Abstract:

When the new regime in Turkey abolished the Caliphate in 1924, a period of intense discussion began in the Islamic world regarding the future of the institution of the Caliphate. The prominent states in these debates were hesitant to take the responsibility of the Caliphate alone. The Ottoman and Arab-oriented Caliphate discussions created an important agenda in Muslim societies in the Middle East. The representation/continuation of the Caliphate on the Ottoman dynastic remnants outside India was not welcomed. In a period of these discussions, Rauf Orbay's trip to India caused a short-term uneasiness in the new regime in Turkey. Contrary to the expectations of the new regime in Turkey, Rauf Orbay showed a will that the Caliphate is not only a problem of one country, but of all Muslims around the world. It did not go unnoticed that there was a profound difference between Rauf Orbay, who was defined by the regime during the establishment of the Republic, and the aforementioned person, who made observations about the Khilafah institution through the conferences he gave in India. Based on the practices of the caliphate institution in the historical process, it showed a tendency that this institution has no equivalent in the Islamic section. His statements and expectations about this institution seriously eroded the uneasiness of the regime. In this study, it is aimed to determine the tendency/attitude of Turkey to this issue as well as to examine the aspect of Rauf Orbay's trip to India within the framework of his efforts to revive the Caliphate in Islamic states after the abolition of the Caliphate.

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