An Overview of the Assistant Caliphs

The Prophet Muhammad (saw) said:

“My two ministers (assistants) from the heavens are Gibra'el and Mika'el and from the people of the earth are Abu Bakr and ‘Umar.”

All executive powers are held with the Caliph, and he delegates these powers to various executive posts within the Islamic State.

Unlike in a democracy, executive power is not shared amongst a cabinet of ministers each with their own portfolios. The Caliph retains full powers to appoint, dismiss and direct any of the executive posts within his cabinet as he sees fit.

The post of Assistant Caliph is an executive position within the Caliph's cabinet. Assistant Caliphs are appointed in order to aid the Caliph in running the affairs of state. The Assistant Caliph has the same powers as the Caliph in the context of acting as an assistant.

The Assistant Caliph is not a deputy Caliph. Once the Caliph is no longer in office the Assistant Caliph automatically loses his position.

After the Caliph, the Assistant Caliph is the most powerful position within the Islamic State. To ensure the Assistant Caliph does not abuse his position, the Caliph supervises his actions very closely. The Assistant Caliph must get agreement from the Caliph on policies he wishes to enact. Once these policies have been implemented the Assistant Caliph must inform the Caliph of any specific actions he has performed. The Caliph reserves the right to overturn these actions or the entire policy if it's within his executive power to do so.

The Assistant Caliph is subject to the same checks and balances as the rest of the cabinet. These are detailed in the section – An Overview of the Caliph. If the House of Representatives pass a vote of no-confidence in the Assistant Caliph then the Caliph must remove him from office.

The Assistant Caliphs can be assigned to any of the following roles:

• Provisional Leader – In the event of the Caliph’s death or in his absence, the Assistant will become the interim leader until the Caliph returns or a new Caliph is elected. The eldest Assistant assumes this position.

• Regional Assistant – The Assistant is assigned to a particular region to supervise and aid the activities of the governor

• Emergency Assistant – After a natural disaster an Assistant will be dispatched to coordinate the relief effort

In the event of a natural disaster such as an earthquake, all resources of the state are needed to deal with the disaster. Many times bureaucracy and red tape can prevent an efficient response. The Assistant Caliph can be tasked with dealing with a natural disaster when it happens. He has the powers to perform the following actions that will mobilise the relief effort:

1. Control the armed forces

2. Utilise funds from the state treasury

3. Order the provincial governors to send aid

4. Impose emergency taxation if required

5. Deal with international governments

6. Coordinate all government agencies involved in the effort

• Government Assistant – The Assistant can be appointed to any government position such as Chief Justice or Treasury Secretary