caliphs were religious leaders of Islam; sultans were political leaders
Yes, there is a distinction between Islam as a religion and Afghanistan as a country. Islam is a faith followed by Muslims worldwide, while Afghanistan is a specific geographic location with its own cultural, political, and social characteristics. Islam is a religion, while Afghanistan is a nation with a diverse population encompassing various religious beliefs.
The wars are mainly due to political and imperial reasons but claimed to be for religious reasons. refer to related questions below.
Islam. It is important to note that the distinction between Shi'a Islam, Sunni Islam, and Ibadi Islam (and between the internal schools of each) happened relatively early on, so to say that that Islam is one religious group is like saying Christianity is one religious group when there are vast differences between Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, Eastern Christians, and Mormons.
An example of a religious boundary could be the prohibition against consuming certain foods, such as pork in Islam or beef in Hinduism. These boundaries help define the religious identity of followers and create a distinction between the practices of different faiths.
It's all a matter of opinion... and there are multiple religions. Islam and Coptic Christianity are common. Religious beliefs have tied together some of the recent political changes, but there is also conflict between the political parties of varied religious standings...
The Crusades were mainly a series of military campaigns between Christian powers in Europe and Muslim forces in the Middle East. The conflict arose due to religious and political tensions between Christianity and Islam during the medieval period.
In the early days of Islam, the religious leaders were also the political leaders. The first four Rightful Caliphs were the religious as well as political leaders. Then some of the religious scholars like Imam Abu Hanifa ra, Harat Imam Malik ra, Hazrat Imam Ahmad bin Hambal ra, etc devoted their life for the compilation of Islamic Jurisprudence (Fiqh), some other for compilation of Hadith and certain others for spiritual training.
A caliph is a political and religious leader in Sunni Islam who is considered the successor to the Prophet Muhammad, while an imam is a religious leader in Shia Islam who is believed to be a spiritual guide and descendant of the Prophet. The main difference is in their roles and authority within the Islamic community.
The Qur'an. The distinction between Sunni and Shiite does not change what the holy book of Islam is.
There is no religious symbol for the Islam religion in the sense as the cross in Christianity or David star in Judaism. The moon and/or the star are political (and not religious) symbols that had been introduced by the Ottoman empire.
To end the power of the caliph, which is the Islamic religious or political leader of Islam.