Islamic scholars dismiss ISIL's caliphate

Muslim scholars have rejected as "inappropriate" an announcement by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militants that they are forming a "caliphate", or Islamic state, in areas they control in Iraq and Syria.

The International Union of Muslim Scholars said in a statement on Saturday that the ISIL's declaration contravened "Islamic principles and the actual conditions".

ISIL announced its goal on 29 June and appointed its leader Abu-Bakr Al-Baghdadi as the caliph of the Islamic world, drawing wide criticism.

The group also said it had changed its name to Islamic State, or IS.

But the Islamic scholars said the move did not contribute to Islam and it was wrong to associate the term "caliphate" with an extremist group.

"A group's sole declaration of caliphate without a wide consensus is inadequate and contradicts with Islamic law," their statement added.

ISIL, a Sunni rebel group fighting in Syria, has also expanded its territories in Iraq following its capture of Mosul, Iraq's second-biggest city, on 10 June with the help of Sunni tribes in the region.