Claims To The Caliphate
Many local rulers in Islamic countries have claimed to be caliphs. Most claims were ignored outside their limited domains. In many cases, these claims were made by rebels against established authorities and ended when the rebellion was crushed. Notable claimants include:
- Abd-Allah ibn al-Zubayr, who held the Hijaz against the Umayyads. Certain scholars considered him a legitimate Caliph, being a close companion of Muhammad. His rebellion, centered in Makkah, was crushed by the Umayyad general Hajjaj. Hajjaj's attack caused some damage in Makkah, and necessitated the rebuilding of the Kaaba.
- Caliph of the Sudan, a Songhai king of the Sahel.
- The Zaydi Imams of Yemen used the title for centuries and continued to use the title till 1962.
- Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca, proclaimed himself Caliph on 3 March 1924, two days after the office was abolished by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. (see Sharifian Caliphate) Hussein's claim was not accepted, and in 1925 he was driven from the Hijaz by the forces of Ibn Saud. He continued to use the title of Caliph during his remaining life in exile, until his death in 1931.
Read more about this topic: Caliph
Famous quotes containing the words claims to and/or claims:
“Whenever any skeptic or bigot claims to be heard on the question of intellect and morals, we ask if he is familiar with the books of Plato, where all his pert objections have once for all been disposed of. If not, he has no right to our time. Let him go and find himself answered there.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“So immense are the claims on a mother, physical claims on her bodily and brain vigor, and moral claims on her heart and thoughts, that she cannot ... meet them all and find any large margin beyond for other cares and work. She serves the community in the very best and highest way it is possible to do, by giving birth to healthy children, whose physical strength has not been defrauded, and to whose moral and mental nature she can give the whole of her thoughts.”
—Frances Power Cobbe (1822–1904)