The Inevitable Caliphate

While in the West 'the Caliphate" evokes overwhelmingly negative images, throughout Islamic history it has been regarded as the ideal Islamic polity. In the wake of the "Arab Spring" and the removal of long-standing dictators in the Middle East, in which the dominant discourse appears to be one of the compatibility of Islam and democracy, reviving the Caliphate has continued to exercise the minds of its opponents and advocates. Reza Pankhurst's book contributes to our understanding of Islam in politics, the path of Islamic revival across the last century and how the popularity of the Caliphate in Muslim discourse waned and later re-emerged. Beginning with the abolition of the Caliphate, the ideas and discourse of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hizb ut-Tahrir, al-Qaeda and other smaller groups are then examined. A comparative analysis highlights the core commonalities as well as differences between the various movements and individuals, and suggests that as movements struggle to re-establish a polity which expresses the unity of the ummah (or global Islamic community), the Caliphate has alternatively been ignored, had its significance minimised or denied, reclaimed and promoted as a theory and symbol in different ways, yet still serves as a political ideal for many.

Throughout Islamic history, the term Caliphate has evoked an ideal Islamic polity that mainstream Islamic scholars unilaterally support. Though the recent "Arab Spring" has toppled long-standing dictators across the Middle East, the region's dominant discussions continue to support the compatibility of Islam and democracy, reviving the issue of the Caliphate with opponents and advocates alike. The Inevitable Caliphate? is a unique analysis of Islam and the Muslim polity that refuses to use liberal democracy as a universal yardstick to measure the modern state. It also avoids categorizing Muslims as "Islamists" or other reductive groups, instead encouraging a normative understanding of the politics influencing today's Muslims. Instead of artificial paradigms that shed little light on Islamic movements, this book situates the Caliphate's proponents within the political context they address while also considering their political positions and religious understanding. Beginning with the period of the Caliphate's formal abolition, the volume examines the ideas and discourse of Rashid Reda, Ali Abdul Raziq, Hasan al Banna, Taqiudeen an-Nabahani, Syed Qutb, Abul Ala Maududi, Osama bin Laden, and Abdullah Azzam, among other intellectuals, and includes the position of such groups as Hizb ut-Tahrir, the Muslim Brotherhood, al-Qaeda, and al-Murabitun. The study highlights the Caliphate's core commonalities and differences, its status in Islamic theology, and its application to contemporary reality, and it follows how, as groups struggle to reestablish a polity embodying the unity of the umma (global Islamic community), the Caliphate has been either ignored, minimized, reclaimed, or promoted as theory, symbol, and political ideal.

In this timely and important book, Abdel Bari Atwan draws on his unrivalled knowledge of the global jihadi movement and Middle Eastern geopoliti to reveal the origins and modus operandi of Islamic State. Based on extensive field research and exclusive interviews with IS insiders, Atwan offers a comprehensive review of the group's organisational structure and leadership, strategies, tacti and diverse methods of recruitment. He traces the salafi-jihadi lineage of IS, its ideological differences with al-Qa'ida, and the deadly rivalry that has emerged between their leaders. Atwan also shows how the group's rapid growth has been facilitated by its masterful command of social media platforms, the 'dark web', Hollywood 'blockbuster'-style videos, and even jihadi computer games, producing a powerful paradox where the ambitions of the Middle Ages have re-emerged in cyber-space. As Islamic State continues to dominate the world's media headlines with horrific acts of ruthless violence, Atwan considers the movement's chances of survival and expansion, and offers indispensable insights on potential government responses to contain the IS threat. 'A key voice explaining Islamist militancy to the English-speaking world' Peter Bergen 'Thank heavens we have writers such as Atwan – who knew the real Bin Laden better than any other journalist' Robert Fisk, Independent 'An extraordinarily gifted, experienced and knowledgeable analyst of Arab affairs' Ann Leslie, Daily Mail 'Atwan 'got it' from the moment bin Laden appeared on the scene' Michael Scheuer, former head of the CIA bin Laden 'Alec' unit

