How The Khilafah Was Destroyed by Abdul Qadeem Zallum

When Mustafa Kemal sensed that the whole atmosphere was against him and that the majority of the National Assembly was also against him, he thought of a way out from this critical impasse. These circumstances were not favourable to the resumption of the peace conference in Lausanne, for they would not allow the execution of the four conditions stipulated by the British which Curzon, the British Foreign Secretary, had made conditional for the success of the conference. Hence, it was imperative for him to undertake an action which would enable him to fulfil these conditions. It was also imperative to obtain a decision from the National Assembly endorsing the establishment of the Republic and electing him as President of the Republic, and to obtain a decision endorsing the total abolishment of the Khilafah. Since the majority of the National Assembly was against him and since it was unlikely that it would execute his plans or agree to proceed with him, he thought about dissolving the National Assembly and holding fresh elections which would enable him to bring a new National Assembly from among his own men, who would support him, execute his aspirations and endorse the resolutions he wanted.

Hence, he endeavoured to dissolve the National Assembly and hold fresh elections, hoping to acquire a majority. However, the Assembly which the election produced was against him just like the old one. Thus, he resorted to plotting against the National Assembly in order to throw it into confusion and to place it in a position that would make it seem unable to function. Hence, he staged a political conspiracy in order to generate a crisis and exploit it. He invited the ministers to dinner at his house in the suburb of Cankaya during which they discussed the political status quo from all aspects. Then, on the basis of a request, the next day, all the ministers resigned in accordance to what they had agreed upon the night before.

The National Assembly convened in order to form the new government but it could not do so, for arguments between the deputies increased and quarrels broke out. Each deputy attempted to impose his own opinion and look after his own interests until the situation resulted in total chaos.

Two days later, Mustafa Kemal hosted another dinner party for some of his loyal friends, among whom were Ismat, Fathi and Kemal-ud-din and they talked about the crisis into which the National Assembly had fallen due to its failure to agree upon the formation of a government. They exchanged their views about the situation and at the end of their discussion Mustafa Kemal addressed them by saying: “it is high time we put an end to this mess. Tomorrow we are going to declare the establishment of the Republic. It is the solution to all these problems. Therefore, you Fathi complicate matters in the Assembly as much as you can tomorrow, so you will incite the deputies against each other. Then you Kemal-ud-din will propose that I should be invited to take control in order to save the Assembly from its crisis.” The next day, every one set about carrying out what they had agreed upon. The Assembly convened and noisy arguments broke out. The deputies came close to fighting each other physically. Amidst this huge uproar between the deputies, Kemal-ud-din suggested inviting Mustafa Kemal to form the government. The deputies agreed and forgot all their differences with him. However, Mustafa Kemal turned down their request at first. Thus, they sent him a new message in which the Assembly admitted its failure in solving the governmental crisis and requested his help. Hence, he stipulated that the National Assembly should accept his opinion without any discussion if they wanted him to form the government to which they agreed.

On 29th October 1923, the National Assembly held an important meeting and Mustafa Kemal took to the platform and delivered a speech in which he declared turning Turkey into a republic. To quote from his speech:

“You have sent for me so I could salvage the situation at this critical time.

However, the crisis is of your own doing. The origin of this crisis is not a passing matter, but rather a fundamental error in the system of our government. The National Assembly is undertaking the function of the legislative power and the executive power at the same time. Every deputy from amongst you must interfere in every government resolution being adopted and stick his fingers in every governmental department and every ministerial decision. Sirs! No minister can fulfil his responsibility and accept the post under such circumstances. You ought to realise that a government built upon such a basis would be impossible to establish, and if it were established, it would not be a government but an anarchy. We ought to change this status quo. Therefore, I have decided that Turkey should become a republic with an elected president.” The deputies were stunned by this horrific decision and they became speechless, for they were not expecting it. When the voting took place, fewer than 40% of the deputies took part. Nonetheless, the decree that had been prepared beforehand, stipulating that Turkey should be turned into a republic was approved and Mustafa Kemal was elected as the first president of the Turkish republic. Then he embarked upon working towards abolishing the Khilafah and declaring the secularisation of the state. People sensed his moves and public opinion started to attack him.

The word was spread everywhere that the new rulers of Ankara were Kuffar. The orators and preachers started to attack Mustafa Kemal. Leaflets and caricatures which attacked him fiercely were distributed. Then many of the deputies and prominent figures started to leave Ankara and headed towards Istanbul to rally around the Khaleefah Abdul-Majid. The atmosphere throughout the whole of Turkey turned against him. In response, he started to try to win over supporters and thereby alleviate the onslaught.

Amidst such a status quo, the British supplied him with a weapon to use against those who were devoted to the Khilafah. At the height of the campaign against him, the two Indian Muslim leaders Agha Khan and Amir Ali sent a letter of protest on behalf of India’s Muslims, demanding that the dignity of the Ottoman Khaleefah, the Khaleefah of the Muslims should be respected. Agha Khan was the leader of the Ismaeli sect, and it was known in Turkey and other parts that he was a friend of the British and their agent. Hence, the letter was published in the Istanbul press before it reached the Ankara government. Then Mustafa Kemal started to dig into Agha Khan’s past. He highlighted the fact that he lived in Britain, that he ran his horses in the British race courses and mingled with the British politicians and ambassadors. He pointed out that the British had promoted his status through their propaganda machine during the World War until he was regarded as the leader of India’s Muslims so that they could use him to threaten the Sultan of Turkey whenever necessary; thus he was a British puppet.

