[12] The single exception was Mr. Rechnitzer’s plan, which provided that within five years of the award of the concession, the Sultan might require the construction of a spur from Alexandretta to Konia, on terms to be agreed upon between the Government and the concessionaire. The chief feature of Mr. Rechnitzer’s plan, however, unquestionably was the railway from Alexandretta to the Persian Gulf—_i.e._, the Syrian and Mesopotamian, not the Anatolian and Cilician, sections. Furthermore, there were political objectives connected with the Rechnitzer proposal which, however attractive to British imperialists, could not have been regarded with equanimity by the Sultan. The following are typical quotations from Mr. Rechnitzer’s prospectus: “It has long been the object of English statesmen to consolidate the position of England in the Persian Gulf, where British interests (both political and commercial) are now paramount. With a railway in this region controlled by British interests ... a very strong foothold would accrue to British influence” (p. 12). Among the advantages of the proposed railway are listed the following (pp. 17–18): “It will place under British control two important ports, one on the Mediterranean and the other on the Persian Gulf; it will strengthen British influence in Turkey and in the Persian Gulf, and indirectly, in Persia and Afghanistan; it will afford England powerful means of exercising her influence over the territory of Central Persia, and of establishing new commercial enterprises over an enormous area of unexploited country of exceptional wealth.” [13] Quoted by A. D. C. Russell, “The Bagdad Railway,” in _The Fortnightly Review_, Volume 235 (1921), p. 312. _Cf._, also, _Corps de droit ottoman_, Volume IV, pp. 153 _et seq._ [14] Pan-Islamism started as a religious and cultural revival but rapidly took on political and economic significance. Later, in connection with Turkish nationalism (see _infra_, Chapter IX), it became a serious international problem. A short, popular discussion of the rise of Pan-Islamism is Lothrop Stoddard’s _The New World of Islam_ (New York, 1921), Chapters I, II, V. _Cf._, also, _Mohammedan History_, No. 57 of the Foreign Office Handbooks (London, 1920), Part I; G. Charmes, _L’avenir de la Turquie: le pan-islamisme_ (Paris, 1883); A. J. Toynbee, _Nationality and the War_ (London, 1915), pp. 399–411, and _Turkey: a Past and a Future_ (New York, 1917); Tekin Alp, _Türkismus und Pantürkismus_ (Weimar, 1915); C. Snouck Hurgronje, _The Holy War, “Made in Germany”_ (New York, 1917). Regarding Abdul Hamid’s place in the Pan-Islamic movement _cf._ _Mohammedan History_, pp. 42–46. [15] Great Britain, characteristically enough, took steps to protect her interests by reviving the Arabian caliphate—_i.e._, by supporting the claims of the Sherif of Mecca to the caliphate. [16] _Infra_, pp. 127–128.