21/05/2022
Mehmed Vahdettin became Ottoman Sultan and Caliph on 4 July 1918 after he girded the famous sword of Sultan Osman Gazi 1. So he was the final 36th Ottoman Sultan and overall the 115th Islamic Caliph.
Following the footsteps of his ancestors, Mehmed Vahdettin was a devout Orthodox Sunni who had a deep interest in Tassawuf and Islamic theology. He was a Naqshbandi Sufi with who followed Ömer Ziyaüddin Dagestani as a spiritual guide (Pir). In total, 10 of the 36 Ottoman Sultans were enrolled in Naqshbandi Sufi Order as it dominated Anatolia.
The Ottoman state which once stretched over the three continents was dismantled after Young Turks regime plunged the state into total war during WW1, resulting in a overall defeat and annexation of the Ottoman periphery states and finally the occupation of Istanbul by the Allied forces on March 16, 1920.
During this troublesome time, Sultan Mehmed showed great courage as he sent Mustafa Kamal Pasha (later Atatürk) to Samsun (in eastern Turkey) to organise resistance against Allied forces and the Greeks. For nearly a century we have been fed with lies that Sultan didn't support the Independence War but in true reality, he was the man who ordered it.
Not only this, Sultan Vahdettin also sold his own personal assets to finance all the war operations by aiding Kemal. Our Sultan Mehmed Vahdettin Han provided the necessary money for resistance by selling his personal horses. Ustad Kadir Mısıroğlu cites Nihal Atsız's book as a source and states that Sultan Vahidüddin gave the 40 thousand gold coins he obtained in this way to Mustafa Kemal! [1]
This information is confirmed by the "strict Kemalist" Ismet Bozdag [2]
[1]Nihal Atsız, Turkish Country, Istanbul 1956, page 86.
[2] Sabah Newspaper, 13 June 1995, page 26.
Unfortunately, the sacrifices of the Sultan were not respected by the new Turkish Government under Mustafa Kemal Atatürk who was now an absolute dictator as he was the President, the speaker of the Assembly and Chief of forces. The Sultanate was abolished on 1 November 1922 and Mehmed VI moved to San Remo City in Italy as he was exiled. He departed without taking any personal assets as he wasn't anticipating a prolonged exile. Sadly, as it occurred, Kemal Atatürk later exiled all members of the great Ottoman dynasty with one way passports and all their belongings were confiscated. Sultan Mehmed Vahdettin lived in Italy for four years after he which died. It is said that his coffin could not be moved for some time as he was full of debts due to poor financial conditions. Yet, he lived with dignity and never made any kind of false acts. Turkish Republic under the Kemalist rule refused to accept his body for the burial after which he was burried in the Tekkiye Mosque of Sultan Suleyman Kanuni in Damascus, Syria. Today we pray to Allah, may He illuminate the grave of Sultan Mehmed and grant him the highest abode in Jannah. Amin.
A message from the Last Ottoman Sultan !
"We can be ignorant, inexperienced, maybe some erroneous politics done on our part which lead to damage, but as the Ottomans (Osmanoğlu), how can we be the traitors to homeland ?"
~Ottoman Sultan-Caliph Mehmed Vahdettin
