The Author of the Risale-i Nur Bediuzzaman Said Nursi

The Author of the Risale-i Nur

Bediuzzaman Said Nursi

This, the first full-length biography of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi to appear in English, answers in satisfying fashion a need so far unmet. Drawing largely on Bediuzzaman's own works and the accounts of those who either knew or met him, it describes the life, works, and struggle in the cause of Islam of this one the most important thinkers and servants of the Qur'an to emerge in the Islamic world this century. Also giving outlines of historical events, the work sets Bediuzzaman's ideas and activities in an historical context. It describes the enterprising and scholarly endeavours of Bediuzzaman's youth in the cause of the Ottoman Empire, particularly in the areas of education, constitutionalism, and Islamic Unity. And in the Second Part, traces both Bediuzzaman's silent struggle through his collection of written works, the Qur'anic commentary known as the Risale-i Nur, against the irreligion that was officially propagated in the first decades of the Turkish Republic, and the growth of the Risale-i Nur movement. This scrupulous biography, which considers all these subjects in detail, will contribute significantly to making better known to readers of English this major figure of modern Islam, and the movement he founded for the renewal of belief .
PART ONE - The Old Said
Chapter One - Childhood and Youth
Chapter Two - Istanbul before Freedom
Chapter Three - Freedom and Constitutionalism
Chapter Four - Bediuzzaman and the Thirty-First of March Incident
Chapter Five - "The Future shall be Islam's, and Islam's alone"
Chapter Six - Service in Balkans, and in the 'Special Organization'
Chapter Seven - War and Captivity
Chapter Eight - Return and Appointment to the Daru'l-Hikmeti'l-Islamiye
Chapter Nine - Supremacy of the Qur'an and Birth of the New Said
Chapter Ten - Opposition to the British and Move to Ankara
PART TWO - The New Said
Chapter One - Van
Chapter Two - Barla
Chapter Three - Eskisehir
Chapter Four - Kastamonu
Chapter Five - Denizli
Chapter Six - Emirdag
Chapter Seven – Afyon
PART THREE - The Third Said
CONCLUSION


CHAPTER ONE
CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH
  · Birth and Early Childhood
 
Bediuzzaman Said Nursi was born early one spring morning in the village of Nurs, a small hamlet in the province of Bitlis in eastern Turkey. The year was 1293 according to the Rumi calendar then in use in the Ottoman Empire, that is, 1877. The circumstances into which he was born were humble; the house, of sun-dried brick, one of twenty or so built against the south-facing slope of a valley in the towering Taurus Mountains to the south of Lake Van.
Even at his birth the child displayed signs of being exceptional. It is said that on coming into the world he peered around attentively, his look fairly frightening those present. It was as if he was going to speak. He did not cry, just clenched his fists. Then they chanted the call to prayer in his ears, and named him SAID.
Said's mother was called Nuriye, and his father, a villager with a small-holding of land, was Mirza. They were a Kurdish family. Said was the fourth of seven children. The two eldest were girls, Dürriye and Hanim, then came his elder brother, Abdullah. Said was followed by two more boys, Mehmed and Abdulmecid, and last was a girl, Mercan.
Mirza's forbears had come originally from Cizre on the Tigris. Also known as ‘Sufi’ Mirza, he died in the 1920's and was buried in the graveyard at Nurs. At the head of his grave stands a rough uncut stone with simply the name `Mirza' etched on it. Nuriye, Said's mother was from the village of Bilkan, three hours distant from Nurs. Like her husband, she was devout and virtuous. She died during the First World War and was also buried in Nurs. In later years, Said was to say: "From my mother I learnt compassion, and from my father, orderliness and regularity."
Said passed his early years with his family in Nurs. Long winters in the village, short summers in the higher pastures or in the gardens and fields along the river banks in the valley bottom. A short growing season, but sufficient to meet the villagers' needs. A life close to the natural world, in harmony wilh its rhythms and cycles, full of wonders for an aware and responsive child like Said. He was unusually intelligent, always investigating things, questioning and seeking answers. Years later when explaining how scholarly metaphors may degenerate into superstition "when they fall into the hands of the ignorant", he himself described an occasion which illustrates this.
One night, on hearing tin cans being clashed together and a rifle being fired, the family rushed out of the house to find it was an eclipse of the moon. Said asked his mother: "Why has the moon gone like that?" She replied:
 
"A snake has swallowed it." So Said asked:
"Then why can it still be seen?"
"The snakes in the sky are like glass; they show what they have inside them."
Said was only to leam the true answer whcn studying astronomy a few years later.
Whenever the opportunity arose, and especially in the long winter evenings, Said would go and listen to any discussions being held by students and teachers of the medreses, that is, the religious schools, or by religious figures. These discussions, often about the famous scholars, saints, and spiritual leaders of the past, usually took the form of contest and debate. If any of the students or scholars displayed more intelligence than the others, or was victorious in debate, he was made much of by the others, and was held in great esteem. This appealed to the young Said, too.
In addition, more than being merely independent-minded, it was as though from his very earliest years, Said was reaching for or was being driven to discover a way other than that which those around him followed, as the following, written by some of his students, shows:
"Our Master himself said: `When I was eight or nine years old, contrary to my family and everyone else in the vicinity, who were attached to the Naksi tarikat and used to seek assistance from a famous figure ealled Gavs-i Hizan, I used to say: `O Gavs-ı Geylani!' Since I was a child. if some insignificant thing like a walnut got lost, [I would say] `O seyh! I'll say a Fatiha for you and you find this thing for me!' It is strange and yet I swear that a thousand times the venerable Seyh came to my assistance through his prayers and saintly intluence. Therefore, however many Fatihas and supplications I have uttered in general in my life, after the Person of the Prophet (PBUH), they have been offered for Seyh-i Geylani. While I am a Naksi in three or four respects, the Kadiri way and love of it prevail in me involuntarily. But preoccupation [with study of the religious sciences] prevented my becoming involved with the tarikat."' Although, as is stated here, Said never joined a tarikat or followed the Sufi path - he was later to describe Sufism as being inappropriate for the needs of the modem age, his close relationship with Seyh Abdulkadir Geylani continued throughout his life; on many occasions throughout his life Said received guidance and assistance through his saintly influence.
 
 
· Said Begins His Studies
 
Said started his studies at the age of nine. Hc appears now as a pugnacious child. prone to quarrelling with both his peers and his elders. But this sprang not from any innate fault, but from the frustration at bearing within him a great and brilliant spirit which as yet could find no way to express itself, and at the incomprehension which he often met with, from both his teachers and his fellows.
It was his elder brother, Molla Abdullah's, example that first prompted the young Said to start studying. He had noticed how he had benefited from his studies. Abdullah had gradually improved and progressed so that when Said saw him together with his friends from the village who had not studied, his self-evident superiority awoke in Said a strong urge to study himself. With this intention, he set off with him for Molla Mehmed Emin Efendi's medrese in the village of Tağ, near Isparit. However, he fought with another student called Mehmed, and did not stay there long.
For the young Said also held himself in great esteem. Hc could not endure even the smallest word spoken to him in a commanding tone, or to be dominated in any way. So he retumed to his own village, where he told his father that he would not attend any more medreses until he was older, because the other students were all bigger than him. Due to its small size, Nurs had no medrese, so Said's lessons were then restricted to the one day a week that his elder brother, Abdullah, returned.
Let us see how in later years Bediuzzaman described himself at this age.
"When I was ten years old, I had great pride in myself, which sometimes even took the form of boasting and self praise; although I myself did not want to, I used to assume the air of one undertaking some great work and mighty act of heroism. I used to say to myself: `You are not worth tuppence, what is the reason for this excessive showing-off and boasting, especially when it comes to courage?' I did not know, and used to wonder at it. Then, a month or two ago [1944] the question was answered: the Risale-i Nur was making itself felt before it was written: `Although you were a seed like a common chip of wood, you had a presentiment of those fruits of Paradise as though they were actually your own property, and used to boast and praise yourself."'
About a year passed in this way, then, once again, Said set off to continue his studies full-time. But his needs were not be to answered by any of the teachers or medreses he visited. He went first to the village of Pirmis, and then to the summer pastures of the Hizan Seyh, the Naksibendi Seyyid Nur Muhammed. There, his independent spirit and the fact that he could not endure being dominated in any way made him fall out with four other students in particular. They would join forces and harass him constantly. So, one day Said went to Seyyid Nur Muhammed and said: “Seyh Efendi! Please tell them that when they fight me to come two at a time and not all four at once.” This courage on the part of the ten-year-old Said pleased the Seyh greatly, who smiled and said: “You are my student, no one shall bother you !” And from then on Said was known as ‘the Seyh’s student’.
 
· Visit to Nurs
Seyh Nur Muhammed was intrigued by Said's ability and courage, and one day set out together with him and some others of his students on the six or seven hour journey to Nurs in order to meet his parents. A short time after arriving, Mirza appeared, driving before him two cows and two oxen with their mouths bound. After the introductions, Said's teacher asked him the reason for this. Mirza replied in a modest manner:
"Sir, our fields are a fair way off. On the way, I pass through the fields and gardens of many other people. If these animals' mouths were not tied, it is possible they would eat their produce. I tie them up so that there is nothing unlawful in our food."
Having seen how upright Said's father was, Seyh Nur Muhammed asked how she had brought up Said. Nuriye Hanim replied;
"When I was pregnant with Said. I never set a foot on the ground without being purified with ablutions. And when he came into the world, there was not a day when I did not suckle him without being purified by ablutions."
 Said's teacher had now discovered what he had come to learn. Of course such parents should expect to have such a son. They spent that night in Nurs and returned the following morning to Hizan.
 
· "One of the Nurs students will revivify the religion of Islam"
After remaining a while longer with Seyyid Nur Muhammed, Said went together with his elder brother, Abdullah, to the village of Nursin. Since it was summer, they then left the village together with the villagers and other students for the high pastures of Seyhan. Once there, Said quarrelled with his elder brother, and they fell out. The teacher of the Tag medrese, Mehmed Emin Efendi was angry with Said and asked him why he opposed his elder brother. But Said did not recognize the teacher's authority either, and told him that since the medrese where they were at the time belonged to the famous Seyh Abdurrahman Tagi, he was a student like himself, and did not have the right to act as a teacher. Then he left the medrese immediately for Nursin, passing through a dense forest that was difficult to penetrate even by day.
It was later related from Bediuzzaman himself that the owner of the Tag Medrese, Seyh Abdurrahman Tagi, used to show a close interest in the students from Nurs, rising at night during the winter to make sure they were all covered and would not catch cold. Moreover, he used to say to the older students:
"Look after these students from Nurs well, one of them will revivify the religion of Islam, but which of them it will be I do not know at present."
 
 
· Young Said's Independence
At that time in eastern Anatolia any scholar who had completed the course of study in a medrese and could demonstrate his mastary of the subjects obtained his diploma (icazet), and could then open a medrese in a village of his choice. If he was able, he would himself meet the needs of the students, such as food, heating and clothing, and if he was not able, they were met by the villagers either through zekat or some other way. The teacher asked for no payment for his teaching.
Young Said would in no way accept zekat or alms. To accept assistance meant becoming obliged to others. and he felt that to be an unbcarable burden on his spirit.
One day, his fellow students went to the neighbouring villages to collect zekat, but Said did not accompany them. The villagers, being impressed by this and appreciative of his independence, themselves collected a sum of ; money and tried to give it to him. But Said thanked them and refused it.Whereupon they gave it to Molla Abdullah in the hope that he would persuade him to accept it. The following exchange then ensued:
Said said: "Buy me a ritle with the money!"
Molla Abdullah: "No, that is not possible."
"Well, in that case, get me a revolver."
"No, that is not possible, either."
So, smiling, Said said: "Well, get me a dagger, then."
At which his elder brother laughed and said: "No, neither is that possible. I'll only buy you some grapes; then we will make sure the matter remains sweet!"
 
