HAJI WILHELM
Kaiser Wilhelm went to great efforts to court Turkey prior to World War I. He sported a fez on his various state visits there, and allowed rumours to circulate that he had converted to Islam while on pilgrimage to Mecca. His nickname in Turkey was 'Haji Wilhelm'.
'The 300 million Muslims scattered across the globe can be assured that the German emperor is, and will at all times remain, their friend.'
Kaiser Wilhelm II
To Wilhelm and his advisers, alliance with Turkey promised much. The Turks' control of the Bosphorus gave them the power to confine Russia's Black Sea fleet to its ports and prevent supplies getting in. Their empire's proximity to the Suez Canal and the oil in Mesopotamia gave them the potential to wield significant influence over world politics. Finally, Turkey - with its Islamic status - could incite unrest and rebellion among Muslims languishing under British, French or Russian control.
In 1914, Turkey's Ottoman Empire commanded a strategically
significant position in south-eastern Europe and parts of the Middle East.
By 1914, intelligence agents such as Max von Oppenheim had converted Kaiser Wilhelm to this jihad (holy war) strategy.
'When the Turks invade Egypt, and India is set ablaze with the flames of revolt, only then will England crumble. For England is at her most vulnerable in her colonies.'
Baron Max von Oppenheim (Archaeologist, orientalist and German spy)
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Baron Max von Oppenheim
(Sal. Oppenheim jr. & Cie.) |
Alliance with Germany was equally attractive to the secular, reformist 'Young Turks' who had seized power in 1909. Turkey needed a strong partner to ward off the attentions of predatory imperial powers, and Germany was militarily and industrially powerful. The two states had no competing interests and had much to gain through cooperation.
'The reason I love Germany is not sentimentality but the fact that they are not a danger to my beloved country; on the contrary, our two countries' interests go hand in hand.'
Enver Pasha (Young Turk leader, later Turkish minister for war)
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| Enver Pasha with German officers |
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| The faithful are called to Jihad from Constantinople on 14 November |
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In the years before World War I, Germany and Turkey drew closer together. On 2 August 1914, while still affecting public neutrality, they signed a secret military alliance, and when the cannons started roaring in Europe, Turkey quickly demonstrated her support for Germany - once it had received evidence of Germany's good intent: two cruisers and £5 million in gold.
On 29 October, Turkish ships started attacking Russia's Black Sea ports, and on 14 November, the Sheikh-ul-Islam in Constantinople called on all Muslims to rise up against British, French and Russian infidels.
Would the faithful heed the call? Was the geopolitical apple-cart about to be overturned? Only time would tell.
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