Original version

BBC Radio 4 FM

BBC Radio 4 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced BBC Home Service.

BBC Radio 4

Radio 4

Radio 4 (FM)

Analysis

Factual: Politics

Programme examining the ideas and forces which shape public policy in Britain and abroad.

Programme examining the ideas and forces which shape public policy in Britain and abroad, presented by distinguished writers, journalists and academics.

BBC Radio 4 LW

Analysis: The Idea of the Caliphate

Factual

The Idea of the Caliphate

20/10/2014

BBC Radio 4 - Analysis, The Idea of the Caliphate

How has the concept of an Islamic caliphate evolved and been expressed through history?

What is a caliphate? Edward Stourton discovers how a universal Islamic state has worked in history and has been revived as an ideal.

What is a caliphate? What ideals does such an Islamic state embody - and how could or should it be implemented? Analysis consults a range of voices to explore how the concept has evolved and has been expressed over the centuries. Edward Stourton talks to historians, religious scholars and political thinkers who offer their perspectives on caliphates of the past, the revivalist rhetoric of the present and the beliefs shared by many Muslims about its future return.

Contributors:
Prof Hugh Kennedy, School of Oriental and African Studies
Sheikh Ruzwan Mohammed, Sunni theologian and scholar
Rebecca Mastertron, Shiite commentator
Dr Reza Pankhurst, author, "The Inevitable Caliphate?"
Dr Caroline Finkel, author, "Osman's Dream: the History of the Ottoman Empire"
Dr Salman Sayyid, Leeds University, author, "Recalling the Caliphate"
Dr Abdou Filali Ansary, Aga Khan University

Presenter: Edward Stourton
Producer: Polly Hope.

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Analysis

The Idea of the Caliphate

Genres

Brand

BBC Radio 4 FM

About BBC Radio 4