ABSTRACT
The rise of the Islamic State has fundamentally shifted the narrative on the historical concept of the Caliphate. With the formation of its “Caliphate”, the notion of the Caliphate itself is associated to the grotesque violence perpetrated by the Islamic State. Prior to the formation of the Islamic State, the concept of the Caliphate was closely associated with the Hizb-ut-Tahrir, a transnational Islamist movement with branches in 53 countries around the world seeking to revive the Caliphate. This chapter seeks to understand how the emergence of IS has affected the objectives and methodology of achieving the Caliphate, as well as mobilization and framing strategies of HT. It argues that the ideational contestation between IS and HT has forced HT to re-think its methodology of achieving the Caliphate and the group’s conception of the Caliphate itself. This chapter will draw on interviews conducted with HT members in Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia and India between 2011 and 2018.