Mustafa Kemal became very active in striking the right note and inciting the public opinion against the Khaleefah. He used to say to people: “When Britain, the wicked arch enemy, failed to destroy Turkey through Greece, she resorted to her old tricks. Thus, she inspired her puppet Agha Khan to support the Khaleefah and split Turkey into two camps.” He then set about stirring up the fervour of the National Assembly and this led the orators from among the deputies to rush into launching a fierce attack against the Khilafah, the clerics and the opposition leaders. They also endorsed a bill enjoining the fact that any opposition to the republic and any inclination towards the deposed Sultan would be considered a treason that carries capital punishment.

When some deputies highlighted the merits of the Khilafah from a diplomatic aspect, Mustafa Kemal’s supporters attempted to silence them by yelling and screaming and protesting. Then Mustafa Kemal stood up and said: “Was it not because of the Khilafah, Islam and the clerics that the Turkish peasants have fought and lost their lives for five centuries? It is high time Turkey attended to her interests, ignored the Indians and the Arabs and saved herself from the burden of leading the Islamic lands.” Then he sought to scrutinise the army and find out the extent of their support for their opposition to the abolishment of the Khilafah and the separation of the Deen from the state. So he attended the annual military manoeuvres near Izmir and spent days reviewing the situation with Fawzi and Ismet and probing the low ranking officers and soldiers. He found a strong opposition and failed to reach a conclusive outcome that reassured him.

He then spent several nights pondering on the matter from every angle, finally deciding to resort to terrorism. Mustafa Kamal picked from the Assembly one of the opposing deputies on a day when he had shown his fierce opposition in one of the sessions, and ordered someone to assassinate him on the same night while he was returning home. Another deputy delivered a speech in which he supported the Khaleefah, so Mustafa Kemal threatened him with hanging if he opened his mouth with the same thing again. He then summoned Ra’uf from Istanbul and forced him to take the oath of allegiance to him and to the Republic before the central committee of the People’s Party, threatening him with dismissal from the party and from the committee if he failed to do so. He also sent a strict order to the governor of Istanbul, commanding him to cancel the pompous protocol surrounding the Khaleefah during the performance of prayer; he also lowered his standing to the lowest level and ordered his followers to abandon him.

Amidst this atmosphere of terror, and this propaganda and rumours, the Greater National Assembly called for a meeting. Thus, the Assembly convened on 1st March 1924. The inaugural speech focused on the necessity to destroy the Khilafah. This was greeted with a barrage of fierce opposition.

Mustafa Kemal put forward to the Assembly a decree enjoining the abolishment of the Khilafah, the expulsion of the Khaleefah and separating the Deen from the state; then he addressed the angry deputies by saying:

“We must at all costs safeguard the endangered republic and make her rise upon solid scientific bases. The Khaleefah and the legacies of the “Ottoman Family” must go, the dilapidated religious courts and their laws must be replaced by modern courts and laws, and the clerics’ schools must concede their place to governmental secular schools.” Heated debates took place and bitter disputes broke out, but these came to nothing. On the second day, the National Assembly convened once more in order to review this decree; the session went on all night until 6.30 a.m. with fierce argument and unabated debate.

In the morning of the third day of March 1924, it was announced that the Greater National Assembly had approved the abolishment of the Khilafah and the separation of the Deen from the state. On the same night, Mustafa Kemal sent an order to the governor of Istanbul stipulating that the Khalifah Abdul-Majid should leave Turkey before the dawn of the next day; so he went with a garrison from the police and the army to the Khaleefah’s palace in the middle of the night and the Khaleefah was forced to climb aboard a car that took him through the borders towards Switzerland, after he had been supplied with a suitcase containing some clothes and money. Two days later, Mustafa Kemal gathered all the throne’s princes and princesses and deported them outside the country. All religious functions were cancelled and the “Awqaf” (endowments) of the Muslims became the property of the state, and the religious schools were turned into civil schools under the auspices of the education ministry.

In this way, Mustafa Kemal fulfilled the four conditions which Curzon, the British Foreign Secretary had demanded, and the impediment preventing the convening and the success of the peace conference no longer existed. Hence on 8th March 1924, Ismet Pasha Turkey’s foreign minister and head of the delegation, sent a letter to the conference requesting the resumption of negotiations, and the Allies agreed. On 23rd April 1924, the conference was reconvened and the conferees agreed upon the peace terms. The Lausanne Treaty was signed on 24th July 1924. The states recognised Turkey’s independence, Britain evacuated Istanbul and the straits and Harrington left Turkey. Consequently, one of the British MPs protested against Curzon in the House of Commons for recognising Turkey’s independence. Curzon answered him by saying: “The point at issue is that Turkey has been destroyed and shall never rise again, because we have destroyed her spiritual power : the Khilafah and Islam.” This is how the Khilafah was destroyed. It was completely destroyed and Islam was also destroyed as a state constitution, an Ummah’s source of legislation and as a way of life. All of this was at the hands of the British through their collaborator and agent, the treacherous Mustafa Kemal.

Therefore, when the discerning and sincere people say that the British are the head of Kufr among all the other Kufr states, they mean exactly that, for they are indeed the head of Kufr and they are the arch enemies of Islam. The Muslims should indeed harbour hatred for the British and a yearning for revenge over them. The British have managed to destroy the Khilafah and Islam through Mustafa Kemal in spite of the Muslims throughout the whole world in general and in spite of the Muslims in Turkey in particular. Hence, the rule by what Allah has revealed dwindled away from the face of the earth and the rule by other than what Allah has revealed has remained. The rule of Kufr remained. The rule of Taghut remained alone dominant over all people and was implemented throughout the whole world.