^ ^ srxogati on lay a Moslem State to "abolish" any of ndamental institutions of Islam is a grave tragedy • the t -within the last seven aenturiaa* It means the disruption of Islamic unity and the disintegration of the Paith as
a
moral force* It also means that the particular State, in its desire to taring itself into line with the new republics of Europe, forfeits its primacy among Moslem nations and places itselfThe Caliphate is not a national institution, the property of any single State, to be "abolished" at its free ; will* It is an integral part of the Sunni system. Any nation
is free to abandon Islam, but no nation or State can arrogate to itself the power to alter or abolish its institutions so as to affect other Moslem aeamunities.
What is the Caliphate? Shore has been a good deal of theorising in the Western world on the subject, but without adequate acquaintance with the religious laws of Islam* nvery work of authority contains a dissertation on the religious Headship of the Moslem world. She Caliphate came into
_ A
existence on the death of the great Lawgiver of Islam, though
many writers trace its origin to the time when the Prophet, during a temporary absence from Medina, left
a
(a deputy) topreside at the prayers • to aet in fact
as
the Imam of the people* This the Vioe-gerent of the Prophet (the Khalifa or Caliph) • theA
■Commander of the Palthfnl* - the Amaer-ul-Mominln • is, by virtue of his office, the ohiaf Imsan (the Imam-al-Xabir), as he is styled in the
Patina
} of the vast Sunni congregations,new numbering over 250 millions* His presenes, either actually or by proxy, is essential at tne public prayers. The need
for tills Is voiced by the Arab historian of the Caliphs when speaking of the events that followed on the sack of Bagdad,
< \
The Imam forms the spiritual link between the congregation and the Prophet, He presides, either in person or by proxy, at the congregational prayers oh S’ridaye when the ana the
A A
i'emum are united in holy communion, He is the symbol of
Islamic unity; if he were to disappear the Sunni congregation would fall to pieces. The kohammedans of India, wn© have no axe of their own to grind, feel what a disaster it would be to Islam, and have strongly expressed their indignation at what has happened.
\ Temporal power is not essential to the exercise by
. \
A
| the Imam of his spiritual leadership. He may delegate his temporal power to any individual Moslem, or a Council, or | Parliament, just as in a constitutional monarchy* Her, as ia
sometimes Imagined, is it necessary that he should be a
Eo.reishite. The Prophet*s recommendation, as has been pointed out by a great Moslem Jurist of the 14th century, was due'jfc© the circumstance that in his days the Koreish were the most cultivated of the Arab tribes.
In the Sunni system the Imak&te is elective; in the Shiah system it is by "divine appointment" in the apostolical line. In the Sunni system, when the election is once made with
c
the prescribed formalities, consecrated by centuries of
observance, the oath of fealty is taken to the elected Imam, either personally or by proxy, and his name has been recited in the lihutba (the sermon) and benedictions invoked for aim in the principal Mosques of Islam, his title is complete. lie is the Imam of the Faithful end he cannot forfeit his dignity* r „ , „ his own transgression of the religious laws. It
is only then that a regularly constituted synod of the
Vi
vines and Ulenae of 2 slim ea« pronounce the forfeiture of bis Trust,Taha Toros Arşivi
