Reflections of Abolition of the Caliphate in the Turkish Press

The caliphate emerged with the death of the prophed Muhammed and after that Hûlefa-i Rashid cycle has begun. Caliphate has turned to reign in the Ummayyad and Abbasid era. Yavuz Sultan Selim conquered Egypt and caliphate was transferred to the Ottoman State. Ottoman state has declared jihad in the First World War, but has not the expected response from the Islamic World. At the end of the First World War, the period of national struggle started in the occupied Ottoman Empire. As a result of the victory of the National Struggle, the sultanate which caused duality in the country was abolished. The Turkish press has not given negative reaction to the abolition of the sultanete because the caliphate continued to live in the Ottoman dynasty. Doubts about the future of the caliphate has raised with proclamation of the republic in the Turkish press. Thus, the Turkish conservative press have criticized the presidential elections because they have seen the caliph as president. While discussions about the future of the caliphate in the Turkish press were continuing, Caliph Abdülmecid has wanted to increase in the caliphate budget at the beginning of 1924. The request accelerated the process of the removal of the caliphate. Budget meeting started and caliphate budget was evaluated in the parliament with the new year. Caliphate was abolished on the 3rd of March 1924 and Ottoman dynasty were expelled out of the country. The conservative press such as Tanin, İkdâm and Tevhid-i Efkâr have interpreted that the ties with the muslim world would break, but they have written that this was a second degree problem. Tevhid-i Efkâr newspaper interpreted the decision as fait accompli. Hâkimiyet-i Milliye and Anadolu’da Yenigün from Ankara newspapers have supported the decision of abolition of the caliphate. Vakit, Vatan, İleri and Akşam newspapers they have expressed that the abolition of the caliphate has removed the obstacles ahead Turkey’s progress. The removal of the caliphate caused astonishment in the Islamic World but it fell from the agenda in time.

Keywords

Caliphate, Caliph, Sultanate, Ottoman Empire, Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Mustafa