Ottoman Empire | Al Majalla

The last Caliph Abdelmejid II in Nice, France, during his exile.

This day in history: Turkey abolishes the Caliphate

On this day 100 years ago, President Kemal Ataturk abolished the Muslim Caliphate in Turkey 14 months after doing away with the title of sultan

Sami Moubayed 03, Mar 2024

The treaty which gave rise to modern Turkey created a new world order which was outdated from the start. The Kurds ended up getting the shortest end of the stick.

Albane Simon

Lausanne centenary: The treaty that continues to pain the region

The treaty which gave rise to modern Turkey created a new world order which was outdated from the start. The Kurds ended up getting the shortest end of the stick.

Al Majalla - London 22, Jul 2023

Sami Moubayed Archive

Abdul Rahman al-Yusuf: The Syrian pasha who was killed three times

The president of the Shura Council during Ottoman rule was assassinated and purposely left out of Syrian history. The burning down of his family mansion this week was the final nail in his coffin.

Sami Moubayed 20, Jul 2023

Supplied

The first Arab Congress of 1913 and its tragic outcome

The 110th anniversary of the first Arab Congress in Paris sheds light on a tumultuous era in Arab history as its people battled for reform under the Ottoman Empire. However, it had a tragic ending.

Sami Moubayed 23, Jun 2023

The architects of the 1913 coup were officers from the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP)

Jamie Wignall

The coup that brought down the Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman coups inspired similar coups against leaders in Iran, Iraq and Syria

Sami Moubayed 28, Feb 2023

Al-Alfy Street in downtown Cairo. (Credit: Salwa Samir)

Al-Alfy: Egypt’s Champs-Elysées

During his reign, Khedive Ismail (r. 1863-1879) had dreamt to make downtown Cairo resemble the European countries that underwent remarkable progress in the field of architecture at that time…

Salwa Samir 14, Jan 2023

The stage consists of a round wooden platform as a stage surrounded by a small wooden partition with two doors for the dervishes to enter and leave before and after their Mawlawi performance. (Credit: Salwa Samir)

Takiya Al-Mawlawiyah

Takiya Al-Mawlawiyah, in Cairo’s historic neighbourhood of El-Darb El-Ahmar, is the only remaining Takiya with dervish theater. It has a rich history that dates back to the 14th century. Takiya…

Salwa Samir 06, Aug 2022

Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (left) shake hands after a press conference in Sochi, Russia, where they agreed on the ten points of the Russian-Turkish memorandum on northeast Syria/AP

How Did Ankara Succeed in Luring Moscow into Mediation with Ukraine?

Offers of political mediation between Russia and Ukraine have not stopped since the outbreak of the Ukrainian crisis in 2014 and the tragic events that followed, reaching their climax these days,…

Samy Amara 01, Apr 2022

Cover of "Stories My Father Told Me" By Elia Zughaib and Helen Zughaib

Memories from Syria

The recent Syrian immigration to the West after the start of the civil war was not the first, although it has been massive in scale, and involved utmost cruelty. The first wave was during the end of…

Mohammad Ali Salih 04, Feb 2022

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Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi (C-R) gestures to Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian (5th-R) and Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan (C-L) after a group picture during the D-8 summit in Cairo on December 19, 2024.

AFP

Politics

Geopolitical faultlines begin to show in a post-Assad region

25 December 2024

Key regional powers—Türkiye, Egypt, Iran—do not see eye to eye over what transpired in Syria. One emerges as a winner, the other a loser, and Syria's new Islamist-leaning leaders unsettle the third.

Amr Emam

Opinion

Four key challenges for Syria's new government

25 December 2024

Integrating armed factions, particularly the SDF, will be key, as well as agreeing on an inclusive new government that can unify a country that has been plagued by division

Ibrahim Hamidi

Axel Rangel Garcia

Business & Economy

After difficult year, OPEC malaise likely to persist

26 December 2024

With Trump's return to the White House, his planned tariffs could bring down international trade, which in turn would reduce the demand for crude oil

Maher Chmaytelli

A crucifix in a lattice of the Russian Orthodox Church of Mary Magdalene atop the Mount of Olives looks out at the Dome of the Rock in the Aqsa mosque complex in the old city of Jerusalem.

AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP

Culture & Social Affairs

Religious intolerance isn't intrinsic to Islam but came later

25 December 2024

Earlier eras have been characterised by peaceful coexistence in Islam, when people from different religions lived side by side, with equal rights, at a time when violence raged around other faiths

Abdullah Al-Rashid