Press Release

It is More Deserving for Türkiye to Return to the Glories of the Khilafah (Caliphate), Instead of Hosting a Summit for an Alliance that has Only Brought It Further Losses!

(Translated)

The strength of the Muslim army during the Uthmani Khilafah (Ottoman Caliphate) was such that it fought the European Crusader armies en masse, to the point that by the mid-15th century it had shattered their dreams of establishing a European military alliance capable of threatening the Khilafah. As for NATO, whose summit Turkey hosted in its capital, Ankara, on July 7th and 8th, it was founded on an explicit military doctrine: protecting the security and interests of Europe and America. This includes keeping Türkiye under control, even deploying its army in wars wherever their interests dictate, as happened in Afghanistan, and preventing it from acting independently, as happened in Cyprus.

Therefore, the believer's heart almost breaks with sorrow and grief upon hearing the Turkish president say in his speech during the opening session of the NATO summit in Ankara: “Turkey has the largest land army in Europe and makes the greatest contribution to NATO missions.”

The Muslim caliphs, especially the Ottomans, possessed great wisdom and shrewdness; they were keen to thwart all forms of military and political alliances against them. Sultan Abdul Hamid II, may Allah have mercy on him, continued to undermine Crusader military alliances, and even in exile, he offered political advice to the sultan and those around him on how to dismantle military alliances surrounding the Khilafah (Caliphate).

Al- Farooq, Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “We are a people whom Allah honoured with Islam, so whenever we seek honour in anything other than it, Allah will humiliate us.” Indeed, we were honoured, and the kings of the world feared us and sought our pleasure. Our armies disturbed the sleep of the colonizers, and every arrogant tyrant feared us. We were honoured by our Deen, strong in our belief, travelling the world spreading Islam as a mercy and guidance. But when our Khilafah was destroyed, our rulers began to seek the pleasure of the West and the leaders of colonialism, boasting of hosting enemies and alliances of aggression on Muslim lands and in their very homes!

Türkiye today, with its people’s love for Islam and the Muslims’ love for it, and with its human potential, natural resources, military capabilities, and geographical location, is capable of returning to the glories of the Khilafah as it once was.

Yesterday, ‘Israeli’ Prime Minister Netanyahu, belittling Turkey and its capabilities and dismissing its president, said: "Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan speaks of his desire to destroy ‘Israel’ and regain control of Jerusalem. I think he has forgotten that 400 years of Ottoman rule are over, and today there is a strong State of Israel. He should calm down. We will not allow anyone to threaten our existence or our security, and I believe we have proven what we are capable of." This enemy of Allah, Netanyahu, knows the secret of the Muslims' strength and reminds Erdoğan that what was once a source of pride and power is gone, and that Turkey under Erdoğan's leadership is no longer what it was when the Khilafah existed.

Membership in NATO is an Islamic and political sin, hosting its summit is shameful, and boasting about the deployment of the Muslim army in Türkiye and its capabilities at its service is despicable. No Muslim should fight for or defend kufr (disbelief) and its adherents, or give disbelievers any power over him. Allah (swt) says:

[وَلَن يَجْعَلَ اللّهُ لِلْكَافِرِينَ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ سَبِيلاً] “And Allah will never grant the disbelievers a way over the believers” [An-Nisa: 141]. He (swt) says:

[يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ لاَ تَتَّخِذُواْ الْيَهُودَ وَالنَّصَارَى أَوْلِيَاء بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَاء بَعْضٍ وَمَن يَتَوَلَّهُم مِّنكُمْ فَإِنَّهُ مِنْهُمْ إِنَّ اللّهَ لاَ يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الظَّالِمِينَ]“O believers! Take neither Jews nor Christians as guardians—they are guardians of each other. Whoever does so will be counted as one of them. Surely Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people” [Al-Ma’idah: 51].

The correct course of action towards such alliances is to dismantle them, not to strengthen and reinforce them. Therefore, it is the duty of the sincere people in Türkiye, especially in its valiant army, the descendants of Sultans Muhammad al-Fatih and Abdul Hamid II, to hasten to restore Türkiye as the capital for Islam and Muslims, a fortress for the Deen and a beacon for the world, by giving bayah (pledging allegiance) to a righteous caliph who will restore our honour and our glorious past, and demolish these crusader alliances and their colonial states.

The Central Media Office

of Hizb ut Tahrir