Ottoman Caliphate

Office of the Caliph
Incumbent Selim V
Residence	Ümideddin Palace, Konja, Ottoman Sultanate
Seat	Baghdad, Mesopotamia
Formation	8 June 632
First holder	Abu Bakr
Deputy	Scheych-ül-islam of the Ottoman State

The Office of the Caliph (Western Turkish: خلافت ریاست, Chilâfet Rijâseti; Arabic: رئاسة الخلافة, Riʻāsa al-Ȟilāfat) is the ecclesiastical office and jurisdiction of the Caliph. The Caliph, simultaneously holding the ceremonial title Servant of the Two Sanctuaries and the political office of Ottoman emperor, has been the most widely recognized Islamic spiritual authority in the world since the late 18th century. While other claimants to the title of Caliph exist, the vast majority of Musulmans consider the Ottoman Caliph (خلافت در قونیة, Chilâfet der Konja, 'Caliph-in-Konja') the rightful successor of the Prophet and of the Abbasid caliphs.