Mecca

The Arab aristocrat's career saw him serve as an Ottoman lawmaker and their go-to man in the Hejaz region.

As a devout Muslim, Ali Haydar was against adopting any western cultural codes, but the newly formed republic moved to limit the role of Islam in public life. That moved Ali Haydar to action, as he believed the future of the Arabs lay under Ottoman rule. The text was sent to George Stitt, a British soldier who had become Ali Haydar's friend during Istanbul’s occupation. To learn more about republishing this content and the associated fees, please fill out this His own commitment to the Turks came at a price. Ali Haydar was born in Istanbul in a house of his grandfather, Abdulmutallib, in 1866, and was technically a "hostage" of the Ottoman Empire to ensure the Sharifate's loyalty to the Turks. In a statement addressing Arab tribes, who were supporting the revolt, Ali Haydar said: "Do not attempt to break away from the Ottoman Empire when the general condition of the world is in a state of upheaval." 'Do not attempt to break away from the Ottoman Empire when the general condition of the world is in a state of upheaval' [Read More »](/discover/turkey-ottoman-abdulmecid-ii-last-caliph-islam-artist-musician) What that meant in reality was a silver-spooned upbringing, second only to the children of the Ottoman dynasty and not by much. Within years of the Ottoman defeat in the war, the empire had collapsed, and in 1935 Ali Haydar's life would end in exile in Lebanon, stripped of his titles and authority. The last man to hold the office was one Sharif Ali Haydar Pasha, who took on the task of ensuring Arab loyalty to the empire and ending the revolt led by his clansman Sharif Hussain, who had been deposed by the Turks.