12 
Land & Water August i, 191 8 
The Turkish Conspiracy 
By HENRY MORGENTHAU 
UU U.S. ^ftiiftSMiiof to Turkey 
XI— The Holy War 
^NE ofGermanv's most ambitious plans in the East was to use the Turkish alliance as a means of stirring 
5. ie MMoZLdan population of the world to a '' Holy War" against he tnUnt. „at.ons. Mr. 
Morgenthau relates here the details 'of the plot, the methods oj furthering U, and tts utter fatlure. 
consider this but for a little you will weep long. You will 
behold a bewildering state of affairs which will cause the tear 
to fall and the fire of grief to blaze. You see the great coun- 
try of India, which contains hundreds of millions of Moslems, 
fallen, because of religious divisions and weaknesses, intcthe 
grasp' of the enemies of God, the infidel English. You see 
forty millions of Moslems in Java shackled by the chains of 
captivity and of affliction under the rule of the Dutch, 
although these infidels are much fewer in number than the 
faithful and do not eniov a much higher civilisation. You 
IN the early days Wangenhcim had explained to me 
Germany's' real' iMirpose' in forcing Turkey mto the 
conflict.' He made this e.xplanation quietly and non- 
chalantly, as though it had been quite the most 
ordinary matter in the world. Sitting in his office, he un- 
folded Germaiiv's scheme to arouse the whole fanatical Moslem 
world against'the Christians. Germany had planned a real 
"holy war" as one means of destroying English and French 
influence in the world. "Turkey herself is not the really 
important matter," said Wangenhcim. "Her army is a 
small one, and we do not expect it to do -very much. 
For the most part it will act on the defensive. But the 
big thing is the Moslem world. H we can stir the 
Mohammedans up against the English and Russians, we 
can force them to make peace." 
What Wangcnheim evidently meant by the "big thing 
became apparent on November 13th, when the Sultan issued 
his declaration of war ; this declaration was really an appeal 
for a Jihad, or a "Holy War" against the infidel. Soon 
afterward the Sheik-ul-tslam published his proclamation, 
summoning the whole Moslem world to arise and massacre 
their Christian oppressors. "Oh, Moslems ! " concluded this 
document. "Ye who are smitten with happiness and are 
on the verge of sacrificing your life and your goods for the 
cause of right, and of braving perils, gather now around the 
Imperial throne, obey the commands of the Almighty, who, 
in the Koran, promises us bliss in this and in the next world ; 
embrace ye the foot of the Caliph's throne and know ye that 
the state is at war with Russia, England, France, and their, 
Allies, and that these are the enemies of Islam. The Chief 
of the believers, the Caliph, invites you all as Moslems to join 
in the Holy War!" The religious leaders read this pro- 
clamation to their assembled congregations in the mosques ; 
all the newspapers printed it conspicuously ; emissaries 
spread it broadcast in all the countries which had large 
Mohammedan populations — India, China, Persia, Egypt, 
Algiers, Tripoli, Morocco, and the like — reading it to the assem- 
bled multitudes and exhorting the populace to obey the 
mandate. The Ikdam, the Turkish newspaper which had 
passed into German ownership, was constantly inciting the 
masses. "The deeds of our enemies," wrote this Turco- 
German editor, "have brought down the wrath of God. 
A gleam of hope has appeared. All Mohammedans, young 
and old, men, women, and children, must fulfil their duty 
so that the gleam may not fade away, but give light to us 
for ever. How many great things can be accomplished by 
the arms of vigorous men. by the aid of others, of women 
and children ! . . . The time for action has come. We 
shall all have to fight with all our strength, with all our soul, 
with teeth and nails, with all the sinews of our bodies and of 
our spirits. If'we do it, the deliverance of the subjected 
Mohammedan kingdoms is assured. Then, if God so wills, 
we shall march unashamed by the side of our friends vi-ho 
send their greetings to the Crescent. Allah is our aid and 
the Prophet is our support." 
An Amazing Document 
The Sultan's proclamation was an official public document, 
and dealt with the proposed Holy War only in a general 
way, but about this same time there appeared a secret 
pamphlet which gave instructions to the faithful in more 
specific terms. This paper was not read in the mosques ; 
it was distributed stealthily in all Mohammedan countries. 