· Said Dreams of the Prophet (PBUH)
That winter Said spent in Nurs. In the course of it, he had a powerful dream which impelled him to return to his studies. It was like this: it was the Last Day and the Resurrection was taking place. Said felt a desire to visit the Prophet Muhammed (PBUH). While wondering how he could achieve this, it occurred to him to go and sit by the Bridge of Sirat, because everyone has to pass over it. While the Prophet is passing, he thought, I shall meet him and kiss his hand. So he went and sat by the Bridge and there met with all the prophets and kissed their hands. Finally, the Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) came. Said kissed his hands and asked for knowledge from him. The Prophet said: "Knowledge of the Qur'an will be given you on condition you ask no questions of any of my community." Upon which Said awoke in a state of great excitement. And indeed, he thereafter made it a personal rule never to ask questions of other scholars. Even when he went to Istanbul, he adhered to it; he only ever answered questions put to him.
So following the dream, Bediuzzaman left Nurs going first to the village of Arvas and from there to Seyh Emin Efendi's medrese in Bitlis. Because of Said's tender years, the Seyh did not teach Said himself, saying he would appoint one of his students to do so. This wounded Said's self-esteem. One day while Seyh Emin was teaching in the mosque, Said rose to his feet objecting to what he was saying with the words: "Sir! You are wrong, it is not like that!" The Seyh and his students looked at the young Said in amazement. Then, Said remembered that the Seyh did not even condescend to teach him.
Shortly after this Said set off for the Mir Hasan Veli Medrese at Müküs [Bahceseray], whose principal was Molla Abdulkerim. When he saw that the new, lower grade students were given no importance, he ignored the first seven books, which should have been studied in sequence and announced he would study the eighth. He remained there only a few days then went to Vastan [Gevas] near Van. After a month in Gevas, he set off with a companion called Molla Mehmed for [Dogu] Bayezit, a small town in the province of Erzurum and it was here that his real studies commenced. Until this time, he had only studied the principles of Arabic grammar and syntax.'
 
· Bayezit
 
Said's period of study in the Bayezit Medrese under Seyh Mehmed Celali lasted only three months, but it was to provide him with the foundations of or key to the religious sciences on which his later thought and works would be based. Also, it was once again to show what he had instinctively displayed from the very beginning of his studies, namely, his dissatisfaction with the existing education system and his awareness of the urgent need for its reform. Moreover, the astonishing number of works that Said read, memorized and digested in this short period of time was to demonstrate his remarkable power of memory, and exceptional intelligence and understanding, both of which were developed to a degree far exceeding the average for boys of his age. He was fourteen years old.
During his time in Bayezid, Said completed the entire course of study then current in medreses. The works studied were heavily annotated, with commentaries, commentaries on commentaries, and even commentaries on those commentaries and further expositions, so that to complete the course under normal conditions took the average student fifteen to twenty years. The method was to completely master one book and one subjeet before passing onto the next.
Said began from `Molla Cami', and completed all the works in the course in turn. This he did by ignoring all the commentaries and expositions, and by concentrating on only a certain number of sections in each work. On being asked by a displeased Seyh Mehmed Celali why he was studying in this way, Said answered thus:
"I am not able to read and understand this many books. But these books are caskets of jewels, treasure chests, and the key is with you. I only implore you to show me what is in them so I can understand what these books are discussing, and then I shall study those that are suitable for me."
Said's aim in replying thus was to point out the need for reform in medrese education and to prevent time being wasted through the inclusion of so many commentaries, annotations and expositions. And in answer to his master's question: "Which subject, which of the sciences studied is suitable for you?", Said replied:
"I cannot distinguish these sciences one from the other. I either know all of them or none of them."
Whichever of the books Said studied, he would understand it without seeking the assistance of anyone else. He was able to study and master the most difficult works of two hundred pages or more, like Cem'u'1-Cevami’, Serhu'l-Mevakif, and ibnu' 1-Hacer in twenty-four hours. He gave himself over to studying to such a degree that all his ties with the outside world were cut. On whichever subject he was questioned, he would give the answer correctly and without hesitation.
While in Beyazid, Said passed much of his time, and even the nights, in the mausoleum of the Kurdish saint and literary figure Ahmed Hani, so that the people said he was specially privileged with Ahmed Hani's spiritual radiance. One night Said's friends from the medrese missed him and started searching for him. Finally they looked in the mausoleum and found him there studying by the light of a candle. But he rebuked them saying: "Why are you disturbing me in this way?" On the one hand Said thus plunged himself into studying, while on the other he started to follow the way of the Illuminist (israkiyyun) philosophers and to practise extreme self-discipline and asceticism. The Illuminists had accustomed their bodies to such practices gradually, but Said ignored the necessary period of adjustment and suddenly undertook the most rigorous ascetic exercises. His body could not support it and he grew progressively weaker. He would make one piece of bread last three days, trying to emulate the Illuminists in their practice of the theory `asceticism serves to expand the mind'.
 
Not being content with this, he followed Imam Gazzali's Sufistic interpretation of the Hadith, `Give up what you are doubtful about for that about which you have no doubts' from Ihya 'Ulumi'd-Din, and for a time gave up eating bread, even, and existed on grasses and plants. Furthermore, he rarely spoke.
At the end of three months, Said obtained his diploma from Seyh Mehmed Celali, the Principal of the Beyazid Medrese, and was then known as Molla Said. Having received it, he donned the simple garb of a dervish and set out for Baghdad, intending to visit its famous religious scholars and the tomb of Seyh Abdulkadir Geylani. Avoiding roads, travelling at night over mountain and through forest, he came after some time to Bitlis. There, for two days he attended the lectures of Seyh Mehmed Emin Efendi. The Seyh proposed that he wear the dress of a scholar. In eastern Anatolia at that time the turban and scholar's robe were not worn by students, but only presented when the diploma (icazet) was obtained. The scholar's dress was the right only of teachers (muderris). But Molla Said did not accept the Seyh's proposal, answering that since he was not yet mature, he did not think it was fitting for him to wear the dress of a respected teacher. How could he be a teacher while still a child? And he put the gown and turban away in a corner of the mosque.
 
 
· Sirvan
 
Molla Said then travelled on to Sirvan to his elder brother, Molla Abdullah. The following exchange took place at their first meeting:
Molla Abdullah: "I have finished Serh-i Semsi since you were here. What have you read?"
Molla Said: "I have read eighty books."
"What do you mean?"
"Yes, I have finished eighty books. And I have read a lot of books not included in the syllabus."
Molla Abdullah found it hard to believe that his brother had read so many books in such a short time and wanted to test him. Molla Said agreed so Abdullah tested him and was left in admiration and astonishment. Then hiding it from his own students, he accepted his younger brother as his master who only eight months before had been his student, and started to take lessons from him. But peering through the keyhole, Abdullah's students finally discovered him being taught by Molla Said. However, in order not to let them learn the truth. Said told them that he was doing so in order to avert the evil eye.
 
· Siirt
Molla Said remained with his brother a while longer and then made his way to Siirt. It was here that Said was challenged by the local ulema for the first time and was successful in debating with them and answering all their questions. His reputation now became firmly established. On his arrival in Siirt, he went to the medrese of the famous Molla Fethullah Efendi, who was to experience the same astonishment as Molla Abdullah at the number of books Said had read and learnt. He also examined Molla Said, who again gave perfect answers. So he then decided to test Said's memory and handed him a work called the Makamat-i Haririye. Molla Said read one page once. memorized it, then repeated it by heart. Molla Fethullah expressed his amazement by saying: "For this degree of memory and intelligence to be combined in one person is indeed rare."
While there, Molla Said memotized the whole of a work on the principles of jurisprudence of the four schools of Islam by the Shafi'i scholar Ibnii'1- Subki, the Cem'u' 1-Cevami', by reading it for one or two hours every day for a week. Whereupon Molla Fethullah wrote in the book, in Arabic, "He memorized the whole of the Cem'u'l-Cevanti' in a week".
From a letter written by Bediuzzaman in 1946 while in exile in Emirdag, it is learnt that it was at this time as a result of these feats of learning that he was first given the name of Bediuzzaman -Wonder of the Age- and by Molla Fethullah Efendi. He wrote to one of his important students:
"My Cbrious Brother, Re'fet Bey, You want information about Bediuzzaman-i Hamadani's duty and written works in the 3rd century [Hicri]. I only know about him that he had an extraordinary intelligence and power of memory.
"Fifty-five years ago one of my first masters, the late Molla Fethullah of Siirt, likened the Old Said to him and gave him his name...."
News of these events spread around Siirt and on hearing it, the ulema of the area gathered together and invited Said to a debate and to answer their questions. Said accepted, and both defcated them in debate and was successful in answering all their questions. Those present were full of praise and admiration for him and when the people of Siirt came to hear of it, they regarded Molla Said as something of a veli, or saint. However, all this aroused the jealousy of the lesser scholars and students in the area, who, since they were unable to defeat him in argument or in learning, tried to do so by force. They set upon him one day, but the people intervened and prevented any harm coming to Said, who told lhe gendarmes who arrived on the scene, having been sent by the Govemor:
"We are students; we fight and make it up again. It is better if no one outside our profession interferes. The fault was mine."
Said answered in this way out of his extreme respect for the learned profession, which he felt would be slighted by the interference of the ignorant and uneducated, although it was to assist him.
After this incident, Said always carried a short dagger with him in order to deter those tempted to fight him. He was strong and agile and now came to be known as Said-i Meshur, Said the Famous. He challenged all the ulema and students in Siirt to debates, letting it be known that he never asked questions, but answered anyone who chose to put questions to him. He also competed in sports and physical feats, and demonstrated his superiority in these too. One day in Siirt, he challenged a friend, Molla Celal, to jump a water canal. He himself cleared the broad canal successfully, then stood back to watch his friend. Molla Celal took a running jump, but alas, not being as athletic as Said, landed in the mud at the edge of it.
 
· Bitlis
Molla Said remained some while in Siirt, then, rather than continuing his journey to Baghdad returned to Bitlis and the medrese of Seyh Emin. There, as before, the Seyh dismissed Said as too young to understand anything. Unable to endure being treated in this way; Molla Said requested once again that he be given the opportunity to prove himself.
So Seyh Emin asked him sixteen questions on various most difficult subjects, all of which Molla Said answered correctly and without hesitation. The Seyh then set him a literary riddle in the form of three letters from the Arabic alphabet written without diacritical points thus: [ A1] Said had to compose a twelve-word sentence using only letters of those shapes and adding the points. They contain a total of ten possibilities with regard to the points distinguishing the different letters, and twelve with regard to the vowels, making a total in all of one hundred and twenty. Molla Said found all those possibilities within three days and composed the sentence accordingly, proving once again his intelligence. He then went to the Kureys mosque and began to preach to the people.
Said became very popular, drawing a large number of the people of Bitlis to listen to him. But it resulted in two factions fonning in the town, those who supported him and those who supported Seyh Emin. To forestall any trouble arising from this situation, the Govemor expelled Molla Said from Bitlis, and he made his way from there to Sirvan.
· Sirvan
As Said's fame grew so did his difficulties. Some teachers and lesser scholars whom he had previously defeated in debate constantly sought opportunities to reduce his prestige in the eyes of the people. They had him watched and followed, and one day when he missed the time for the moming prayer and performed it late, they started a rumour among the people saying: "Molla Said has given up performing the obligatory prayers." When asked the meaning of this, Said said:
"Something that has no basis does not spread among the people so quickly. The fault was mine, and I suffered two punishments: one was God's reprimand, the other insinuations against me by the people. The true reason for this was as follows: I gave up the prayers I was in the habit of reciting at night. If the world's spirit perceived this fact, it made them describe it wrongly, because they did not grasp the matter entirely."
While in Sirvan, someone came to him from the Siirt area saying that a fifteen year old youth had silenced in argument all the ulema of the region and that he had come in order to invite Molla Said to come and challenge this youth to a debate. Molla Said responded favourably to this request, made some preparations for the joumey, and they set out together. After some two hours on the road, Said asked the description of this youth, his dress, behaviour, and such matters. The man from Siirt said:
 
"I do not know his name, but when he first arrived he was wearing the dress of a dervish with a sheepskin over his shoulders. Then later he put on student's dress and silenced in argument all the learned men of Siirt."
On listening to this, Said realized that the man was talking about himself and that news of the events of the previous year had now spread round all the surrounding villages. He turned back the way they had come and did not accept the invitation.
 
