Commanders of the Faithful

     Al Qaeda’s avowed goal is to set up a new theocracy in Baghdad and complete the world conquest begun by Muhammad and never finished. None of it is going to happen but it is worth thinking about what these yahoos mean when they say they want to reestablish the Caliphate. Now I have to say that two years ago I had no idea what a Caliph was beyond some vague recollection of 1001 Arabian Nights. Then I started trying to understand what on earth the Arabs were so mad about. You don’t get very far in that before you come across the Caliphs.
     A little history is in order. The original Caliphs ruled over the entire community of Muslims and any territory they conquered, through most of their history governing far more Christians and Jews than Muslims. Only the first four were universally accepted, the Rightly Guided Caliphs. Those four had been companions of the Prophet. They lived simple, egalitarian lives within the community and are thought to have faithfully passed on Muhammad’s teaching. Along with the Koran their lives, sayings, and customs, and those of Muhammad constitute the most fundamental authority in Islam even today. They were elected to the office by the community and while they held it were regarded as God’s representative on earth, acknowledged by all Muslims to hold divinely given authority.
     Not so their successors. After the assassination of Ali, the last of the four, the community split into two camps, Shia and Sunni. Ali was Muhammad’s son-in law, cousin, and closest surviving male relative. The Shia contend that only descendents of Ali, and thus descendents of Muhammad, those they call the Imams, have rightful claims to be named Caliph. The Sunni believe Caliphs should be selected from the ablest and most worthy of the community without regard to family. Both groups have a problem. Depending on how you count, there were either seven or twelve generations of Shia Imams in a direct line. The “twelvers” believe the last of them never died and will one day emerge to take his rightful place. Sunnis on the other hand were compelled to accept a Caliph who took the office by force and turned it into a dynasty. There were several of these dynasties in turn. The last of them to rule over all Muslims were the Abbasids, who extended their realm from Spain to India. The most famous was Harun al-Rashid, he of Arabian Nights. Beginning with the end of the ninth century the Muslim world fragmented with different dynasties ruling over different regions at different times, none of them with the kind of reach the Abbasids had until the rise of Ottoman Turks. The Ottomans were the last to make a serious claim to the title Caliph.
     After Ali, religious authority passed to an elite group of scholars who gained credibility largely through the strength of their personal reputations. Even the Caliphs went to them for rulings on major decisions. Until the Iranian Revolution these people have generally avoided direct roles in government, preferring to maintain an aura of independence. Al Qaeda has no such qualms, witness Afghanistan under the Taliban. That’s part of why I don’t think there is much chance it will happen. The Muslim community at large really doesn’t like the idea of mixing religious and temporal authority. Even the Iranian Ayatollahs have been lowering their profile as rulers, holding on to power but trying to make it less obvious. I doubt it will last another generation. Iranians have a history of deciding for themselves who will govern.