How The Khilafah Was Destroyed by Abdul Qadeem Zallum

It seemed that the British were hoping to generate a radical change in the ruling system by destroying the Khilafah and establishing a republic through legitimate and legal means, without having to resort to a military coup or an armed rebellion. So they resorted to purely political styles. Once Izzet Pasha was removed, the Khaleefah instructed Tawfiq Pasha to form the new government. Tawfiq Pasha was known to be a British agent. During the rule of Abdul-Hamid he was a civil servant, appointed as ambassador of the Ottoman State to London, where he managed to gain the sympathy and the pleasure of the British. However, when he formed his government, he was an old man in his eighties and unfit to perform the role expected of him. Thus the British were uneasy about his forming of the government.

However, prior to attempting to replace him and bringing a new government, they wanted to dissolve the parliament known as the council of “Al-Mab’uthan”. This was because that council was elected by people from all over the Ottoman State, namely the Khilafah State. Accordingly, it was not a Turkish parliament, exclusive to Turkey. Besides, most of the deputies were from the Young Turks and the Committee of Union & Progress (C.U.P.). In other words the party of Anwar and Jamal, whose views were in favour of maintaining the Khilafah and all the parts of the Ottoman State. Therefore, it would be very unlikely for it to agree to the abolition of the Khilafah, or to agree to the severing of the other parts of the Empire from Turkey. They also wanted to generate a political vacuum in the country, and dissolving parliament would help them generate this vacuum. Hence, they were determined to dissolve it. They wanted at first to dissolve it through constitutional means, without having to resort to an intervention from the Sultan in response to their demand. This was when Mustafa Kemal attempted to apply the constitutional solutions and failed.

Then the Sultan, in an unexpected move, dissolved parliament by a decree; and this could only be based on a demand of which he was convinced or which he could not afford to refuse.

More specifically, it became imperative for Tawfiq Pasha to gain a parliamentary vote of confidence according to the constitutional rules,and so a parliamentary session to cast that vote was to be held. Mustafa Kemal who had just returned from Aleppo and Adhano, rushed to convince the deputies to give the government a vote of no confidence. He had some friends from among the unionists who represented the majority of parliament. From among those was Fathi Beik who had power and influence. Fathi Beik gathered for him a number of deputies and he initiated a debate with them in an adjacent room, and Mustafa Kemal put forward his proposal, that is, to give the government a vote of no confidence.

However, they objected to this, claiming that casting a vote of no confidence would inevitably lead to the dissolution of the council. Upon this he could no longer conceal the objectives he was aiming for so he promptly replied : “And this would be better in the long term, for through this, we can bide our time and prepare our affairs to form the government that we want.” The division bell rang and the deputies made their way into the parliament chamber. But when the time came to cast the votes and the speaker announced the result, the overwhelming majority gave the government a vote of confidence. When Mustafa Kemal learnt this, he left the parliament buildings and as soon as he arrived home, he telephoned the palace requesting an urgent meeting with the Sultan. Sultan Wahid-ud-Deen was aware of Mustafa Kemal’s thoughts and knew about his ambition to seize power. Indeed, he sensed in him some power and thought that he had powerful allies in the army and had influence over the army. Wahid-ud-Deen’s main concern was to maintain his throne and he viewed Mustafa Kemal as a threat to him. Thus, when he requested an audience with him he immediately agreed.

However, he set the date of the meeting to be on the earliest Friday.

Wahid-ud-Deen chose that day because it was the day when the “Salammalik” took place, meaning when the Khaleefah met with the people who came to greet him. His intention was to get Mustafa Kemal to declare his links with the Sultan and to confirm his loyalty to the Khaleefah along with performing the Juma’a prayer with him. Then he would take the appropriate arrangements to listen to his talk -which he knew- in private.

Once the Salah ended, Wahid-ud-Deen asked Mustafa Kemal to accompany him to the lounge. The Sultan was deliberately prolonging the meeting and the discussion took one whole hour. The Sultan addressed Mustafa Kemal by saying : “I am totally convinced that the army commanders and officers have a great confidence in you; so would you guarantee to me that the army would not undertake any action against me?” Mustafa Kemal replied: “Your Excellency, I know nothing about the future. But what I can see at the present time is that the commanders do not find any justification to rebel against your throne; I can even confirm to you that there is absolutely nothing to justify your fears.” Upon this the Sultan said : “I am not talking about the present time, but I wish to know what is expected to happen in the future.” It is not known what Mustafa Kemal replied, but it seems that he talked to him in a way that reassured him, for the Sultan said to him afterwards : “You are a wise commander, and undoubtedly you can influence your colleagues and persuade them to be calm and exhort them to use deliberation.” This special meeting, which no one else attended, caught the imagination of the people who were in the palace, and they tried to find out what it is was about. However, the Khaleefah issued on the very day of the meeting a decree in which he ordered the dissolution of parliament, without setting a date for new elections. This decree took everyone by surprise, especially as it was an arbitrary measure with no justification. No constitutional justifications or reasons were given for the dissolution. Hence, people thought that Mustafa Kemal had suggested to the Khaleefah to dissolve parliament and influenced his decision, as indeed he had done. This was particularly so as the request for an audience came in the wake of Mustafa Kemal’s endeavour to persuade the deputies to give the government a vote of no confidence, for this would have inevitably led to the dissolution of parliament. However, events surrounding the dissolution suggested that the Khaleefah’s decision had absolutely nothing to do with Mustafa Kemal’s influence. This was because it took place on the same day of the meeting and it was very unlikely for it to have been as a result of what was said in the meeting, especially as the meeting was on a Friday, which is a public holiday. Besides, Mustafa Kemal was meeting the Sultan for the first time after the signing of the truce and the end of the war, and no matter how influential he had been, the fulfilment of his request could not have been achieved at such a lightening speed.