· Tillo
After some time, Molla Said went to the town of Tillo, in the district of Siirt. Outside the town on a hill stands a small domed building of stone. Said confined himself in this Kubbe-i Hasiye as it was known, and there memorized an Arabic lexicon, the Kamusu'l-Okyanus, as far as the fourteenth letter of the alphabet, Sin.
While here, his younger brother, Mehmed, used to bring Said's food each day. And Said, dipping his bread in the soup would eat it and give the crumbs to the ants around the building. When asked the reason for this, he would say:
"I have observed that they have a social life, and work together diligently and conscientiously, and I want to help them as a reward for their republicanism."
Although it was not until subsequently to this, in Mardin as we shall see, that Said stated that he was first "awakened politically", it is clear from this story of the ants that he had already at this stage acquired the beliefs in this regard that he would adhere to throughout his life. Since these are described below and in detail in a later chapter, suffice it to say here that the basis of his political ideas, based on Islamic practice as is clear the footnote below, was a system based on the principles of freedom, justice, consultation, and the rule of law.
 
It was also while he was in Tillo that Molla Said had the dream in response to which he first started to work among the tribes as a conciliator and man of religion generally. He dreamt that Seyh Abdulkadir Geylani appeared to him and ordered him to go to Mustafa Pasa, the head of the Miran tribe,"and summon him to the way of guidance." He was to desist from oppression, perform the obligatory prayers, and enjoin what was lawful. Otherwise Said was to kill him.
 
This was a challenging task for Molla Said, who can still have been little more than sixteen years old. For the Miran tribe was powerful and numerous, and despite being a commander in one of the Hamidiye regiments, its chief, Mustafa Pasa -entitled Pasa because of this appointment engaged in brigandage and oppression generally. Nevertheless, Said immediately gathered together his belongings and made his way south to the area of Cizre on the Tigris. Said's relations with the tyrannical chief there illustrate one of his most striking and enduring characteristics, namely his courage and absolute lack of fear, especially in the face of tyrants and the powerful. Rather, it was a disdain for fear of anything other than his Maker.
 
· Molla Said and Mustafa Pasa
 
On approaching Mustafa Pasa's tent, Said learnt that he was elsewhere and took the opportunity to rest. A while later Mustafa Pasa returned to the encampment and entered his tent, whereupon all those present rose to their feet, except Molla Said, who did not so much as stir. This attracted Mustafa Pasa's attention, and he enquired who it was from Fettah Bey, a major in the militia. He informed him that it was the `Famous Molla Said'. Now, Mustafa Pasa did not care at all for the ulema, but he thought it wise to suppress his anger, and asked why he had come there. Molla Said replied as ordered in his dream:
 
"I have come to guide you to the right path. Either you give up your tyranny and start performing the obligatory prayers, or else I shall kill you!"
 
Mustafa Pasa was doubtless taken by surprise with this reply and left the tent to consider the situation. He returned after a while and again asked why he had come. Said repeated what he had said. After further exchanges, Mustafa Pasa thought of a solution; he would set up a contest between Molla Said and "his" religious scholars in Cizre. If Molla Said was victorious, he would do as he said, otherwise he would throw him in the river. Said was quite unperturbed. He told Mustafa Pasa:
 
"Just as it is beyond my power to silence all the ulema, so also is it beyond your power to throw me into the river. But on my answering them, I want one thing from you, and that is a Mauser rifle. And if you do not stick to your word, I shall kill you with it!"
After this exchange had taken place, they mounted their horses and rode down to Cizre from the high grazing grounds. Mustafa Pasa would in no way speak to Molla Said on the way. When they came to the place known as Bani Han on the banks of the Tigris, Said slept, entirely confident about his forthcoming trial. When he awoke, he saw that the scholars of the area had foregathered and were waiting books in hand. After introductions, tea was served. These ulema had heard of the Famous Molla Said, and as they prepared their questions in a state of some trepidation, Said drank not only his own tea, but some of their's as well. Mustafa Pasa noticed this and informed the scholars he was of the opinion that they would be defeated.
 
Molla Said told the Cizre scholars that he had taken a vow and asked no '' questions of anyone, but that he was ready for theirs. Whereupon they presented him with about forty Auestions, all of which Said answered satisfactorily. Except for one, which they did not realize was incorrect, and accepted. As the gathering was dispersing, Molla Said recalled this, and hurried back to inform them and give the correct answer. Upon which they admitted that they were well and truly defeated, and a number of them started to study under Molla Said. Mustafa Pasa also presented him with the promised rifle and began to perform the obligatory prayers.
Molla Said was physically fit and strong, just as he was intellectually. He particularly enjoyed wrestling, and used to wrestle with all the students in the medreses. And neither were they able to better him at it.
One day, he and Mustafa Pasa went out to race each other on horseback. Mustafa Pasa had ordered that an unbroken, uncontrollable horse be prepared, which he gave to Molla Said to ride. Molla Said wanted to gallop the rebellious horse after walking it round for a bit. Given some rein, the horse galloped off, away from the direction it had been pointed. Said tried to stop it with all his strength; he could not. Finally the horse careered towards a group of children. The son of one of the Cizre tribal leaders was standing right in its path. The horse reared up and struck the child between the shoulders wilh its forelegs. The child fell to the ground under the horse's hooves and began to struggle desperately. After some minutes, those watching reached them. When they saw the child, by then motionless as though dead, they wanted to kill Molla Said. On the tribal leader's servants pulling out their daggers, Molla Said immediately drew his revolver, and said to them:
"If you look at the reality of the matter, Allah killed the child. If you look at the cause, Kel Mustafa killed him, because it was he who gave me this horse. Wait, let me come and look at the child. If he is dead, we can i ht it out later. And dismounting, he picked up the child. When he saw no signs of life in him, he plunged him into cold water and immediately pulled him out. The child opened his eyes and smiled. All the people who had poured onto the spot to watch were dumbfounded.
Molla Said stayed a short time longer in Cizre after this strange incident, then set off with one of his students for some desert country and its homadic Arab tribes. He had not been there long when he heard that Mustafa Pasa had reverted to his former evil ways, and he returned to advise him to give them up. But it was more than Mustafa Pasa could bear to be dictated to in this way, and it was only on his son's intervention that he refrained from assaulting Molla Said, who then left at the son's request and retumed to the Biro desert, this time alone.
 
Said was attacked twice by bandit nomads in the desert. The second time he would have met his end, but they recognized him and regretting their attack, offered him their protection on the dangerous parts of the road. Molla Said rejected their offers of assistance, and continued on his way alone until several days later he reached Mardin.
 
 
 
· Mardin
 
Besides his continuing success in scholarly debate, and in all his contests with the Mardin ulema, Molla Said's stay in Mardin was significant in several other respects. But firstly an anecdote which illustrates Said's characterislic daring and courage.
While in Mardin, Molla Said stayed as a guest in thc house of Seyh Eyyub Ensari, a deseendant of thc Prophet Eyyub [Job], and began to teach in the Sehide Mosque, answering the questions of all those who came to visit him. Onc of the notables of the town, Huseyin Celebi Pasa, was so impressed by Said's knowledge and skill at debaling that he offered him numerous gifts. But in keeping with his usual practice, Said refused them all, execpt for a good quality rifle, called aSeshane.
One day, Molla Said went out with a friend named Kasim, and suggested they climb the minaret of the Ulu Mosque to see the view. They went and climbed it. Then Molla Said suddenly jumped up onto the parapet of the gallery of tlhe minaret. which was only about four centimetres in width. There he spread his arms wide and started to walk round the minaret. Kasim shut his eyes out of fear. Appearing from round the other side of the minaret, Said shouted out: "Kasim! Kasim! Come on, Iet's walk round together!" But shaking at the knecs,. Kasim descended the minaret and joined the people who had gathered to watch from below, wondering at the boldness of this intrepid young molla.
 
It was at his time. however, that Molla Said was, in his own words,"awakened" politically. and became aware of the wider issues facing the Islamic world. ln a work entitled, Munazarat, The Debates, first published in 1913, Bediuzzaman wrote: "Sixteen years before the [Constitutional] Revolution [of 1908], I encountered in the region of Mardin a person who guided me to the truth; he showed me the just and equitable way in polities. Also at that time, I was awakened by the Famous Kemal's Dream."
 
The 'Famous Kemal' mentioned here is Namik Kemal, one of the leading figures of the 19 th century Young Ottoman Movement, the main aims of which are reflected in this work of Kemal's which Molla Said eame across at that time, The Dream. It is written in the form of an address to the nation by a heavenly representative of `Freedom'. This beautiful, fairy-like symbol of Freedom, which has slipped through the clouds. urges liberation from despotism, struggle in the way of the nation, progress, and the prosperity of the fatherland (vatan). Following this, it outlines the picture of a society and country of the future, which is free based on the sovereignty of the people, whose citizens are educated and in which the rights of all and justice in the full meaning of the word are established.
 
And in another place in the same work, Bediuzzaman described himself as "Someone who for twenty years has followed it [ Freedom] in his dreams even, and has abandoned everything because of that passion."
Thus, it was at this lime in Mardin that Molla Said first became aware of the struggle for Freedom and constitutional government which the Young Ottomans had been pursuing since the 1860's. As we shall see in the following chapter, this Freedom was not only enjoined by lslam, but was also the key to progress, and the answer to the queslion: "How can this State be saved?" Despotism and absolutist govemment were among the major causes of lhe dire condition, intemal and exlernal, of the Ottoman Empire and Islamic world. Molla Said was to be a champion of Freedom, conslitutional govemment, and the rule of law throughout his life.
Also while in Mardin, Molla Said met two students who were instrumental in broadening his ideas. Onc was a follower of Cemaleddin Afgani [Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, 1255/1839-1315/1897], who in the summer of 1892 was brought to Istanbul by Sultan Abdulhamid in order to use him in furthering his Pan-Islamic policies. And the second was a member of the Sanusi tarikat, which played such an important role against the colonial expansion in North Africa, and which, by a strange twist of fate, Said would visit in 1915.
 
Molla Said was also to be a great defender and advocate of Ittihad-i Islam, that is, Islamic Unity or Pan-Islam, and he later wrote: "My predecessors in this matter are Seyh Cemaleddin Afgani, the great scholar and Mufti of Egypt Muhammed Abduh, the extremist scholar Ali Suavi, Hoca Tahsin, and Namik Kemal, who took Islamic Unity as his aim...."
 
It is recorded that it was during this stay in Mardin that Molla Said first engaged in politics. Although it is not clear precisely what is meant by this, the above probably provide the clue, especially when considered in the light of Bediuzzaman's later activities in Istanbul. In any event, the Governor, Mutasarrif Nadir Bey, saw fit to intervene, and expelled him from the town, sending 1 im to Bitlis under armed guard.
The task was to prove an unusual one for the two gendarmes, Savurlu Mehmed Fatih and his friend Ibrahim, assigned to deliver Molla Said to the Govemor of Bitlis. The story of it became well-known in the region. They set out on the journey, Said riding with both his hands and feet bound with iron fetters. While they were in the vicinity of a village called Ahmedi, the time for the obligatory prayers came round. Said asked the gendarmes to unfasten his bonds so that he could pray, but they refused, frightened he would try to escape. Where upon, Said the Famous undid the fetters, dismounted from his horse, took his ablutions from a stream, and performed the prayers under the astonished gazes of the two gendarmes. Recognizing his unusual powers, they said to him when he had finished: “Up to now we were your guards, but from now on we shall be your servants.” But Molla Said merely requested them to do their duty.
 
