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Dear Reader:
I discussed on CNN "ISIS Seizes Iraq's Largest Dam" on
Sunday. It can be seen here.
(Pardon the Skype image.) But note: at the time I did this interview,
Reuters had reported that ISIS had taken the Mosul Dam; later, doubts
arose about this and at this moment, it is not clear if that happened
or not. See my coverage here.
Yours sincerely,
Daniel Pipes
Caliph Ibrahim's Brutal Moment
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your friends to like this.
After an absence of 90 years, the
ancient institution of the caliphate roared back into existence on
the first day of Ramadan in the year 1435 of the Hegira, equivalent
to June 29, 2014. This astonishing revival symbolically culminates
the Islamist surge that began
forty years ago. A Western analogy might be declaring the
restoration of the Hapsburg Empire, which traced its legitimacy to
ancient Rome.
Whence comes this audacious move? Can the caliphate last? What
will its impact be?
For starters, a quick review of the caliphate (from the Arabic khilafa,
meaning "succession"): according to canonical
Muslim history, it originated in 632 CE, on the death of the
Islamic prophet Muhammad, then spontaneously developed, filling the
nascent Muslim community's need for a temporal leader. The caliph
became Muhammad's non-prophetic heir. After the first four caliphs,
the office became dynastic.
From the start, followers disagreed whether the caliph should be
the most able and pious Muslim or the closest relative of Muhammad;
the resulting division came to define the Sunni and Shi'i branches of
Islam, respectively, causing the profound schism that still endures.
A single caliphate ruled all the Muslim lands until 750; but then
two processes combined to diminish its power. First, remote provinces
began to break away, with some – such as Spain – even creating rival
caliphates. Second, the institution itself decayed and was taken over
by slave
soldiers and tribal conquerors, so that the original line of
caliphs effectively ruled only until about 940. Other dynasties then
adopted the title as a perquisite of political power.
The institution continued in an enfeebled form for a millennium
until, in a dramatic act of repudiation, modern Turkey's founder,
Kemal Atatürk, terminated its last vestiges in 1924. Despite several
subsequent attempts to restore it, the institution became defunct, a
symbol of the disarray in Muslim-majority countries and a yearned-for
goal among Islamists.
And so matters remained for 90 years, until the group known as the
Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) issued a declaration in five
languages (English version: This
Is the Promise of Allah) proclaiming the founding of a new
caliphate under "Caliph" Ibrahim. Caliph Ibrahim (aka Dr.
Ibrahim Awwad Ibrahim), about 40, hailing from Samarra, Iraq, fought
in Afghanistan and then Iraq. He now claims to be leader of
"Muslims everywhere" and demands their oath of allegiance.
All other Muslim governments have lost legitimacy, he claims.
Further, Muslims must throw out "democracy, secularism,
nationalism, as well as all the other garbage and ideas from the
West."
Caliph
Ibrahim preaching in a Mosul mosque in early July 2014.
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Reviving the universal caliphate means, announces The Promise
of Allah, that the "long slumber in the darkness of
neglect" has ended. "The sun of jihad has risen. The glad
tidings of good are shining. Triumph looms on the horizon."
Infidels are justifiably terrified for, as both "east and
west" submit, Muslims will "own the earth."
Grandiloquent words, to be sure, but also ones with zero chance of
success. ISIS has enjoyed backing from states like Turkey and
Qatar – but to fight in Syria, not to establish a global hegemony.
Nearby powers – the Kurds, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Israel (and eventually
maybe Turkey too) – regard the Islamic State as an unmitigated
enemy, as do nearly all rival Islamic movements, including Al-Qaeda.
(The only exceptions: Boko
Haram; scattered Gazans;
and a new
Pakistani organization.) The caliphate already faces difficulty
governing the Great Britain-sized territories it conquered, troubles
that will increase as its subject populations experience the full
misery of Islamist rule. (Its apparent capture
of the Mosul Dam on Aug. 3 portends unspeakable crimes, including
the denial of electricity and water; or even creating catastrophic floods.)
I predict that the Islamic State, confronted with hostility both
from neighbors and its subject
population,
will not last long.
It will leave a legacy, though. No matter how calamitous the fate
of Caliph Ibrahim and his grim crew, they have successfully
resurrected a central institution of Islam, making the caliphate
again a vibrant reality. Islamists around the world will treasure its
moment of brutal glory and be inspired by it.
Top: Dawlat
al-Khilafa (The Islamic State): Or the world as ISIS sees it, using
medieval Arabic place names. Bottom: The same map in Roman lettering.
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For non-Muslims, this development has complex and double-edged
implications. On the negative side, violent Islamists will be more
encouraged to achieve their hideous goals, leaving a wake of carnage.
On the positive side, the caliphate's barbaric zealotry will have the
salutary effect of awakening many of those yet asleep to the horrors
of the Islamist agenda.
Mr. Pipes (DanielPipes.org),
president of the Middle East Forum, holds a doctorate in medieval
Islamic history. © 2014 by Daniel Pipes. All rights reserved.
Related
Topics: History, Islam This
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