Despite Al Hussein’s pride in his Arab heritage and noble lineage, and despite his love for liberty and righteous, fair rule, he was committed to the Caliphate, out of a belief that the Ottoman state was the only Islamic state with the power and geographic and material capabilities to defend Arab land in the face of European greed and incursion. As such, he had a firm belief in the unity of the Arab and Turkish peoples under the rule of the Sultan — the Caliph, and in the need to enhance and strengthen that unity.