Discussions on the Ottoman proclamation of the Great Jihad (Cihad-ı
Ekber) in World War i usually focus only on its repercussions on the
Muslim communities living outside Anatolia and tend to take Anatolian
Muslims for granted. In fact, the Ottoman Jihad propaganda had a
very important Anatolian dimension as well.¹ From its declaration of
general mobilization on 2 August 1914 through to the end of the war,
the Ottoman government constantly had recourse to the Jihad rhetoric
to justify its mobilization effort in Anatolia, especially in the field of
military recruitment. It put it about that Islam was under attack by the
infidel enemy and that therefore it was incumbent upon every Muslim to
join the fight against that enemy.
