The ‘Splainer (as in “You’ve got some ‘splaining to do”) is an occasional online feature in which Kimberly Winston and other RNS staff give you everything you need to know about current events to hold ...

In order to understand what is unfolding today, we need to review the Islamic State’s past transitions, tease out the logic that informs how new leaders are chosen, and discover what practices it ...

Revival of the ancient instrument of Islamic leadership will be arresting but short-lived OPINION: After an absence of 90 years, the ancient institution of the caliphate roared back into existence on ...

One Friday, the merchant stood among the crowd and shouted at the top of his voice, “O people of Baghdad, bear witness that I ...

A careful study of the first caliphate (632-661 C.E.) demonstrates that the ISIS caliphate launched by Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi in Iraq is a non-starter. A viable Islamic caliphate would most certainly ...

ISIS confirmed the death of its leader and announced a replacement, apparently corroborating U.S. claims that Abu Ibrahim al Hashemi al Quraishi was killed in Syria last month. The terrorist group ...

The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has endured significant territorial losses since its peak a year ago. Additional coalition deployments, an improving information campaign, a resurgent ...

From the early seventh century, the question of succession became the thorniest, most divisive and indeed the bloodiest issue in Islamic history. Of the first four caliphs, the rulers of the faith ...

After the prophet Mohammed died in 632, the Islamic community chose a caliph to lead the faithful. That institution lasted almost 1,300 years until it was abolished in 1924. Since that time, no ...

Reporting from San Diego — Just before midnight on New Year’s Eve, as the clock’s about to strike 12, Sherman Mendoza will steel himself to do something one last time: toast the new year with friends ...