CALIPHATE AS A POLITICAL SYSTEM:

HISTORICAL MYTH OR FUTURE REALITY?

By

Tahir M. Qazi, MD

History

CultureTheology

Historic NostalgiaDisenfranchiseme

ntIdentity Politics

CALIPH & CALIPHATE

Surah Nur V55:

“Allah has promised, to those among you who believe and work righteous deeds, that He will, of a surety, grant them in the land, inheritance (of power), as He granted it to those before them; that He will establish in authority their religion - the one which He has chosen for them ….”

Translation by Abdullah Yusufali

CALIPH & CALIPHATE

“The Caliph (Arabic: خليفة ḫalīfah/khalīfah) is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic

community ruled by the Shari'ah.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caliph

(Accessed on August 12, 2014)

CALIPH & CALIPHATE

Religion of History

Religions of Theology

CALIPH & CALIPHATE

“…. This makes it clear what the caliphate means. (To exercise) natural royal authority means to cause the masses to act as required by purpose and desire. (To exercise) political (royal authority) means to cause the masses to act as required by intellectual (rational) insight into the means of furthering their worldly interests and avoiding anything that is harmful (in that respect). (And to exercise) the caliphate means to cause the masses to act as required by religious insight into their interests in the other world as well as in this world.”

The Meaning of Caliphate and Imamate

The Muqaddima – Ibn-e-Khaldun

CALIPHATE FOR WHAT?

Will Caliphate be Able to Solve Identity Crises?

Will One Caliphate Work Across the Globe?

Will One Caliphate Bridge Sectarian Divide?

What is the Malaise in Muslim Societies?

NATURE OF MALAISE IN MUSLIM COUNTIES

1. Material Poverty

2. Intellectual Stagnation

3. Political Weakness

COMPARISON OF SOCIAL REALITY

Muslim Population 1.6 B

GDP 5.3 Trillion US Dollar

22 Countries Least or Low Income

EU Population 500 Million

GDP 16.58 Trillion US Dollars

RESULT OF CALIPHATE-GOVERNANCE

London: 2.7x Higher

Amsterdam: 90% Higher

Paris: 60% Higher

The Eve of WW1

Istanbul offered Highest Wages to Unskilled Workers

Seveket Pamuk. Estimating GDP Ottoman EmpireEuropean Historical Economics Society 2007

QUESTIONS IN THE MUSLIM WORLD

• Peace of Westphalia 1648

• Social Contract

• How to Limit Ruler to the Mundane only?

• Sovereignty – God or People?

SPIRITUALIZATION OF POLITICS

• Coercive powers & rulers’ need for legitimacy

• Caliphate-model blends spirituality with State-Craft

• This blend obviates the need for additional legitimacy

Long View of History

Sacred Secular

Future of Caliphate

Khilafat-o-Malukiyat, the duties of the ruler:

“To command people to be obedient to God’s edicts and prevent sinful behavior” and “To administer “Hudood imposed by God”

Maulana MaududiKhilafat-o-Malukiyat p289

Edara Tarjamn-ul-Koran

QAZI’S MAXIM:

World is composed of facts that steer history.

Two major determinants of social and political stability - demography and geography.

Muslim Population

In 2010

1.6 Billion

In 2030

2.2 Billion(35%)

Most of population growth from poor countries.

Does Caliphate Model has a solution to the geographically

distant & culturally divers Muslims?

What about a “Secular Caliph?

Alexander Hamilton:

“whether societies of men are really capable or not of establishing

good government from reflection and choice, or whether they are

forever destined to depend for their political constitutions on accident

and force”