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Saudi Wahhabi leaders see Turkish threat over caliphate

Saudi Wahhabi leaders have gone on the attack to promote what they believe is the sole, Saudi claim to the restoration of the caliphate.
Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (4th L) is pictured after receiving the "King Faisal International Prize" from Saudi King Abdullah (3rd L) in Riyadh March 9, 2010.    REUTERS/Fahad Shadeed  (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2BFMZ

Wahhabi clerics are easily provoked upon hearing that other Muslims may entertain the idea of restoring the Muslim caliphate. They strongly believe that Muslims other than themselves are godless and unqualified to claim the honor of reviving the caliphate, a multi-ethnic transnational empire with Sharia and the bonds of faith as the basis of government.

As they consider themselves to represent the only true and pure Islam, they endorse the view that if such a caliphate is to return, they should take the lead in shaping its creed and outlook. They are therefore determined to denounce any contemporary Muslim who may entertain the idea that one day all Muslims will be united under the umbrella of a single polity. If such a unification were ever possible, they themselves should be the only active agents in its birth, regardless of how remote or unrealistic this possibility might be.

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