Caliphate Research Articles

Early medieval Turkic -sogdian relations in Zhetysu (VI-VIII centuries)

In this article, a study of the little-studied direction of the Turkic-Sogdian relations is conducted. The article describes in detail the place of ancient cities in the course of Turkic-Sogdian relations. The main purpose of the article is to study the long-standing historical approach in a New Light with the introduc- tion of data that has not yet fully entered scientific circulation. The main sources are books from the collections of rare books, research works based on Chinese data, as well as the works of researchers who covered this problem only in absentia. The literature data in the form of microfilms from the collections of rare books were used through source research and analysis. In addition, the historical-comparative method was used when using the data. The studies conducted under the Soviet regime on this issue and the research works of the national direction after the indepen- dence of the Republic of Kazakhstan were mutually analyzed. Relations that began to form in the middle of the VI century, By the middle of the VII century. en- tered a new shape. Now the relationship has manifested itself not only from the economic side, but also from the point of view of military relations. This is evident from the fact that in the middle of the seventh century the army of the Arab Caliphate, having captured Syria, Palestine, Egypt and Sasanian Iran, ap- proached the border of Central Asia. The Turkic-Sogdian relations were, first of all, in a state of peace. The Sogdian merchants, numeri- cally superior and economically independent, never resisted or encouraged the Turkic leaders. Second, trust in the Turks was further stabilized during the Arab invasion. Feeling that the Sogdians were expe- riencing some difficulties in the way of the violent spread of Islam by the Arab invaders, the Sogdian merchants sought reliable protection from the Turkic leaders. In addition, Sogdian merchants traveling around the world provided great assistance to the Turkic leader in establishing diplomatic relations with the states of near and far abroad. Key words: early Middle Ages, Turkic khanate, economic relations, Sogdians, Arab-Turkish rela- tions, ancient cities, trade, Turkic written monuments, historiography, source studies.  

Utopia, war, and justice

Abstract Between 2014 and 2017, Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) morphed from a terrorist organization into a proto-state that held a large swathe of territory, within which its strict interpretation of sharia law was enforced. We argue that ISIS discursively constructed itself politically by appealing to elements of both a traditional Islamic caliphate and a modern legitimate state. Linguistic and semiotic data is presented from political communications through social media that revolve around three key themes, specifically the construction of a utopian state founded on justice and engaged in righteous war, which all rely fundamentally on a conception of the modern state as holding a “monopoly on the legitimate use of force”, in Weber’s definition. We analyze this data from a critical discourse analysis (CDA) perspective, within a theoretical framework that draws on the political sociology of the state and political communications in asymmetric conflicts.

Internet sebagai Ruang Baru Kontestasi Diskursus Agama dan Politik: Kajian atas Diskursus Islam, Demokrasi dan Pancasila pada Website Keislaman Populer di Indonesia

The internet as a new medium has now become a contested space for political discourse. Focusing its analysis on eight popular Islamic websites in Indonesia, this paper examines how popular Islamic websites promote the concept of Islam and politic as seen in the issues of Pancasila, democracy, and Islamic state. The required data were collected through the method of web scraping. By using Lutfi Assyaukani's theory of three models of democracy in Indonesia, the results of this study indicate that the selected eight websites were classified into three variants of the political ideology model: First, websites that support religious democracy that are represented by the websites Nu.or.id, Islami.co, Ibtimes.id, and Bincangsyariah.com; second, websites that support Islamic democracy that are represented by Hidayatullah.com and Eramuslim.co.; and third, websites that support the Islamic caliphate that are represented by Voa-Islam.com and Nahimunkar.org, which rejected the form of a democratic state, both Islamic democracy and religious democracy, but accepted the Pancasila version of the Jakarta Charter.

