Re: Non-Desi View on Ummah post 9/11
MiniMe,
I think you are right, I have a hard time drawing a bright line where the concept of Ummah ends, and the concept of a Khilifah begins. To some degree, the politicization of Islam leaves the whole continuum open, so all possibilites need to be considered. There are certainly those who would use the Ummah as a rational for the Khilifah.
If the Ummah is the global interconnectedness of Muslims, and the Khilifah is the global political structure, then the word global must be the common denominator. And it is clear that fighters roving from Saudi to Kashmir to Afghanistan to Iraq to Chechnya represent a loose form of a global military. So the concept of a globally bound Islamic body seems to be an amorphous reality. The question is how do Westerners percieve this, and what do they do about it? My gut reaction is that they are a little disturbed by the possibility of dealing with a political movement with no obvious head. Without Islamic leadership, Al Jazeera has more power than any human representative. Who do we negociate with? Who do we compromise with? At this point dealing with the Ummah is impossible, except in the media and the world of perception.
(note, I can't believe that I have passed 4,000 posts here. I wanna plaque)