The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) has formally declared the establishment of a new "caliphate," or Islamic state, in territory it has seized in Iraq and Syria.

The caliphate is a powerful ideal — the concept of a nation of Muslims worldwide ruled by Shariah law under a caliph who holds both spiritual and secular authority. There have been multiple caliphates ...

An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt. Impact Link Two weeks ago Glenn Beck introduced much of the world to the word caliphate. Shortly after the Egypt uprisings began, Beck used two chalkboards to ...

An image of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who died on Oct. 26, 2019.. Department of Defense via AP Just days after the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on Oct. 27, the Islamic State named ...

In an article titled “Why the New Caliphate is Irrelevant,” Akhilesh Pillalamarri of The Diplomat raises some important issues regarding the existence and relevance of the Caliphate, both historically ...

Just days after the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on Oct. 27, the Islamic State named Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi as the new “caliph.” In 2014, IS conquered vast swaths of Iraq and Syria and ...

This event has been treated as a major milestone by the media and many in the West, as well as some alarmist figures in Iraq. This is because of the enormous, romanticized emphasis both Islamist and ...

At this crucial point in the war against the self-proclaimed Islamic State, as it hemorrhages territory across Syria and Iraq, the latest analytical fad in the study of this movement may be leading ...