~ Atjeh So the International Spotlight ~

~ Atjeh So the International Spotlight ~

When the Dutch first invaded Aceh, April 1873, Habib Abdurahman was in Mecca with Nyak Abas, a large pepper plant owner in Aceh. They both went to Mecca together from Penang. Habib Abdurrahman then rushed off to Constantinople, the capital of Ottoman Turkey, and arrived on 27 April.
In Turkey, Habib Abdurrahman conveyed a message from Sultan Mahmud that as part of the Ottoman Turks protectorate, Aceh should be helped in the face of the Dutch infidel attack.

In an atmosphere like this, the Constantinople press reviewed with enthusiasm the issues raised by Habib Abdurrahman, so that the fate of Aceh quickly became "la grande question du jour", the main subject.

Basiret, Turkey's most widely read newspaper and a major proponent of pan-Islam, called for Turkey to send its warships to Sumatra.

The Jevaib newspaper also called for the same. Even the yellow La Turquie newspaper continues to raise the excuses that Turkey is obliged to protect Aceh's rights.