Transcript Caliphate for what?

CALIPHATE AS A POLITICAL SYSTEM:
HISTORICAL MYTH OR FUTURE
REALITY?
By
Tahir M. Qazi, MD
History
Theology
Culture
Historic Nostalgia
Disenfranchisement
Identity Politics
CALIPH & CALIPHATE
Surah Nur V55:
“Allah has promised, to those among you who believe and work righteous
deeds, that He will, of a surety, grant them in the land, inheritance (of
power), as He granted it to those before them; that He will establish in
authority their religion - the one which He has chosen for them ….”
Translation by Abdullah Yusufali
CALIPH & CALIPHATE
“The Caliph (Arabic: ‫ خليفة‬ḫalīfah/khalīfah) is the
head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the
ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community
ruled by the Shari'ah.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caliph
(Accessed on August 12, 2014)
CALIPH & CALIPHATE
Religions of
Theology
Religion of
History
CALIPH & CALIPHATE
“…. This makes it clear what the caliphate means. (To exercise)
natural royal authority means to cause the masses to act as
required by purpose and desire. (To exercise) political (royal
authority) means to cause the masses to act as required by
intellectual (rational) insight into the means of furthering their
worldly interests and avoiding anything that is harmful (in that
respect). (And to exercise) the caliphate means to cause the
masses to act as required by religious insight into their interests in
the other world as well as in this world.”
The Meaning of Caliphate and Imamate
The Muqaddima – Ibn-e-Khaldun
CALIPHATE FOR WHAT?
Will Caliphate be Able to Solve Identity Crises?
Will One Caliphate Work Across the Globe?
Will One Caliphate Bridge Sectarian Divide?
What is the Malaise in Muslim Societies?
NATURE OF MALAISE IN MUSLIM
COUNTIES
1.
Material Poverty
2.
Intellectual Stagnation
3.
Political Weakness
Muslim Population 1.6 B
EU Population 500 Million
GDP 5.3 Trillion US Dollar
GDP 16.58 Trillion US Dollars
22 Countries Least or Low
Income
COMPARISON OF SOCIAL REALITY
The Eve of WW1
Istanbul offered
Highest Wages to
Unskilled Workers
London: 2.7x Higher
Amsterdam: 90% Higher
Paris: 60% Higher
RESULT OF CALIPHATE-GOVERNANCE
Seveket Pamuk. Estimating GDP Ottoman Empire
European Historical Economics Society 2007
QUESTIONS IN THE MUSLIM WORLD
•
Peace of Westphalia 1648
•
•
Social Contract
How to Limit Ruler to the Mundane only?
•
Sovereignty – God or People?
SPIRITUALIZATION OF POLITICS
•
•
•
Coercive powers & rulers’ need for legitimacy
Caliphate-model blends spirituality with State-Craft
This blend obviates the need for additional legitimacy
Long View of History
Sacred
Secular
Future of Caliphate
Khilafat-o-Malukiyat, the duties of the ruler:
“To command people to be obedient to
God’s edicts and prevent sinful behavior”
and “To administer “Hudood imposed by
God”
Maulana Maududi
Khilafat-o-Malukiyat p289
Edara Tarjamn-ul-Koran
QAZI’S MAXIM:
World is composed of facts that steer history.
Two major determinants of social and political
stability - demography and geography.
Muslim
Population
In 2010
In 2030
1.6 Billion
2.2 Billion
(35%)
Most of population growth from poor
countries.
Does Caliphate Model has a
solution to the geographically
distant & culturally divers Muslims?
What about a “Secular Caliph?
Alexander Hamilton:
“whether societies of men are really
capable or not of establishing good
government from reflection and choice,
or whether they are forever destined to
depend for their political constitutions
on accident and force”