Page 299 - Mastermind: The Truth of the British Deep State Revealed

Adnan Harun Yahya

Vahdeti was, in truth, a Darwinist who wasn't religious at all. However,

he had a duty given to him by the British deep state and, true to his duty, he
managed to gain influence using religion, led a pro-sharia movement and in-

cited a wide-scaled riot. Author Sina Akşin explains the basic qualities of
Vahdeti with the following words:

Islamist qualities, liberal views, pro-constitution approach, humanist and
Western-leaning opinions… Vahdeti was knowledgeable about Western schol-
ars to the extent of quoting Dreyfus, Zola and Darwin in his pieces. He was

protective of old fugitives and exiles, was vehemently against the civilian lead-
ers of the Committee of Union and Progress, most notably Ahmed Rıza. Nev-
ertheless, he was supporting Sabahaddin Bey and Kamil Pasha. Therefore,

he had a pro-British stance. Dervish believed that the best policy would be
the British policy. 150

The 31 March Incident was co-planned by Vahdeti and his British allies.
The true goal was creating turmoil in the country in an attempt to further

weaken the Ottomans. One account of British agents' support to Vahdeti can
be found below:

Dervish Vahdeti, who played an active role in starting the riot, did everything

in his power to inflame the rising, and his Committee of Union of Moham-
medians and its publication Volkan newspaper, acting together with other op-

position parties, managed to provoke the media against the Committee of
Union and Progress. In his sedition, he enjoyed support from Cypriot Kamil
Pasha and British spies. 151

Friends of England during the Occupation of Istanbul

The Society of the Friends of England represented the zenith of the pro-
British attitude some Ottoman statesmen adopted. This organization was

founded while Istanbul and Anatolia were under occupation and helped the
British efforts against the independence movement. The book will examine

later the particular activities of this society. However, for now, let's see the
politicians that were members of this group and the roles they played in the

political arena of 'occupied Istanbul'.