Therefore, events indicate that the issue of dissolving parliament had been prepared before the meeting, and that its declaration in such an arbitrary manner indicates without any shade of a doubt that it was based on a matter that was beyond the Sultan’s control. One could only deduce that it was orchestrated by the British, for they were directly in control of the Khaleefah and the country through occupation.

Nevertheless, the dissolution of parliament caused a major uproar and confusion throughout the country. Rumours spread that the unionists had armed their supporters in order to declare the revolution in Asia Minor, for this was a fatal blow to the unionists. Amidst this uproar, Tawfiq Pasha disappeared and was succeeded by Damad Farid Pasha who was known as the “English Gentleman” and he also was the Sultan’s son-inlaw.

As for Mustafa Kemal, he rented a house in Shilly, a suburb of Bira, and lived there as an ordinary individual. He deserted politics and kept a low profile. He used to be seen frequenting some clubs and mixing with people in high society. However, he remained very discreet, his talk did not imply anything in particular and no one knew whether he was with or against the Sultan.

However, the Sultan was aware of Mustafa Kemal’s intentions, for he was acquainted with his thoughts and his designs. Hence, he used to fiercely resist him and attack him. He used to say to his entourage that Mustafa Kemal wanted to estrange the Turks from his family and cause animosity between him and the masses in order to remove him. However, Mustafa Kemal’s retirement from political activity did not give him any excuse over him. So many people disapproved of the Sultan’s hostility towards Mustafa Kemal.

Once Damad Farid had formed the government, and once the British showed their approval of it, the fears of the Sultan increased and he thought that he could not maintain his throne without the help of Britain.

Thus he used to see in Damad Farid a major ally and supporter of his.

The Sultan and Damad exhausted all possible means to please the British.

They established an association which they named “Friends of Britain”, and the government backed this association with all means. The British for their part copiously financed it with tempting gold. However, the common people, and the majority of the youth and army officers used to despise the British and to harbour malice against the occupiers.

Therefore, the Sultan and his Prime Minister threw themselves completely into the embrace of the British and they fully relied upon them. The British had by then appointed a High Commissioner in Istanbul in order to run the political affairs of the country, alongside the British General Harrington, the Commander in Chief of the allied forces. Hence, they started dictating their opinions to the Sultan and manipulating him at will.

Consquently, he lost his effective authority and became like a prisoner.

The effective authority fell into the hands of the allies, or more specifically in the hands of the British alone, who were represented by the British High Commissioner and General Harrington.

Furthermore, the British wanted to generate a political vacuum in the country so that they could fill it themselves as they wished. On the surface, they left the political matters of the country to be run by her own people while they pushed their agents into undertaking the political activities. Then they stood behind the scenes and generated in the country turmoil and political instability, in order to highlight the inability of the locals to govern the country, thereby causing a political vacuum. This is so because the vacuum means the inability to act and the inability to persevere; in other words it means that there is a force, but this force does not manifest itself in its appropriate form and with an adequate capability.

The vacuum could either be political, military or strategic.

The political vacuum occurs when the state is unstable, uncoordinated and plunged into disquiet and political instability. It becomes imperative in this case to fill this vacuum by giving the state the power and the ability to function and persevere. Having occupied the Ottoman State, the British confined her to the Turkish region and left her in charge of the country’s policies and of looking after the country’s affairs.

So a political force in the country was generated, but they undertook a host of actions designed to prevent this force from appearing in a suitable form and an adequate capability; also to make it unable to shoulder the responsibility of government and unable to persevere. Hence, they went ahead with their trick to dissolve parliament in order to generate disquiet and instability.

They then encouraged people to undertake the type of political activities designed to generate discord and turmoil. Indeed, the dissolution of parliament did cause uproar and disquiet, and people started to sense the State’s inability to govern. This led to a group of local men attempting to rescue the situation.

On 29th November 1918, Doctor As’ad, a Yemeni surgeon involved in politics, called for a national conference in the capital, which gathered eight parties and a large number of small blocs to look into the country’s state of affairs. Several meetings were held, then the conference broke up without yielding anything.

