The Caliph of the Islamic State is the leader of the Islamic State, a transnational Salafi jihadist militant organisation and internationally unrecognized quasi-state, and the head of state and government of the territory of the Islamic State.
Background On 29 June 2014, the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant proclaimed the "return of the Islamic Caliphate" and renamed itself to the Islamic State, with Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as its first Caliph. The Caliphate at its territorial peak controlled 12 million people with territories in various countries, notably Iraq, Syria and Nigeria.
Dispute The Islamic State describes itself as a caliphate and its leader as a caliph, however, this claim is not accepted by the vast majority of Muslims, and is disputed by most Muslim scholars and authors.Yusuf al-Qaradawi stated: "[The] declaration issued by the Islamic State is void under sharia and has dangerous consequences for the Sunnis in Iraq and for the revolt in Syria", adding that the title of caliph can "only be given by the entire Muslim nation", not by a single group.
List of caliphs Portrait Name Reigned from Reigned until 1 Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi 29 June 2014 27 October 2019 Vacant (27 – 31 October 2019) 2 Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi 31 October 2019 3 February 2022 Vacant (3 – 4 February 2022) 3 Abu al-Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi 4 February 2022 15 October 2022 Vacant (15 October – 30 November 2022) 4 Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi 30 November 2022 29 April 2023 Vacant (29 April – 3 August 2023) 5 Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Qurashi 3 August 2023 Incumbent
Timeline
See also List of leaders of the Islamic State
References