Demystifying the Caliphate: (Columbia/Hurst)

In the Western imagination, the Islamic Caliphate is often linked to acts of beheading, stoning, and discrimination against women and non-Muslim minorities. Rallies in support of resurrecting the Caliphate seem deserving of derision and are believed to be the first steps toward the dismantling of the democratic state. Yet while some Muslims may be nostalgic for the Caliphate, very few are actively making its return a reality. The Caliphate serves more as a powerful symbol and slogan, evoking an imagined past and an ideal Islamic polity. It is also a vastly unstable concept contested by a number of powerful actors within Europe, the Muslim world, and beyond. The essays in this collection demystify the Caliphate for modern readers, clarifying the historical rumors surrounding the demise of the last Ottoman Caliphate and the contemporary controversies informing the call to resurrect it. Contributors include impartial historians and social scientists who concentrate on the fundamental aspects of the Caliphate and unpack its lingering presence in the minds of diverse Muslims. From London to the Northern Caucasus, from Jakarta to Baghdad and Istanbul, contributors explore the Caliphate within the context of global and globalized publics and against the new reality of the Muslim umma as a multifaceted community.

About the Author :
Madawi Al-Rasheed is professor of the anthropology of religion at King's College London. Carool Kersten is senior lecturer in the study of Islam and the Muslim world at King's College London. He is also the author of Cosmopolitans and Heretics: New Muslim Intellectuals and the Study of Islam. Marat Shterin is lecturer in the sociology of religion at King's College London. He has published widely on religion, society, and law in Russia.

Review :
This collection of erudite and topical studies demonstrates the Caliphate's appeal as a symbol of Muslim unity is as enduring as it is widespread. From the Arab lands to Southeast Asia, from majority to minority Muslims, the idea has taken diverse forms and has encountered inhibiting political conditions, yet it retains a powerful resonance that should not be ignored. -- James Piscatori, Durham University Contemporary publicity about the Caliphate conceals both its historical complexity and its regional diversity. How can we exhume skeletons of the past while also silencing sirens from the present? With scholarly aplomb, the dispassionate contributors of this extraordinary volume reveal not only the benefits but also the limits of the cultural capital that informs the social imaginary of multiple Muslim audiences when they evoke, or hear others evoke, the Caliphate. -- Bruce B. Lawrence, Duke University This is an illuminating and timely set of essays showing how visions of a golden age have been continuously marshaled and contested, from once-colonized lands across Asia to the former Ottoman realm and now in the increasingly diverse West itself. While caliphs abound, it seems the global consensus on the Caliphate itself has yet to emerge. -- Michael Laffan, Princeton University This is a book of exceptional scope and erudition that is nevertheless accessible and very timely. By bringing together such a wealth of regional expertise, it succeeds admirably in living up to the promise of its title. More than that, these essays throw new light on the many ways in which even a mythical caliphate can exercise a powerful hold on contemporary political imaginations. -- Charles Tripp, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London