lose
to %on@$erin+ P -as a %entre of s%ien%e, %$lt$re, philosophy and in/ention This -as
epitomised by the Bayt al)<e"ma, -hi%h -as a -orld)leadin+ instit$te of learnin+ $ntil
the Mon+ols sa%"ed Ba+hdad in 6E;9, de/astatin+ Abbasid so%iety to a similar de+ree as
the ,S in/asion of Ira@ in E77:
; A ,*(!&5s #!ce "s "&6 #u7"c
ISIS has informed -omen that their pla%e is in the home and that o$tdoors they m$st
-ear >f$ll, -ide Islami% dress?
0ell, they sho$ld start -ith themsel/es and -ear the hi"ab too, sin%e, if it is an obli+ation
at all, it is one that applies to men too
Altho$+h Islam is a typi%al patriar%hal so%iety, -omen4s pla%e has ne/er been solely in
the home, e&%ept in a minority of %$lt$res It mi+ht sho%" ISIS to learn that the idea of
%loisterin+ -omen o$t of the p$bli% eye may not ha/e been an Islami% idea at all b$t one
borro-ed from the ByAantines
0omen played a "ey role in the spread of Islam by the -ord, s$%h as !hadi.a and Aisha,
and by the s-ord, s$%h as <ind bint ,tbah and Asma4a bint Abi Ba"r ) sort of !ill Bill
%hara%ters of the medie/al -orld P -ho -ere instr$mental in the defeat of the ByAantine
for%es in one of the most de%isi/e battles in history
In addition, -omen made important %ontrib$tions to s%ien%e, philosophy and so%iety
thro$+ho$t Islami% history P a role that has been $nder)resear%hed b$t is eli%itin+ more
interest today They e/en ran empires, albeit dis%retely
Most importantly, Islam4s attit$des to -omen ha/e /aried a%%ordin+ to lo%al %$lt$re Ira@i
and espe%ially Syrian -omen ha/e been on a lon+ road to-ards eman%ipation, and e/en
the faithf$l amon+ them see no %ontradi%tion bet-een their reli+ion and +ender e@$ality
D .ecu!+"s( "s %$e s*u%"*&
M$hammad ne/er nominated a s$%%essor #%aliph' nor spelt o$t a method for identifyin+
one, hen%e Islam does not pres%ribe, nor does it need a %aliphate In addition, the
%aliphate often led to instability d$e to the absen%e of %lear r$les for the transfer of po-er,
and %ontrib$ted to the absol$tists attit$des the re+ion4s leaders traditionally ha/e to
po-er
In addition, the prophet ne/er established an >Islami% state? In fa%t, his r$le of Medina
-as in%redibly se%$lar Moreo/er, Islam4s +reatest s$%%esses -ere a%hie/ed by r$lers -ho
-ere lar+ely se%$lar, espe%ially -hen %ompared to their times
In fa%t, it %o$ld be ar+$ed that the only tr$ly Islami% state, is a spirit$al state, a state of
mind
Contrary to -hat Islamists tell $s, se%$larism is the sol$tion P b$t I don4t mind if yo$ %all
it a >%aliphate?
In fa%t, if yo$ b$ild a %aliphate li"e this, I %an +$arantee yo$, .$d+in+ by the interest on
T-itter, that yo$4ll be dra-in+ immi+rants from all o/er the M$slim -orld
RRRR