#Kitchener's misunderstanding of #Islam ➡️ https://mastodon.social/@rameshgupta/111484767553360519
— monolithic homogenous bloc controlled by the #Caliph &
— blind spot toward the #Shia-#Sunni divide
were magnified by his failure to understand the constitutional nature of #Islamic society.

In choosing Grand Sharif #Hussein as the #Arabian #Caliph, the #British intention was only to prop up the "Pope" of Islam, and through that Islamic papacy, control #Britain's #muslim subjects all over the world.

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#PeaceToEndAllPeace

Impetus for #Kitchener's desire to "capture #Islam" in #MiddleEast in #WWI was rooted in his inability to understand that #societiesAreNotHomogenous.

There was a time when Britain ruled over half of world's #muslims in #Africa & #India, and Kitchener believed Islam as a homogenous, single centralized entity controlled by the #Caliph — #Mohammad's successor.

This perception probably grew out of the fact that #Turkish #Sultan had immense sway over muslims far away in India.

#PeaceToEndAllPeace

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Anwar #Pasha's entry into the #GreatWar on the #German side surprised the #British.

#Germany needed access to #Turkish ports and the #Turks wanted German navy there to give them a free hand to invade #Russia.

Turkey also wanted share of war spoils if Germany won!

To protect its navy against British, Germans had no choice but to accede. Turks had them at gun point.

#Churchill had no idea that what was going on was #extortion

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#PeaceToEndAllPeace #OttomanEmpire #Turkey #WWI #MiddleEast

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1922: #PointOfNoReturn based on tripartite agreements between #Britain, #France, and #Russia

— #AllenbyDeclaration (independence for #Egypt)

— #PalestineMandate & #ChurchillWhitePaper (birth of #Israel & #Jordan)

— #British Treaty of #Iraq

— #FrenchMandate (#Syria & #Lebanon)

— #Russian Proclamation of #SovietUnion (taking #Muslim #CentralAsia)

#SocietiesAreNotStatic — Times change. People change. Countries change. Their attitudes & policies change

#PeaceToEndAllPeace

When the #GreatPowers drew the map of the #MiddleEast after #WWI, they set aside #religion and #ethnicity as the basis, but religion was fundamental to the political existence of #Shia #Iran and #Sunni #Muslims of #Egypt, #Syria, and elsewhere

1915: #Kitchener decided to partition #ME, leading to #SykesPicot Agreement

1917: #Lenin's #Bolshevik colleague Leon #Trotsky blew up Sykes-Picot

1918: #WWI ends

1919: Treaty of #Versailles following WWI

1922: #PointOfNoReturn…

#PeaceToEndAllPeace
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