When asked at a later date how this had occurred, he replied: "I myself do not know, but at the most it was a miracle of the prayers."
 
And on another occasion Bediuzzaman replied: "...I am not a sorcerer, I am not a conjurer. I was someone who had taken the Holy Qur'an as his guide, and had turned toward God. In truth such an event happened to me. I faced the Kible, uttered a prayer, and then looked: the manacles had opened. When I handed them to the gendarme, he was frightened."
 
Molla Said was indeed famous, and news of his exploits spread through- out the region, reaching also the village of Nurs. In later years he described his parents' reactions to what they heard:
"In the old days, my father and mother used to be told of my strange doings in that eventful and rough and ready life. When they heard news like, your son is dead, or, he has been wounded, or, he is in prison, my father used to laugh and enjoy it immensely. He would say: "Masallah! My son is doing something of importance again, he is demonstrating his courage and daring; that is why everyone is talking about him.' While my mother would weep unhappily in the face of his pleasure. But then time would very often prove my father to be right."
 
· Bitlis
 
Molla Said was to stay two years in Bitlis on the insistence of the Governor, Omer Pasa, in whose residence he stayed. It was his characteristic fearless defence of right that eamed him the Govemor's respect and the invitation to stay there.
 
For Molla Said had heard one day that the Govemor and some offtcials were having a drinking session. Finding it unacceptable that representatives of the Govemment should behave in such a way, he went and interrupted, them. And reading out a Hadith about the drinking of alcohol, he rebuked them in strong terms. The Govemor evidently suppressed the anger he had felt on being addressed in this way, and did nothing. When leaving, the Govemor's aide-de-camp asked Molla Said why had had acted in such a way, which would normally have led to being executed. But Said merely replied:
"Being executed did not occur to me, I was thinking of prison or exile. Anyway, if I die repulsing a denier of God's law, what harm is there in it?"
And when, a couple of hours later, two policemen sent by the Govemor brought him back, the Govemor rose to his feet when Said entered his office and treated him with great respect, saying: "Everyone has a spiritual guide; you shall be mine and you shall stay with me."
During the next two years, Molla Said was able to greatly extend his knowledge of the Islamic sciences. We are told that until about this time all Said's knowledge had been of the sort called sunuhat. That is to say, he had understood the subjects he had studied without much thought; understanding had come to him as a sort of inspiration without his exercising his reasoning faculty unduly. Because of this, he had not found it necessary to study the subjects at great length. But whether due to his increasing maturity or because he had become involved in politics, this fotmer ability now slowly began to disappear. And so, in order both to presetve his position among the ulema, and especially to refute the works of Westem orientalists on Islam and answer the doubts they had raised, Molla Said embarked on a comprehensive study of all the Islamic sciences. These included those that can be thought of as `instrumental', such as logic and Arabic grammar and syntax, as well as the main sciences of Qur'anic exegesis (tefsir), traditions of the Prophet (Hadith), and jurisprudence (fikh). He committed to memory around forty books in two years, including works on theology (kelam), like the Metali' and Mevakif, and the work of Hanefi fikih, Mirkat. It used to take him three months to go through them all, reciting a part of each from memory each day.
Molla Said was subject to two conflicting states of mind. The first was one of expansion when there was nothing he could not understand. The second was when his mind contracted; then it was not-only studying, he preferred not to speak even. When he was young, the former state was prevalent. But once he passed the age of twenty, the hours when his mind contracted increased, and the times of its expansion started to decrease until they were about half and half.
During his time in Bitlis, Molla Said began to memorize the Qur'an, by reading one or two cuz each day. He learnt the greater part in this way, but did not complete it. There were two reasons for this. Firstly, he wanted to avoid being disrespectful to the Qur'an, and it had occurred to him that to read the Qur'an at great speed was lacking in respect. And secondly, it occurred to him that the more urgent need was to learn the truths that the Qur'an was teaching. In the following two years therefore, he learned by heart the forty or so works noted above on the Islamic sciences and philosophy which would be the key to the Qur'anic truths, and which would preserve those truths by answering the doubts that had been raised conceming them.The Govemor's residence in Bitlis provided a favourable environment to pursue this programme.
Omer Pasa's wife was dead, and he had six daughters. One day, one of these girls wanted to go into Molla Said's room to clean it, or for some such innocent reason. However, Molla Said scolded her, and brusquely shut the door in her face. The girl was taken aback and upset at this.
The same day while in his office, someone who was trying to make trouble for Said, no doubt jealous of him, whispered in the Govemor's ear: "How can you leave Molla Said in the house all day? Your daughters are not married and you have no wife, and he is a vigorous young man. How can you do such a thing?" Thus sowing seeds of doubt in his mind about Said.
That evening when he returned to his family, Omer Pasa was met by his disconsolate daughter, who immediately complained to her father: "That Said you have given the room to is mad. He just tells us off and never leaves it." Feeling remorse for his suspicions, Omer Pasa went straight to Molla Said's room and treated him with great courtesy and kindness.
In a later work, Bediuzzaman explained his attitude as follows:
"When I was twenty or so, I stayed for two years in the residence of the Govemor of Bitlis, Omer Pasa, on his insistence and because of his extreme respect for learning. He had six daughters. Three of them were small, and thrce of them were older. Although I stayed in the same house as them for two years, I could not tell the three older ones apart. I paid them so little attention, how could I have done? Another scholar came and stayed together with me as a guest, and within two days he knew them and could tell them one from the other. They were all perplexed at my attitude, and asked me: `Why do you not look at them?' I replied: `Preserving the dignity of learning does not allow me to look at them. "'
The last time Molla Said received a lesson and was taught by anyone was while he was in Billis, from one of its leading Seyhs. Seyh Mehmed Kufrevi. Then one night following this, he dreamt of the Seyh, who said to him in his dream : "Molla Said, come and visit me. I am leaving." So Said immediately went to him, and when he saw that the Seyh had already gone, he awoke. He looked at his watch, it was one o'clock in the moming. He went back to sleep again. When in the moming he heard the sound of mouming and weeping coming from the direction of the Seyh's house, he hurried there to find that the Seyh had died at one o'clock the nighl before. Uttering a prayer for him, Said returned home sadly.
Molla Said had tremendous love for the great Seyhs of eastem Anatolia, such as Seyyid Nur Muhammed. Seyh Abdurrahman Tagi, Seyh Fehim and Seyh Mehmed Kufrevi, from each of whom he had received lessons and instruction in different aspects of the spiritual life. And so also did he greatly love the leading ulema such as Seyh Emin Efendi, Molla Fethullah, and Seyh Fethullah Efendi, who had taught him.
 
 
· Van
 
While Bitlis was a religious centre with many ulema, there were no wellknown ulema in Van at that time. Thus, when Molla Said received an invitation from the Govemor, Hasan Pasa, he left Bitlis for Van. With the exception of his visit to lstanbul, he was to stay there off and on studying and teaching, and travelling among the tribes as a conciliator and man of religion until he left for Istanbul at the end of 1907. He was around nineteen or twenty years of age when he moved there.
 
While in Van, Molla Said stayed first with Hasan Pasa, and then, after Iskodrali Tahir Pasa was appoinled Govemor, for a long period in the Govemor's residence. Tahir Pasa was a distinguished official much respected by Sultan Abdulhamid II. He served as Governor in both Mosul and Bitlis, in addition to the many years he was in Van, and among other things led the delegation which presented Abdulhamid's gifts to the Russian Czar Nicholas in 1902, in Lidvadya. Tahir Pasa was a patron of learning, and also followed developments in modern science and owned an extensive library. He was the first state official to perceive Bediuzzaman's great talent and polential, and continued to encourage and support him till his death in 1913.
 
Staying in the Govemor's residence, Bediuzzaman had the opportunity to mix with the govemment officials and took up reading the newspapers and journals provided for the Govemor's offce. As he gained more knowledge of the broader issues and problems facing Oltoman society and the Islamic world generally, he realized that the traditional form of Islamic theology was inadequate for answering the doubls that had been raised conceming Islam and that study of modern science was also necessary. Therefore, taking advantage of the facilities, he himself took up the study of the modern sciences, including history, geography, mathematics, geology, physics, chemistry, astronomy, and philosophy.
 
Said did not have a teacher for these subjects; studying books, he taught himself. For example, on one occasion he got into a discussion on geography with a teacher of that subjec. The discussion became prolonged and they decided to continue the following day. Within twenty-four hours, therefore, Molla Said memorized a geography book he was able to obtain, and when they again met, silenced the geography teacher in his own subject. And on a second occasion, Molla Said silenced a chemistry teacher, having mastered the principles of inorganic chemistry in five days.
Molla Said's quickness and brilliant intelligence demonstrated itself particularly in mathematics. He could solve the most difficult problems mentally and almost instantaneously. He wrote a treatise on algebraic equations, which unfortunately was subsequently destroyed by fire in Van. On occasion, different calculations would become the subject of discussion in Tahir Pasa's presence. Whatever the calculations, Molla Said would find the solution before any of the others were able to do so, even the most skilful scribes. They would often hold competitions, and Molla Said always came first, beating everyone else.
Molla Said continued to memorize those works he considered essential, approximately ninety during the years he was in Van, endeavouring to go through the entire list reciting each book by heart once every three months. On one occasion while passing the door of Said's room, Tahir Pasa heard what he thought was the sound of prayers and invocations being recited softly; it was Molla Said repeating his books by heart. Years later, he told Mustafa Sungur, one of his closest students:
"I used to repeat by heart the eighty to ninety books I had memorized. They were the steps by which to ascend to the truths of the Qur'an. Some time later, I ascended to those truths, and I saw that each verse of the Qur'an encompasses the universe. No need then remained for anything else, the Qur'an alone was sufficient for me."
It was at this time that as a result of these feats of learning and the prodigious amounts of knowledge he was acquiring, Molla Said now became widely known as Bediuzzaman or `The Wonder of the Age'.
 
Although Molla Said, or Bediuzzaman as we shall now call him, also used this title himself, it was not out of vanity. In an article entitled, To Dispel Any Fears (Reddu'l-Evham), which appeared in the newspaper Volkan dated 31 March 1909, Bediuzzaman replied as follows to the question: "You sometimes sign yourself Bediuzzaman. Does such a name not point to self-praise?"
"It is not for self praise. I present my faults, excuses and apologies with the title, because Bedi' means strange. Like my style, my maruler of expression and dress are strange, they are different. Through the tongue of this title, I am requesting that the opinions and customs generally held and practiced are not made the criteria for judging mine."
While in a later work he stated that he used the name "in order to make known a divine bounty." He wrote:
"I now realize that the name Bediuzzaman, which was given to me many years ago although I was not worthy of it, was not mine anyway. It was rather a name of the Risale-i Nur. It had been attached to the Risale-i Nur's apparent translator temporarily and as a trust."
Bediuzzaman had his own medrese in Van, at the foot of the citadel, called the Horhor Medrese, with sometimes as many as sixty students, and it was during his stay in Van that Bediuzzaman developed his ideas on educational reform and created his own particular method of teaching. He developed this through examining the principles of all he had studied together with his experience of teaching religious and scientific subjects, then considering them in relation to the needs of the times. The basis of this method was to `combine' the religious sciences and modern sciences, with the result that the positive sciences would corroborate and strengthen the truths of religion. Bediuzzaman now followed this method when teaching his students.
Bediuzzaman's greatest aim at this time was to establish a university in eastern Anatolia where this method would be practiced; that is, where modern science would be taught side by side with the religious sciences and his other ideas put into practice. This university he called the Medresetü'z Zehra after the el-Ezher University in Cairo, as it was to be its sister university in the centre of the eastern Islamic world. Having travelled throughout eastern Anatolia, Bediuzzaman had seen that such an educational establishment was essential not only for combatting the widespread ignorance and backwardness of the region, but also as a solution for its other social and political problems. Bediuzzaman's ideas conceming education are discussed in greater detail in a subsequent chapter.
As a patron of learning, Tahir Pasa's residence was a place where learned discussions in all fields were held. On one such occasion, Tahir Pasa said with the intention of slighting the Maliki school of law, "Dogs (kelb) are considered unclean the same as pigs, are they not?" Molla Said replied:
"According to the Maliki school, dogs are clean (kelb tahir-dir). But Tahir is not a dog (Tahir kelb degildir)." Thus with a witty pun, he was able to both gently rebuke Tahir Pasa and conciliate him. As for Tahir Pasa, he was delighted with both the explanalion and the `fetva'.
Tahir Pasa used to study scholarly books from Europe and prepare questions to ask Bediuzzaman. Despite the fact that it was only now that Bediuzzaman was learning Turkish, he would give the answers unhesitatingly. If he saw some books on a table or somewhere, he understood that Tahir Pasa was compiling some questions, and would quickly read the books and learn their contents.
 
