108 WARBYREVOLUTIONtheInformationService fortheEastanditsleader,Oppenheim,pro-
posedtotheforeignministrythathe travelsoonto Syria. Heintended
toimprovethecontentanddistributionofpan-IslamicandGerman
warpropagandain Syria,Arabia,andMesopotamia,andtocounter
theenemy's.Thetrip,he said,shouldlastthreetofourmonthsand
enhancetheworkoftheInformationService.v
InConstantinopleWangenheimgave hisapprovalforthejourney
onlyreluctantly,andonlyafterLangwerthvonSimmern,thecoun-
selorintheforeignministry'spoliticaldepartment,hadinterceded
withhim.OppenheimarrivedintheTurkishcapitalattheendof
March."HemetEnver Pasha, wholatercomplainedtoHumannabout
Oppenheim'splanstoissuecaliphatepropagandain theOttoman
Empire;thewarministeropposedaChristianorinfideldiscussing
amongMuslimsatopicwithsuchreligiousimplications."
WangenheimespeciallyemphasizedtotheforeignministryEnver's
disapprovalofmuchoftheReich'sactivityinTurkey.Enverdisliked
themassofGermanpropagandaaimedatArabshaykhs(e.g.,the
GermanconsulinAleppohaddistribured 163 newspaperarticleswrit-
tenbyhimself),effortsbyGermans-Christians-toinciteaholywar,
andGermanagentssenttoTurkeywholackedtheknowledgeand
sensitivitytoinfluencenativeMuslims.Above all,saidWangenheim,
EnverhaddeclaredthattheCUP fearedtheGermansinTurkeyviewed
thelatteras akindofGerman"protectorate.">
ZimmermannstubbornlyrejectedthecriticismsofEnverand
Wangenheim,showingacharacteristicallyunsympatheticandarro-
gantattitudetowardbothTurkeyandIslam.?Likewise,differences
appearedbetweentheforeignministryandembassy,whentheformer
proposedthatGermanyseekthePorte'sapprovalforestablishinga
GermanconsulateinJiddaandpostingthereDr.EdgarProbster,an
Arabspecialistintheministry.Ononesideoftheissue,Wangenheim
andthePortearguedthatsuchanappointmentwouldangerthe
SharifofMecca, Husayn;theyalsoagreedto afuturemeetingof
OppenheimwithFaysal,oneofthesharif'ssons,aimedatpersuad-
ingHusayntodistributepropagandaintheArabworldandsupply
theGermansandTurkswithintelligenceinformationontheen-
emy.Ontheotherside,Zimmermanndisagreedwiththeambassa-
dorandTurkishleadership.Hemistrustedthesharif,recallingfor