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

10 WARBYREVOLUTION

ButWilhelm'sownactions,ifnotinDamascustheninJerusalem,

clearlybeliedtheclaim.Heenteredtheholycity as aconquering

hero,ridingonawhitestallionandhisspikedhelmetglisteningin

thesun,accompaniedbydozensofPrussianandOttomancavalry-

men."

Furthermore,Wilhelmseemedtoconnectthewarmwelcomehe

receivedinTurkeywithwhatheperceivedasOttomandislikeofthe

BritishandFrench."Even as Berlinattemptedtodownplaythe

emperor'svisittoTurkeyintheGermanandEuropeanpress,pri-

vatelyheandhis officialsstudiedthepotentialvalueofpan-Islamism

forproducingrevoltsamongtheMuslimsubjectsoftheBritishEm-

pire.Muchoftheimpetusfor theideaapparentlystemmedfrom

thekaiserhimself.As early as r896,duringGermany'scrisiswithBrit-

ainovertheTransvaal,hehadallegedto aRussiandiplomatthata

GermanagentinBaghdadhaduncoveredanIslamicprophetfrom

whomonewordwouldunleashahugeanti-BritishMuslimuprising

inIndia.InAugustr897,WilhelmtoldNicholasII, inconnection

withBritain,"nevertoforgetthattheMahometanswere atremen-

douscardinourgamein caseyouor I weresuddenlyconfrontedby

awarwiththecertainmeddlesomePower.">

Finally,anddespitethesuperficialnatureofWilhelm'sinterestin

theOrientandofhisrelationshiptoAbdul-Hamid,hisvisittoTur-

keyinspiredamythamongsomeMuslims,particularlyinNorthAf-

rica,thatthereexisteda"traditional"or"natural"German-Muslim

friendship.ThemythassertedthattheassociationbetweenGermans

andMuslimsextendedbackeventothetimeofthe Prophet,

Muhammad,andthatWilhelmmightbe asonofAbdul-Hamid,

cometoliberatetheworldofIslamfromitsFrenchandBritishop-

pressorsl"

OppenheimandOtherPan-Islamists
Somecontroversyexistsabouthowmuchthekaiser'sviewsonthe
MiddleEastandpan-IslamismresultedfromthenotoriousGerman
archaeologist-spyandJewishconvertto Christianity,MaxFreiherr
vonOppenheim.Oppenheim,bornin r860 to afamilyofCologne
bankers,joinedtheactivemovementofGermanarchaeologistsand