Bediuzzaman used to spend the summer months in the high pastures of Basid, Fcrasin, and Beytussebab. On a previous occasion he had told Tahir Pasa that there was snow on these mountains even in July. Tahir Pasa had objected, declaring that there was definilely no snow there in July. Recalling this exchange while up in the mountains, Bediuzzaman wrote his first letter in Turkish to Tahir Pasa:
 
"Pasa! There is snow on the mountain tops at Basid. You should not deny what you have not seen! Everything is not restricted to what you know! Vesselam!"
During these summer months in the mountains, besides acting as a conciliator in tribal disputes, Bediuzzaman would roam the mountains and forests, reading `the book of the universe', and pondering over its meaning and messages as directed by the Qur'an. In respect of this Bediuzzaman greatly loved and respected the natural world -and particularly his mountainous and wild native land- and had a close affinily with its creatures. They also felt an affinity with him. Of the stories illustrating this is one for which we also have the date:1321, that is,1905. On this occasion Bediuzzaman was high up on Mount Basid, alone, and was sitting on a rock in contemplalion having performed the evening prayers when a great wolf appeared. But this "lion of the mountain" merely came to him "like a friend",. then passed on its way doing nothing.
When news of any dispute between the tribes reached Bediuzzaman, he would intervene, and pointing out the just way, would reconcile the two parties. He was even successful where the Govemment had failed in making peace between Seker Aga and Mustafa Pasa, the chief of the Miran tribe, mentioned earlier. Where personal courage was the most highly prized quality, Bediuzzaman was held in awe by all the tribes of the area. Mustafa Pasa was still persisting in his lawlessness and oppression, and this time tried to placate Bediuzzaman by giving him money and a horse as gifts. But according to his usual practice, Bediuzzaman refused them, and pointing out that above all he could never accept money from a wrong-doer like himself, told him that if indeed he had gone back on his word to give up all oppression and wrong-doing, he would not reach Cizre, for which he was headed. And indeed, they heard later that Mustafa Pasa had died on the road, and had never reached Cizre.
One day while in the Govemor's residence in Van, they came to Bediuzzaman and said there was a simply-dressed villager waiting to see him at the door. He immediately went down to find his father, Sofi Mirza, who had ridden over lo Van from Nurs. Bediuzzaman kissed his hand and brought him into the house. Feeling abashed, Mirza implored his son not to say that he was his father. Bediuzzaman took him to the room where the Govemor and other notables were gathered, and Sofi Mirza sat himself down as inconspicuously as possible in a place near the door. However, Bediuzzaman introduced him to all present, saying: "This is my father, Sofi Mirza Efendi!", and seated him at the top of the room next to Tahir Pasa.
Bediuzzaman's dress was distinctive. With a large dagger and pistol at his waist and a bandolier slung across his chest, baggy trousers, and on his head a shawl wound round a conical hat, it resembled the dress of a tribal chief rather than that of a scholar.
 
One of his friends, Malazgirtli Acem Aga, said to him one day:
"Seyda! Why do you not dress in accordance with the great learning you possess, in a manner becoming it?" Bediuzzaman replied:
"What are you saying, Acem Aga? Omer Pasa wanted to give me a villa, a thousand gold liras, and one of his daughters so that I would change my dress, and I still would not change it for all that."
As we shall learn later, of the reasons Bediuzzaman did not consent to forsake the local dress of eastern Anatolia, was his desire to draw attenlion to thc region and its problems, to stress the importance of provincial development in maintaining the unity of the Empire, and, by publicizing local industry, to create a demand for it. That is to say, Bediuzzaman wore this striking dress not for self advertisement, but to serve the cause of the Empire and its unity and progress.
One day, Bediuzzaman fell out with Tahir Pasa during a discussion, and he left the Govemor's residence and barricaded himself in his medrese, the Horhor Medrese, together with a few of his students. When they came to get him, Bediuzzaman put two conditions to them. Firstly, they were not to arrest him in his medrese, as it would slight its honour and reputation, but could do so in the market place. And secondly, that if he was to be exiled, they should allow him his firearms. The Govemor accepted these conditions and exiled him to Bitlis. From there he moved to Hizan, then Bulanik, followed by Ercis, continuing to debate with the ulema in each place. He finally decided to go to Iran, but Tahir Pasa heard of this and invited him back to Van.
 
· Istanbul
 
Bediuzzaman made his first journey to Istanbul at the age of twenty-three during the years he was in Van, staying there about a year and a half. His intention in going there was to gain support for the Medresetu'z-Zehra, the university he wanted to found in Kurdistan.
At the time in question, the Mutasarrif of Zor, Yahya Nuzhet Pasa, was on a tour of inspection of the Eastern Provinces. His visit to the headquarters of the Fourth Army in Erzincan coincided with a visit of Bediuzzaman's to the town. A close adviser of Sultan Abdulhamid's, he may well have thought that Bediuzzaman could be employed in the Sultan's plans for Islamic Unity which were then being carried out, for on meeting with Bediuzzaman, he gave him a letter of introduction to Sultan Abdulhamid's Head Falconer, Mustafa Bey.
On reaching Istanbul, Bediuzzaman presented his letter to Mustafa Bey, and for the following year and a half stayed in his residence in the street adjacent to Yildiz Palace, he then returned to Van. Bediuzzaman was not successful on this occasion in presenting any petition concerning the Medresetu'z-Zehra to the Sultan, but it was at this time that his friendship began with Mustafa Bey's son, Esref Sencer Kuscubasi, who was then a student. In the years following the proclamation of the Second Constitution in 1908, they were both to be members of the Teskilat-i Mahsusa or Special Organization, the State Security Service after the deposition of Sultan Abdulhamid.
Molla Huseyin Efendi, a student of the mufti, teacher, and Erzincan Deputy in the First Ankara Assembly, Osman Fevzi Efendi recalled a conversation with Bediuzzaman while he was about to set out for Istanbul from Erzincan.
"One day a young man aged about twenty-two came to our medrese. He had a darkish complexion and was wearing boots, a shawl wound round his head, and a dagger at his waist. Saying `As-selamu aleykum', he entered. He was holding a letter in his hand. `Who is Osman Fevzi Efendi?', he asked. Our teacher immediately rose to his feet. `Come, let us have a look, Molla Said Efendi', he said, showing him a place to sit. He treated this person called Said Efendi with great respect. After a short while it was time to pray, and Molla Said went out to take ablutions. I went as well, in order to pour the water over his hands. After he had taken the ablutions, I said to him:
 
"`Where are you going?'
"`I am going to Istanbul', he replied. Then when I asked:
"`Why do you want to go to Istanbul?', he said:
"`Your tongue is very busy. But since you ask, I shall tell you. I have travelled all over eastern Anatolia observing the state of the country from close to. Now I am going to Istanbul, and shall meet the Sultan.'
"So Molla Huseyin asked: `Why do you want to do that?'
"`I intend to meet the Sultan and propose to him that religious subjects are taught in the new secular schools (mektebs) and that the positive sciences are taught in the religious schools (medreses).'
"`And what will be gained from that?'
"`If the students are taught in this way, those in the secular schools will be saved from being without religion, while those in the religious schools will be saved from bigotry', replied Molla Said."
 
· Return to Van
 
A further incident is recorded which occurred in the years following Bediuzzaman's return to Van. Bediuzzaman wrote:
"My old students who are still living know that...[we were in] the citadel of Van which is simply a great monolith the size of a mountain and the height of two minarets, we were going to a secret door which was like a chamber dating from ancient times. The shoes slid from my feet and my two feet slipped suddenly. The danger [of falling] was one hundred per cent. Although there was nothing on which to support myself, I was hurled in a three metre arc to the door of the cave as though I had been standing on something broad. Both myself and my friends who were there with me considered that it was only due to Divine protection and some miraculous unseen assistance that my time had not come."
Bediuzzaman read the newspapers regularly while in Van, particularly the articles conceming Islam and the Islamic world. One day, Tahir Pasa pointed out an item that evoked an over-powering response in him. It was the report of a speech made in the British House of Commons by Gladstone, the Secretary for the Colonics. Bediuzzaman described it as follows:
"Round about the year 1316, the author of the Risale-i Nur underwent a radical change in regard to his ideas. It was as follows:
"Up to that time, he had only been interested in, and had studied and taught, the various sciences; it was only through theoretical knowledge that he had sought enlightenment. Then at that date. he suddenly learnt through the late Governor, Tahir Pasa, of Europe's dire and evil intentions towards the Qur'an. He heard that a British Secretary for the Colonies had even said in a newspaper:
"`So long as the Muslims have the Qur'an, we shall be unable to dominate them. We must either take it from them, or make them lose their love of it.'
"He was filled with zeal. Heeding the decree of, So turn away from them, the numerical value of which is 1316, it overturned his ideas and changed the direction of his interest. He understood that he should make all the various sciences he had learnt steps by which to understand the Qur'an and prove its truths, and that the Qur'an alone should be his aim, the purpose of his learning, and the object of his life. Thus, the Qur'an's miraculousness became his guide, teacher, and master. But unfortunately, due to many deceiving obstacles in that period of youth, he did not in fact take up the duty.It was a while later that he awoke with the clash and clamoar of war. Then that constant idea sprang to life; it began to emerge and be realized."
Thus, as this passage states, the explicit threats of the Brilish Colonial Secretary to the Qur'an and Islamic world caused a revolution in Bediuzzaman's ideas, clarifying them and setting him in the direction he would now follow. The threats caused him to declare: "I shall prove and demonstrate to the world that the Qur'an is an undying, inextinguishable Sun!" Using the knowledge he had acquired to prove its truths, he would defend the Qur'an against the deliberate efforts to discredit it and corrupt the Muslim community. In a letter he wrote in 1955, Bediuzzaman stated that he found two means of doing this, one was the Medresetu'z-Zehra, his eastern university which took him to Istanbul and even to an audience with Sultan Abdulhamid, and the second was the Risale-i Nur. But this second means only became realized with the emergence of the New Said subsequent to the First World War. Until that time, Bediuzzaman was both actively involved with the compelling events of the times and for the most part served the cause of Islam through active participation in social and political matters, and also, as shall be described in a later chapter, he was preoccupied with `human' science and philosophy, and hoped to follow his aim through them.

CHAPTER TWO
ISTANBUL BEFORE FREEDOM
  
· Foreword
 
In November, 1907, Bediuzzaman set off a second time for Istanbul with the intention of obtaining official support and backing for his Islamic university, the Medresetu'z-Zehra. He was now around thirty years of age. From his humble beginnings in the village of Nurs, he had established his reputation among the ulema of Kurdistan, and was a figure well-known not only for his unbeaten record in debate, extensive learning, and extraordinary abilities, but also for his pursuit of justice and defense of right, and his absolute fearlessness before anyone save his Maker. His ambitions matched his ability. This had marked him out from his earliest years. He had never been content with the status-quo, something within himself had perpetually pushed him to seek fresh, new, better paths. As his horizons expanded, this path became clear. As is described in the previous chapter, besides the continuing process of his study, two key events may be seen as being decisive in giving him direction. One was his realization of the extremely severe nature of the threats to the Qur'an by Islam's perennial enemies, and that, through his learning, he should make the defence of it the aim of his life. And the second were the acquaintances he made in Mardin in 1892, and his learning through them of the struggle for freedom and constitutionalism, and of the movement for Islamic Unity and other issues concerning the Islamic world. Until the beginning of the First World War, it was with these issues that Bediuzzaman was chiefly concerned.
 
