Politics and diplomacy
Jihad
The holy war proclaimed in November 1914 in the name of the Sultan-Caliph Mehmed V against the Entente. Backed by Germany, it was meant to rouse Muslims in the British, French and Russian colonies.
On 11 November 1914 the Sheikh ul-Islam issued five fatwas declaring war against Russia, Britain and France a duty for every Muslim, including subjects of those powers. On 14 November the call was read out in a ceremony in Constantinople. Germany strongly backed the idea, hoping for uprisings in India, Egypt, North Africa and the Caucasus, and ran an extensive propaganda effort to that end.
The results were modest. Most Muslim soldiers in the colonial armies stayed loyal, and the British gave assurances that the holy places of Islam would not be attacked. In 1916 Hussein, Sharif of Mecca, rose against the Ottomans, undermining the call's authority. The jihad nonetheless fed unrest on the Afghan frontier, in Persia and in Libya.
Sources
In the chronicle
(30)30 articles use this term.
1914
- 16 OctoberIndian Expeditionary Force D sails for the Persian Gulf
- 29 OctoberOttoman fleet attacks Russian ports
- 31 OctoberKitchener writes to the Sharif of Mecca
- 2 NovemberSerbia at war with Turkey
- 6 NovemberMesopotamian campaign
- 11 NovemberSheikh ul-Islam issues fatwas on holy war
- 14 NovemberSultan proclaims jihad
- 28 NovemberSkirmish at Miranshah
1915
- 8 JanuaryTurks take Tabriz
- 10 JanuaryDefence of Muscat
- 26 JanuaryTurkish march on the Suez Canal
- 26 JanuarySinai and Palestine campaign
- 3 FebruaryAttack on the Suez Canal
- 15 FebruaryMutiny in Singapore
- 12 AprilBattle of Shaiba begins
- 12 AprilBattle of Shaiba
- 17 AprilSkirmish at Hafiz Kor
- 31 MaySecond Battle of Qurna
- 14 JulySharif of Mecca opens talks with the British
- 21 AugustItaly declares war on Turkey
- 5 SeptemberSecond skirmish at Hafiz Kor
- 9 OctoberThird skirmish at Hafiz Kor
- 14 NovemberSenussi attack Sollum
1916