African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1464: Iron-Blooded Tyrant
However, this is obviously a good thing for East Africa and other imperialist countries. Without these people, the Soviet Union's destructive power on the international order would be too great.

Their heroes are my enemies. Compared with those cosmopolitan idealists, the Soviet Union's extreme nationalists look more pleasing to the eye.

In fact, it is not just the Soviet Union. Except for Britain and France, most of the other powerful countries do not mind the collapse of the current international order, but more hope to replace Britain and France.

……

With the quiet arrival of 1928.

A vigorous change took place in the Middle East. A series of reform measures of Kemal's government of the Ottoman Empire were officially introduced and implemented in the Ottoman Empire, a country that was already terminally ill.

The first blow struck by this iron-blooded dictator of the Ottoman Empire was the Arab religion that was deeply rooted in the Ottoman Empire.

Unlike ordinary reformers, although Kemal was young and a newcomer to the political arena, his control over the country was not weak at all, and his greatest confidence was the Ottoman Empire army.

Coming from a military background, holding military power, and at the same time full of ideals and energy, we can already foresee some results of what will happen next.

Topkapi Palace, Istanbul.

Kemal was "communicating" with the new Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Mehmed VII. The old Sultan, Mehmed VI, did not survive the last year.

This was not because Kemal's government did anything; Mohammed VI did die of illness. Of course, the coup may have accelerated the process.

Therefore, his youngest son, with the support of Kemal, became the new Sultan of the empire, namely Muhammad VII.

The dictator Kemal was lying on the sofa and said to Mehmed VII: "Your Majesty, starting this year, we will move the government to Ankara. Ankara is located in the hinterland of the plateau area of ​​the Anatolian Peninsula, surrounded by mountains, easy to defend and difficult to attack, providing a high degree of security."

"On the other hand, Istanbul's geographical location has become a burden to the empire today. When the empire is strong, we can use Istanbul as a strategic fulcrum to control European territory."

"However, the wars since the 19th century have fully proved that as the empire's power declined, Istanbul was no longer suitable as the political center of the empire. It was not only vulnerable to invasion by big countries, but even small countries like Greece and Bulgaria could threaten Istanbul's security."

"In addition, due to the inaction of previous governments, the empire lost almost all of its territory in Europe, which also turned Istanbul from the core of the empire into a border area."

"If something happens in Istanbul, it will be a huge blow to the entire country, and may even cause the complete division of the empire, so moving the capital becomes the only option for the empire."

In the past, the territory of the Ottoman Empire extended deep into the Balkan Peninsula and the Black Sea coast, as well as North Africa and other places. Istanbul's geographical location was actually at the center of the empire.

However, now the European territory has basically been lost, various parts of North Africa are basically independent, and the territory on the northern coast of the Black Sea was lost early, so Istanbul's status as the country's geographical center no longer exists.

Today, the core territory of the Ottoman Empire can be divided into two major parts, namely the Anatolian Peninsula and the Fertile Crescent.

The latter refers to the Mesopotamian and Levant region, this entire Middle East region, because it looks like a crescent moon on the map, it is called the Fertile Crescent.

The Mesopotamian region can be roughly considered as Iraq in the past, and the Levant is Syria, Lebanon and other places.

Therefore, Kemal continued, "Setting the new capital in Ankara will also help strengthen the empire's control over the Fertile Crescent and prevent them from escaping from the empire's control, causing further shrinkage of the empire's territory. Your Majesty, do you think the location of the new capital is reasonable?"

Mehmed VII said dully, "Everything will be subject to your arrangement, Kemal Pasha. After all, moving the capital will indeed provide a safer environment."

As the nominal ruler of the Ottoman Empire, Mehmed VII was actually a puppet who was supported by the government, and he certainly did not dare to raise any objections.

Kemal was very satisfied with Mehmed VII's attitude. After all, it had been proved in his previous life that Kemal was definitely not a loyal supporter of the monarchy. Otherwise, Turkey in his previous life would not have become a republic.

The reason why the monarch was retained in this time and space was entirely out of the need to maintain the territorial integrity of the empire, especially to prevent the Fertile Crescent from using this as an excuse to secede from the empire.