· The Constitutional Movement
 
What was the struggle for Freedom and constitutional government? What were the issues involved? Why should a young religious scholar from the remote eastern provinces of the Ottoman Empire have embraced the struggle with such conviction? Primarily these questions find their answer in a further question, one that had been asked with increasing urgency as the power of the Ottoman Empire waned in the face of Europe's development and expansion in the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries: how can this State be saved? Bu devlet nasil kurtarilabilir? The great debate revolved around this question, and around the causes of the decline of the Empire and Islamic world.
The struggle for Freedom emerged as the response of a group of intellectuals and literary figures, namely Namik Kemal and the Young Ottomans, to the solutions to the above question offered by the Ottoman rulers. The late 18th and 19th century sultans had sought to reverse the Empire's decline by a series of reforms, concentrating firstly on the army, then between 1839 and 1876 in the period known as the Tanzimat, on virtually every area of government, together with education and many areas of Ottoman life. The models for the reforms were all imported from the West, and were introduced largely under European pressure and advice.
Furthermore, the Europeans pressed on the Ottomans the idea that the only civilization was European civilization, and that it was only through espousing it that they could raise the Empire out of its state of relative backwardness. This false and pemicious idea came to be accepted more and more by the Ottoman educated classes.
Namik Kemal and Young Ottomans were not anti-Western per se, nor were they opposed to progress and reform. On the contrary, they opposed the Tanzimat reforms as being obstacles to progress and counterproductive in combatting the disintegration of the Empire. One of the main reasons for this was the increase., rather than decrease, in the autocratic authority of the Sultan as the result of the reforms, and thus of arbitrary and absolutist government. The Young Ottomans were the first to propose constitutional and parliamentary government as the means of solving the Empire's problems, Namik Kemal, in particular, pointing out its compatibility with the Seriat, and demonstrating the parallels between such a system and the form of government practiced by the Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) and his immediate successors.
 
The struggle was continued after Sultan Abdulhamid II's accession to the throne in 1976. Despite substantial losses of territory, Abdulhamid, a master politician, succeeded in holding the Empire together for the thirty-three years of his reign by playing off against one another the Great Powers and opposing interests of those bent on its destruction. But the price was high. His successful foreign policies were paid for by internal repression of considerable severity. In the face of the lack of unity in the First Parliament, elected following the Proclamation of the First Constitution on 23 December, 1876, and many of the members representing the minorities, that is, Armenians, Greeks, Jews, Bulgars, Serbs, and others, pursuing interests other than those of the Empire, Abdulhamid was left with little alternative but to dissolve it, though the Constitution was not abrogated. Following this, the Sultan ruled as a despot from Yildiz Palace, supported by far-reaching intelligence networks, rigorous censorship, denunciations, and the like.
It should be stressed, however, that this was not a bloody despotism. And it was not from the ordinary people that opposition came, but from the intellectuals, students educated in the new educational establishments, and particularly from army cadets in the military academies. Despite his vigorous criticisms of Abdulhamid's absolutist government and its consequences, Bediuzzaman referred to him as "compassionate". In the thirty-three years of his reign, he only signed the death-warrant for three or four criminals, pardoning even those who made attempts on his own life, including the Armenians who placed a bomb in his carriage. Others he sent into exile, rather than spilling their blood
The Young Turk movement emerged at this time. Its members, which included former Young Ottomans, represented a wide spectrum of ideas, and were united only in their common opposition to Abdulhamid's internal despotism and their desire to see fundamental social and political reforms and the restoration of the Constitution. The Committee of Union and Progress, which led the Constitutional Revolution of 1908, formed one group within the movement. They saw representative government and freedom from despotism to be the essential conditions for preserving the unity of the Empire, particularly in the face of the nationalist aspirations of the minorities, and for securing its material progress. So long as the CUP adhered to these aims, they continued to enjoy Bediuzzaman's support, as they did in continuing to pursue Abdulhamid's Pan-Islamic policies, but when, as they progressively gained tighter control over the government, they created a worse tyranny than the one preceding it, Bediuzzaman did not hesitate to oppose them. In a newspaper article which appeared in April 1909, in reply to the question: "In Salonica you co-operated with the Committee of Union and Progress, why did you part from them?", Bediuzzaman wrote: "I did not part from them; it was some of them that parted. I am still in agreement with people like Niyazi Bey and Enver Bey. But some of them parted from us. They strayed from the path and headed for the swamp...
As we examine Bediuzzaman's writings and activities, it will become clear that not only did he see tyranny and despotism to be a root cause of the Ottoman Empire's decline and material backwardness relative to the West, and also to be in no way compatible with Islam, but also did he demonstrate the solutions for its recovery and progress to all lie within Islam. He pointed out the dynamic nature of the Seriat and Islam's predisposition for progress, both materially, and morally and spiritually, an important element of which is the fact that Islam enjoins the exercise of basic liberties and rights, without which progress is not possible. Further to this, at that time of defeat and disintegration for the Islamic world, he saw the future - the age of science, technology, and reason - to be nothing less than a golden age of Islamic civilization. For him the achievement of this was the logical consequence of the comprehensive, universal nature of the revealed religion of Islam and of the trend of events in the world, that is, the decline of Western civilization.
 
Maintaining unity within the Empire was one of the major problems of the time. Bediuzzaman argued also that Constitutionalism and Freedom within the framework of Islam was the way to preserve unity. Just as it created suitable conditions for strengthening Islamic Unity and brotherhood. However, "Unity cannot occur through ignorance. Unity is the fusion of ideas, and the fusion of ideas occurs through the electric rays of knowledge." Thus, education was an area in which Bediuzzaman expended great effort, particularly for his native Kurdistan. Quite contrary to the accusations of his enemies subsequently that he was a Kurdish nationalist, the aim of all Bediuzzaman’s endeavors for the reform and spread of education in Kurdistan, and for its material and cultural development, was the strengthening of the Ottoman Empire and Islamic world. It was with this intention that he had set out a second time for the Ottoman capital in November, 1907.
Let us now return to 1907, and Bediuzzaman's arrival in Istanbul.
 
· Tahir Pasa’s Letter
The Governor of Van and Bitlis, Tahir Pasa, who had provided Bediuzzaman with so much encouragement and support, now wrote him a letter of introduction to the Palace, pointing out Bediuzzaman's fame and position among the ulema of eastern Anatolia, and requesting the Sultan's favour and assistance in securing medical treatment for Bediuzzaman. This medical treatment was for a form of mental exhaustion brought about by his extreme mental exertion over a long period of time. Bediuzzaman's nephew, Abdurrahman, notes that it was the competitive solving of mathematical problems in particular that had exhausted his brain, and that for a period of some three years during his stay in Van, he virtually give up debating of this kind and would only speak when necessary. The following is a translation of Tahir Pasa’s letter:
"A request from His most humble servant.
"Since Molla Said, who is famous among the ulema of Kurdistan for his brilliant intelligence, is in need of medical treatment, seeking refuge in the compassion and kindness of His Excellency the Shelter of the Caliphate, he has set out at this time for His Exalted Excellency.
"Although the above-mentioned is a person to whom everyone in these regions has recourse for solving problems concerning knowledge and learning, since he considers himself to be a student, he has not as yet consented to change his dress.
"Together with his being a faithful and sincere servant of His Excellency the Supreme Benefactor, the above-mentioned is by nature gentlemanly and satisfied with little, and in the opinion of this most humble servant, whether in regard to good moral qualities or loyalty and worshipfulness towards His Excellency the Shelter of the Caliphate, among the Kurdish ulema who up to this time have had the good fortune to go to Dersaadet [Istanbul], is a person distinguished for his devoutness and is most worthy of benevolence. It is therefore boldly submitted that if he is made the object of special favour and facility in the matter of receiving treatment, it will be considered by all the students of Kurdistan to be an eternally unforgettable gracious kindness of the dynasty of His Excellency the Sultan.
"In this and in every matter the command belongs unto him to whom all commanding belongs.
 
 
· The ‘Sekerci Han’
There is no record of this letter having evoked the desired response. In any event, Bediuzzaman's first task when he arrived in Istanbul was to establish himself among the Istanbul ulema, to attract attention towards the problems of the eastern provinces, and publicize his ideas on educational reform. Indeed, by way of spurring him on, Tahir Pasa had said to Bediuzzaman: "You can defeat in argument all the ulema of eastern Anatolia, but you could not go to Istanbul and challenge all The big fishes in that sea," knowing that Bediuzzaman could not let such a challenge remain unanswered. Thus, on his arrival, Bediuzzaman established himself in the religious centre of Istanbul, Fatih, in large building known as the Sekerci (Sweetmakers') Han, which served as a hostel for many of the leading intellectual figures of the time. The poet Mehmet Akif, and Fatin Hoca, the Director of the Observatory, were among its inhabitants. There are many contemporary descriptions of Bediuzzaman. The following, written by Ahmed Ramiz Efendi, owner of the Ictihad Publishing House, describes his arrival:
 
"It was in 1323 (1907) that the news spread around that a person of flashing brilliance - a rarity of creation - called Said-i Kurdi,' having risen like the sun over the rugged, precipitous mountains of the East, had appeared on the horizons of Istanbul....
 
"Said said: `I have come here in order to open schools in my native land, I have no other wish. I want this, nothing else.' In other words, Bediuzzaman wanted two things, to open educational establishments in every part of the Eastern Provinces, and to receive nothing in return..."
 
Bediuzzaman cut a striking figure in Istanbul. On the door of his room in the Sekerci Han he hung a sign which read:
 
"Here all questions are answered, all problems solved, but no questions are asked."
The following are the impressions of some of his visitors to the Han and those who saw him at that time. The first, that of Hasan Fehmi Basoglu, later a member of the Consultative Committee of the Department of Religious Affairs.
"About the time the Second Constitution was proclaimed I was studying in the Fatih Medrese. I heard that a young man called Bediuzzaman had come to Istanbul and had settled in a han, and that he had even hung a notice on his door which said: "Here every problem is solved, all questions are answered, but no questions are asked." I thought that someone who made such a claim could only be mad. But hearing nothing but praise and good opinions concerning Bediuzzaman, and learning of the astonishment of the many groups of ulema and students who were visiting him, it awoke in me the desire to visit him myself. I decided that I would prepare some questions on the most difficult and abstruse matters to ask him. At that time I was considered to be one of the foremost members of the Medrese. Finally one night I selected a number of subjects from several of the most profound books on the theological sciences, and put them into question form. The following day I went to visit him, and I put my questions to him. The answers I received were quite astonishing and extraordinary. He answered my questions precisely, as though we had been together the previous evening and had looked at the books together. I was completely satisfied, and understood with certainty that his knowledge was not `acquired' (kesbi ) like ours, it was `innate' (vehbi ).
"Afterwards he got out a map, and explained the necessity of opening a university in the Eastern Provinces, pointing out its importance. At that time there were Hamidiye regiments in the Eastern Provinces, it was being administered in that way. He explained to us convincingly the deficiencies of this form of administration, and that the region had to be awakened from the point of view of education, industry and science. He explained that he had come to Istanbul to realize this aim, and he said: "The conscience is illuminated by the religious sciences, and the mind is illuminated by the sciences of civilization. '
And another account, from Ali Himmet Berki, a former President of the Court of Appeal:
"During those years I was a student in the Medresetu’I-Kuzat [Law Faculty]. I was ahead of the other students. Bediuzzaman's name and fame had spread throughout Istanbul; everyone was talking about him in all the scholarly circles. We heard reports that he was staying as a guest in a har: in Fatih, and that he answered every sort of question that anyone put to him. I decided to go with some fellow students, and we went to visit this famous person.
"That day we heard he was in a teahouse answering questions. We went there immediately. There was quite a crowd, and he was wearing unusual clothes. He was wearing not the dress of a scholar, but the local dress of eastern Anatolia.
"When we got close to him, Bediuzzaman was answering the questions being asked him. He was surrounded by scholars who were listening to him in rapt silence and wonder. Everyone was satisfied and pleased with the answers they received. He was replying to the assertions and ideas of the Sophist philosophers. He demolished their views with rational proofs.
"That was the first time I saw and met him. What I gathered about him was this: he knew all the dictionaries. Whatever word you asked him from the Arabic dictionaries, he would answer immediately and give its meaning. Then in theology there was no one superior to him. In these two sciences his knowledge was endless. He knew Arabic literature, Persian literature, Eastern and Westem literature. And there was another piece of information about him that was well-known: as a man of religion he did not accept gifts, money, etc., from anyone. He could have owned lots of things if he had wanted. He did not own a stick in the world."
And Abdullah Enver Efendi, known as the Walking Library, gave the following account in an interview with Necmeddin Sahiner:
"Harbizade Tavasli Hasan Efendi, a teacher in the Fatih Medrese, was a scholarly and respected figure. He lived into his nineties, teaching right up until his last days. He was someone who never missed a day at his duties; there was not one day throughout his whole teaching life that he did not go to teach. But that day Hasan Efendi said to his students: `I cannot come to teach today, because someone from eastern Anatolia called Bediuzzaman has arrived, and I am going to visit him.' He left the Medrese and went to visit Bediuzzaman in the Sekerci Han. On his return, he expressed the astonishment and love he felt, saying to his students: `Such a person has not been seen before, he is a rarity of creation. The like of him has yet to appear.”
Forty years later Bediuzzaman himself recalled in a defence speech in court how the Istanbul ulema had sought his assistance. He said. Forty years ago and the year before the proclamation of the Constitution I went to Istanbul. At that time, the Japanese Commander-in-Chief [of the Army] had asked the Muslim ulema a number of questions conceming religion. The Istanbul ulema asked me about them. And they questioned me about many things in connection with them..."
 
