The inevitable caliphate?

‘The Inevitable Caliphate? A History of the Struggle for Global Islamic Union, 1924 to the Present’ by Reza Pankhurst (Hurst, £18.99, 280 pages)

The recent declaration of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as the new Islamic caliph by jihadi militant group ISIS was greeted by foreign observers with a mixture of bewilderment, mirth, fear and panic. Whatever the response, there’s no doubt that the blockbuster announcement brought more attention to the issue of the caliphate, seen by many as the ultimate symbol of Muslim political unity, than it has received in years. Reza Pankhurst’s “The Inevitable Caliphate?” is a timely consideration of how the idea has animated and inspired Muslim intellectuals and activists over the past century, and how it is used by various groups today. Pankhurst was jailed by the Mubarak regime in Egypt for four years over his membership of Hizb ut-Tahrir, an international party campaigning non-violently for the reestablishment of the caliphate and the founding of a “single Islamic state which implements Islam and calls the world to Islam.” With such a background, he can hardly be accused of lofty impartiality, but it does mean that he knows quite a lot about the subject. As ISIS plants roots just across Turkey’s border, “The Inevitable Caliphate?” is a worthwhile read.

Most of the book is taken up with analysis of major Islamic movements - both Arab and non-Arab - since the caliphate was abolished in the early Turkish Republic in 1924, tracing where they differ and what they share. These include the Khilafat Movement in British India, the Muslim Brotherhood, al-Qaeda, and of course Hizb ut-Tahrir - about which Pankhurst is an unreliable expert. The Hizb represented something of an...