The Islamic Caliphate in the Fringe Codex

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  1. Hastur

    Hastur the assad regime will reclaim syria

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    A commercial district of New Makkah. Artwork by MittMac




    Al-Khilafat al-Islamiyah fi Hadab




    The Islamic Caliphate in the Fringe




    Written by: Hastur




    Edited by:










    -Table of Contents-





    • History

    • Culture

    • Government

    • The Capital

    • Resources

    -History
    -










    The Second Hijra




    The earliest modern roots of the Islamic Caliphate in the Fringe can be traced back to the year 3113, with the founding of the One World Government, a global regime on Earth that sought to unite the human race under one, common banner. The reception from the creation of this power was not met well in the regions of the world still populated by one of mankind's oldest and most recognized religions, Islam. The Arabian Peninsula, Indochina, and Northern Africa still held to Islamic beliefs and roots, the building blocks of their history. In a world that was vastly secularizing, they were becoming isolated, the staunchness of them to maintain their religious and cultural values alienating them from the rest of the world. With the founding of the UWG, the Islamic community, the Ummah, knew they had come to an ultimatum. The faith could not survive on Earth, the non-stop growth of secularism, combined with the overarching, authoritative strength of the UWG, was proof enough that something had to be done. If Islam could not save Earth, Islam would save itself. One man would begin this effort, the local governor of the Hejaz region, Iqram Mahmud. Iqram had long pondered the options Islam had in order to save itself from religious extinction, and had finally found a suitable world while scanning documents of habitable, but uncolonized worlds, an innocuous planet in the Fringe he would name "Maladh”.




    Iqram would act swiftly, sending out private messages to all rich and powerful muslims, of any creed, that still remained on Earth, as well as any of those sympathetic to his cause. Islam was in decline from its old domination of faith, but few within it still retained the vast amounts of wealth the old sultans and princes once had, holdovers of a time when the Earth relied upon the Middle East and its nigh endless supply of fuel. Enormous starcraft were assembled, to prepare for the journey to the new world, and once they were finished, the exodus began. Nearly a billion muslims were loaded onto these arks, and the Ka'aba itself was detached from its ancient resting spot with the Masjid al-Haram in Makkah and loaded aboard. In the year 3115, all ships launched, and Islam, in its near entirety, had left Earth.






    Arrival and the Republic




    The Islamic fleet had arrived at Maladh the following year, 3116, and immediately went to work. It was a breathe of fresh air for the Ummah, a new beginning. A world where they were not ruled by, or even existed with, nonbelievers. At landing, preparations for the new way of life began, with the founding of the city of Al-Amal, the merging of Sunnism and Shi'ism, and the establishment of the Republic of Maladh, or RM. Iqram Mahmud was the first president, and would usher in a quick period of expansion and colonization of Maladh. Under the rule of the Republic, the cities of New Dubai, New Baghdad, and New Dimashq were founded, slowly spreading out the enormous amount of colonists. The initial peace of the Republic was not to last, as some Imams and clerics began to spread the message that a democracy such as this, the creation of the secularists, was un-Islamic. In a world of only muslims, only one form of government could be allowed, a Caliphate






    Maladh Jihad




    New Dimashq was the birthplace of a new religious and political movement, the Islamic Caliphate, shortened to IC. Originally led by a series of Imams and scholars, a shura council was called for, and from their ranks, they elected the man who would become the first Caliph of Maladh, Rashid al-Quiche, a man whose lineage could be traced directly back to the Prophet. The Caliphate had delivered a message to all faithful muslims to abandon the Republic, and issued a jihad against the RM. Though the Republic remained staunch on the equality and fairness it brought to the Ummah, it had no strong religious backing, and public support massively swayed in favor of the Caliphate. Settlement by settlement, the Republic was ousted by supporters of the Caliph, until finally, the Senate in Al-Amal was stormed by a mob of soldiers and civilians, who declared, with final certainty, that the Republic of Maladh had fallen, and that the Ummah had finally abandoned all ties to the old, kuffar regimes. In 3120, the Caliphate was truly reborn. Rashid would rename Al-Amal to New Makkah, and his descendents would begin to further build and expand the infrastructure of Maladh, crafting it into a stable, but isolated world, until the fourth Caliph, of the royal Quichei family, was born.






    Modern Day




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    An ICIF city. Could not find the original artist.









    The Islamic Caliphate in the Fringe now encompasses three systems, having seen enormous growth in the past 160 years. The absence of any civ-space influence, and a cohesive, unified people, allowed them to "civilize” their region of space. The current Caliph of the ICIF is Syed al-Quichei ibn Dhakir al-Emir mumanin ya-Waarith, considered to be the most eccentric, adventurous, and flamboyant of the Caliphs so far. The recent outpour of growth and knowledge is attributed to his leadership, for he was the Caliph that removed the policy of isolation from the Fringe, and helped raise the Caliphate from a small, nearly forgotten community into a Fringe recognized empire, even enjoying the occasional envoy from civ-space. His popularity within the Caliphate is extremely positive, though some grow suspicious of his recent reveal to have transcended his humanity, with the guidance of God, and his alliance with the secretive, somewhat frightening "Shifters”.. The future for the Caliphate lays before them, and the Ummah are poised to seize it. From leading the OFTO, to integrating the United Ministries of Purgatory, to establishing a foothold in hyperspace, only Allah knows what they will accomplish next.











    -Culture
    -





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    An army of the Caliphate, with two smaller models of Mecca Gears prominent in the background. Artwork by Daryl Mandryk.