DEVELOPMENT AND SPECIFIC FEATURES OF SIYAR SCIENCE

The international community did not immediately reach the current level of regulation of international relations.This process is the result of international legal practical experience accumulated from the distant past to the present. Islamic law also plays a special role in this process. The article provides information on the formation and development of the “Siyar” branch of Islamic law, which is the science of regulating international relations in Islam. Siyar first described the life of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). In addition, Siyar is the science of rules arranging the relations of Muslims with members of other religions in times of war and peace. In particular, we studied the rules of jurisprudence on the treaties of war and peace between Muslims and non-Muslims, the humanitarian principles to be followed in waging war, the procedure for sending ambassadors to other countries, the rights and obligations of representatives of different religions living in Muslim lands through Siyar science. The development of Siyar science was a necessity of the time. As a result of the expansion of the Arab Caliphate, there was a need to establish relations with members of different religions and nationalities. It led scholars to write works on Siyar. In particular, faqihs such as Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Shabi, Imam Muhammad, Awzai, Sawri, and Fazari wrote books on this subject. Specialists who have studied the science of Siyar also show its peculiarities in their works. In particular, they expressed that international relations in Islam depended on moral principles.

A Khanjar of Ibrāhīm Ibn Ilyās Ibn Asad Ibn Sāmān dated 246 AH (28th March 860 to 17th March 861 AD)

The blade of this weapon might be a few decades older than its hilt. However, the gilded elements on both probably date from when the blade acquired a new hilt, likely in the year Hijri 246 (28th March 860 to 17th March 861 AD) as mentioned in the blade inscription, when Ibrāhīm Ibn Ilyās was governor of Harāt. The gilding process used on the blade seems to be an exceptionally rare example of what was known in medieval Islamic literary sources as ‘gold water’, which has similarities with that found on objects from the 18th and 19th centuries China, where it was called Wu Tong. The weapon itself is a khanjar or large ‘fighting knife’ of a type characteristic amongst Sughdian peoples of Central Asia and amongst Turkic nomadic cultures of the Eurasian steppes. However, the design of the hilt is more distinctive and may have originated in eastern Iran, Islamic Central Asia or Afghanistan during the early medieval Islamic period. Though not necessarily a Sāmānid design, this form of hilt came to be closely associated with regions which would form the core of the Sāmānid state. Weapons comparable to this khanjar are very limited in the archaeological records of all regions except Central Asia and the steppes. Furthermore, nothing strictly comparable is known from the immediately pre-Islamic period within the territory that would become the early medieval Islamic world. The few large fighting knives which do exist differ significantly from this weapon but nevertheless reinforce the thesis that the khanjar’s stylistic origins, including both its blade and hilt, are to be found within the Islamized regions of early medieval Central Asia and Afghanistan rather than the Sassanian Iranian or Romano-Byzantine heartlands of what became the Islamic Caliphate. Meanwhile, the pommel of the khanjar of Ibrāhīm Ibn Ilyās is of what might be called a large button shape which, though larger than most other examples from this period, is probably rooted in the same design concept. Unfortunately, one has to wait for several centuries before finding acutely downturned quillons like those on this particular weapon.

Zakat as a way to overcome poverty in Muslim society

This article discusses the importance of zakat — a mandatory payment in favor of the poor and the needy — for Muslim society. The author reveals the essence of zakat, designates the categories of Muslims who are obliged to pay it, indicates to whom exactly it is paid, determines from what kind of property and in what order it should be paid. The article briefly and conveniently provides the norms for paying zakat. The pillars of religion, which are obligatory for execution, cannot lose their significance, which determines the relevance of this work, the purpose of which is to bring to the majority of Muslims the legal norms for establishing and paying zakat. The provisions and arguments given in the article are considered on the basis of a comparative analysis of the significance and role of zakat during the time of the Arab Caliphate with the present time. The study is based on the famous book “Fatawa al-Chohiy” by Muhammad Ali al-Chohiy. This book accumulates fatwas collected from more than a hundred books. Most of the legal decisions were taken from the authoritative books of the Shafi school of law (fiqh). Of even greater interest to this book is the diversity of the problems it addresses. The author in his legal opinions answers questions related to the ritual practice of Muslims, issues of trade, as well as issues of property law, while some fatwas answer questions of Muslim dogma.

