Worldwide caliphate

"Islamic imperialism" redirects here. For the 2007 book, see Efraim Karsh.

A worldwide caliphate is the concept of a single one-world government as proposed by some Muslims, in particular Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic fundamentalist militant group, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. In 2014, Baghdadi claimed to have succeeded in the creation of a worldwide caliphate. On April 8, 2006, the Daily Times of Pakistan reported that at a rally held in Islamabad the militant organization Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan called for the formation of a worldwide caliphate, which was to begin in Pakistan.

Hizb ut-Tahrir, a pan-Islamic political organization, believes that all Muslims should unite in a worldwide caliphate that will "challenge, and ultimately conquer, the West." Because extremists often commit acts of violence in pursuit of this goal, it is alleged to lack appeal among a wider Islamic audience. Brigitte Gabriel argues that the goal of a worldwide caliphate is central to the enterprise of radical Islam.

History

Over time, various historians and scholars have had differing ideas about the origins of this concept. One viewpoint is expressed in the 2007 book, Islamic Imperialism: A History, in which the author Efraim Karsh explains his belief of the concept's origin:

As a universal religion, Islam envisages a global political order in which all humankind will live under Muslim rule as either believers or subject communities. In order to achieve this goal it is incumbent on all free, male, adult Muslims to carry out an uncompromising struggle "in the path of Allah", or jihad. This in turn makes those parts of the world that have not yet been conquered by the House of Islam an abode of permanent conflict (Dar al-Harb, the "house of war") which will only end with Islam's eventual triumph.