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Khilafah (Caliphate): Difference between revisions
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The '''Caliph''' (خليفة; khalīfah) is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the leader of the [[Islamic|Islamic]] [[Ummah]] (body of Muslim believers) who serves as the successor to [[Muhammad]], the founder of [[Islam]], in all matters of political and religious decision making. The word of the caliph is, however, only legally and not theologically binding upon members of the Muslim ummah who consider him legitimate. | The '''Caliph''' (خليفة; khalīfah) is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the leader of the [[Islamic|Islamic]] [[Ummah]] (body of Muslim believers) who serves as the successor to [[Muhammad]], the founder of [[Islam]], in all matters of political and religious decision making. The word of the caliph is, however, only legally and not theologically binding upon members of the Muslim ummah who consider him legitimate. | ||
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===Ottoman caliphate (1517-1924)=== | ===Ottoman caliphate (1517-1924)=== | ||
< | Prior to the establishment of the Ottoman ''caliphate'' in 1517, the Ottoman ''empire'' was founded in 1299 in northwestern Anatolia (roughly modern day Turkey) by Osman I. Prior to claiming caliphal authority in 1517, the Ottoman empire had already conquered Constantinople (under Mehmet the Conqueror) and had taken over the Balkans. During the period between 1299 and 1517, the Ottoman empire was ruled by a series of sultans who did not envision themselves as caliphs. | ||
In 1517, sultan Selim I finally defeated the Mamluk Sultanate in Cairo, and the final Abbasid caliph, al-Mutawakkil III was famously imprisoned in Istanbul (once Constantinople). Once imprisoned, it is storied that al-Mutawakkil hand over to Selim I the title of caliph along with the sword and mantle of Muhammad, signifying the transition of the caliphate. Selim would go on to conquer [[Mecca]] (Muhammad's place of birth and the location of the [[Kaaba]]) and [[Medina]], thereby claiming the title of "defender of the holy cities" and buttressing his authority as caliph. | |||
The first political (rather than religious) usage of the title caliph, however, would not occur until 1774, when the Ottomans needed to counter the Russians, who announced that they needed to protect Orthodox Christians under the Ottoman empire, by making a similar claim about the Muslims living in Russia.<ref>Barthold</ref><ref>Finkel, Caroline (2005). ''Osman's Dream: The Story of the Ottoman Empire, 1300-1923''. New York: Basic Books. p. 111. ISBN <bdi>978-0-465-02396-7</bdi>.</ref>The British would tactfully affirm the Ottoman claim to the caliphate and proceed to have the Ottoman caliph issue orders to the Muslims living in British India to comply with their British rulers.<ref>Qureshi, M. Naeem (1999). ''Pan-Islam in British Indian Politics: A Study of the Khilafat Movement, 1918–1924''. BRILL. pp. 18–19. ISBN <bdi>978-90-04-11371-8</bdi>.</ref> In 1899, the Ottomans would comply with a request from the U.S. government and leverage their religious authority as caliphs to order that Tausug Sultanate of Sulu (located in the Philippines) stop resisting and submit to U.S. sovereignty; the Tausug people would heed Sultan Abdul Hamid II's order, and surrender.<ref>Karpat, Kemal H. (2001). ''The Politicization of Islam: Reconstructing Identity, State, Faith, and Community in the Late Ottoman State''. Oxford University Press. p. 235. ISBN <bdi>978-0-19-513618-0</bdi>.</ref><ref>Yegar, Moshe (1 January 2002). ''Between Integration and Secession: The Muslim Communities of the Southern Philippines, Southern Thailand, and Western Burma/Myanmar''. Lexington Books. p. 397. ISBN <bdi>978-0-7391-0356-2</bdi>.</ref> | |||
The Ottoman caliphate was officially abolished on March 3rd, 1924. | |||
==See Also== | ==See Also== | ||