The so-called "suicide note" in this case needs to be approached with a great deal more caution than is evident here, or in the Australian article. There is no hard evidence that the two men in this case intended to commit suicide. There is no clear evidence as to who wrote the note, which was perhaps not even "left" by either of the men: all we know from newspaper reports was that it was "found" underneath rocks days after the incident. The authorship and accurate translation of the "note" was in contention at the time. As with much else of this incident, the "evidence" was so tainted by speculation, rumour, and re-enactment (even some of the photographs are not original but are staged or re-enactments) that to draw a clear story, let alone a lesson as here, from what remains to us is hazardous. A fruitful context of understanding for the 1915 story is the detention of "aliens" at that time, not some spurious transhistorical story of "jihad". After all, it was the German Club that lay in ruins after the incident, not the camel camp (in which, by the way, some people of European heritage lived).
Helen

Hear hear Isabel.
As always, some people never ever let the actual facts get in the way of a good story/propaganda/political ideology/the conformation bias!
Rhrosty.

[Deleted for abuse.]

OFF TOPIC

PALESTINIAN SANTAS SPRAY SEPARATION WALL IN BETHLEHEM
January 2, 2015
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=751268

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Palestinian activists dressed in Santa Claus outfits on Thursday sprayed graffiti demanding an end to the Israeli occupation and freedom for Palestinians on the Israeli separation wall in the southern West Bank town of Bethlehem.

Activists handed out candy to passing vehicles in celebration of Christmas and the New Year as others wrote slogans on the eight-meter high concrete wall that cuts Bethlehem off from neighboring Jerusalem.

One of the youths involved in the activity said the aim was to pass on good wishes to those celebrating Christmas in Bethlehem and hopes for a new year full of happiness for Palestinian children.

The activity took place at a major intersection in Bethlehem where the Israeli wall reaches into the heart of the city to cut off the tomb of Biblical matriarch Rachel from the city around it.

Once a shared Jewish, Christian, and Muslim place of worship, the annexation of the area by Israel's wall has also meant that non-Jews are no longer allowed to enter it. Instead, they are confronted by the wall's watchtowers on every side, while access is only allowed from the Israeli side through a checkpoint forbidden to non-Jews.

Local activist Mazen al-Azza told Ma'an that the activists hoped to draw attention to the "danger" the wall represents for Bethlehem, particularly at Christmas since international attention is focused on the city and tens of thousands of foreign tourists pass through.

Al-Azza added that the activist was a message to the whole world that there should be no ambiguity regarding the Palestinian cause in the face of the Israeli occupation.

CONTINUED BELOW

CONTINUED FROM ABOVE

Israel began building the separation wall in 2002, and the route has been the target of regular demonstrations by border towns whose land is cut off by its path.

Israel has regularly confiscated large plots of Palestinian land in order to build the wall. When the 435-mile barrier is complete, 85 percent of it will have been built inside the occupied West Bank.

In 2004 the International Court of Justice ruled that the separation wall was illegal and "tantamount to annexation."

The wall also prevents Palestinians from moving freely in the West Bank between Palestinian villages, towns, and cities, increasingly trapping them in small pockets of Palestinian control.

COMMENT

Would love to see these pictures (at http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=751268 ) on Christmas cards. Maybe international institutions might like to use them, like charities & NGO's. May peace, joy & happiness come to all those who seek it in 2015.

Pete

#isabelberners

The following Smithsonian article refutes your unsubstantiated claims.
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-battle-of-broken-hill-113650077/

On Gool Mohammed's call to jihad - the Smithsonian states:
" At some point early in the 1900s his religious convictions had taken him to Turkey, where he enlisted in the army of the Ottoman Empire. In doing so, he was committing to serve a sultan who—as master of the Muslim Holy Places of Arabia—also claimed to be the caliph, or spiritual leader, of all Muslims. Gool served in four campaigns with the Turks before returning to Australia,..

... News of the outbreak of the First World War—and of Turkey’s declaration of war on Great Britain and its empire—reached Broken Hill soon after it occurred. Gool Mohammed’s loyalty to his sultan never wavered; he wrote immediately to the Minister of War in Istanbul, offering to re-enlist, and (an impressive testimonial to the efficiency of the Ottoman war department and the laxness of Australia’s postal censors, this) actually received a reply... The letter from the Ottomans encouraged him to “be a member of the Turkish Army and fight only for the Sultan,” without specifying where or how."...

On the suicide notes - the Smithsonian states:

"A note carried by Gool suggests that it was he who inflamed Mullah Abdullah with his zeal to strike back against the Australians. But it was certainly Mullah Abdullah who hand-wrote the suicide notes the two composed before they set out to ambush the picnic train. “I hold the Sultan’s order,” Gool’s note read, “duly signed and sealed by him. It is in my waist belt now, and if it is not destroyed by cannon shot or rifle bullets, you will find it on me. I must kill your men and give my life for my faith by order of the Sultan I have no enmity against anyone, nor have I consulted with anyone, nor informed anyone.” Mullah Abdullah’s note explained his grievance against the chief sanitary inspector and said it was his “intention to kill him first.” ... Other than that, though, he repeated his companion’s sentiments: “There is no enmity against anybody,” he insisted"