More seriously, many fellahin went as far as maiming themselves in the hope that they might be declared medically unfit for service in the army. Initially, the most common way of maiming was to remove the front teeth in order to be deemed incapable of loading the muskets. However, when Mehmed Ali was informed that a lot of men in Upper Egypt had resorted to this habit, he said that since the training manuals did not specify which teeth should be used in loading the musket, these men could use other teeth and should therefore be conscripted.

XREF: Builds directly on the earlier claim about Egyptian peasants maiming themselves to evade conscription, now showing Mehmed Ali's strategic response to the practice. Builds on: "Ibrahim reconsidered universal conscription to preserve experienced soldiers."

Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed…, loc. 1352