What is a "Caliphate"? Does an ISIS Caliphate Really Exist?

The 2016 presidential race has been loaded with rhetoric about a so-called “ISIS caliphate.” But what exactly is a caliphate? And what does it mean to say that ISIS claims to have one? WNPR invited Dr. Feryal Salem to unpack these terms.
Listen to the full interview here.

Hijacked

Dr. Salem said the term “caliphate” refers to a monarchy or kingdom, which does not equate to a “theocracy.” The term “caliphate” has been appropriated by the Islamic State, she said, “to legitimize their way of thinking” and their “gross misinterpretation of Islam.”

The Rights of Religious Minorities

Dr. Salem referred listeners to the Marrakesh Declaration that a large group of Muslim scholars gathered to discuss in January 2016. The declaration confirms the rights of religious minorities in Muslim-majority countries based on the tradition of religious tolerance established by the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.

Resources for seekers

• On War & Beheading: How ISIS Manipulates Hadiths
• Paris Attacks: Response and Responsibility
• How ISIS prevents scholars from teaching
• Six Reasons Why Such Killings Are Clearly Forbidden in Islamic Law
• A Guide to the Confused of Our Times
• What Is the Meaning of the Hadith “Ruined Are the Extremists”?
• The Modern Extremists – Who Are They?
• Helping our children find the light in dark times
• Finding Safety and Solace in the Sunnah
• Afraid to get groceries? On being a woman in turbulent times
• ISIS, Sex Slaves and Islam
• Khawarij Ideology, ISIS Savagery
• Stop Cherry-Picking From Islamic Texts To Justify Hatred
• Islam vs. ISIS: A Letter to Baghdadi from Leading Scholars
• Modern Day Khawarij: Dissociate Yourself from them!
• Anger, Restraint, Wisdom and the Prophetic Message in Our Times
• Nothing more American for American Muslims
• Clarity Amidst Turmoil – A Response to the Paris Shootings
• Do You Think The Killer in Chattanooga Represents Any Of Us?
• Injustice Cannot Defeat Injustice
• Video: The Role of the Ulama in Times of Crisis
• Can Muslims Stop The Rise of Extremism?
• Show The World What It Means To be Muslim
• The threat to religious guidance
• This is not the path to paradise, advice from Shaykh Abdullah bin Bayyah
• Help Us End Extremism and “Ugly Islam”

Dr. Feryal Salem is an assistant professor of Islamic Scriptures and Law and co-director of the Islamic Chaplaincy Program at Hartford Seminary. She received her Ph.D. in Islamic Studies from the University of Chicago’s Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations.
In addition, Dr. Salem has studied Islamic studies from various classically trained scholars in the Muslim World. She received her certification (ijaza) in Qur’anic recitation from the late Syrian scholar Abu al-Hasan al-Kurdi in 1998. She was also certified in recitation by Shaykh Kurayyim Rajih in 2013. She has studied a number of related Islamic sciences including: Shafi’i and Hanafi jurisprudence (fiqh), Islamic theology (aqida), early Islamic history, Arabic grammar, Muslim inheritance law, classical logic, Qur’anic sciences (ulum al-Qur’an), and Islamic legal methodology (usul al-fiqh).  In 2009, she received a degree in the hadith sciences from the Nuriyya Hadith Institute of Damascus attached to the ancient Umayyad Mosque complex and whose curriculum includes studying a range of classical Islamic texts along with their commentaries.
Committed to furthering Islamic scholarship, Dr. Salem has been actively working within the Muslim American community to establish the Nur Foundation for Sacred Sciences, which focuses on providing opportunities for education in the Islamic sciences for Muslims living in the West.