Al-Mawardi’s theory of the caliphate and its connection to the contemporary Islamism

The article presents the concept of the caliphate of theologian and jurist at the turn of the 10th and 11th centuries, Al-Mawardi, based on his work Al-Ahkam as-sultaniyya and the socio-political nature of the period of the Abbasid dynasty, which was the context of its creation. Based on a detailed analysis of Al-Mawardi’s views on political power in Islam (traditional caliphate), the author’s aim was to show the connection of this theory with selected elements of the contemporary ideology of Islamism, and thus attempt to answer the question about the continuity of Muslim political thought. Considering the changes of the caliphate in times of Al-Mawardi, but also in later periods, including the ones that occurred in the Islamic world after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the author argues that views on power in Islam were conditioned by a complex socio-political context, which was influenced by factors internal and external to the world of Islam. Discussed theory of Al-Mawardi’s caliphate constitutes the basis for the search for analogies in the political doctrine of contemporary Islamic reformers and the ideology of Islamism, which in turn allows Al-Mawardi’s views to be considered appropriate also for the contemporary concept of power in Islam.