//Ed. note: The Istanbul journal 'Sebilü'r Reşad'
reprinted this article in August 1918, after it had
first appeared sometime prior to that date in the
newspaper 'Ati'.
Enver Paşa is referred to as 'mütekaid' (retired),
although he was relieved as War Minister
by the Sultan two months later, on 4 October
1918. He fled Turkey on 17 October.//
ABCFM background click here for info on
American Protestant Missionaries in Turkey.
American Protestant missionary posts in Anatolia (red
dots)
"Confronting the Danger of Missionaries"
Retired General Staff Ferik (Divisional General) Enver Paşa published
this important article about this subject in the newspaper 'Ati' and we
herewith convey some of his ideas:
"In America, the Protestant religion holds sway and religious matters
are given great weight there. Americans essentially dislike Moslems
because of their (American) religious zealotry and behind the curtain
of politics and so-called civilization and humanity, they attribute
cruelty and terror to the Turks, making hatred of them a national idea.
While the long-ago matter of the Crusaders has faded in the minds of
Europeans, in America it continues unabated."
"If it were up to the Americans, there would be no Islamic governments
in the world. As is known, these days this religious problem has been
left to be handled by 'missionaries'. Catholic missionaries do not have
the imprimatur, gravitas and national backing of the American
missionaries, who are the champions and representatives of this cause
for their nation."
"For a long time, American missionaries have been quietly and without
anyone really noticing, settling into Ottoman territories, particularly in
Rumeli (Thrace) and especially in Anatolia, where they have been
inciting the Bulgarians, Armenians, Kurds and Syrians against Turks."
Enver Paşa
"While the Americans' support for the Armenians is well-known, the
degree to which they have influence with the Bulgarians and the
Syrian Christians has been less well-known. In fact, in order to
promote an anti-Turkish attitude among the Syrians, they have
essentially set up a colony for the Syrians in America so that while
they are in America they get all the news about us."
"Now that the American government has entered the World War in the
name of 'freedom', this creates a great danger for us. Because the
Americans' aim is to wipe us off the face of the Earth and they will
never relent. There are those among us who would have us respond
to this situation with humanity and politeness - in other words shut
our eyes to it."
"But we should be certain that the Americans will never give up on
their religious aims. And in the same way that one must fight fire with
fire, in this same vein, we must take advantage of the World War to
remove all the American intervention in our country. We should be
sure that one of the reasons that the American public and their
national idealogy have been injected into this World War is to fight
against Turks and Moslems and to save Christianity in the East."
"At one time, the Russian state was plagued by religious and foreign
missionaries and the Russians had to enact a law against them. That
is how missionaries were prohibited from Siberia and Central Asia.
In our opinion, we have no other alternative than to do the same."
"Western Turkey Annual Meeting,
Marseven (Merzifon) 1908"
"No nation can allow a foreign state to establish places of worship on its
territory for its own citizens to go to and have foreign clergymen
conduct the worship. Similarly, this cannot be permitted with regard
to education either. But in our country, the foreigners not only make
our citizens worship with their own clergymen, they teach our
nation's children in all sorts of subjects and political ideas however
they please. Such a situation isn't even encountered in China."
"The foreign nations resident in our capital (Istanbul) can have their
own citizens worship and be preached to by their own clergymen at
the churches they have somehow been able to build there, but our
citizens should not enter those places. When it comes to Anatolia,
no foreign government has a right to send missionaries there nor open
places of worship there. Like the Russians in Russian Asia, the time
has come for us to strip Anatolia of foreign influence and interference.
If we are not successful now, we never will be."
Enver Paşa 4 years later click here for a report
about Enver's ultimatum to Leon Trotsky when
he was leading the Basmachi rebels in Turkistan
in May 1922. He died there in August of that
year.
//END//
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