observed. Worldly authority was wielded by the
ruling elites, while the ulama wielded authority
in religious matters, especially the law. Non-Mus-
lims in the dar al-Islam remained the majority in
most regions until the 12th or 13th century. They
were legally “protected” people under Islamic law,
known as ahl al-dhimma, or simply dhimmis.
Although Muslims developed local loyalties
and identities wherever they lived, and the dar
al-Islam was beset by intracommunal tensions
and conflicts that led to political fragmentation,
the ideal of the communal solidarity of believers
endured. It even withstood invasions by crusad-
ers and Mongols and sectarian challenges posed
by the khaWariJ and the Shia. The Shia especially
became a significant political threat to the ideal of
a unified umma between the 10th and 12th cen-
turies. They held that the community had gone
astray after Muhammad’s death in 632, and they
asserted that its moral virtue and authenticity
could be fully restored only under the leadership
of the Imams, divinely inspired descendants of the
Prophet’s household (ahl al-bayt). Nevertheless,
the major branches of shiism have sought ways to
negotiate coexistence with sUnnism throughout
much of their history, and efforts at rapproche-
ment continue to the present day. The umma ideal
took root outside the Middle East in sub-Saharan
Africa, India, and beyond. This more globalized
aspect of communal solidarity was embodied
in transregional networks involving the move-
ment of goods, people, and ideas, as reflected
in the biographies of famous Muslim scholars,
Sufis, warriors, and travelers such as ibn bat tUta
(1304–77).
The third phase in the development of the
concept of the umma, that of European colonial-
ism and the modern nation-state, began in the
18th century and continues to the present. During
this time the last vestiges of transregional Muslim
political rule were wiped away with the fall of
the mUghal dynasty in 1857 and of the ottoman
dynasty in 1922. The title of caliph was discon-
tinued, the authority of the ulama was weakened,
and the dar al-Islam as a large contiguous territory
under centralized Muslim government became
but a memory. The colonial era saw many Muslim
lands ruled by non-Muslims, and, even with inde-
pendence, the governments and laws of newly cre-
ated nation-states, with few exceptions, emulated
the secular policies of Europe. The umma ideal,
however, did not disappear. Islamic reneWal and
reForm movements, inspired and led by men such
as Jamal al-din al-aFghani (d. 1897), mUhammad
abdUh (d. 1905), and mUhammad rashid rida
(d. 1935). The renewal of the unity of the umma,
particularly in the face of secular and leftist politi-
cal currents during the cold war era, was a factor
that led to the creation of international bodies
such as the mUslim World leagUe (1962) and the
organization oF the islamic conFerence (1969).
It is also evident in the formation of transnational
da awa movements such as the tablighi Jamaat,
launched in the 1920s, and support given by Mus-
lim organizations and states for Muslim victims of
conflicts, political persecution, and natural disas-
ters around the world. Cooperation among Mus-
lim states with saUdi arabia in the organization of
the hajj is another way in which the umma ideal is
affirmed today. Local and global ties among Mus-
lims in the modern era have also been strength-
ened by both mechanized forms of transportation
and the print and electronic media.
Restoring the umma ideal in a more political
sense is a foundational aspect of radical Islamist
ideology, as expressed in the writings of sayyid
qUtb (d. 1966) and abU al-ala maWdUdi (d.
1979), and is embraced by radical Jihad move-
ments, many of which want to unify Muslims
against secular regimes and create theocratic
governments based on the sharia. This message is
used by hamas to rally Muslims against Israel and
by Usama bin ladin to justify the terrorist attacks
of al-Qaida.
See also caliphate; companions oF the prophet;
conversion; crUsades; dar al-islam and dar al-
harb; dhimmi; islamic government; pan-islamism;
sUnnism; tawhid.umma 689 J