No one has ever grasped how important the support of the masses was as much as Napoleon. In fact, at the beginning of his political career, he demonstrated great skill in handling the tools to manipulate public opinion. He used his ability not only towards the French people but also exported it to many military campaigns. An example is the campaign in Egypt during which he founded "Le Publiciste", aimed at local populations, which hailed him as a new Alexander the Great, and "Courrier de L’Egypte", a newspaper printed for the troops in Egypt, on which he declared he was "about to be considered the successor of Mohammed". These papers also reported alleged conversations between him and three Imams as a demonstration of his popularity with the local population. We can see an excerpt from Andrew Roberts' book "Napoleon the Great":

Bonaparte: Glory to Allah! There is no other God but God; Mohammed is his Prophet, and I am his friend...

Suliman (Imam): Greetings to you too, invincible general, favored by Mohammed!

The conversation continues with Bonaparte's interpretation of the Quran, stating that his reading led him to believe that a coalition between Egyptians and French was "the will of Mohammed" and that the Prophet favored "trade with the Franks". Napoleon not only relied on traditional means of information to promote his image in Egypt but also organized events like a party attended by a hundred clerics, where the French were allowed to drink wine, and Bonaparte was named the Prophet's son-in-law with the name "Ali-Bon-parte". A French officer recalled, "The soldiers were like politicians in their expressions; when they returned to their lodgings, they laughed at that comedy". In fact, it was nothing but a comedy because twenty years later when asked if he had truly embraced Islam, Bonaparte replied laughing, "The religion of a soldier is to fight; I have never changed it. The other is a matter for women and priests. As for me, I always adopt the religion of the country where I am".