Amir al-Mu'minin: Difference between revisions

[[Abdelkader El Djezairi]] assumed the title in 1834.{{Sfn|Esposito|2003|p=1}} The Afghan ruler [[Dost Mohammad Khan]] likewise used it when he proclaimed a {{transl|ar|jihād}} against the [[Sikh Empire]] in 1836.{{sfn|Pennell|2016|p=2}}{{sfn|Shahrani|1986|p=35}} According to historian Richard Pennell, this pattern reflects the use of the term {{translit|ar|ʾAmīr al-Muʾminīn}} for regional rulers with the connotations of wide-ranging and absolute authority over a region, the power to conduct relations with foreign states, the upkeep of the [[Sharia]], and the protection of Muslim territory from non-believers.{{sfn|Pennell|2016|p=16}} [[Timur]] (Tamerlane) also used the title.{{Citation needed|date=September 2021}}

 

 

In 1996, the title was adopted by the [[Taliban]] leader [[Mullah Omar|Muhammad Umar]].{{sfn|Pennell|2016|p=2}} Mullah Mohammed Omar was conferred the title in April 1996 by a Taliban-convened [[shura]] (assembly) of approximately 1000-1500 Afghan [[ulama]] in [[Kandahar]], when he displayed the [[Shrine of the Cloak|Cloak of the Prophet]] before the crowd. The title granted legitimacy to Omar's leadership of Afghanistan and his declared jihad against the government led by [[Burhanuddin Rabbani]]. Omar was still referred to as {{translit|ar|ʾAmīr al-Muʾminīn}} by his followers and other jihadists, notably al-Qaeda leader [[Ayman az-Zawahiri|Ayman al-Zawahiri]]. [[Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor|Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor]], the successor of Mullah Omar, was conferred the title in July 2015 upon his appointment as the new leader of the Taliban.<ref name="Joscelyn2015" /> [[Hibatullah Akhundzada]], the third [[List of Taliban leaders|Supreme Leader of the Taliban]], was also conferred the title upon his election in 2016 and became the [[Supreme Leader of Afghanistan|Leader]] of [[Afghanistan]] in 2021.<ref name="Voice" /> In 2005, the [[Islamic State]] leader [[Abu Umar al-Baghdadi]] adopted the title, nine years before the Islamic State proclaimed its caliphate in 2014.{{sfn|Pennell|2016|pp=2–3}} [[Abu Umar al-Baghdadi]] was conferred the title after his appointment in October 2006 by the Mujahideen Shura Council as the first Emir of the newly declared Islamic State of Iraq.<ref name="Kohlmann2006" /><ref name="Bunzel2015" /> As Richard Pennell commented, by claiming the title they positioned themselves as potential "caliphs-in-waiting",{{sfn|Pennell|2016|p=16}} but for the moment, the title was simply the expression of their claim to an overarching "activist authority" over the areas they controlled.{{sfn|Pennell|2016|pp=17–18}}