ASENSEOFCRISISONBOTHSIDES 159He also caughttheattentionofSirMarkSykes,anofficialof
Kitchener'sintheWarOfficechargedwithresponsibilityforMiddle
Eastaffairs.InJune 1915 SykeshadleftLondononafact-findingmis-
sionto theMiddleEastandIndia.However,becausehepossessed
lessthanexpertknowledgeofmuchoftheregion,heabsorbedagood
dealofwarhysteria,includingacceptingexaggerationsabout
Oppenheim.Forexample,SykesnotifiedtheWar OfficeonIJuly
thatOppenheimhadleftConstantinoplefor Syriawiththe"inten-
tionto raisepan-IslamicfeelingagainstGreatBritain."Hecontin-
ued:"IndiaOfficemayexpecthisactivitiesinPersiaaboutthemiddle
ofJuly. HispropagandanotwellreceivedamongConstantinoplere-
ligiouscommunitiesowingto hisJewishorigin.He haslargefunds
athisdisposalandintimateknowledgeofthecountry.'!"
AmonthlaterSykesreportedagainonOppenheim,basingmuch
ofhisassessmentnotonhardintelligencebutonwhathehadheard
fromaRussiansource.HemadeoutOppenheimro belargerthan
life, "a Jewofgreatwealth"anda"personalfriendoftheGerman
Emperor's."Moreover,saidSykes,Oppenheimwas"oneoftheorigi-
nalpropagandistsoftheBaghdadRailway"and"aviolentAnglo-
phobe.""OfOppenheim's"violentreligiouswaragainstGreatBrit-
ain," Sykescontinued,"Hispreachinghasnaturallynothadmuch
effectamongtheOldSchoolTurks,butitis exactly intunewiththe
ideasofthemodernEuropeaneducatedMoslem,wholikes acloak
ofliberalismandprogresstohidean evenmorerelentlessfanaticism
thanbefore."SykesinsistedthatOppenheimwasheadingforPersia
andAfghanistan.HeconcludedthattheGermanwouldincitemas-
sacresofArmeniansinTurkeyandarrangeforthemurdersofBrit-
onsinPersia."
AtthetimeSykesarrivedintheMiddleEast,secretcontactshad
resumedbetweenBritainandtheSharifofMecca.Meanwhile,Cairo
wasreceivingasteadyflowofinformation,oftenfromquestionable
sources,aboutOppenheim;muchofitportrayedhimas amajoren-
emy force intheMiddleEast."ByOctober,Cairo'sfearofananti-
Britishpan-IslamicjihadstretchingfromLibya toAfghanistan-and
thus,possiblyeven toIndia-hadreachedepicproportions.
ReportsofOppenheim'spresenceintheSinaiPeninsulaandHijaz
acceleratedthepanicbyraisingfearsthathemightjeopardizeBritain's