War by Revolution. Germany and Great Britain in the Middle East in the Era of World War I

PREFACE XIII

includingtheArabs,actedless forreligiousthannational,tribal,or
dynasticreasons.Fortheirpart,theYoungTurksresentedthein-
volvementofGermany-aforeignandChristianstate-inpan-Islamic
andintra-Turkishaffairs;itappearedtoConstantinopletothreaten
bothOttomansovereigntyandforeignpoliticalinterests.Yetdespite
thesemanyproblemsandfailures,inthelongtermtheGermanwar,
bothmilitaryandrevolutionary,intheMiddleEastbetween 1914 and
1918 helpedweakenBritain'sglobalempire.How?
Stillotherissues,ofamorecontemporarynature,areworthpon-
dering.Forinstance,thebehind-the-scenes,"low-intensity" political
war-completewithsabotage,terrorism,andpropaganda-introduced
byeachsidetotheMiddleEasttodestabilizetheenemy'sposition
andprotectitsown,mayhavehadmorelastingeffectsfortheregion
todaythanisgenerallyrecognized."
Finally,whatmighttheexperienceoftheEuropeanpowersin
WorldWarIwithwhattheyperceivedas afanatical,monolithic,and
aggressivepan-Islamismtell usabouttoday'spopularWesternand
AmericanviewofIslamic"fundamentalism"?WhatI callthe"wars
byrevolution"wagedbybothBritainandGermanyinWorldWar I
intheMiddleEastwerethemostextensiveeffortsbytheWestinthe
twentiethcenturytomanipulateandopposewhatitconsideredthe
mostradicalizedformofIslam:pan-Islamism.MuchastheBritish
andGermansheldpan-Islamism,someWesternobserverstodayas-
cribe toIslamicfundamentalism-aphenomenonwithavarietyof
meanings-aunityandauthorityoverIslamthatit doesnot,in fact,
possess."Inthepagesthatfollow, Idemonstratethereligious,politi-
cal,andnationaldiversityofIslamandthedifficultytheWesthadin
thisearlierage,attemptingtomanipulateorcontrolit.