Abdul Hamid used his position as caliph to order the Sulu Sultan not to resist and not fight the invading Americans.[14] President McKinley did not mention the Ottoman role in the pacification of the Sulu Moros in his address to the first session of the 56th Congress in December 1899 since the agreement with the Sultan of Sulu was not submitted to the Senate until December 18.[15] Despite Sulu's "pan-Islamic" ideology, he readily acceded to Straus' request to avoid hostilities between the West and Muslims.[16] The Sulu sultan was persuaded by the Ottoman Sultan.[17]