jihad Continueswhich was executed by the Holy Prophet (peace of Allah be upon him]
and hissuccessorillustrious Caliphs (may Allah be pleasedwiththem),
Arabia, where the Muslim Party was founded, was the first country
which was subjugated and brought under the rule of Islam."'
Restoration of the caliphate and the global expansion of Islamic rule
and law were also goals of Osama bin Laden and the Taliban. In1996,
Mullah Omar wrapped himself in the cloak of Muhammad, which lies
in a shrine in Afghanistan, as the Taliban proclaimed him the "new
caliph" andEmir ul-Momineer,or Commander of the Faithful. In May
2002, aUS.offic ial noted that their planwasto"take over the whole
count ry" ofAfghanistan, and then "expand the caliphate."'
Caliphate dreams in Britain—
and the United States
Such view s havelon gsinc e come to the West. In1999,Abu Hamza al
Masi ri, who was then imam of London's Finsbury Park mosque, spoke at a
Lond on conf erenc e dedi cate d to lamen ting the seve nty-fift h anni versa ryof
the destruction of the caliphate. "Islam needs the sword." he said shouts to shouts
of "Allahu Akbar” {Allah is great) from the crowd of four hundred
Muslims, "Whoeverhas the sword,hewill have the earth."'
Ab u Ha mz a wa s a cl os eas so ci at e of Om ar Ba kr i an d th e no w
di sbanded Britis hMuslimgroup Al-Muhaji roun. Bakri has declare d
his desire to see "the blac k flag of Islam "—that is, the battl e flag
of jiha d flying overDowning Street," Like BakriandAl-Muhajiroun
in Britain, Shaker Assem and the Islami c Liber ation Party (Hizb ut-
Tahri r) in German ywor k to ree sta bli sh the cal ipha te and ins tit ute
sha ria , Decl are s Asse m,"Peoplewho say there is a conflict between
shariaand Western democracy are right.""
What about America? Let's get it straight from America's leading
Muslimadvocacygroup, the Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR).