From Ali Başhamba to İbrahim Kalın: The Shadow of the Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa

The Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa (Special Organization) was one of the most active, enigmatic, and influential institutions of that epic, yet equally tragic and dramatic period in which the Ottoman Empire was struggling for survival and mobilizing all of its limited resources. Although the origins of the Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa can be traced back to the Italo-Turkish War, the period during which it was most active was the First World War. While the organization is often referred to as an intelligence organization, it was in fact a complex structure that also encompassed intelligence activities and conducted irregular warfare, propaganda, and organizational activities in line with Pan-Islamist policy. The foundations of this structure were laid through Enver Pasha’s activities in Tripoli, and during the First World War it was led, respectively, by two distinguished patriots: Süleyman Askeri and Ali Başhamba. Süleyman Askeri Bey was, as his name suggests, a man of military background. Ali Başhamba, by contrast, was a civilian intellectual. The fact that the Presidency of the Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa was carried out by Başhamba for a relatively long period was an important indication that intellectual thought could also assume a central role in Ottoman security policy.

Ali Başhamba was one of the most intriguing figures in the history of the Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa. He was born in Tunisia. He was of Turkish origin; however, he was raised within the Arab language, culture, and political milieu. On the one hand, he drew upon the madrasa tradition of the Islamic world; on the other, he studied law in Paris. He rose to the rank of member of the Council of State in the Ottoman Empire and held a position within the high bureaucracy. As an intellectual, he played a role in the drafting of an institutional text such as the Family Law Decree, a concrete product of the Islamist policies of the late Ottoman period. Başhamba was not merely a bureaucrat; he was also a publisher, a jurist, and a political intellectual. He wrote articles for Le Tunisien, the publication of the Young Tunisians movement, and for el-İttihadü’l-İslam, a newspaper that began publication in 1911. Ali Başhamba was among the pioneers of the Pan-Islamist policy that left its mark on the final period of the Ottoman Empire.

Professionally, Başhamba was a figure who came from the worlds of thought and politics, unlike the brilliant staff officer profile represented by Enver Bey in Tripoli or by Süleyman Askeri Bey, President of the Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa. At first glance, appointing an intellectual of this profile to head a military, intelligence, and political structure such as the Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa may appear unusual. Nevertheless, the Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa acquired much of its present-day prominence through the activities carried out under Başhamba’s administration. Indeed, the course charted by Başhamba through the Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa produced an experience that influenced and reproduced contemporary anti-imperialist quests across the Islamic world.

When İbrahim Kalın was appointed President of the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) by presidential decree on 5 June 2023, the appointment naturally attracted attention. This was because Kalın was not a figure who had emerged from the military or the traditional security bureaucracy. He was better known for his academic background, intellectual identity, foreign policy advisory role, and service as Presidential Spokesperson. For this reason, his appointment to lead one of the most critical institutions of national security was regarded by some circles as an “unusual” appointment. With the exception of Hüseyin Avni Göktürk, a professor of law who served between 1957 and 1959, MİT presidents had generally been figures of military origin and, at times, individuals who had risen through the ranks of the security bureaucracy. Contrary to common assumptions, however, the appointment of an intellectual profile such as Kalın to the presidency of MİT was not a unique example. Indeed, Kalın’s appointment to this position provided a contemporary example that recalled the civilian-intellectual security mindset represented by Ali Başhamba within the Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa.

Ali Başhamba is now a historical figure. We know much more about his activities today; therefore, it is relatively easy to pass judgment on him. Ali Başhamba was a Muslim intellectual, jurist, and security bureaucrat who worked for the Pan-Islamist policy. In Kalın’s case, however, the nature of his office means that several decades will naturally be required before a proper assessment can be made. Yet what is interesting is this: while criticizing Kalın, certain circles in the West are, perhaps unintentionally, portraying him in a manner that brings him closer to the line represented by Ali Başhamba. For instance, in an article published in 2025, Kamel Bencheikh, a writer known for his strong anti-Islamist and secularist reflexes, presents Kalın as an intellectual and senior bureaucrat with an Islamist agenda.[1] Bencheikh, an Algerian-French writer, is not the only one who views Kalın through this lens. In Türkiye, too, writers such as Aydın Selcen[2] and Murat Yetkin[3], albeit in different tones, interpret Kalın as an Islamist intellectual.

Selcen writes that, based on the speech Kalın delivered on the occasion of the 97th anniversary of MİT’s founding, one could almost imagine him as “a religious scholar, clad in a spotless white robe, seated cross-legged on a mat and absorbed in conversation in a mosque somewhere in the Middle East or in an oasis beneath the shade of date palms.” This image is not as far removed as it may seem to those familiar with the history of the Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa. In their own time, Süleyman Askeri, Mehmet Akif, and Ali Başhamba could all have been imagined within a similar mental setting. The irony is this: while criticizing İbrahim Kalın, Western and domestic secularist circles portray him almost as a figure who has stepped out of the historical universe of the Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa.

The National Intelligence Organization’s growing influence in Muslim geographies in recent years, particularly in Syria, together with the image of a positive relationship between İbrahim Kalın and Şara, who is described as an Islamist leader, further strengthens this reading of Kalın. The nature of the activities carried out by MİT in both Libya and Syria remains, naturally, largely a mystery to us today. The contemporary activities of intelligence organizations can only be properly evaluated once sufficient time has passed and the documents begin to speak. For this reason, our current positive or negative assessments of MİT’s activities in Syria under Kalın’s leadership may be incomplete or misleading.

Nevertheless, from today’s perspective, one may say the following: the network of relationships that Kalın has established in Syria generates historical and ideological associations too broad to be explained solely through a narrowly security-oriented reflex. Among the groups in Syria, the structure that most closely resembled the Pan-Islamist line of the Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa was Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham. Whether Kalın’s decision to work with this actor by directing MİT’s institutional capacity is seen as the result of realpolitik necessities or as part of a broader historical perspective, it does not conflict with the Pan-Islamist memory. On the contrary, it creates a noteworthy basis that makes it possible to interpret Türkiye’s Syria policy through this historical memory.

Before Kalın lies a significant historical opportunity in terms of an anti-imperialist and Islamic world-centered security perspective. At a time when politics is becoming increasingly shallow amid day-to-day calculations and policies are being shaped by short-term gains rather than long-term national interests, Kalın’s intellectual formation offers him the opportunity to open up a broader horizon. If Kalın can build a long-term security doctrine during his tenure as President of the National Intelligence Organization (MİT), one that prioritizes the national interest and combines Türkiye’s regional ambitions with institutional rigor, he may become one of the figures held in high esteem across the Islamic world, much like Ali Başhamba. More importantly, the legacy Kalın leaves behind would not be confined to his personal career alone; it could also provide a lasting foundation for directing Türkiye’s security architecture toward a more sophisticated, more intellectual, and at the same time more idealistic course. This is the real opportunity before Kalın. Whether he has seized that opportunity will be determined not by the debates of today, but by time and history.

[1] Kamel Bencheikh, “Les habits neufs de la conquête islamiste,” Revue Politique et Parlementaire, 22 July 2025, https://www.revuepolitique.fr/les-habits-neufs-de-la-conquete-islamiste/.

[2] Selcen, Aydın. “A Conversation with MİT President Kalın on the 97th Anniversary of Its Founding.” Medyascope, 3 February 2024. Last updated 25 November 2025. https://medyascope.tv/2024/02/03/aydin-selcen-yazdi-kurulusunun-97-yilinda-mitin-baskani-kalinla-hasbihal/

[3] Yetkin, Murat. “A Period of Fine-Tuning at MİT Under the Presidency of İbrahim Kalın.” Yetkin Report, 12 June 2023. https://yetkinreport.com/2023/06/12/ibrahim-kalinin-baskanliginda-mitte-ince-ayar-donemi/.