It was a lengthy document — the English translation con- 
tains 10,000 words— full of quotations from the Koran : 
and its style was frenzied in its appeal. to racial and rehgious 
hatred. It described a detailed plan of operations for the 
assassination and extermination bf all Christians — except 
those of German nationahty. A few extracts will fairly 
portray its spirit : " people of the faith and O beloved 
Moslems, consider, even though but for a brief moment, 
the present condition of the Islamic world. For if you 
faithful and do not enjoy a much high 
see Egypt, Morocco, Tunis, Algeria, and the Sudan suffering 
the extremes of pain and groaning in the gras^) of the enemies 
of God and his apostle. You see the vast country of Siberia 
and Turkestan and Khiva and Bokhara and the Caucasus 
and the Crimea and Kazan and Ezferhan and Kosahastan, 
whose Moslem peoples believe in the unity of God, ground 
under the feet of their oppressors, who are the enemies already 
of our religion. • You behold Persia being prepared for par- 
tition and you see the city of the Caliphate, which for ages 
has unceasingly fought breast to breast with the enemies 
of our reUgion, now become the target for oppression and 
violence. Thus wherever you look you see that the enemies 
of the true rehgion, particularly the English, the Russian, 
and the French, have oppressed Islam and invaded its rights 
in every possible way. We cannot enumerate the insults we 
have received at the hands of these nations who desire totally 
to destroy Islam and wipe all Mohammedans off the face 
of the earth. This tyranny has passed all endurable limits ; 
the cup of our oppression is full to overflowing. ... In 
brief, the Moslems work and the infidels eat, the Moslems 
are, hungry and suffer and the infidels gorge themselves and 
live in luxury. The world of Islam sinks down and goes 
backward, and the Christian world goes forward and is more 
and more exalted. The Moslems are enslaved and the 
infidels aire the great rulers. This is all because the Moslems 
have abandoned the plan set forth in the Koran and ignored 
the Holy War which it commands. . . . But the time has 
now come for the Holy War, and by this the land of Islam 
shall be for ever freed from the power of the infidels who 
oppress it. This Holy War has now become a sacred duty. 
Know ye that the blood of infidels in the Islamic lands may 
be shed with impunity — except those to whom the Moslem 
power has promised security and who are allied with it. 
[Herein we find that Germans and Austrians are excepted 
from massacre.] The killing of infidels who rule over Islam 
has become a sacred duty, whether you do it secretly or 
openly, as the Koran has decreed: 'Take them and 'kill 
them whenever you come across them. Behold we have 
dehvered them unto your hands and given you supreme power 
over them.' He who kills even one unbeHever of those 
who rule over us, whether he does it secretly or openly shall 
be rewarded by God.. And let every Moslem in whatever 
part of the world he may be, swear a solemn oath to kill 
at least three or four of the infidels who rule over him, for they 
are the enemies of God and of the faith. Let every Moslem 
know that his reward for doing so shall be doubled by the 
God who created heaven and earth. A Moslem who does 
this shall be saved from the terrors of the day of judgment, 
of the resurrection of the dead. Who is the man who can 
refuse such a recompense for such a small deed ? . . . Yet 
the time has come that we should rise up as the rising of 
one man, in one hand a sword, in the other a gun, in his 
pocket balls of fire and death-dealing missiles, and in his 
heart the light of the faith, and that we should lift up our 
voices, saying — India for the Indian Moslems, Java for the 
Javanese Moslems, Algeria for the Algerian Moslems, Morocco 
for the Moroccan Moslem^, Tunis for the Tunisian Moslems, 
Egypt for the Egyptian Moslems, Iran for the Iranian Mos- 
lems, Turan for the Turanian Moslems, Bokhara for the 
Bokharan Moslems, Caucasus for the Caucasian Moslems, 
and the Ottoman Empire for the Ottoman Turks and Arabs." 
Specific instructions for carrying out this holy purpose 
follow. There shall be a " heart war" — every follower of the 