FEATURES OF THE ARAB-KHAZAR RELATIONS IN THE “HISTORY OF TABARI”

The issue of studying and comparative analysis of the historical materials of Tabari’s chronicle has long been discussed in literature, because it also contains valuable information on the fate of the peoples and state formations of the Muslim East. Researchers agree that the introduction of the prose material of this book into academic circulation could shed light on many aspects of the consistent development and formation of dynasties in the ancient times. However, the narrative tradition of Arabic literature did not allow presenting the material about a particular historical or cultural object in the context of the chronicle. Based on this, in the pre-Islamic part of the Tabari chronicle an important discussion topic is the definition of borders, history, ethnic and religious composition, state structure, diplomatic relations, location of cities and other issues concerning the Khazars. Written monuments are considered a valuable source for determining the zone of distribution of the Khazars and Khazaria, although the boundaries were constantly changing following the changes in the balance of power between the Khazars and neighboring states. In the first centuries the struggle of two empires — Byzantium and Sasanian Iran for dominance in the Middle East — began to increasingly influence the establishment of borders. Later, the Arab Caliphate joined in this struggle against Khazaria to establish control in the Transcaucasia and the Black Sea region. The Tabari chronicle preserved a huge amount of narrative material about the role of the Khazars in the development of the past centuries’ events. Plans of the Abbasid caliphs in the 8–9th centuries undergone major changes due to the resistance of the Khazars. Further clarification of the role of the Khazars and Khazaria is possible only based on a critical analysis of Tabari’s information in comparison with the materials of late medieval authors.

PEMIKIRAN POLITIK NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI: STUDI KASUS DINASTI UMAYYAH

The Umayyad dynasty was an Islamic caliphate regime after the khulafa urrasydin which managed to maintain its power for 90 years before being overthrown by the Abbasids. This dynasty is famous for its political stability from the beginning of his reign to a systematized public administration and military. Nevertheless, this dynasty raised pros and cons in terms of morality which were considered to deviate from Islamic teachings at least during the political revolution and post-Caliph Mu'awiyah. The author tries to examine the practice of such government using the political theory of Niccolo Machiavelli in which there are also thoughts about the ethics of power. This study tries to answer several questions, namely what is the ideal government practice in the book "Il Principe" by Niccolo Machiavelli? and whether the practice of Umayyad dynasty government can be said to be ideal in terms of administration and ethics of power in Machiavelli's perspective? This research is a qualitative research with primary sources in the form of historical literature about the Umayyad Dynasty and the books by Machiavelli mainly on "Il Principe". This study shows that in making political policies, for the sake of government stability, moral values do not need to be considered except in a pragmatic context. The stability of the state is also influenced by the ability and luck of the leader in managing the government. This study shows that the practice of the Umayyad dynasty has a correlation with the main goal of Machiavelli's political theory, namely state stability.

بين مفهومي الجهاد والإرهاب: دراسة في المفهوم والأهداف لحركة القاعدة وتنظيم داعش أنموذجا

In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, Islam has fell victim to the allegation that relates it to terrorism. This is due to the rise of terrorist movements such as al-Qaeda and ISIS that claim to be representing Islam and pursuing the holy war (jihād) to establish an Islamic caliphate (al-khilāfah al-Islāmiyyah). These terrorist movements also used the same terms and concepts that can be found in the traditional Muslim scholarship, such as the abode of Islam and the abode of war (dār al-Islām wa dār alḥarb), loyalty and disavowal (al-walā’ wa al-barā’), and excommunicating Muslims (takfīr). Thus, this study seeks to analyse these two concepts of jihād and terrorism (irhāb) to locate both their similarities and differences. Comparison is made from several aspects such as etymology and history and lastly its application in our contemporary reality in relation to other relevant terms and concepts as mentioned above. This study finds that there are substantial differences between jihād and irhāb, and it is the failure to grasp the ever evolving and developing nature of Islamic law (fiqh) and the contemporary reality that led to this confusion.

