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

MUSLIMUNRESTANDGERMANSUPPORT 19

awakenedBritishfearsofathreatfromtheeasttoBritain'scontrol
ofthecountry.'
ThedisputeinvolvedtheTurkish-EgyptianboundaryontheSinai
Peninsula.DuringtheconflictBritainforcedthesultan,Abdul-
Hamid,nottooccupylandaroundAqaba,atown 150 mileseastof
theSuezCanal.TheBritishfoundespeciallyworrisomethesultan's
constructionofthenearbyHijaz railroad,begunin190Iandintended
bytheTurkstorunfromDamascusto Mecca.Britainworriedabout
therailroadfor avarietyofreasons.Thelineeasedthemovementof
TurkishtroopstowardEgyptandtheRed Sea.Furthermore,it repre-
sentedaphysicalembodimentofOttomanpan-Islamism:itwas be-
ingbuiltwithmoniessolicitedby Abdul-HamidfromMuslimsout-
sidetheOttomanEmpire,particularlyinIndiaandEgypt; itwould
helptheworld'sMuslimpilgrimstraveltotheIslamicholyplacesin
MedinaandMecca;anditwouldaidthesultaninshippingtroopsto
southernSyriaandArabiatoasserthisrulethereovertheoftenanti-
OttomanandrebelliousArabs.'
ThefactthatGermanengineersdirectedtheconstructionofthe
HijazrailroadaddedtoBritain'suneasinessduringandafterthe
Aqabaincident.'TheagingandauthoritarianBritishresident(con-
sulgeneral)in Cairo,LordCromer,accusedGermanyofinspiring
theTurkstooccupyAqabaandthesurroundingland.Heworried
thatbackedby Berlin,Abdul-Hamidaimedatpushingforwardthe
limitsofOttomanruleto apointintheSinaiPeninsulathatendan-
geredthenavigationoftheSuezCanal.HisOrientalsecretaryand
confidant,HarryBoyle,declared,"OfcourseourGermancousinsare
behinditall.:"
InAprilCromerwarnedtheBritishForeignOfficethattheattache
attheGermanconsulate-generalinCairo,MaxvonOppenheim,"has
beeninconstantcommunicationwithMoukhtarPasha,"theOtto-
manhighcommissionerinEgypt.Moreover,CromeradvisedBrit-
ishofficialsin Syria,whereOppenheimwasvisitingatthetime,to
"keepaneyeonhismovementsandproceedings."?Aslongas
Oppenheimremainedin SyriaandMesopotamia,theBritishresi-
dentinBaghdadwatchedhimclosely.CromerurgedLondontopress
theGermangovernmentto recallOppenheim;onatleasttwo occa-
sionstheBritishambassadorin Berlin, SirFrankLascelles,attempted