Talisman of Kurdish saints

In the hagiographic literature on the Kurdish saint, Kak Ahmad, some typical beliefs in Kurdish societies are mentioned. One of them is the saint's talisman, which protects the holder from bullets and bombs. According to the account, the talisman saved the Ottoman caliph. The incident in question is Operation Nejuik, which corresponds to a real event. In retrospect, one can only feel sorry for the Armenians involved in the assassination attempt. They had no idea the Ottoman ruler was wearing Kak Ahmad's gulaband (literally meaning bulletproof).

Piramerd (20th-century): 

On the day when the Armenians placed a bomb under the mounting-block before the gate of the Hamidiya mosque, timed to go off under his feet at the very moment when he would be stepping on to the stone to mount his carriage, seventy or eighty carriages and between one hundred and two hundred persons were blown sky-high and perished, but no blood issued from the horses harnessed to the royal carriage and Sultan Hamid got into it shouting, 'I am wearing Kak Ahmad's gulebend; how can a bomb make any impression on me?

Another historical element in the narrative is the relationship between the Ottoman caliphs and the Barzanjis of Southern Kurdistan. The Ottoman sultans supported the Barzanji shaykhs, oddly siding with them rather than Ottoman officials during conflicts. Hazim Bey, the Ottoman governor of Mosul, notes the irritation that existed among Ottoman officials; whenever they attempted to push back against the Barzanji shaykhs, the Ottoman sultan reminded them that the charges against the Barzanjis were nothing more than slander:

I could in no way explain the [position of] brigand shaikhs to the Sultan. Whenever I attempted to take measures against them, he [Sultan] did not give permission, on the grounds that "it is not right to punish Muslim shaikhs and men of importance on account of the Armenians' slanders" (...) I got the following telegram, in cipher, from Kamil Bey, the cipher clerk [at the Palace]: "There is a strong possibility that these unjust accusations about some Muslim notables arose from an intrigue by Armenians and foreigners."