Kemal also gave Mehmed VII some sweet treats as he was so tactful. He said: "The government will build a new palace in Ankara for your Majesty to live in. As long as your Majesty cooperates with all the government's work in the future, the government will also guarantee the safety of the royal family members."

"Especially regarding some recent rumors, Your Majesty must also make your own judgment. For example, the old Sultan, I believe you also know that when he passed away, it was entirely due to illness."

"However, some ambitious people and those with ulterior motives have used this as an excuse to sow discord between the royal family and the government. I hope Your Majesty will not be deceived and do something unwise."

There is no doubt that Mehmed VI died of natural causes, but many forces opposing the new government denied it and used it as an excuse to try to overthrow the Kemal government.

Therefore, Kemal had to be on guard against the royal family, especially to prevent them from having contact with the outside world. Especially before the capital was moved, many forces in Istanbul had many plans.

Kemal's plan to move the capital this time was not only based on national security considerations, but also to prepare for subsequent reforms.

Istanbul is not only in a bad geographical location today, vulnerable to threats from other countries, but it is also the stronghold of conservatives.

The biggest conservative faction in the Ottoman Empire was Arabism. Istanbul served as the capital of the empire for nearly four hundred years and had a strong religious and old-system color.

Therefore, Kemal hoped to promote Turkey's secularization process by moving the capital, reduce the influence of religion on politics, and help the Ottoman Empire transform into a modern country.

Therefore, from the very beginning, one of the important purposes of moving the capital was to get rid of the restrictions of religious forces. At that time, Ankara was just a small city with a population of tens of thousands of people. The Kemal government could be more bold in implementing some radical policies in the new capital.

If it were in Istanbul, these policies might cause riots, which would be difficult to deal with. Kemal had no intention of engaging in intrigues with various forces in Istanbul. Of course, in addition to moving the capital, Kemal had another purpose, which was to discuss it with Mehmed VII in advance.

"Your Majesty the Sultan, what I am going to say next is closely related to you, so please be mentally prepared." Kemal's expression became slightly serious.

This made the young Sultan feel terrified. He forced himself to ask, "Does Kemal Pasha have any other requests? As long as I can do it, I will actively cooperate."

Kemal said bluntly: "This matter is not a big deal. It is for the development of the empire, so I want to abolish the 'caliphate' system."

Mohammed VII's face suddenly changed. What do you call this a small matter? After all, the Caliph is the highest title in the Ottoman Empire. It is also possible to understand it as the Emperor. Of course, the Caliph has more power than the Emperor. The Caliph is a leader of the church and state. It is more appropriate to describe him as the Pope in the Middle Ages.

The Pope in the Middle Ages in the West theoretically had more power than secular monarchs, and the Caliph was the Pope of the Arab Church.

Therefore, Mehmed VII thought that Kemal wanted to abolish the monarchy of the Ottoman Empire.

Of course, Kemal also explained in his next words: "Your Majesty, don't worry, the caliphate system will be abolished, but your title of sultan will still be retained, and you will still be the future monarch of the Ottoman Empire."

The difference between the Sultan and the Caliph is that the former is a purely secular monarch, while the Caliph is both a monarch and a religious leader, and the Ottoman monarch has both titles.

Abolishing the caliphate system also meant that Kemal wanted to remove the religious title of the Ottoman emperor, thereby promoting the separation of church and state and cutting off religious interference and influence on national politics.

However, even if the Caliph was removed, the title of Sultan of the Ottoman monarch would still exist, so Kemal meant that Muhammad VII would only retain the title of secular monarch.

Of course, no matter how things change, in Kemal's vision, Mehmed VII and future Ottoman monarchs will always be "virtual monarchs" and mascots.

Kemal said: "I think His Majesty the Sultan should also understand that the general trend of world development has proved that only secular countries can become truly powerful countries. Looking at the great powers in the world, they have all achieved great success in secularization."

"Religion has imprisoned the progress of social thought and is no longer suitable for the development of today's industrial society. The Ottoman Empire's defeat in wars and economic backwardness in recent years are largely caused by religious reasons."