And finally, an anecdote from Haci Hafiz Efendi, who used also to be present in the discussions held in the Fatih Medrese at that time of lively and vital debate. It was recorded by Necmeddin Sahiner exactly as related by Haci Hafiz's son, Visali Bey, from his father’s memoirs.
 
"One day, some ulema were debating a subject in the courtyard of Fatih Mosque, but they could in no way convince one another and solve the question.The subjeect did not become clear and evident at all. The debate continued. At that point, Bediuzzaman appeared dressed in simple and humble clothes, with a shawl, and furcap on his head. I recognized him and knew of his knowledge on scholarly matters, so I observed the situation, and listened.
 
"Bediuzzaman said to the scholars: `What is this matter you are discussing? May I know? Would you please tell me?'
 
"Seeing his humble dress, the scholars replied: `See here, shepherd efendi! You would not understand these matters. Off with you, and attend to your own business!'
 
"Bediuzzaman was not the least offended at this. He learnt what the matter was, then explained and solved it so beautifully with verses from the Qur'an and Hadiths that everyone's mouths dropped open in amazement. All those religious scholars were completely convinced of the subject. He explained the verses so masterfully that it was as though he had been at the Prnphet (PBUH)'s side when they had been revealed. And the scholars declared: `Your years are few, but your knowledge is great. Allow us to kiss your hand.'
"Bediuzzaman replied: `There is need for that', and took his leave in a most modest and unobtrusive manner."
 
· Proposals For Educational Reform
 
Within a short time of arriving in Istanbul Bediuzzaman was successful in having a petition setting out his ideas for educational reform in the Eastern Provinces presented to Sultan Abdulhamid, following which the Sultan granted him an audience. The text was later printed in The East and Kurdistan Gazette, dated 19 November, 1908. However, as the paper's introduction to the article points out, Bediuzzaman’s meeting with the Sultan was to have unhappy consequences. In the short time he had been in Istanbul, Bediuzzaman had attracted a lot of attention, both favourable, and as far as the authorities were concerned, adverse. As was inevitable during those repressive times, being such a controversial figure, he was kept under close surveillance. He had also attracted the enmity of others in the same profession, jealous at his learning and fame. Bediuzzaman, however, had one aim: to serve the cause of Islam and the Empire, and he knew no fear in doing this. Then, having been given an audience with the sultan, he took the opportunity to put forward his ideas, and criticisms. Besides openly criticizing the apparatus of despotism, which as we shall see, Bediuzzaman considered to be one of the greatest obstacles to progress as well as being contrary to Islam, his main criticism of Abdulhamid seems to have been his failure to carry out the functions of Caliph satisfactorily: it was his prime duty as Caliph of the Muslims to have shown closer and more constructive concern for the question of education and the ulema institution, since this was the basis of the revitalization of Islam and the Islamic world. Bediuzzaman's upbraiding Abdulhamid for neglecting Abdurresid Ibrahim’s calls for assistance, mentioned below, despite his Pan-Islamic policies, should be seen in this light. Unaccustomed as they were to such a forthright manner and outspoken remarks, however reasonable and good-intentioned, it is not surprising that the Sultan and Pasas should have reacted in the unfavourable manner that they did.
The text of Bediuzzaman's petition was as follows. It is preceded by a few introductory words by the newspaper:
"We are proud to include the exact text of the proposal which Bediuzzaman Molla Said Efendi presented to the Palace, and as a result became the target of many misfortunes."
"While, in order to be in harmony in progress like the other brothers in this world of civilization and age of progress and competition, the founding and construction of schools has been ordered as a Government service in the towns and villages of Kurdistan - and this has been witnessed with thanks - only children who know Turkish can benefit from them. Since Kurdish children who have not learnt Turkish consider the only mines of perfection to be the medreses [traditional religious schools], and the teachers in the mektebs [new secular schools] do not know the local language, these children continue to be deprived of education. Their resulting uncivilized behaviour and disorder invites the West to rejoice at our misfortune. Moreover, since the people remain in a primitive state, uncivilized and blindly imitating, they become prey to doubts and suspicions. And it as though these three points are preparing a ghastly blow for the Kurds in the future, and have caused suffering to those with insight.
 
"The remedy for this: three educational establishments should be set up in different areas of Kurdistan as examples to be followed, and as encouragement and stimulation. One in Beytussebab, which is the centre of the Ertusi tribes; another in the middle of the Mutkan, Belkan and Sasun tribes; and one in Van itself, which is in the middle of The Haydar and Sipkan tribes. These should be known by the familiar name of medrese, and should teach both the religious and modem sciences. Each should have at least fifty students, and their means of subsistence should be provided by the illustrious Government. Also, the revitalization of a number of other medreses would be an important means of securing the future life - both material, and moral and spiritual - of Kurdistan. In this way, the basis of education would be established, and together with making over to the Government this huge force which is now being dissipated in internal conflict, it would cause it to be expended outwardly. And it would demonstrate that they are thoroughly deserving of justice, and capable of being civilized, as well as displaying their natural ability.
Thus, Bediuzzaman was finally successful in presenting to the Sultan an outline of his proposals, the fruit of his own experience over many years. And, pointing out some of the damaging results of the system as it then was, he with foresight predicted problems of great magnitude in the future.
Bediuzzaman's ideas on educational reform were far-reaching and innovative. They are in part described above and in Bediuzzaman's `Conversation with the Doctor' following this section. But due to their importance, before continuing with Bediuzzaman's audience with the Sultan, we include a summary of them in their entirety.
The heart of Bediuzzaman's proposals lay in reconciling "the three main branches" of the educational system, the medreses or traditional religious schools, the mektebs or new secular schools, and the tekkes or Sufi establishments, and the disciplines they represented. The embodiment of this rapprochement was the Medresetu'z-Zehra, which has been mentioned earlier. Bediuzzaman attached the greatest importance to establishing this university where the religious sciences and modem sciences would be taught side by side and "combined", and pursued it till the end of his days.
The second main area of Bediuzzaman's proposals lay in completely restructuring medrese education and were extremely `modem' in their approach. These consisted of what might be described as the democratization of the medrese system, and its diversification so that "the rule of the division of labour" could be applied.
A third area concerned the preachers, who "guided the general public".
While the role the Medresetu'z-Zehra was to play was seen by Bediuzzaman to be vital for securing the future of Kurdistan and unity of the Empire as well as acting as an important centre for the eastern Islamic world, the general principles it represented were applicable to all medreses. Several of the conditions Bediuzzaman considered to be essential were mentioned in the petition: the Medresetu'z-Zehra and its two sister establishments should be known by the familiar name of medrese and the instruction should be in a language known by potential students. In another work, Münâzarat, Bediuzzaman stated that they should be tri-lingual, with Arabic being "compulsory", Kurdish "permissible", and 'Turkish "necessary". In the same work, he also stated that Kurdish scholars who were trusted by Turk and Kurd should be selected as teachers, as well as those who knew the local languages, and that it was necessary to take into account the capacity and cultural level of the community they were to serve. Also these `medreses' should be on an equal footing with the official secular schools, and like them, their examinations should be recognized. The basis of the system Bediuzzaman was proposing, however, was the combined teaching of the religious and modem sciences.
In the course of time, the medrese syllabuses had become narrow and sterile, with modem developments in science being rejected altogether. So that at the beginning of the twentieth century, the medreses were producing ulema who believed, together with the Europeans, that there was a clash and contradiction between certain `externals' of Islam and certain matters of science - matters as basic as the Earth being round. This false idea had caused feelings of hopelessness and despair, and had shut the door of progress and civilization. "Whereas", pointed out Bediuzzaman, "Islam is the master and guide of the sciences, and the chief and father of all true knowledge."
On a human level, Bediuzzaman saw religion as representing the heart and conscience, and science, the reason; both were necessary for true progress to be attained. He explained it as follows: "The religious sciences are the light of the conscience, and the modern sciences are the light of the reason. The truth becomes manifest through the combining of the two. The studcnts' endcavour will take flight on these two wings. When they are separated it gives rise to bigotry in the one, and wiles and scepticism in the other."
On a wider scale, the Medresetu'z-Zehra would unite the three traditions in the educational system by representing "the most superior mekteb by the " reason, the very best medrese by the heart, and the most sacred zawiye by the conscience." As a result of its unique value for the Islamic world, it ; would in time gain financial independence by reason of the donations and pious bequests it would receive.
The benefits of such a system would be manifold. Just as it would ensure the future of the ulema in the eastern provinces, at the same time it would be step towards the unification and reform of general system. So would it deliver Islam from the bigotry, superstitions, and false beliefs which had encrusted parts of it over the centuries. And, importantly, would be a means of introducing modern learning into the medreses in a way which would allay the ulema’s suspicions concerning modern science. Also, it would "open the door to spreading the beneficial aspects of constitutionalism."
Bediuzzaman wished for Islam to function like a consultative council, that is to say, through the mutual consultation (sura) of "the three divisions of the army of Islamic education", those of the medreses, the mektebs, and the tekkes, so that "each would complete the deficiencies of the other". His aim was for the Medresetu'z-Zehra to be an embodiment of this.
According to Bediuzzaman, this transforming the medreses from being `single-faculty' institutions into being `multi-faculty' and putting into practice `the rule of division of labour' was in accordance with wisdom and the laws of creation. The failure to practise it in previous centuries had led to despotism and the exploitation of learning in the medreses, and The teaching being undertaken by those not qualified to do so. It had headed the medreses towards their destruction.
In many places, Bediuzzaman stresses the need for students to specialize in one subject for which they have an aptitude, and in addition only study subjects which complement it. Since it is described in some detail in his `Conversation with the Doctor', together with the need for creative study, debate, and a return to the study of the essential religious sciences by the students, we shall leave the description to there. Nevertheless, it should be pointed out that specialization in particular represented a radical break with traditional methods.
 
