The rapid contraction of the territorial extent of the Islamic state seems to have dented its claims to have restored the caliphate. The question that this raises is what does the end of the Islamic state mean for political Islam in general. To address this question, this article will provide an account of the degree to which political Islam can be distinguished from the fate of the Islamic state group. In the process, it will put forward an analysis in which the emergence of political Islam is explored not only as a geopolitical but also epistemological challenge to the prevailing normal science. This essay is an exercise in critical Muslim studies and argues that no understanding of political Islam can be successful without a critique of Eurocentrism.