The Islamist Challenge in the Greater Mediterranean

The article examines and analyzes the spread of Islamism or Political Islam movements in the Greater Mediterranean and their increasing influence on the socio-political situation in 2011-2021. The historical factors, which contributed to the emergence of the hearths of Islamic culture in the countries which entered the Arab Caliphate in the Greater Mediterranean parallel with the Antique centers of European civilization, are retrospectively exposed. The Islamist ideologues called the Ottoman Imperia the heir of the Arab Caliphate. The main doctrinal conceptions of Political Islam and its more influential movement Muslim Brotherhood (forbidden in Russia) are discovered. The factor of the Arab Spring, which considerably influenced the strengthening of the Islamist movements, as well as its continuation of the protests in the Arab countries in 2018-2021, is examined. The main attention is allotted to analyzing the actions of the Islamic movements in Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, and in the Libyan and Syrian conflicts too. The influence of external actors, the most active of which was Turkey, is revealed. The author also analyzes the situation in the Arab-Muslim communities in the European Mediterranean on the example of France, where social-economic problems, aggravated by COVID-19, have contributed to the activation of radical Islamist elements. It is concluded that confronting the Islamist challenge is a complex and controversial task. Its solution depends on both forceful opposition to radical groups and an appropriate foreign policy. An important negative factor is the aggravation of socio-economic problems and crisis phenomena in the institutions of Western democracy, in response to which the ideologues of Islamism preach an alternative world order in the form of an Islamic state. At the moment the Western society and the countries which repeat its liberal model do not give a distinct response to this challenge.

Беджа Этбая: итоги первых лет этнографических исследований в рамках Нубийской археолого-антропологической экспедиции

Introduction. The Atbay region, which we refer to in this article, has been the periphery of large state formations since the time of the Egyptian civilization. The question of the genetic continuity of the ancient population of Atbay and the modern ethnic groups living in this territory – the Beja, still causes debate in the scientific community. In the article we propose to turn to the cultural continuity of the population of the re-gion, mediated by unique geographical and political factors, which, in the case of Atbay, have remained virtually unchanged for centuries. Materials and methods. Different works on history and social anthropology relating to the Atbay re-gion and the ethnic group considered in the article (the Beja) became the main sources for the article. The information available in the research literature is compared with the data that we managed to collect during the first experience of field research among the Beja Bisharin as part of the Nubian archaeological and an-thropological expedition of Moscow State University. Results and discussion. The article provides an overview of the main works and scientific concepts related to Bedja of the Atbay region. In historical monographs, focused mainly on the most ancient and me-dieval periods, the Bedja are perceived as the Proto-Egyptians or the descendants of the Medajs of the era of the Middle Kingdom. During ethnographic research undertaken as part of the archaeological and anthro-pological expedition of Moscow State University, it was found that the Atbay region is very different from the regions of the Nile Valley and the Red Sea coast. Based on the studies of 2018-2019 seasons the idea was put forward that the special landscape and climate of the region prevent its incorporation into the exist-ing state formations (Ancient Egypt, Arab Caliphate), and reinforce a local peripheral culture that exists and reproduces itself for several millennia while remaining distinct (in part opposed to) the dominant historical culture. Conclusion. As a result of studying various written sources and comparing them to the field materials, we developed a hypothesis of cultural continuity of the population of the Beja in the region, mediated pri-marily by its special climatic and historical conditions. This hypothesis, in our opinion, provides a promising theoretical framework for further research on the cultural characteristics of Beja Bisharin of Atbay. The first field experience also confirmed the idea of the closeness of Beja communities given in literature. We intend to use these findings to develop strategies for further research.

The Shi’is and the Qur’an: Between Apocalypse, Civil Wars, and Empire

The study is dedicated to the complex relationship between the Alides (supporters of ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib and their descendants, later called the Shi’is) and the Qur’an, especially in the early times of Islam. Several points are examined in order to put these relations into perspective. First of all, it is important to remember that the Quranic corpus was elaborated in the atmosphere of the civil wars that marked the birth and the first developments of Islam. These wars seem to have played a major role in the elaboration of the official version of the Quran, which the Alides would have considered a falsified and hardly understandable version of the Revelation. The problem of falsification (taḥrīf) as well as the belief in the existence of a hidden meaning of the Quran led to the Shi’i doctrine on the necessity for interpretation (tafsīr, ta’wīl) in order to make the Sacred Text intelligible. It is also important to question the reasons for the civil wars between the faithful of Muḥammad. According to the Quran and the Hadith, Muḥammad came to announce the end of the world. He therefore also announced the coming of the Messiah, the Saviour of the end times. Now, according to some sources, ‘Alī is this Saviour. The problem is that after the death of Muḥammad, according to Shi’is, the opponents of ‘Alī took power. With the conquests and the birth of the Arab empire, the rewriting of history and the creation of a new collective memory seem to have become necessary in order to marginalise ‘Alī, among other reasons, and consolidate the caliphal power.

