Türk ve Japon Modernleşmesi: 'Uygarlık Süreci' - Birikim

244“A symbol for union or a source of conflict?”:An attempt at rethinking the abolition of the caliphateIn what ways, if any, did the end of the caliphate cause problems in the realm ofIslam, and/or to what extent could it be considered a reason for having createda crisis in the entire Islamic world? This article aims to rethink about these fundamentalquestions related to the decision taken by the Turkish Grand NationalAssembly in the early twentieth century regarding the fate of one of the mostsignificant and central institutions of ‘historical’ Islam. A common opinion inmany circles of the Islamic world is that the abolition of the caliphate terminatedall possibilities and chances for the unity of Muslims. In addition, this happenedat a time when the subjugation of Islam as a culture and civilisation facedwith Westen technical, military and political superiority. The modernist/secularcircles, on the other hand, counteracted this argument by underscoringthat the institution had never played a crucial binding role in the affairs of Muslims.Consequently, the Turkish attempt was right and defensible insofar as thecaliphate was seen as an obstacle to the progress of Muslims in the modernworld. These two viewpoints seemed to have had a great impact on the essenceof the writings on this event, creating an unhealthy polarisation as a result ofwhich prejudices and value judgments have overshadowed the analytical approachesto the issue.Debates on caliphate’s place and limits in an Islamic setting, i.e., whether it isrestricted to temporal or spiritual affairs of the Muslim community, or coversboth, have not reached a satisfactory conclusion. The basic reason for thisseems to lie on the different practices adopted by the rulers of the Islamic worldunder the title of the caliphate throughout the history of Islam. In general,political power seems to have played the main role in controlling and possessingthe institution. Its nature and position depended upon the practical conditionsand circumstances of particular times and places. In this process, differentpractises in the name of caliphate occurred, such as tribally-based politicalleadership, holiness-attributed monarchy, powerless but symbolic functionarygiving legitimacy to rulers, and a sort of papacy. These diverse experiences ofthe caliphate impeded the development of some principles and norms for theoperation of the institution throughout history. The absence of such a theoreti-