'Aziz 'Ali al-Misri

Aziz Ali al-Misri(1879–1965) was the co-founder of Al-gahtaniyya and al-‘ahd (The Covenant).

Early Life and Background

Aziz Ali al-Misri was born of both Egyptian and Circassian ancestry. His father, Zakariya, and previous relatives on his father’s side of the family were Circassian, with the original family name before having moved to Egypt - Chahlpe. ‘Aziz ‘Ali was not an Arab by origin. He was very conscious of this fact throughout his lifetime, and it affected his political affiliations. ‘Aziz ‘Ali trained at the Ottoman Military Academy, where he graduated in 1901, and moved onto the Staff College of the Ottoman Army. Shortly after, he become an officer in the Ottoman army. His first assignment as a member of the military was in Macedonia. During his stay in the Balkans, ‘Aziz ‘Ali joined the ranks of the CUP, at first a secret organization, more commonly known as the Young Turks. It later became a political group that would eventually take control of the country in 1908.

Early Political Career

In the formative constitutional years of the Ottoman Empire, ‘Aziz ‘Ali remained an advocate for Ottoman unity. He was a political moderate who wanted the three main political groups, Ottomanist, Pan-Islamic, and nationalist, to exist in cooperation. “He had come to the conclusion that in so composite a society as the Ottoman Empire the best way to maintain its integrity was not by attempting to suppress nationalities but by recognizing them, each as an autonomous unit within the Ottoman superstructure.”^[1]

Fallout with the CUP

‘Aziz ‘Ali’s mixed ethnic background, combined with his sense of political moderation made him an easy target for the CUP. It also made him a popular hero among the Arab political groups, although he did not choose to ally himself with them. ‘Aziz ‘Ali was labeled as sympathetic to the cause of Arab revolutionaries. Probably the greatest reason for his falling out with the CUP was a clash with Enver Pasha. The roots of this quarrel seem to be a mutual dislike for one another – for personal reasons. Arab revolutionaries appear to have joined in on ‘Aziz ‘Ali’s admonition of Enver Pasha, although still not connected with him politically. ‘Aziz ‘Ali was stuck in the middle of a complicated political situation in the years prior to WWI. His personality was abrasive and unyielding, and both the CUP and Arab political groups played on this to their advantage. In April 1914, ‘Aziz ‘Ali was arrested and removed from Istanbul by the CUP Although this wasn’t the direct doing of Enver Pasha, it gave him the impetus to, “denounce ‘Aziz ‘Ali as an Arab revolutionary leader who sough an Arab rebellion, and much to ‘Aziz ‘Ali’s dismay, it put him in a somewhat different light in the eyes of those working for Turko-Arab collaboration.”^[2] Through the efforts of Jamal Pasha, ‘Aziz ‘Ali was pardoned. As a result of this falling out, he was forced to leave the Ottoman political scene, and the country entirely.

Later Political Career –The Arab Revolt and Sharif Husayn

‘Aziz ‘Ali left the Ottoman Empire in 1914 and begun working under Sharif Husayn, the Sharif of Mecca. He played a prominent role in the early stages of Arab Revolt between 1916 and 1918. This was an attempt by Sharif Husayn to create an independent Arab state, free from Ottoman control. ‘Aziz ‘Ali encouraged the Sharif to ally with Germany for multiple reasons. First, he was enamored with the German military ethic. He also believed the prospect of an Arab state would be much closer to reality in the case of German victory. ‘Aziz ‘Ali quickly fell out of touch with Sharif Husayn as well. He served as the Chief of Staff for the military, but only briefly. His career after WWI was in much more obscurity. He was deported to Spain after having returned to Egypt unwelcomed. He directed the Cairo Police Academy from 1927 to 1936 and was inspector general of the Egyptian army in 1938. In 1939, Premier Ali Mahir named him chief of staff, but he was dismissed from that post in 1940 at Britain's insistence. He deserted the Egyptian army and tried to reach the Axis forces in the Libyan desert but was caught and court-martialed in 1941. After Aziz Ali had helped the Free Officers prepare for the revolution of 1952, they named him ambassador to Moscow in 1953 and considered making him president in place of Muhammad Naguib, but he retired in 1954. Fiercely nationalistic, Azi Ali was hampered in his career by his political idealism, which got the better of his discretion.^{[citation needed]}

References

1. ^ Majid Khadduri, Arab Contemporaries: The Role of Personalities in Politics(Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1973): pg. 10.
2. ^ Majid Khadduri, Arab Contemporaries: The Role of Personalities in Politics(Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1973): pg. 11.

Persondata
Name	Aziz Ali al-Misri
Alternative names
Short description	co-founder of Al-gahtaniyya and al-‘ahd
Date of birth	1879
Place of birth
Date of death	1965
Place of death