Abdulhamid II, who would become one of the last Ottoman sultans and caliphs, as a prince in 1867. (W.&D. DOWNEY / Jebulon)
"There is no doubt that many Muslims, faced with the triumph of European
colonialism in their own countries, did come to admire the idea of a
pious and powerful leader like the Ottoman sultan defying Western
imperialism on behalf of the entire Muslim world."
"... the decline of Ottoman power before, during, and after World War I
loaned increasing credence to the idea of a new, non-Ottoman caliph in
the Arab world. But it was never entirely clear just who that Arab
caliph would be."
"It would be a mistake to think that twenty-first-century Islamist
movements trying to revive the caliphate are doing so in the name of a
clear, well-defined Islamic mandate. Rather, they are just other players
in a centuries-long debate about a concept that has only occasionally
taken on widespread relevance in the Islamic world. "
