Caliphate
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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A caliphate (from the Arabic خلافة or khilāfa) is an Islamic state led by a supreme religious as well as political leader known as a caliph (meaning literally a successor, i.e., a successor to Islamic prophet Muhammad) and all the Prophets of Islam. The term caliphate is often applied to successions of Muslim empires that have existed in the Middle East and Southwest Asia. Conceptually the caliphate represents the political unity of the entire community of Muslim faithful (the ummah) ruled by a single caliph. In theory, the organization of a caliphate should be a constitutional aristocracy-theocracy (under the Constitution of Medina), which means that the head of state, the Caliph, and other officials are representatives of the people and of Islam and must govern according to constitutional and religious law (Sharia). In its early days, the first caliphate resembled elements of direct democracy (see shura) and an elective monarchy.
See also
- Caliph
- Al-Muhajiroun
- Islamic Golden Age
- List of countries spanning more than one continent
- Shah
- Sharia law
- Sheikh ul-Islam
- List of compositions by François-Adrien Boieldieu (Le Calife de Bagdad (1800) is a musical work by Boieldieu)