A political theorist teases out the century-old ideological transformation at the heart of contemporary discourse in Muslim nations undergoing political change. The Arab Spring precipitated a crisis in political Islam. In Egypt Islamists have been crushed. In Turkey they have descended into authoritarianism. In Tunisia they govern but without the label of “political Islam.” Andrew March explores how, before this crisis, Islamists developed a unique theory of popular sovereignty, one that promised to determine the future of democracy in the Middle East. This began with the claim of divine sovereignty, the demand to restore the sharīʿa in modern societies. But prominent theorists of political Islam also advanced another principle, the Quranic notion that God’s authority on earth rests not with sultans or with scholars’ interpretation of written law but with the entirety of the Muslim people, the umma. Drawing on this argument, utopian theorists such as Abū’l-Aʿlā Mawdūdī and Sayyid Quṭb released into the intellectual bloodstream the doctrine of the caliphate of man: while God is sovereign, He has appointed the multitude of believers as His vicegerent. The Caliphate of Man argues that the doctrine of the universal human caliphate underpins a specific democratic theory, a kind of Islamic republic of virtue in which the people have authority over the government and religious leaders. But is this an ideal regime destined to survive only as theory?

As late as the last quarter of the twentieth century, there were expectations that Islam’s political and cultural influence would dissipate as the advance of westernization brought modernisation and secularisation in its wake. Not only has Islam failed to follow the trajectory pursued by variants of Christianity, namely confinement to the private sphere and depoliticisation, but it has also forcefully re-asserted itself as mobilisations in its name challenge the global order in a series of geopolitical, cultural and philosophical struggles. The continuing (if not growing) relevance of Islam suggests that global history cannot simply be presented as a scaled up version of that of the West. Quests for Muslim autonomy present themselves in several forms — local and global, extremist and moderate, conservative and revisionist — in the light of which the recycling of conventional narratives about Islam becomes increasingly problematic. Not only are these accounts inadequate for understanding Muslim experiences, but by relying on them many Western governments pursue policies that are counter-productive and ultimately hazardous for Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Recalling the Caliphate engages critically with the interaction between Islam and the political in context of a post colonial world that continues to resist profound decolonisation. In the first part of this book, Sayyid focuses on how demands for Muslim autonomy are debated in terms such as democracy, cultural relativism, secularism, and liberalism. Each chapter analyses the displacements and evasions by which the decolonisation of the Muslim world continues to be deflected and deferred, while the latter part of the book builds on this critique and attempts to accelerate the decolonisation of the Muslim Ummah.

This volume showcases a variety of innovative approaches to the study of Muslim societies and cultures, inspired by and honouring Gudrun Krämer and her role in transforming the landscape of Islamic Studies.

Investigating the appeal of the group Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT), the study expands on why non-violent radical forms of Islam still attract segments of Muslim communities in the West. Being one of the few comprehensive studies on HT, this book discusses how this Islamist group advocate for the caliphate and for the implementation of shari'a but also reject violence as a tool to achieve these goals. Through interviews with current HT members, observation at HT-sponsored events and social media analysis, this book leads the reader into the world of vocal radical Islamist groups, exploring their goals and activities in Western states, with a special focus on the UK and Australia. In fact, as many other non-violent Islamist groups, HT represent the choice of all those individuals who might share Islamist arguments but who reject the use of violence. Given their non-violent nature, vocal radicals are mostly free to operate in the Western world, attracting new members, conducting a relentless campaign against the "West as a system" and representing a serious source of concern not only for national authorities but for the broader Muslim community. This book stands as an original publication and paves the way to a new area of study crossing sociology, Islamic studies and political sciences. This book is one of the few contributions on vocal and radical Islamism to date.

Although Hizb ut-Tahrir, an international pan-Islamic political party, regularly holds conferences from Jakarta to Ramallah attended by tens of thousands of people, little is known about the organisation, which was founded in 1953, beyond generalities and conjecture. Its members are repeatedly arrested in Russia, Central Asia, Turkey and across the Middle East, and since the Arab uprisings it has emerged as an influential political actor in Tunisia, has a growing profile in Egypt, and is making a visible impact in the Syrian revolution. It is also paradoxically often dismissed as inconsequential despite its call for the implementation of Islam and the establishment of a universal caliphate across the Muslim world. 'Hizb ut-Tahrir: The Untold History of the Liberation Party' uncovers the history of the global Islamic political party, based upon a diverse array of archival research, internal documents, multiple interviews and other sources to build an authoritative account of the party as told from inside and out. From coup attempts in Jordan, sending delegations to meet Sadat, al-Gaddafi and Khomeini, and the execution of hundreds of its members in Libya and Iraq, Pankhurst's book blends political, intellectual and personal history, moving from global, regional and local perspectives.