Thanks to the creation of a so called caliphate by the group known as the Islamic State, the issue of the caliphate has received some attention of late, and not for the right reasons.

Thanks to the brutality of IS (Islamic State), many may have acquired a skewed concept of what the caliphate actually is. If one believed that IS were truly representing the spirit and essence of a caliphate, then they would assume a caliphate is a state ruled by Muslims in which Muslims basically oppress minorities, force them to flee, and then destroy their places of worship etc.

Such acts are the very antithesis of a caliphate. To begin with, the purpose of a caliphate is to have a state of security and peace for its citizens, not the opposite. So if you have a supposed caliphate in which the people are being oppressed and forced to flee by those representing the caliphate, then the entire purpose and being of the caliphate has been violated.

In an Islamic caliphate, the protection of non-Muslim minorities is essential, non-Muslims are to be protected and secured, they are free to their faith, and free from harassment.

Their places of worship are to be protected and respected as well, it is a duty of the caliphate to see to that. The role of the caliphate is not to oppress them or force them out.

Moreover in a caliphate the non-Muslim residents are not obliged to follow Islamic traditions or customs, so while Islam forbids alcohol and eating pork, non-Muslims are not bound to follow such rules and are more than free to practice their own customs and traditions.

Muslims are not allowed to force their faith onto non-Muslim residents in the caliphate, if they did so this would be seen as violating the rights of the non-Muslim residents.

As we mentioned above, the entire purpose of the caliphate is to have safety and security for its residents, for all its residents, Muslims and non-Muslims, the caliphate is obliged to treat and protect both equally. Non-Muslims are basically not even supposed to feel any apprehension while living under a caliphate, they shouldn’t be nervous or worried about the authorities.