OtherOttomanofficerswhohadbeentoGermanyhadsimilarembarrassing
encounters.Al-Askarichosearatherindirectwayofcriticizingabeernightwith
theGermanofficers:“Buttome,theofficers’behaviorthatnightdemonstrated
theiressentialgoodnatureandfriendlinessonapersonallevel.”¹²⁰Theserecol-
lectionsshowthatEuro-andGermanocentricviewsoftheImperialistageabout
thereligionofIslamandtheTurksassuchunderpinnedtherelationshipofthe
OttomanstagersandtheirGermanhosts.Itwasnotonlythoseviewsthathadan
influenceonfurtherOttoman-Germanmilitarycooperation.Germanofficersin-
terestedinthedevelopmentofthepostrevolutionaryOttomanEmpirecould
findludicrousstatementsintheOrientalistliteratureonthestateofreligion,
suchasthisone:
“WiththeTurksinsteadofIslamthereisnaught.Headandheartareempty.Justanempty
conceitforworldpower,adreamofwadinginbloodandofroughcarnalindulgenceisfill-
ingthosebrains.Thisisnotenough.”¹²¹Suchprejudicesalsoinfiltratedmutualrelationsandpoisonedthebasisfordaily
andlong-termcooperation.Onapersonallevel,Ottomanofficersseemtohave
facedprejudicesandvilificationby Germanofficers,asinthe caseofAli
İhsan[Sabis],whoservedinthe 1 stNassauianFieldArtilleryRegimentNo. 27 ‘Or-
ange’inMainz.Itshouldbenotedherethatthissortofarrogancewasnotre-
strictedtoGermanyaloneasMustafaKemal[Atatürk]hadasimilarexperience
whenwearingthecharacteristickalpakheadgearduringamaneuvervisitin
Francein 1910 .¹²²
TheGermansideevenconsideredreducingthenumberofOttomansserving
inGermany,sincetherewerealsoothernationsinterestedinsendingtheiroffi-
cerstoGermany.Alloftheseforeignofficersneededsupervision,whichwasa
burdentotheirGermansuperiors.OntheeveoftheBalkanWars,theGerman
GeneralstaffandtheForeignMinistryagreedtoreducethenumbersoftheOtto-
manofficersthatweretobeacceptedforintensetraininginGermany.‘Sensitive
matters’weretobekeptconfidentialasbefore.¹²³
Al-Askari,ASoldier’sStory,67.OtherMuslimOttomanofficersalsodevelopedanappetite
forbeerandgotusedtoitsregularconsumption;cf.Okday,Yanya’danAnkara’ya,34.
MartinHartmann,DerIslam:Geschichte-Glaube-Recht;EinHandbuch(Leipzig:Haupt,
1909), 186.
FalihRıfkıAtay,Çankaya:Atatürk’ünDoğumundanÖlümüneKadar[AtatürkfromhisBirthto
hisDeath](Istanbul:Pozitif, 2012 ), 74.
TheMinistryofWartotheForeignMinistry,7May1912;BA-LR9 01 /8 2820 Aktenbetreffend
dieErlaubnisfürTürkenzumEintrittindiesseitigeMilitär-Erziehungs-undLehranstalten,
sowiezurDienstleistungbzw.InformationbeidiesseitigenTruppenteilenundderkaiserlichen
54 2ThePeakofKnowledgeTransfer