How The Khilafah Was Destroyed by Abdul Qadeem Zallum

Despite all this, had the British afterwards left Mustafa Kemal to pursue the rebellion he had started by himself, he would not have been able to take one further step towards the objective which he later achieved. This is so because even if it had been possible to find anyone in Turkey who would have agreed to the severance of the Arabic speaking Islamic lands from the Ottoman State and who would have been contented only with the Turkish lands, it would have been extremely difficult to have come across anyone who would have consented to the abolishment of the Khilafah or agreed to it, apart from Mustafa Kemal and some individuals whose number did not exceed a handful. The general consensus was in favour of maintaining the Khilafah. The love of the Khilafah and the loyalty to her were deeply rooted in the hearts of people, and whenever the phrase of “Badshahin Tajuk Yasha” was mentioned, a chord in every single Turk was touched, and his strongest emotions were evoked. Hence, it would have been inconceivable for any representatives of the Ummah to have decided to abolish the Khilafah.

However, the styles adopted by the British and their continuous support of Mustafa Kemal and the activities he pursued, helped Mustafa Kemal achieve these results. While instigating this rebellion, Britain was preparing for an international manoeuvre in order to reap the fruits of the rebellion.

So she launched a wide propaganda campaign for it and hyped up its news in an attempt to raise the allies’ fears about Turkey.

Reports destined to Istanbul sent by the westerners and the officers accumulated, replete with the description of the major uproar which mushroomed in Anatolia and of the nationalist feeling which had erupted.

At the same time, the telegrams and the press agencies started to cover the news of the rebellion in an exaggerated manner. Meanwhile, a peace conference in Paris with the participation of the allies was called for.

Britain seized this opportunity to squeeze into the working agenda of the conference the news of the disturbances which Mustafa Kemal had instigated, in order to kindle rancour in the hearts and urge the imposition of tough conditions.

France however was aware of the fact that those actions were fabricated by Britain, hence, she dismissed the news of Mustafa Kemal’s disturbances and even went a step further when she attempted to win over the government of Damad Farid Pasha. Thus she led him to believe that she was not angry about this rebellion, and when she learnt of his intentions to come to Paris personally to seek the allies sympathy and win them over, she rushed and placed an ironclad at the disposal of the Ottoman delegation, headed by the Prime Minister, who wanted to attend the peace conference in Paris to air the views of the Ottoman State, before a decision on her fate was taken.

However, Britain objected to this and expressed concern over the French enthusiasm towards the Ottoman government. At first Britain attempted to prevent Damad Farid Pasha from attending, so he pretended that he had wanted to accompany the delegation but his poor health prevented him from doing so. He eventually travelled aboard a British ironclad.

The Paris conference laid down some very tough conditions, and it was Britain who adopted those decisions and championed them. Lloyd George delivered a speech at the Guildhall on 8th November 1919 in which he said : “The peace terms have been fully approved by the allies, especially those terms concerning the Ottoman Empire, and the whole of Europe unanimously agrees that the evil and rotten Ottoman rule must be eradicated from the lands inhabited by the Greeks, the Armenians and the Arabs. The seaports situated along the Black Sea and the Mediterranean must be opened for all nations.” However, France and Italy were averse to the treaty. Nevertheless, Britain’s enthusiasm towards those terms were not with the aim of implementing them, but rather to use as a means to threaten the Ottoman State and to incite the Turks against the Sultan so that they sided with Mustafa Kemal. That is why she was later the first to call for a conference in London in order to cancel the treaty. The conference was effectively held in February 1921.