I would recommend the Wikipedia entry and associated linked topic before the very unobjective Guardian article.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caliphate
After 9/11 I began t look at al Qaeda and associated Muslim groups and saw how they want to bring back a caliphate.
The 9/11 date was possibly chosen because it was an anniversary of a post-WWI declaration concerning the middle East by Britain.
Similarly ISIS are talking about Picot-Sykes.
There is a widely held idea that the nation states that exist now were foisted artificially on them by the west/Christians.
The liberal and left media have downplayed the idea of the Caliphate as a goal since 9/11. This Guardian article falls in to that same category.
I read the entire article and I gotta say, that the author and I suppose the Brit liberal establishment strikes me as being extremely smug and arrogant and dismissive about the chances for this to succeed, especially considering the huge number of hostiles they’ve imported into their own country. This could well blow up in their faces and frankly, that wouldn’t hurt my feelings any considering the ridiculous disregard their crappy government has exhibited toward the interests of their native population, i.e., BRITISH ANGLO-SAXON!
Indeed.
9/11 was also the Date when islam was defeated at the gates of Vienna.
It was also the date of the Mountain Meadows Massacre, but that one could just be a coincidence.
This year marks the 100th Anniversary of WW1, which precipitated the destruction of the Ottoman Empire, The end of the caliphate, the liberation of Jerusalem from the Turks, the Russian Revolution, and the partition of the Middle east into a bunch of artificial countries. (Not to mention sowing the seeds for WW2!)
These guys carry a grudge forever, it seems.
The history & idea of colonization of Arab countries in the ME and North Africa, among muslims in those regions in particular, are indelibly imprinted in their minds. And, they are, historically, correct about countries like Iraq & Syria; they were artifically created.
Incidentally, if you look at Iran's Islamic Republic constitution, you'll note that it specifically outlines the objective of establishing a worldwide Islamic state. That constitution came about in 1980-81. So, it's not a new idea.
However, Iran's Islamic Republic constitution has many other Islamic elements that were invented by Khomeini himself & are not universal in the Muslim world.
Equally, of the total muslim population worldwide, approximately 10-13% are shia and 87-90% are sunni. Most Shia muslims live in Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, and India. Therefore, Khomeinist regime in Iran had difficulty exporting its global objective of an Islamic Caliphate.
This isn't good at all. It will have global implications & impact in coming years & decades. Unfortunately, I don't think the West has the will or the understanding to put an end to it. This is the price we pay for lack of long term vision, and assisting Islamic groups around the world to topple secular dictators, all in the name of democracy.