After the reopening of the Hagia Sophia mosque in Turkey, a new discussion has naturally arisen — about the Caliphate. More specifically, the possibility or threat of its restoration, depending on one’s point of view. Some reasons for this can be found in the signs accompanying the First Friday Prayer in the mosque: 1) the fact that the Imam delivered the sermon holding a sword, 2) the presence of two green flags of Islam on the minbar alongside the flags of the Turkish Republic, 3) the depiction of three crescents on the Imam’s sword, symbolizing the three continents where the lands formerly ruled by the Ottoman Caliphate are located.
The magazine Gerçek Hayat, which called for the restoration of the Caliphate after the reopening of Hagia Sophia, caused even more excitement. In an article dedicated to this issue, the question was posed: «If not now, when? If not you, then who?» (referring to Erdogan as her restorer). This had a special resonance because Gerçek Hayat is not a magazine of some marginal caliphate group. Its co-owner, Mustafa Albayrak, is also the general director of the newspaper Yeni Şafak — one of the unofficial mouthpieces of the ruling party — and a person integrated into its establishment.
Journalist Abdurrahman Dilipak added fuel to the fire by posting the magazine’s cover on his Twitter account, calling Recep Tayyip Erdogan a caliph. Erdogan’s enemies, both inside and outside Turkey, immediately responded to these calls. The Ankara Bar Association filed a criminal complaint against the magazine’s management and Abdurrahman Dilipak for calling for the overthrow of the constitutional order. It should be noted that the same lawyers previously attempted to file a criminal case against the head of Turkey’s Directorate of Religious Affairs, Dr. Ali Erbash, for his Islamic assessment of sodomy.
Speaking of Ali Erbash, he is once again becoming a target of militant secularists, especially in connection with the reopening of Hagia Sophia. This comes after his curse against those who dared to convert this Waqf of Allah into a mosque, referring specifically to Mustafa Kemal, also known as Atatürk. Meral Aksener, the leader of the IYI party, came to the defense of Mustafa Kemal, accusing the Sheikh of ingratitude towards the one who liberated Istanbul and Turkey from the Western occupiers.
In the context of the Caliphate, it is important to note the active rapprochement between the Turkish ruling establishment and the representatives of the Ottoman House, who were once expelled from the country by Mustafa Kemal. This includes their participation in important events such as the Friday prayer in Hagia Sophia. Orhan and Nilhan Osmanoglu were particularly visible at the prayer.
Kayhan Osmanoglu, another prominent member of the House of Osman, not only resembles his grandfather Sultan Abdul Hamid in appearance, but also shares his views and openly expresses hope for the «return of the Ottomans». He is sometimes seen with Erdogan himself.
So what can we conclude from all this? Of course, the Turkish Republic, with its institutions and laws, will not disappear unless there is a geopolitical earthquake of global proportions. In theory, however, the Ottoman Caliphate could coexist with the Turkish Republic, as it did from 1923 to 1924, when it existed as a symbolic institution of Islamic unity.
What would this look like in practice? Perhaps similar to many constitutional monarchies in Western countries, where the monarch serves as a symbol of the nation but has no real power. In this case, the symbol could represent not only the Turkish nation, but the unity of the Islamic Ummah, and possibly the Ottoman Commonwealth of Nations, analogous to the British Commonwealth of Nations, where each country retains its own sovereignty.
However, the question arises — are there significant forces that Erdogan could rely on, both inside and outside his country, to realize these plans? Currently, recent public opinion polls in Turkey show that only 14% of Turks in general and 21% of supporters of the ruling party have a negative view of the abolition of the 1924 Caliphate, indicating potential support for its restoration.
With these figures, it is clear that there is no real possibility of its restoration, especially considering that the ruling coalition has struggled to secure real power in recent years.
In light of all this, while Muslims are inspired by the return of Hagia Sophia as a powerful symbol for the Ummah, it is important to remain grounded in reality. Does this mean that the dream of the Caliphate is doomed to remain a dream? Well, for many decades, the reopening of Hagia Sophia and other events unfolding before our eyes were also mere dreams.