According to a report published in the media on February 14th, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, while addressing an event at the Prime Minister House in Islamabad, stated that Quaid-e-Azam and Allama Iqbal are our heroes also, and that Allama Iqbal's poetry sparked a revolution throughout the world. He emphasized that helping Palestinians is our duty and that our efforts will continue until an independent Palestinian state is established. He stressed the need to resolve the Kashmir conflict through dialogue and in accordance with UN resolutions. He expressed his happiness in visiting Pakistan, stating that it is our second home.
The visit and activities of the President of Turkey, Mr. Hafiz Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, to Pakistan are both welcome and encouraging for us. At this critical juncture in our nation's history, our friends are not only concerned about us but are also cooperating to help us overcome this crisis. The details of the agreements reached between the rulers of Turkey and Pakistan will gradually come to light, but just this fact is reassuring enough for us that President Erdoğan has visited Pakistan at this stage. The gathering of friends itself is significant, as the remaining matters naturally progress. We are confident that these discussions will yield far-reaching results, leading to further improvements in the internal affairs of Turkey and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Additionally, we hope that these discussions will pave the way for the fulfillment of the expectations that the Islamic world and the Muslim Ummah have placed on these two nations.
A century ago, Turkey, under the title of the Ottoman Caliphate, held the position of leadership and representation of the Muslim Ummah for nearly four centuries. Nations experience ups and downs in their lives, and the Ottoman Caliphate also went through such phases several times. Even during its decline, it maintained this status, which was acknowledged by former Pakistani Prime Minister, the late Benazir Bhutto, during an interview amidst the severe crisis in Bosnia and Serbia. She stated:
"There isn't even an Ottoman Empire now to whom we can express our sorrows."
The emotional attachment of the Muslims of the subcontinent to the Ottoman Caliphate can be gauged from the fact that a century ago, when the conspiracies and activities of European countries to dismantle the Ottoman Caliphate were at their peak, the Muslims of the subcontinent, under the leadership of Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar, took to the streets from Peshawar to Calcutta. When Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar was arrested and imprisoned, his esteemed mother stepped into the field, and her slogan echoed in the streets of Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh:
"Says the mother of Muhammad Ali, sacrifice your life for the Caliphate."
These emotions and feelings of the Muslims of the subcontinent were not merely for Turkey but for the unity and centrality of the Muslim Ummah, which was then titled the Ottoman Caliphate.
These emotions and feelings still exist and are re-emerging in the hearts of Muslims in every region of the world. Therefore, whenever they witness any aspect of Turkey's return from secularism to Islam and hear the mention of the Ottoman Caliphate on the lips of any of Turkey's rulers, the warmth in their hearts is rekindled, and they revive many expectations in their minds. Today's Muslim world, observing the geographical importance and ideological, cultural identity and distinction of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, along with Turkey's gradual journey back to its past, undoubtedly witnesses the rekindling of new hopes in their hearts.
We also view President Hafiz Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's arrival in Pakistan with the same perspective and, while expressing our gratitude to him, pray to God Almighty: "O Allah! Grant Pakistan and Turkey the ability to guide the Muslim Ummah correctly at this most critical stage and to lead it out of the whirlpool of crisis. Ameen, O Lord of the Worlds."
https://zahidrashdi.org/5614
