.............continued from part 21
Yusuf Ibn Tashfin established the Al Murabitiin (Almoravid) dynasty in 448H/1956AD in Magribi (Morocco) which acknowldeged the spiritual authority of the Abbasid Caliphs in Baghdad but was completely independent in temporal matters.
Ibn Tumarat started the Al muwahhidiyah (Almohads) dynsaty (524-667H/1130-1269AD). When he died his successor, 'Abd al Mu'min assumed the title Amir ul Mukminin, and thus the office of khilafah (caliphate) was definitely established at a time when the Fatimid Caliphate was on the eve of its fall (567H/1171AD).
After the fall of the Almohads in North Africa and Andalusia (Spain), the Al Hafsiyuun (Hafsids) (625-941H) caliphate was established in Tunis. 'Abd Allah, son of the founder Sultan Abu Zakariyya, assumed the title of Amir ul Mukminin al Muntansir in 657H/1259AD, one year after the fall of the Abbassid caliphate in Baghdad. This state of affairs continued until Ya'qub Al Mansur Al Zahibi Al Marini (656-685H/1258-1286AD) put an end to the Hafsid authority and Banu Marin (Marinids) styled themselves Commanders of the Muslims.
Salahuddin (Saladin) al Ayyubi put an endto the Fatimid Caliphate in Egypt and stablished the Ayyubid dynasty (567-648H/1171-1250AD), and recognized the suzerainty of the Abbasid caliphate. It was during the rule of Saladin that the famous crusades took place.
The Mamluks and the Abbasid Caliphate in Egypt
When Turan Shah was killed, the Ayyubid dynasty came to an end; Aybak, ascended and the Mamluk dynasty was established in Egypt in 648H/1250 AD. When the Abbasid caliphate was terminated in 656H/1258AD, Mamluk Qutuz, Sultan of Egypt defeated the mongol conqueror Hulagu in the famous 'Ain Jalut . This victory was attributed to Beybars who later became the Sultan of Egypt. The Abbasid caliphate was soon revived by Beybars (1260-1277 AD)
Caliphate of the Ottoman Turks (Khilafah Uthmaniyah)
On August 24, 1516, at the battle of Mar Dabiq, the Mamluk Sultan Qansuh was defeated by Ottoman Sultan Salim I. The Ottoman Turk proceeded to Egypt, and the last Mamluk sultan, Tuman Bey was defeated outside Cairo and the Mamluk power came to anend in January 22, 1517.
None of the Ottoman rulers assumed the title of Khalifah, but during the ninetenth century, when the weakness of the Ottoman sultans became obvious and some of the provinces resented their authority, emphasis was laid on the claim of the Ottoman sultans to be caliph. The tyrannies of Sultan 'Abd al Hamid led to the revolution in 1908. He was succeeded by Sultan Wahid al Din and 'Abd al Majid who were both deprived of their authority, and in March 1924, 'Abd al Majid was sent into exile and the caliphate was finally abolished (Hassan, 1967; chp.5)
Islam's political development also took place in much of Central Asia, China and especially India and the Malay world. In Africa, Islam'spolitical development was vibrant in NorthAfrica, the Nile Valley and East Africa. In these places various sultnates, khannates, emirates and dynasties were established, all of which had one single objective: to uphold the syariah to the best of their ability.
All these political vehicles for applying the syariah were put out of action by numerous parties by the end of or after the First World War.The vehicles destroyed and died, but the spirit remains incessantly vibrant and rigourous.
..........to be continued