The religious and nationalist nature of the Shaikh Said Rebellion in 1925 has been debated by the scholars for decades. For the Kurdish nationalists the rebellion symbolized the Kurdish struggle for an independent state. For the Turkish state, it was another deception by Great Britain to stir up the region for its colonialist interests. Newly available sources in the US diplomatic archives (especially in the collection titled "Records of the Department of State relating to Internal Affairs of Turkey") raise the question of the Turkish government's fomentation and/or manipulation of the Shaikh Said Rebellion. In addition, some of the Turkish oppositional leaders of the time (such as Kazim Karabekir) suggested that this rebellion was allowed to happen to suppress the political opposition in Turkey. This paper will examine the validity of these claims, and in so doing throw new light on an old question concerning the challenges of Kurdish nationalism. More specifically, this paper will seek answers to the following questions: Was the Shaikh Said Rebellion fomented by the Turkish government to eliminate the political opposition? How was this rebellion manipulated to accomplish this aim? Do Shaikh Said's relations with the Turkish government via the Independence Tribunal in Diyarbakir, in which he was prosecuted, pose a challenge to Kurdish nationalism? Finally, the paper will conclude in discussing the way in which the Shaikh Said Rebellion poses a challenge to and provides an asset for Kurdish Nationalism.