"Therefore, we must strip away the restrictions of Arabism on the country's politics, economy, military and other fields, learn from Europe, reform religion, and liberate the minds of the people of the Ottoman Empire."

Kemal knew very well that if he wanted to transform the Ottoman Empire, which was still a feudal society, into a modern country, the most important thing was to change the thinking of the people of the empire.

The specific national conditions of the Ottoman Empire were to break the ideological shackles of Arabism. Just like European countries, if they had not carried out religious reforms, Europe would still be stuck in the Middle Ages today.

The Ottoman Empire had carried out reforms before, but why did they all fail? Religion was obviously a huge obstacle.

After all, the Ottoman Empire had a good territory, population, and resources. It was also close to the West, so the difficulty of acquiring technology was at least much lower than that of the Far Eastern Empire. However, its society still developed very slowly. This was hard to explain. At this time, we could only look for reasons in the system and ideology, both of which were closely related to Arabism.

Kemal said to Mehmed VII: "In terms of territory, the Ottoman Empire has always been a world power. Even today, it has a land area of ​​more than one million square kilometers."

"Moreover, the empire's territory is the most fertile land and the most abundant water resources in the entire Middle East. The conditions are not much worse than those of European countries."

"The population is close to 30 million, and the geographical location is very advantageous... But despite all these favorable conditions, our country has been declining. This is obviously abnormal. So after excluding those external factors, we should realize that there is something wrong with the Ottoman people and the system."

The human problem here is obviously not a question of racial superiority as Eurocentrism and white supremacists promote. After all, according to their statement, isn't it admitting that medieval Europeans were inferior to the Ottomans in terms of IQ and physical fitness? After all, at that time, the Ottoman Empire was a powerful civilization that made the whole of Europe tremble in fear.

Kemal continued: "So, Your Majesty, I think you should understand what I am saying. Do you support my views?"

Mehmed VII dared not disagree, and he said: "Kemal Pasha, I understand. Abolishing the caliphate system is indeed an important measure to promote national development. I support your decision and am willing to take the initiative to relinquish the title of caliph. From now on, the caliphate system will no longer exist in the empire."

As a religious leader, the Caliph has a huge influence, even affecting the entire Arab world. The Ottoman Empire has always been the most powerful country in the Arab world, so their monarch can obtain the honor of Caliph and get the support of many people.

But at the same time, this system also greatly restricted the development of the Ottoman Empire. Now that Kemal has abolished this system, it is another huge blow to the country's religious forces.

To put yourself in their shoes, this is almost equivalent to abolishing the Pope of Italy, or the Patriarch of the Orthodox Church.

Kemal's move would obviously trigger a counterattack from the Arab forces in the country, but abolishing the caliphate system and moving the capital were just appetizers Kemal prepared for the Arab forces.

His package of plans for Arabism also included reforming the Ottoman Empire's writing system, confiscating religious industries and land, promoting compulsory education, abolishing Arab religious law, and changing some bad habits of Arab religion, including promoting gender equality, implementing monogamy, abolishing the privileges of religious figures, governing the country according to law, prohibiting traditional religious clothing, and prohibiting women from wearing veils...

It can be said that Kemal's determination to suppress Arab religion is unprecedented in the thousands of years of history of the entire Middle East.

This would inevitably lead to strong domestic turmoil, and Kemal had already made preparations. For anyone who dared to resist his reforms, there was only one answer: "kill."

In 1926, Kemal had relied on the army to suppress many opponents and made many enemies, but he was obviously not satisfied with this. Once the capital was moved, he would inevitably promote more and more active policies to completely defeat the Ottoman Empire's religious control and influence on all aspects of the empire.

Kemal was not without supporters. On the contrary, he had quite a number of supporters, especially those who were eager to change the current situation of the country. During the nearly 100 years of humiliating history of the Ottoman Empire, there were many people who were dissatisfied with Arabism and the corrupt rule of the empire.

However, Kemal's enemies were equally powerful, which destined him to become an iron-blooded tyrant who reformed the Ottoman Empire.

(End of this chapter)