A group of thirty people from among former ministers and prominent figures was formed as a bloc under the name of “The National Unity”.

They gathered around the former speaker of parliament, Ahmed Ridha, the founder of the Young Turks Committee, but this bloc did not have any chance of success. The Unionists became remarkably active, but this also came to nothing.

Hence, people used to sense the presence of a state and at the same time, sense its inability to shoulder the burdens of government and politics; those who worked in politics turned into several groups and several individuals. However, there was no coordination and no concord between them. Many attempts were made to undertake effective political work but all of them failed and ceased.

The political vacuum in the country became manifest and everyone could sense it, for there was no assembly to represent the Ummah, and to which the Sultan could refer to for consultation and advice - thereby generating coordination, which would have allowed the Sultan to look after the country’s affairs and shoulder the political burdens. There was also no government to get in touch with the Ummah, undertaking the actions which would be in harmony with the politicians’ actions and with the masses, and shoulder the responsibility of politics and of looking after the country’s affairs, and no Khaleefah to share people’s opinions, coordinate the efforts and generate the political actions. Parliament was dissolved, the government was paralysed and the Khaleefah was like a prisoner. Hence, the political vacuum was manifest and it was reflected in the State’s inability to function and to persevere, despite the fact people could see the presence of the State and the rulers.

The discord, disquiet and political instability were also manifest, and despite their large number, local politicians failed to fill this political vacuum due to the lack of coordination between them, which arose from the different opinions and interests they had. Debates and speeches alone could not generate a political existence, nor could they fill the political vacuum, unless these yielded a result. The result would be to steer the state towards shouldering its burdens and to make it able to function and to persevere, or to seize the reins of rule and shoulder the full responsibility or to display the ability to function and persevere. To be contented with speeches and political memoranda without yielding anything and to leave the state in such a position of instability and disquiet would be a wasted effort and a spiral motion akin to the spinning of the donkey around the millstone, and its failure would soon become manifest.

Hence, the attempts made by the local politicians and the moves undertaken by the parties failed to bear any fruits. The status quo continued in this horrific political vacuum for six months, between November 1918 and April 1919.

Meanwhile, the British provoked the idea of independence in the country as being the people’s right, stating that Turkey should belong to the Turks, just like America belonged to the Americans, and that a modern state should be established on a modern basis and modern pillars. They espoused that modern Turkey should be based on the people’s will, and should be for the people - a Turkey enjoying absolute authority and absolute sovereignty, and one which does not give room to the Sultan’s farces.

These thoughts were spread amongst people, especially in Istanbul and amongst the youth and army officers. In order to comprehend the ability of the British to propagate these thoughts and gain support for them one should review what the British had achieved when the Ottoman State was existent, in terms of evoking the nationalist tendencies and the separatist propensities, under the guise of independence. For they managed to influence the Balkans until they generated unrest and disorder, which led to the breakaway of many of its parts from the Ottoman State. Also, one should review what they had perpetrated in terms of provoking the nationalist tendencies and feelings of independence as the separatist propensities between the Arabs and the Turks, until they turned the citizens of the State into two camps. At that time, the only means they had were their slogans and their agents, but one can imagine just how much more they could achieve, once they occupied the country, took over all the country’s affairs, and the Sultan and his Prime ministers had become dummies in their hands which they could control at will. Hence, they succeeded in making this idea reach many people.

Mustafa Kemal then resumed his activities, but this time very discreetly, and without attracting anyone’s attention. Many people at the time considered him a friend of the Sultan and he for his part never gave the impression that he was plotting against the government or that he was displeased with it. He concealed his movements and proceeded slowly to form a group on the basis of resisting occupation and rescuing the country.

However, he confided in the closest people to him and it was mentioned that on one occasion he explained his plan to those closest to him in Istanbul by saying : “The government is not free in reaching any decision and the Sultan is no different from the prisoner in the hands of the victorious. Hence the centre of the nationalist government should be shifted to the heart of the country, to Anatolia. For in Anatolia, people could be tempted to integrate and participate in the nationalist movement. The nationalist movement could lead to the salvation of the threatened Sultan’s throne and to its deliverance from the hands of the occupiers. All efforts must be exhausted in avoiding a clash with the peoples of Europe, for the movement we aim at establishing is a peaceful one and the first thing we ought to attend to is saving the Sultan. I cannot find a good word to say about the government of Damad Farid Pasha. Therefore, I believe that the toppling of this government would be without any doubt a nationalist necessity.” Mustafa Kemal coupled this secret activity of his with his endeavour to assume the general command of the army; however, he was unsuccessful and then he lost all hope, for he was frankly told that he had no chance whatsoever in becoming general commander of the armed forces, nor in assuming any government post; thus he kept silent and did not express any resentment. He continued pretending to be loyal to the Khaleefah and to the government and did not undertake any other activity apart from gathering supporters and spreading the idea of independence, stating that independence should be earned rather than being offered, and all the similar ideas which the West, especially the British used to spread.