Mekonnen, his cousin and governor of Harar Province. But then in July 1916, a few months before his ouster, Iyasu took the unprecedented step of deposing Teferi from his governorship creating further tensions between them and leading to anger in a province traditionally governed by that family. Iyasu also seem to have chosen a foreign policy which sought to alienate traditional allies such as France and strengthen relations with Germany and Turkey (then Ottoman Empire). Perhaps because of that, he went on to remove Mersha from his post at the railway and replace him with Abubakar Mahammad, another important historic figure in Ethiopian history. Ironically, just months before their dismissal, both Dejach Teferi and Mersha had accompanied Iyasu during his trip to the region along with a number of other notables, including Mikael Berru (a German educated, British agency interpreter and father of the Sorbonne graduate Lij Seifu Mikael) and Tesemma Eshete. The radical changes were quickly picked up by foreign media. The sudden change was picked up by international media and largely interpreted as a plan to favor Muslims over Christians, a sentiment shared by many in the country. Suddenly, at the end of last July, Yasu left Adis Abeba for Harrar and came on to Jibuti on August 8th, where he renewed his protestations of friendship to M. Simoni, Governor of French Somaliland .... He was found to have deposed Prince Taffari, son of Ras Makonnen, from the Governorship of Harrar and substituted a Muhammadan... Intrigue was rampant at Harrar under the Turk Ydlibi; and finally the chief of the Issas, Ato Marcha, was deposed in favour of a Muhammadan. These events caused a stir at Adis Abeba. The legations of the Entente Powers also sent in a protest. And on September 27th...Lij Yasu was formally deposed. The situation, however, was much more complex than what the reports claimed. There is no doubt that Iyasu tried to nurture close relations with the Muslim community and was married Fatima, the daughter of Abubakar, raising questions about his intentions and vision. Abubakar came from a family of rich Muslim Afar traders who made enormous contributions to Menelik commercially, administratively and diplomatically. His father, Mahammad (also Negaddras) was the governor of the historic town of Aliyu Amba (Shoa Province) while he himself served as the governor of Shenno, another commercial center. His grandfather, Abubakar Ibrahim Chehem, was a notable statesman and