Mujahids Fighting In Syria And Iraq Announced The Establishment Of 'Caliphate'

Mujahids fighting in Syria and Iraq announced Sunday the establishment of "Caliphate", referring to the system of rule that ended nearly 100 years ago with the fall of Ottomans. In an audio recording distributed online, the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) declared its chief Abu Bakr Albaghdadi "The Caliph" and "leader for Muslims everywhere". The Shura (Council) of the Islamic State met and discussed this issue of the Caliphate. The Islamic State decided to establish an Islamic Caliphate and to designate a Caliph for the state of Muslims, said ISIL spokesperson Abu Muhammad Al- Adnani. "The word 'Iraq' and 'Levant' have been removed from the name of the Islamic state in official papers and documents." Adnani said, describing the Caliphate the 'dream' in the hearts of all Muslims and the hope of all Jihadis. After the first four caliphs who succeeded Muhammad Mustafa Ahmad e Mujtaba (SAW) the caliphate lived its golden age in the Omayyad empire from the year 661 to 750, and then under the Abbasids from 750 to 1517. It was abolished when Ottoman empire collapsed in 1924.