Reflections of the Abolition of the Sultanate and the Caliphate in the Spanish Press

Two significant developments of the transition from empire to the nation-state in Türkiye; the abolition of the Ottoman Sultanate on November 1, 1922, and of the caliphate on March 3, 1924, attracted the attention of the Spanish press as happened in the whole world. The newspapers gave the historical background of both institutions and tried to describe the new status of the caliphate aftermath of the abolition of the sultanate. The press evaluated this current situation in which the Turkish Grand National Assembly exercised the sovereignty and elected the caliph to represent the spiritual power in the context of Islamic traditions and Türkiye’s policies towards the Muslim world. After the abolition of the caliphate and the exile of the last Caliph Abdülmecid Efendi, the press discussed the issue in the context of the religious-political reactions it would create in the Islamic world, its effects on the policies of England and France due to their Muslim colonies, and the revolutions of the new Turkish State. Although the approach of the newspapers varied according to their political stances, the final assessment of the Spanish press was that the abolition of the caliphate brought the end of Pan-Islamism as a universal political force. The news and columns on the abolition of the caliphate reflected the orientalist view of the Spanish public opinion on Türkiye and the Eastern-Muslim world.