The Caliphate

The Islamic State of Iraq and Al Sham, commonly known as ISIS or ISIL, has been sweeping across the Middle East, seizing nearly half of Iraq and half of Syria. They have been extremely successful in displacing all Christians and other Muslims that do not convert to their narrow vision of Islamic Law. To reflect their new found success, ISIS changed its name to simply "Islamic State," and now call themselves "The Caliphate."

Most normal people have no idea what "Caliphate" means. Put simply, "the Caliphate" means "succession," as it relates to the teachings of Mohammed. A Caliph is a leader of the Caliphate. Historically, however, "Caliphate" has also meant a united Islamic state, incorporating all Muslims anywhere in the world, without regard to borders. What very few people recognize, is that this Caliphate is actually the second Caliphate. In order to understand the goals of this most recent movement, it is important to understand a little of the history.

Mohammed, the founder of Islam, was born in 570 A.D. in Mecca. In 615 A.D, Mohammed began teaching his religion, known at the time as Mohammedism. Ten years later, he dictated the Koran, the Muslim Bible. In 632 A.D., Mohammed died and was succeeded by Abu Bakr. Islam spread like a wildfire throughout the Middle East, displacing Christians and Jews within less than a decade. Bakr died in 635 and was replaced by Omar the First, who first started using the term Caliphate to mean all Muslims everywhere, converted or otherwise. He spread the Caliphate to Egypt and Syria, and moved the capital of the Caliphate to Damascus. Around this same time, the forced conversion of non-Muslims became a principle tenant of the faith.

While this was going on, the Roman Empire was collapsing. Rome had already fallen to the Germanic tribes in 476. The remnants of the empire, by this time a Christian empire, had move to the East, to places like Constantinople in modern day Turkey. The Emperor Constantine, a converted Christian, was able to hold the line against the Caliphate in the east during his reign, but his son, Justinian II, the last true Roman Emperor, was defeated by the Arabs in Cecilia in 693. The Caliphate gained a foothold in Europe and quickly spread Islam throughout Italy, Spain and controlled territories as far north and west as France. In 732, Charles Martel (a.ka."The Hammer") defeated the Arabs at the Battle of Tours, halting the western advance of Islam.

The Caliphs subsequently gave up their collective vision of conquering Europe and turned their attention back to the east. The capital was again moved to Baghdad, and Caliph Mahdi began the Islamic Inquisition. To put it in perspective, Islamic militants, dedicated to forcing the conversion of all Infidels had, by 732, conquered and occupied the entire Middle East, Spain, Italy, eastern Europe, northern Africa and southern France. The Roman Empire had been supplanted by the Caliphate.

In 900 A.D. European Christians began what would be a 500 year effort to eject Arab Muslims from Europe. The "Crusades," while typically viewed as an insensitive Papist folly, were viewed at the time as necessary to stop the forced conversion of Christians in Europe and throughout the world. Folly or not, if not for the Crusades, Islamic Law and the Caliphate likely would be the dominant form of governance in the world. European efforts culminated in 1492 with the "Reconquista," or "reconquering." While Columbus was sailing the ocean blue, Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain were also busy pushing Sharia Law out of Europe. They were successful. What followed was the infamous "Spanish Inquisition" which was originally put in place to convert Muslims who refused to leave Europe. It is obviously a dark chapter in western history, but it was no worse than the Islamic inquisition that took place a century before and is still taking place in the Middle East today.

The first Caliphate shattered into four opposing sects in 752, including the Shiites and Sunnis. The split had been brewing for a century and was the result of a dispute over succession. The Shiites believed that the Caliph must be from Mohammed's line or otherwise divinely chosen. The Sunnis believed that that Caliph should reflect the will of the people and be elected by other Muslims.

In any event, to understand the new Caliphate's goals, you first have to recongnize the enormous scope of the first Caliphate. Caliph's Omar and Mahdi intended to spread the Caliphate throughout the known world, by military force, using gruesome conversion techniques to drive out all other religions. 

The objectives have not changed. The new Caliphate intends to "raise the flag" of the Caliph in the White House, said one leader. They are, literally, crucifying children for failing to fast during Ramadan. If you don't believe that, look on YouTube. Last month, they buried two young women to their necks outside a village in Syria. They were accused of adultery. A truck load of stones were brought in for the villagers to use in accordance with Sharia Law to stone them. The villagers did not believe the women were guilty or, in any event, apparently no one would "cast the first stone." So, the Caliphate soldiers did it for them, in front of husbands, brothers and children. Again, see for yourself. The pictures were leaked on Twitter.

The Caliphate is now resurrecting the ancient Mahdi directive: "Leave, Convert, or Die." It is unlikely that the Caliphate will actually succeed in taking over the entire Middle East. Quite simply, the Shia do not want to be converted or killed, so there will almost certainly be a bloody civil war. That notwithstanding, our leaders would do well to understand the extraordinary resolve these people have. They will not be bargained with. They do, in fact, have global ambitions, even if they cannot, yet, project power. They are extremely well organized, and they know their own history - we do not. They know that their heritage is as the successor to the Roman Empire and that they had, at one point, conquered most of the known world. That undoubtedly provides them with the confidence and motivation to press their objectives. We underestimate them at our own peril.