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This part bothered me enough to write about it. First of all, I am not going in discussion about what happened with the Armenians but what I understand from you is that you see it as: as soon as the Young Turks took power they started a large genocide campaign against the Armenians. I hope you don't because it is nowhere close.
The racist campaign? How in any way are the Young Turks racist if they aren't even only Turkish members. For God sake there were even Christians among the CUP. Never did they ever consider Turks as superior. Hell, until 1918, calling someone a Turk was insulting, even for Turks from Rumelia. The Turkishness came when Arabic lands were lost and there were gains in the Caucasus.
For installing the Turkish as language... an attempt to centralise an already endangered empire. They haven't done it the right way but never was it in any racist manner what people consider.
@Incanian & you have really 'interesting' ideas about Abdul Hamid II and the CUP
The part to do with Armenian genocide, has to do with social cohesion, i was not saying they began with it, just that they did do it to preserve their power in the land.
The entire racist part is a quote i got that isn't my view. Also just because christains did join doesn't mean christains were supportive of them. Lebanon's autonomous status was abolished on Nov. 1, 1916, and the Christian administrator Ohannes Kuyumcuyan was removed to be replaced by Pan-Turkist Ali Munif. The seizure of animals in Lebanon accompanied with a shortage of seed, resulted in mass starvation.
Yes but it wasn't racist but it still alienated arabs and the CUP didn't bother to gain arab support
@Koprulu Mustafa Pasha this is the qoute im using this isnt my opinion "
Cemal Pasha, who played the leading role in the oppression of the Arabs, threatened bankers and merchants to keep the paper money and gold on par. When he rejected U.S. aid to the region, a large part of the population quickly vanished. Cemal Pasha persecuted leaders in Syria, especially those holding higher positions in local governments and the educated. Abdulhamit Zohravi, a member of the delegation of Ayan, and former deputy, Sefik al-Mawyid, was among 36 people executed on the orders of Cemal Pasha during this period. The families and relatives of those convicted were exiled from Syria to Anatolia, hence, wiping out the local leaders of the Syrian people.
Their crime, according to the military courts, was “forming an underground organisation”. The activity of the organisation was determined to be establishing relations with British and French diplomats in order to gain autonomy for Syria. Military courts were closed to the public, they did not allow defendants to bring their own counsel, and verdicts were immediately carried out.
When Mecca's Amir Hussain Pasha's son, Faisal, made a plea to Cemal Pasha on behalf of prisoners, Cemal Pasha not only declined the request, but also ordered the arrest of Faisal for constituting a danger to the state.
Following these events, Mecca's Amir Hussein, a descendant of Prophet Muhammad, declared his independence in July 1916 and occupied a large part of the Hijaz region. Hussein afterward restated his commitment to the Caliphate and the Sultanate. His rebellion was against the Turkish Unionists and he cited Cemal Pasha's atrocities, including the persecution of the Christians.
Because of the security policies and the atrocities of Ottoman Empire officials, Arab warriors ended up cooperating with the British in Syria and Mesopotamia. Thus, the empire lost two of its sacred cities, slashing the clout of the caliphate in the region.
Strictly centralised, racist, nationalist and oppressive policies cost the empire those lands, but more importantly, it cost the empire the hearts and minds of the people living in those areas."