DEVELOPMENT AND SPECIFIC FEATURES OF THE SCIENCE OF “SIYAR”

The article provides information on the formation and development of the “Siyar” branch of Islamic law, which is the science of regulating international relations in Islam. Siyar first described the life of the prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). In addition, Siyar is the science of rules arranging the relations of Muslims with members of other religions in times of war and peace. In particular, rules of jurisprudence on the treaties of war and peace between Muslims and non-Muslims, the humanitarian principles to be followed in waging war, the procedure for sending ambassadors to other countries, the rights and obligations of representatives of other religions living in Muslim lands were studied through Siyar science.The development of Siyar science was a necessity of the time. As a result of the expansion of the Arab Caliphate, there was a need to establish relations with members of different religions and nationalities. This led scientists to write works on Siyar. In particular, faqihs such as Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Sha’bi, Imam Muhammad, Awza’i, Sawri and Fazari wrote works on this subject. Specialists who have studied the science of Siyar also showed its peculiarities in their works. In particular, they expressed that international relations in Islam were based on moral principles.

THE ORIGINS OF THE ARABIC TRANSLATION TRADITION

The Arab Caliphate was famous for its highly developed book culture and the fact that it turned the Arabic language into the international language of communication, science and art throughout the Arab-Muslim East. During the reign of the Abbasid dynasty, the Arab-Muslim civilization is experiencing the peak of its heyday and power. Under the Abbasids, Baghdad became not only the political, but also the cultural capital of the Caliphate. The famous House of Wisdom opens in Baghdad, where a large-scale translation activity has been carried out for centuries. The Abbasids achieved amazing success because they were able to absorb the rich cultural traditions of the peoples they conquered. At the same time, they pursued their own political goals - the strengthening and development of the Arab Caliphate. The Abbasids were not pioneers in translation, they skillfully used and developed the pre-Islamic developments of the Iranians in this area. It is important to study the reasons why the Arab Caliphate at one time reached historical heights. This is necessary in order for the lessons of the past to serve the good of the present.

Dialogue of East and West on the Example of Arab-Muslim Сulture

The dialogue expresses the simultaneous coexistence of the past and the present, the preservation of continuity between them. The Arab-Muslim civilization, in its heyday, embodied the ideal of dialogue between East and West. The purpose of this study is to study the mechanisms of intercultural dialogue of the Eastern Renaissance era, analyze them for their application in the conditions of the modern globalized world. Islam played a key role in the formation and development of the Arab-Muslim civilization. Religion, along with philosophy and science, played the role of a connecting link in the spiritual and intellectual life of medieval Muslim society. Dialogue is possible when, in the collision of different cultural traditions, some new unifying knowledge is synthesized. The development of their own spiritual and religious movements as Sufism among the peoples of Central Asia conquered by the Arabs indicates that the Arab-Muslim culture was not limited to Islam. The peoples of the Arab Caliphate preserved and developed their distinctive cultural and religious traditions.

