The caliphate emerged in 1994 from the "Federated Islamic State of Anatolia" (, AFİD), which existed in Germany from 1992 to 1994 as the renaming of the Association of Islamic Associations and Municipalities (İCCB). In 1984 the latter split off from the Islamist organization Millî Görüş. The leader of the association proclaimed himself the caliph, the worldwide spiritual and worldly head of all Muslims. Since then, the organization has seen itself as a "Caliphate State" (). From an association law perspective, the old name remained.