The Caliphate Question The British Government and Islamic Governance

by Oliver-dee, Sean

• ISBN13: 9780739136010
• ISBN10: 0739136011
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-08-13
• Publisher: Lexington Books

Summary

What does it mean to engage the Islamic world, and how can it be done effectively? Western governments considering how to do this cross-cultural work would do well to learn lessons from the past century. To that end, The Caliphate Question combines the disciplines of theology, history, and international relations in order to approach the complex and sensitive issue of how Western governments-specifically, the British-have historically engaged with foreign policy issues centered around questions of theology or faith. The British government's approach to policymaking in the field of Islamic governance from World War I through to the early Cold War is the case study for this book, both because of the extensive documentation that exists on the period and because of its relevance to the current geopolitical world.

Author Biography

Sean Oliver-Dee is associate research fellow at the London School of Theology, associate researcher for the Church of England's Representative to the EU Institutions, and fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 01
The Concept and Execution of ôAuthorityö in Islam: Theology and Political Theory	p. 11
The Caliphate in Political Theory	p. 13
Introduction	p. 13
The Caliphate in the Qur'an	p. 14
Etymology of ôKhalifahö	p. 16
Did Muhammad Intend to Name a Successor?	p. 19
What Was the Remit of the Caliphs and How Did It Develop?	p. 21
By What Right Did the Caliph Rule?	p. 22
Conclusions	p. 32
The British Government Files and the Approach to Pan-Islamic Governance	p. 41
Section Introduction	p. 41
The Cairo High Command and the ôCaliphate Question,ö 1914-1919	p. 43
Historical Background	p. 43
An Overview of the Correspondence	p. 48
Key British Documents	p. 57
Foreign Language Documents in the Residence Files	p. 64
Postscript	p. 73
Conclusions	p. 74
Post-War Part 1: Professor Arnold's 1918 Letter	p. 91
Introduction	p. 91
The Immediate Post-War Phase	p. 93
Conclusions	p. 102
Post-War Part 2: The Khilafat Discussions, 1920-1921	p. 109
Lioyd-George and the Khilafat Delegation 1920	p. 109
House of Commons Meeting, March 21st, 1921	p. 117
Postscript	p. 119
Conclusion	p. 119
Post-War Part 3: Government of India-India Office Correspondence 1922-1923	p. 125
Historical Note	p. 125
ôThe Spiritual Powers of the Caliphö	p. 126
Conclusions	p. 136
Caliphate Policy: Post-Abolition-Cold War	p. 141
A Brief History of [the Intervening] Time	p. 141
Foreign Office Material on the Caliphate Post Peace Treaties-the Cold War	p. 145
Conclusions	p. 154
Conclusions	p. 163
Conclusions on the Nature of the Caliphate	p. 163
British Government and Islamic Governance 1914-1949
Conclusions	p. 166
A Final Word	p. 171
Religio-political Authority in Islam	p. 175
Table of Translations Q4:59	p. 193
The Reporting of the Caliphate	p. 195
Shi'ite Theory of the Imamate	p. 201
A Brief Comparison between the Papacy and the Caliphate	p. 205
Submission to the Lausanne Treaty Negotiators from the Armenian Delegation	p. 209
Bibliography	p. 213
Index	p. 231
About the Author	p. 235
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