A careful study of the first caliphate (632-661 C.E.) demonstrates that the ISIS caliphate launched by Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi in Iraq is a non-starter. A viable Islamic caliphate would most certainly ...

A stormy sea: the politics of the 'Abbasid caliphate -- From Baghdad to Cordoba: the cities of classical Islam -- Princes and beggars: life and society in the 'Abbasid Age -- The lifeblood of empire: ...

Leadership transitions in any organization can produce uncertainty and invite speculation regarding the organization’s future trajectory. This dynamic is especially the case in clandestine terrorist ...

Ken Chitwood does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their ...

The Islamic State is the second of the two caliphates the Sunni Arabs have declared following the abolition of the Ottoman Empire in 1924. Sharif Hussein bin Ali of Mecca, King of present-day Saudi ...

In order to understand what is unfolding today, we need to review the Islamic State’s past transitions, tease out the logic that informs how new leaders are chosen, and discover what practices it ...

If there were an ex-Pope, if he had a beauteous daughter, if she became secretly engaged to the eldest son of “The Richest Man in the World,” then Catholics would be as excited as Moslems were last ...

Islam is the second-largest religion in the world. It has more than 900 million adherents all over the globe, but, at present, has no recognized caliph. The word "caliph" means "successor" and "deputy ...

TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. About the Archive This is a digitized version of an article from The Times’s print archive, before the start of online ...

The Islamic State (IS) has lost another major city—the strategic city of Manbij in northeastern Syria to a coalition of U.S.-backed Kurdish and Arab fighters. Variously called ISIS, ISIL or simply the ...