Professor David Thomas
“The ultra-radical Islamist group Isis (the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham [Syria]) has declared that the territory they hold is to be a caliphate. In taking this step they have reverted to a model that has been the reality in parts of the Islamic world for most of its history. For nearly 1,400 years the caliph was head of the entire Islamic state. He often wielded unimaginable power, and always great influence.”
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