Abu Hafs Al-Nasafi (d. 537 AH / 1142 CE) (Historical Study)

The research dealt with the biography of the jurist and historian Abu Hafs al-Nasafi, who was known thanks to him, his knowledge and his asceticism, and the abundance of his works in various types of sciences, literature and arts, which amounted to more than one hundred works. As this Hanafi jurist is the owner of the first system in jurisprudence, and his work (al-Qand in the mention of the scholars of Samarkand) is among the most important printed sources that have been translated for the flags of the city of Samarkand and those who came to it and everyone who contacted its sheikhs or held an administrative position in it then showed their intellectual activity in that period, and he was a favored owner Great in highlighting the great role of the scholars of the city and those who came to it, their civilizational contributions and their effects on the city and the regions of the country beyond the river during the era of the Islamic caliphate. The subject of his translation explained the prosperity of Arab civilization and its cultural activity in the Islamic world from the ancient until the sixth century AH, so it was the high scientific status enjoyed by Abu Hafs Al-Nasafi as a jurist and historian, and Adeeb, motivated us to choose this topic.

Hadis dalam Perspektif Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI)

This article discusses the thoughts of Hizb ut -Tahrir (HT) on the hadith of the Prophet, especially in relation to the Khilafah. In HT's belief that the hadith of the Prophet related to the baiat and the caliphate is an Islamic teaching that must be fought for, because the Islamic caliphate system has been applied by the Prophet and the khulafaurasyidin and is a concrete proof of the welfare of human life and harmony experienced by society in his time because of upholding Islamic law in kaffah. To be able to describe how HT's view of the hadith, the author collected good literary data from the writings of Taqiyudin al Nabhani himself who was a central figure in the HT group and did not miss the thoughts of his followers or those who opposed HT's own thoughts. . After the author collected some of the necessary data, the author then read and analyzed the thought flow of Hizb ut -Tahrir. By using descriptive analytical methods that eventually produce conclusions based on the results of studies on existing data

Thinking the Question of Religious Minorities in Colonial South Asia

Abstract This conceptual essay pivots on the following problem: Tethered to a context of Muslim empire, how is the legacy of the premodern Islamic legal tradition engaged and negotiated in the modern colonial moment in South Asia, marked by the loss of Muslim political sovereignty and the emergence of South Asian Muslims as a minority community? It engages this question through the example of intra-Muslim debates and contestations on the boundaries of friendship between Muslims and non-Muslims in modern South Asia, with a focus on the thought of certain prominent traditionalist ‘ulama’.

Narratives on the 212 Movement and Tauhid Flag Transformation from the Boudieusian Perspective

The so-called Tauhid flag was exclusively known as HTI's (Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia) symbol of Islamic caliphate re-establishment. However, after its burning incident in 2018, the flag appears to be one of the symbols of post-Islamist populism. By using the Bourdieusian perspective's framework, this study aims to understand the prior narrative of the Tauhid flag, the narrative of the 212 movements, and how the narrative of the 212 movements influenced the transformation of the narrative of the Tauhid flag. The data in this study were taken from 180 sampled tweets using proportionate stratified random sampling. The data were elaborated with related news and publications and then condensed, codified, and categorized. This study revealed that the prior narrative of the Tauhid flag was the narrative of institutional Islamism, aiming to re-establish the Islamic caliphate through a peaceful act. Meanwhile, the 212 movements represent the narrative of post-Islamist populism. When the Tauhid flag became the central issue in several 212 movements, the flag's narrative transformed into post-Islamist populism. It means that the widespread acceptance of the Tauhid flag has a little impact, if none, on HTI's caliphate campaign.

Natural Gas Production in Mozambique and the Political Risk of Islamic Militancy

The Cabo Delgado province in the northernmost portion of the long Mozambican seaboard is now home to Africa’s three largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects, and these projects have attracted many of the world’s major multinational energy companies, accompanied by massive LNG investments. There can be little doubt that the discovery of rich gas reserves is a potential game changer for the Mozambican economy and development agenda. It is potentially an opportunity for the rapid advancement of a country that currently ranks close to the bottom of the United Nation’s Human Development Index. However, despite the billions in investments from major multinational energy companies, the people of Cabo Delgado are yet to see the material benefit from these projects. One of the biggest risks to investors in the LNG industry is the many unknowns pertaining to the threat posed by the militant Islamic movement, Ansar al-Sunna, which has especially been active since 2017 in the Cabo Delgado province. In view of this, this article assesses Mozambique’s LNG industry and the political risks associated with the insurgent movement’s intention to establish an Islamic caliphate in the Cabo Delgado area.