Caliph

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A caliph is the head of a Muslim state governed by sharia, under which ideally the whole ummah—the worldwide Muslim community—is politically united. Such a state ruled by a caliph is known as a caliphate. Muhammad’s followers established the first caliphate to carry on the political system created by the Prophet. There have been numerous caliphates throughout history, the last of which—the Ottoman Dynasty—was abolished in 1924; few have actually encompassed the full ummah. Sunni Muslims generally view a caliph as an elected head of state chosen by the ummah, though historically the office of caliph was often hereditary. Shi’a Muslims believe a caliph must be a divinely-appointed imam descended from the family of Muhammad. There is debate in the Muslim community today on the feasibility of, and the Qur’anic mandate for, a caliph.