ationalists proclaim
themselves the most zealous followers of Mohammed, nevertheless they do
not conceal the fact that their interpretation of Islam is not the same
as that of the Arabs. They maintain that the Turks cannot interpret the
Koran in the same manner as the Arabs.... Their idea of God is also
different."

This amazing _Kulturkampf_ is quite possibly a reminiscence of
Bismarckian Germany, for Turkish Nationalism is saturated with forgotten
European moods, and its vein of Romanticism is as antiquated as the
Kaiser's. It has taken Attila to its heart, and rehabilitated Jenghis
Khan, Timur, Oghuz, and the rest with the erudition of a Turanian Walter
Scott.

"My Attila, my Jenghis," sings Ziya Goek Alp, "these heroic figures,
which stand for the proud fame of my race, appear on the dry pages of
the history books as covered with shame and disgrace, while in reality
they are no less than Alexander and Caesar. Still better known to my
heart is Oghuz Khan[6]. In me he still lives in all his fame and
greatness. Oghuz Khan delights and inspires my heart and causes me to
sing psalms of gladness. The fatherland of the Turks is not Turkey or
Turkestan, but the broad eternal land of Turania."

The Ministry of _Evkaf_ (Religious Endowments) recently made a grant of
L50,000 (Turkish) towards the publication of works on these worthies;
the students at the Military College in Constantinople are alleged to
have been diverted from their studies by their devotion to such
literature, and on the eve of the War the Professor of Military
Education there is reported to have delivered the following address to
an instruction class of reserve officers:

"We are, gentlemen, before all, Turks. I wonder why we are called
Ottomans, for who is Osman after whom we are named? He is a Turk from
Altai, who overran this country with his Turkish Army. Therefore it is
more of an honour to us to be named after his origin than after himself.
We have so far been deceived by the ignorance of our forebears, and fie
on these forebears who made us forget our nationality.... Be sure that
Turkish nationality is better for us than Islam, and racial pride is one
of the greatest social virtues[7]."

These extravagances must not be taken too literally. The Young Turk
politicians, though they have embarked on a Nationalist policy, are not
so reckless as to break openly with Islam or to denounce the founder of
their State. They see clearly enough that Turkish