    Citizens of the Caliphate are a proud, reserved, and to most outsiders, rude people. Great pride is taken in both faith, and position within the hierarchy of society. Members of the Ummah often have a disdain for foreigners, and view them with a keen distrust, sticking mostly to fellows who either share their beliefs, or are sympathetic to them. A class system is apparent, both financially and religiously. Non-Muslims are permitted to live in the Caliphate, though they must first get their faith approved by the Royal Court, then they must pay a jizya tax monthly to ensure they can keep practicing a non-Islamic faith. They are classified as Dhimmi, a separate group from the Islamic Ummah, who are often faced with scrutiny and distrust from the latter. Dhimmi do however, get to legally consume haram substances, as well as hold their own courts and legal processes separate from the main Sharia courts if no muslims are involved in the incident.




    The other type of social castes, found within the Ummah, are the nobility, the middle-class, and the lower class. Nobility comprise of all those born into royal blood, and hold positions within government, whether it'd be local courts for their family's land or the national Royal Court. The middle-class are the businessmen and entrepreneurs of the Caliphate. Though they are referred to in law as the middle-class, some of them hold more wealth than some nobility, such as Ahsanullah Yusuf al-Saqqaf, CEO of DMMAREH. The lower class encompasses the rest of society, from the laborer to the soldier, though the importance of them is recognized in society, and royal families often pay public respects to the workers under their fold.




    The most widely spoken languages are Arabic, Low Purgatorian and Galactic Common, with Arabic and Galactic Common being taught as mandatory in public school. Like most modern societies, literacy rates are almost 100%. Violence is seen as acceptable when it falls in line with the faith, leading to public acts of execution within most Caliphate territories, which the state condones. Crime is largely low, due to a high presence of Mutaween, or religious police, who ruthlessly enforce a strict compliance to the laws of the Caliphate and maintain public order. Outside information slandering the Caliphate is censored, or in some cases, spun to show the idiocy and blasphemy of the infidels.











    -Government
    -





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    Flag of the Caliphate









    The ICIF is a Caliphate, an Islamic form of government sometimes defined as a theocratic monarchy. The supreme leader is the Caliph, and below him are valis and nobles who control and maintain their own cities and settlements. The highest governing body is the Royal Court, a congregation of the heads of the 24 noble families, plus the Caliph himself, who make the largest decisions that impact the nation as a whole. Other figures may work in the Royal Court, and at times, hundreds of advisers and counselors can be gathered in the grand discussion, but only the Caliph may ultimately pass or deny a decision or law.Though any ruling can be passed or refused by the Caliph at his will, most decisions are still made and mulled over by the court, for 25 minds are better than one, and care must still be taken to please the rest of the nobility. The Caliph is the only one who can issue a jihad, a call to arms for the entire Caliphate to resist or fight against a certain enemy or concept.




    The city of New Makkah is under the direct authority of the Caliph, but all other surroundings territories are ruled by one of the noble families, who govern in Lesser Courts. Lesser Courts handle local matters, things too small or trivial to be taken up by the Royal Court. This includes most legal issues, as well as local infrastructure and business practices. Valis are a step below nobles, handling the issues of smaller towns, and districts of larger cities, reporting directly to their noble benefactors, who in turn report and appeal to the Caliph. Though one must marry their way in to become a noble, anyone can run for the position of a vali, the most qualified of which are selected by the nobility.














    -The Capital-





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    Street view of an impoverished Makkan neighborhood. Artwork by Omar Gilani









    New Makkah is the capital city of the ICIF, a grand, sprawling metropolis whose architecture blends the modern flair of 3284 with the classical style of the Arabian peninsula. By far the largest city in the Caliphate, it also serves as the cultural and religious center of all Islam. The river Niqa flows through the city, creating a source of fresh water for both the inhabitants, and the multitude of parks and hanging gardens. The Financial District of the city is dominated with towering skyscrapers, owned by the mega corporations that have bloomed in the free market, such as DMMAREH and McResh. The residential districts of the city are mazes of alleys, overhanging bridges, and highways for both hover vehicles and carpet riders. Residential areas are mostly built vertically, and mosques are a very, very frequent site. A minaret rises at nearly every corner, and one does not need to travel far to run into an imam or cleric. No monuments to the Caliphs or the nobles exist, for doing so is seen as deification, and shirk.




    The Grand Mosque is the second largest structure in New Makkah, visible from nearly any part of the city, nine enormous minarets reaching into the sky from the high vaulted walls, surrounding the vast courtyard with walkways and paths that circle around the most sacred object in all of Islam, the Ka'aba. During Hajj, the mosque is sometimes filled with up to five million worshippers, tightly crowded and packed in the the ever expanding site.




    The largest structure in New Makkah, located near the center of the city, is the Palace of the Caliph. An ever expanding, grand citadel built from the site of the Republic's senate building, every Caliph has expanded the size and grandeur of their home. The Royal Court is held here, and the palace contains hundreds of bedrooms, halls, courtyards, gardens, bathhouses, and other lavish, extravagant features. The Palace is heavily fortified, and watched over by the Royal Guard and Hashashim, making it the most secure and stalwart location in the ICIF, even more so than the Grand Mosque. The public is allowed to visit a few wings of the Palace during daylight hours, but at night only guests may remain, attended by an army of servants and maids.











    -Resources
    -




    The Caliphate produces vast quantities of luxury goods, such as fine silk, coffee, and spices. Maladh has metals and ores, but not nearly as much as most other worlds, which has been rectified with numerous trade deals with other Fringe powers, who lack what the Caliphate has plenty of. Aside from luxury items, the Caliphate produces many anomalous materials relating to or from hyperspace, due to their extensive experiments and inquiries beyond that veil. This includes things such as the Qarin and Mana, which the Caliphate offers for both money and service. Most equipment and materials are bought from companies such as AK-Corp and Atlas, who remain in lucrative deals with the Caliphate.