Last period Ottoman problem caliphate thought (The case of Pîrîzâde Mehmed Sahib)

The aim of this study is to explain the declaration issued by Pîrîzâde Mehmed Sahib which is an example of the debates about the caliphate in the Ottoman period. The efforts of the second Abdulhamid Khan to make the caliphate institution in Istanbul the center to which all Muslims are morally connected led to debates on the legitimacy of the Ottoman Caliphate by the prominent states of Europe. At the end of these debates, the abolition of Abdulhamid led the Indian Muslim people to protest and revolt. On the other hand, Şeyhülislâm Pîrîzâde issued a "Declaration" in order to comfort the Muslim peoples of the Ottoman caliph, to announce the new caliph and to take measures by the civil servants. Our study consists of two main sections in this declaration example. In the first chapter, the period in which Pîrîzâde lived and the debates on caliphate in the Ottoman Empire and Islamic countries were discussed. In the second part, according to Pirîzâde, the historical process of the caliphate was examined and evaluated within the framework of the caliphate issue. Our study was completed with the results and appendices. During the study, the Qur'an, Hadith, newspapers, magazines, dictionary, monographic-biographical works and Islamic History sources were used. Keywords: Caliph, Caliphate, Ottoman Caliphate, Constitutional Monarchy, National Caliphate.