The Caliph reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Jul-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Caliph

Caliph (خليفة) was the title taken by Abu Bakr, the father-in-law of Muhammad, when he succeeded him as leader of the Ummah, or community of Islam, in 632.

The holder of this title claims rulership over all Muslims.

Following the conflict between the Fatimids and the Abbasids, other Muslim rulers began to claim the caliphal title. With defeat of these peripheral caliphates, the caliphate of the Ottomans began increasingly to be considered the undisputed primary caliphate. Thus, by the eve of the First World War the Ottoman caliphate represented the largest and most powerful independent Islamicate political entity.

The English word "Caliph" comes from Arabic via French, which got it from Latin (calīpha), which romanized the Arabic word, Khalīfa (probably خليفة), literally "Successor of the Prophet." Khalīfa originates from the verb khalafa, meaning "to succeed" or "to be behind." Some Orientalists wrote it as Khalîf. Some movements in modern Islamic philosophy justify religious leadership via khalifa, meaning roughly "to steward" or "to protect the same things as God," and propose this to renew the Caliphate.

Note: The Caliphate is the application of Messengership of Prophets (Adam, Noah,Abraham, Moses until Jesus and Muhammad) as the institution to protect and order the Muslims according the Law of God (in Quran and Universe), with the structure imitating the structure of Heaven (Mulkiyah/Government) and Earth (Ummah/People).

Famous caliphs

1. Abu Bakr
2. Umar ibn al-Khattab
3. Uthman ibn Affan
4. Ali Ben Abu Talib

• Abd-ar-rahman IV
• Abd-ar-rahman V
• Abd Allah ibn Zubayr
• Haroun al-Raschid, hero of many stories in 1001 Arabian Nights

Dynasties

The more important dynasties include:

• The Umayyad dynasty in Damascus (661-750), followed by the
• The Abbasid dynasty in Baghdad (750-1258), and later in Cairo (1260-1517)
• The Shi'ite Fatimid dynasty in North Africa and Egypt (909-1171)
• The Umayyad Emirs of Cordoba, Spain, declared themselves Caliphs (929-1031)
• The Almohad dynasty in North Africa and Spain (1145-1269)
• The Ottoman dynasty (1517-1924)

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