The implications of the Caliphate

Abstract

ABSTRACTRegardless of the outcome of the military campaign, the “Islamic State” is a watershed. Its regime derives from the personage of the Caliph as the “Substitute of the Prophet of Allah” and “Commander of the Believers.” But it seeks not to restore the model of previous Caliphates, but to resurrect the regime of the Prophet who spread Islam “with the sword” so that “the word of Allah becomes supreme.” The Caliphate paradigm is incompatible with tolerance of heterodox Muslim communities or non-Muslim citizens or with peaceful relations with other Muslim states or the non-Muslim world. It precludes a “Westphalian” order; will exacerbate the Sunni–Shiite conflict, radicalize Muslim communities across the globe, fan the flames of Islamist terrorism and will give birth to “Caliphate Archipelagos”—small groups that swear their loyalty to the Caliph and are willing to act in his name in their territories.