Current History, A Monthly Magazine | Page 8

to the attacks made from one side against
the Caliphate, and from the other against the existence of our country.
The wounds inflicted, with the help of the Almighty, by my fleet in the
Black Sea, and by my army in the Dardanelles, in Akbah, and on the
Caucasian frontiers against our enemies, have strengthened in us the
conviction that our sacred struggle for a right cause will triumph. The
fact, moreover, that today the countries and armies of our enemies are
being crushed under the heels of our allies is a good sign, making our
conviction as regards final success still stronger.
My heroes! My soldiers! In this sacred war and struggle, which we
began against the enemies who have undermined our religion and our
holy fatherland, never for a single moment cease from strenuous effort
and from self-abnegation.
Throw yourselves against the enemy as lions, bearing in mind that the
very existence of our empire, and of 300,000,000 Moslems whom I
have summoned by sacred Fetwa to a supreme struggle, depend on

your victory.
The hearty wishes and prayers of 300,000,000 innocent and tortured
faithful, whose faces are turned in ecstasy and devotion to the Lord of
the universe in the mosques and the shrine of the Kaabah, are with you.
My children! My soldiers! No army in the history of the world was
ever honored with a duty as sacred and as great as is yours. By
fulfilling it, show that you are the worthy descendants of the Ottoman
Armies that in the past made the world tremble, and make it impossible
for any foe of our faith and country to tread on our ground, and disturb
the peace of the sacred soil of Yemen, where the inspiring tomb of our
prophet lies. Prove beyond doubt to the enemies of the country that
there exist an Ottoman Army and Navy which know how to defend
their faith, their country and their military honor, and how to defy death
for their sovereign!
Right and loyalty are on our side, and hatred and tyranny on the side of
our enemies, and therefore there is no doubt that the Divine help and
assistance of the just God and the moral support of our glorious Prophet
will be on our side to encourage us. I feel convinced that from this
struggle we shall emerge as an empire that has made good the losses of
the past and is once more glorious and powerful.
Do not forget that you are brothers in arms of the strongest and bravest
armies of the world, with whom we now are fighting shoulder to
shoulder. Let those of you who are to die a martyr's death be
messengers of victory to those who have gone before us, and let the
victory be sacred and the sword be sharp of those of you who are to
remain in life.
MEHMED-RESHAD.
On the 22 Djilhidje, 1332. Or October 29, 1914.
VERBATIM TERMS OF THE FETWA
(Sultan's Proclamation of a Holy War.)

The issuance by the Sultan of the Fetwa, or proclamation, announcing
a holy war, called upon all Mussulmans capable of carrying arms--and
even upon Mussulman women--to fight against the powers with whom
the Sultan was at war. In this manner, according to Constantinople
newspapers, the holy war became a duty not only for all Ottoman
subjects, but for the 300,000,000 Moslems of the earth. The Turkish
newspaper Ikdam called upon the people as follows:
Mussulmans, open your eyes! Grasp your weapons; trust to God. Hurl
yourselves with full might against the foe! As the Caliph has said, the
Divine help will be with us. Forward! Sons of Islam! There is no longer
a difference of nationality; there is no longer a difference of culture. All
Mussulmans are united and have but a single wish--to destroy our foes!
The wording of the Fetwa itself, however, is less fiery in tone than the
impassioned newspaper appeal. The Fetwa reads as follows:
First Question--If lands of Islam are subjected to attack by enemies, if
danger threatens Islam, must in that case young and old, infantry and
mounted men, in all parts of the earth inhabited by Mohammedans,
take part in the holy war, with their fortune and their blood, in case the
Padisha declares the war to all Mohammedans? Answer--Yes.
Second Question--Since Russia, England, France, and other States
supporting these three powers against the Islamitic Caliphate have
opened hostilities against the Ottoman Empire by means of their
warships and their land troops, is it necessary that all Mohammedans
also who live in the countries named shall rise against their
Government and take part in the holy war? Answer--Yes.
Third Question--Under all circumstances, since the attainment of the
goal depends upon the participation of all Mohammedans in the holy
war, will those who