At the start of the First World War, when the Ottomans allied with Briton's enemies, British anxiety deepened. Immediately, the Government of India telegraphed all districts describing pan-Islamism to officials, directing them to warn certain Muslim preachers of the consequences of criticizing the government, and requiring all householders to report foreigners. Despite such concerns, after the war some authorities aimed to use pan-Islamic thought to British advantage. In 1919, the Government of India sent to at least one provincial government a copy of a fatwa that called "upon all Muhammadans to oppose Bolshevism" and the central government sought to publicize it by feeding it to Muslim newspapers.

XREF: Connects to British empire's divide-and-rule tactics and colonial manipulation of religious identity for geopolitical ends.

Peter Gottschalk and Gabriel Greenberg, Common Heritage, Uncommon F…, loc. 72