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

MUSLIMUNRESTANDGERMANSUPPORT 25

ButbeginninginthefalltheBosniancrisis,inwhichAustria-

HungarycompleteditstakeoveroftheformerOttomanprovince,

emboldenedtheenemiesofthenewgovernmenttoattackit.Despite

thisthreat,theCUPstrengtheneditspositionintheparliament.Amid

bitterfactionalismbothinandoutsideofthecommitteeanattempted

counter-revolutioninApril 1909 resultedinenhancedinfluencefor

thearmyandin thevirtualeliminationofthepowersofAbdul-

Hamid.Theparliamentremovedthesultanfromthethronein favor

ofonemoreamenableto its will, hisbrotherMehmedV.^31

Bytheendof 1910 theBritishambassadortothePorte,Gerard

Lowther,whodislikedtheYoungTurks,wasaccusingthemofaban-

doningliberalOttomanrulein favorofpan-IslamicandTurkishna-

tionalistpolicies.>Lowthereventhought,erroneously,thatpan-

IslamismconstitutedthedistinguishingfeatureoftheYoungTurk

movementandwas a force thatmightaffectlandsas far away as

AlgeriaandPersia. He alsoworriedaboutthepossibilitythatthenew

regimewouldenteraformalalliancewithGermany."Hisreportsto

Londoninfluencedboththeforeignsecretary,Grey,andafter 1910

thepermanentunder-secretaryofstatein theForeignOffice, Sir

ArthurNicolson.Thelatterespeciallyfearedthespecterofpan-

IslamismanditspotentialassociationwithGermany:

IthinkthatthisPan-Islamicmovementisoneofourgreatestdangers

inthefurure,andisindeedfarmoreofamenacethanthe"Yellow

Peril."...Germanyisfortunateinbeingabletoviewwithcomparative

indifferencethegrowthofthegreatMussulmanmilitarypower,she

havingnoMussulmansubjectsherself,andaunionbetweenherand

TurkeywouldbeoneofthegravestdangerstotheequilibriumofEu-

ropeandAsia.>

WithintheBritishgovernment,theIndiaOfficesharedNicolson's
apprehensionaboutpan-Islamism,seeingitas apotentialmenaceto
India.Lowther,however,andalthoughhecontinuedtosupplythe
ForeignOfficewithevidenceofpan-Islamicactivity,advisedNicolson
andGreyatthebeginningof19IIthatitwas lessdangerousthanthey
believed."HeremindedhissuperiorsthattheShiites,asectofIslam