Finally, a further point which could be thought of as radical was Bediuzzaman's view that "public opinion" should prevail among both the ulema and the students. That is to say, he believed that it was "scholastic despotism", an offspring of political despotism, "which has opened the way to blind imitation (taklid) and barred the way to searching for the truth." For the problems of the modern age to be grappled with and progress to be secured. "constitutionalism among the ulema" should be established "in the ulema state." In the same way, among the students, "public opinion" or the prevalent ideas emerging from debate and the exchange of ideas between students of varying disciplines should be taken as master. Bediuzzaman predicted that this would provide a strong stimulation and incentive for progress. Thus, "Just as public opinion predominates in the state, so too should the prevailing opinions of the ulema be müfti, and the prevailing opinions of the students be master and teacher."
Thus, during his audience, having given Sultan Abdulhamid first-hand information about the state of the Eastern Provinces and explained lhese idcas and the importancc of his proposals, especially concerning the founding of the new schools, in his capacity as a man of religion, Bediuzzaman went on to remind the Sultan of the petition made to him by The famous traveler and scholar Abdurresid Abraham.
Abdurresid Ibrahim had sought asylum in Japan after having been exiled in 1904 from his native Uzbekistan by the Russians. and travelling both there and in China, had expended great efforts for the spread and revitalization of Islam. Seeing the ignorance and poverty of the many Muslims in China, he had sent requests to Sultan Abdulhamid for both material assistance and for religious scholars and instructors to be sent there. At the time, the Sultan was giving great importance to his Caliphate Policy, that is, Pan-Islamic policies, and had apparently responded favourably, instructing the Seyhü’l- Islam, Cemaleddin Efendi, to do everything necessary for its implementation. A certain time must have elapsed, however, for with unheard-of boldness, Bediuzzaman addressed the Sultan, saying:
 
"The rank of the Caliphate is not restricted to the official ceremony of the Friday prayers. Just as the Caliph possesses moral power, so too will he have material power, and guarantee and be responsible for all the dealings of the Muslim community in every corner of the world. Abdurresid Ibrahim Efendi is a great striver in the way of Islam. It is a grievous sin to let his request remain fruitless. Even if the office of Seyhu'1-Islam has no power, praise be to God, there are many men of religion in this country ready to sacrifice themselves for this cause. Why has this request not been proclaimed and broadcast throughout the Ottoman lands?"
Bediuzzaman then went on to criticize to the Sultan's face the denunciations and networks of spies and agents for which his regime was so notorious. Bediuzzaman had been the subject of such a report in 1906. As someone who never hesitated to speak out in the cause of freedom in that time of repression, it was inevitable that he should have been. He said to Sultan Abdulhamid:
"Despotism has no place in Islam. To give a ruling on a person is the right only of courts acting openly and within the justice of the Seriat. These rulings may not be given according to reports made by persons of unknown identity, which throw no light on their true faces and conceal their intrigues..."
The Seyhu’l-Islam, Cemaleddin Efendi, who was present, later told his son, Muhtar Bey: "Until today, I have never encountered anyone who voiced his opinions in the Sovereign's presence with such boldness." This boldness, however, only led Bediuzzaman to be brought up before the Yildiz Palace Court Martial. And the unhappy consequences of Bediuzzaman's audience with Sultan Abdulhamid were not restricted to the court martial, for he was to be sentenced by it to a term in Topkapi Mental Hospital in Uskudar. The judges in the court were at a loss as to how to deal with this case, and the mental hospital was the solution they came up with. "To which Tatar tribe do you belong? I am an Ottoman. My being Kurdish is only on account of the name given to the people of the place where I was born and grew up." And he went on to repeat what he had said to the Sultan. On hearing this, the Public Prosecutor, Sururi Efendi, asked him:
"How can you say such insulting words about His Imperial Majesty the Sultan?" Bediuzzaman replied:
"I said the same things to the Caliph himself. If you do not believe me, go and ask him?"
In the face of all this, the judges were worried that if Bediuzzaman was exiled to Fezzan, Tripoli, or Yemen, as was the usual sentence, he would continue to spread his ideas. So, in order to be rid of him, on the recommendation of Zuluflu Ismail Pasa, the Inspector of Military Schools, they got five doctors, two Jewish, one Greek, one Armenian, and one Turkish to draw up of report saying that Bediuzzaman was not in his right mind, and then sent him to Toptasi Mental Hospital.
Years later, Bediuzzaman wrote: "Born in the village of Nurs in the province of Bitlis, as a student I entered into contests with all the scholars I encountered, and continuing through Divine Grace to defeat in scholarly debate all who challenged me, I continued the contests in this calamitous fame, and as a result of the incitements of my rivals, on orders from Sultan Hamid, was dragged as far as the mental hospital."
 
· Toptasi and the ‘Conversation With The Doctor'
 
How long Bediuzzaman's tribulations in the mental hospital were to continued is not known, but finally he was released on the strength of the doctor's report, which stated: "If there is the tiniest trace of madness in Bediuzzaman, there is not a sane person in the world."
Of the doubtless many examinations which Bediuzzaman had to undergo in the hospital, the following is the text of his conversation with the doctor which contributed directly to the favourable report. In it Bediuzzaman explains to the doctor with this usual clarity and logic his aims and intentions, and why he has aroused opposition in Istanbul.
First of all Bediuzzaman points out to the doctor four points he should take into account while making his diagnosis. Firstly, Bediuzzaman's back- ground, for "the prevalent virtues in Kurdistan are courage, self-respect, strength of religion, and the agreement of heart and tongue. Matters which are considered to be polite and refined in civilization are considered by them to be flattery."
 
Secondly, the doctor should not make his judgement superficially according to current deviant norms, but should realize that Bediuzzaman takes Islam as the criterion for his actions through which he intends to serve the nation, state, and religion. Thirdly, Bediuzzaman points out that some of those in authority could not stomach him because he provided answers to a number of the hitherto insoluble problems of the time, and their only recourse was to declare him mad. And fourthly, he has for fifteen years been pursuing Islamic Freedom, that is, "the Freedom which is in accordance with the Seriat" and now that it is close to being realized he is prevented from seeing' ? And he adds: "And it is only what is going on, how should he not be angry" one in a thousand who is not afflicted by this temporary madness.
 
Bediuzzaman then goes onto expand these points and explain them in greater detail, stressing that he is not prepared to sacrifice any of his sacred aims and principles, which are for the common good, for his own personal benefit or so that he should be better accepted.
 
Firstly, Bediuzzaman's aim was for the strengthening and progress of the Ottoman Empire through the development and progress - educational, material, and cultural - of its component parts. Through retaining the dress of his native region, and professing his love for it, he wanted to stress in the Empire's capital the importance of provincial development, and create demand for local industries. And by declaring that he had offered allegiance to Sultan Selim, that is, Yavuz Selim, known in the West as Selim the Grim, 1512 -1520, Bediuzzaman was slating that he was dedicated to the same aim as Selim, that is, unity. Reforms aimed at the development of the provinces , would serve to strengthen the unity of the Empire, thereby strengthening Islamic unity.
Secondly, Bcdiuzzaman had aroused opposition through his practice of debating with the ulema. He now explains to the doctor that by doing so he wanted to offer a practical example for a solution to the stagnation in the medreses. He was recommending more active participation in the process of study on the part of the students. A second reason he gives for their backwardness is that the instrumental sciences [grammar, syntax, logic) had been emphasized in place of the sacred sciences [Quranic exegesis (tefsir), Hadith, theology (kelam), and the like]. Thus, firstly, Bediuzzaman is stressing the need for lively debate and the role of competition in revitalizing the medreses, and secondly, the importancc of the fundamental sacred sciences. He then goes on to emphasize the need for specialization. It was through taking one science as a basis and in addition only studying further subjects in so far as they would complement the main subject. that the students could study in sufficient depth and penetrate the subject as required.
 
In the Third Point, Bediuzzaman examines the reasons for the divergence and differences between the various branches of the educational system, which he states are a major cause of the backwardness of Islamic civilization, which constitutes true civilization, in relation to modem civilization. He says: "Those in the medreses accuse those in the mektebs of weakness in belief because of their literalist interpretation of certain matters, whereas those in the mektebs consider the former to be ignorant and unreliable because they have no knowledge of modem science. While those in the medreses look at those in the tekkes as though they were following innovations..." While recognizing the differences in their ways, he stresses that the barriers between them should be broken down and by way of a remedy modem science be taught in the medreses "in place of obsolete ancient philosophy", religious sciences be taught "fully" in the secular schools, and scholars from the medreses, "some of the most learned ulema", be present in the Sufi; tekkes. He then goes on to analyze the reasons for the ineffectiveness of the preachers, who played such a vital role in educating the mass of the people. He gives three "causes", which we quote in full:
"The First Cause: by comparing the present to the past, they merely represented what they claimed in glittering terms. In former times ease of mind and blind imitation of the ulema prevailed, and for these proof was not necessary. But now an urge to investigate the truth has emerged in everyone. In the face of this, embroidering a claim has no effect. In order for it to be effective, it is necessary to prove what is claimed, and to convince.
"The Second Cause: by deterring from one thing and encouraging another, they reduce the value of something else more important. For example, I, they say that to perform two rekats of prayers at night is like circumambulating the Ka'ba, or that if someone indulges in backbiting, it is as though he has committed furnication.
"The Third Cause: they do not speak conformably with the demands of the situation and necessities of the time, which is the requirement of eloquence. It is as if they draw people into the comers of former times, then speak to them. That is to say, I want preachers to be both searching scholars, so that they can prove what they claim, and subtle philosophers so that they do not spoil the balance of the Seriat, and to be eloquent and convincing. It is essential that they are thus."
Bediuzzaman completed addressing the doctor as follows:
"The Fourth Point: I said that my mind was confused. But my intention from all this is to point to the forgetfulness in my memory, the distress in my mind, and the foreignness in my nature. Since no one who is mad says they are mad, how can it be a proof of my madness? Also, I said that I had three months study after Izhar. This invites doubt in two respects. Either it is untrue...whereas most of Kurdistan knows that it is true. Or although it is true,... like you said, O Doctor, things like pride and self-praise would indicate to my madness...
"That is to say, it is our doctors' understanding that is sick, and their reports which are mad, and the Minister of Public Security is mad, because he was angry. Hey, doctor! You are a good doctor, cure those unfortunates first, then me!"
 
It became plain to the doctor, then, that Bediuzzaman was in no way deranged and he prepared his report accordingly; whatever the reasons were for his being sent to the mental hospital, they were not medical, and the doctor did not concern himself with them. Of course, it was for political reasons that Bediuzzaman had been incarcerated, and on his release he was still held in custody. The aulhorities then embarked on a new tactic in order to silence him; they tried to buy him off. But to no avail. Just as Bediuzzaman did not know the meaning of fear, and could not be cowed or scared into abandoning the path he knew to be right, so too he had no desire for wealth or position, throughout his life one of his most salient characteristics was his refusal to accept any personal benefits, material or otherwise; there was no way he could be bought. If the Islamic world was to progress and be revitalized, it would be through Freedom and constitutionalism; he could not be made to renounce the cause. The proposals were put to him by Sefik Pasa, the Minister of Public Security, and the exchange between him and Bediuzzaman went as follows:
 
The Minister: "The Sultan sends you greetings. He has assigned you a thousand kurus as a salary. He said that later, when you return to the East, he will make it twenty to thirty liras. And he sent you these gold liras as a royal gift."
The Reply: "I am not a beggar after a salary; I could not accept it even if it was a thousand liras. I did not come to Istanbul for myself. I came for my nation. Also this bribe that you want to give me is hush-money."
The Minister: "You are rejecting an imperial decree. An imperial decree cannot be rejected."
The Reply: "I am rejecting it, so that the Sultan will be annoyed and will summon me, and I can tell him the truth."
The Minister: "The result will be disastrous."
The Reply: "Even if the result is the sea, it will be a spacious grave. If I am executed, I shall rest in the heart of a nation. Also when I came to Istanbul, I brought my life as a bribe; do whatever you like. And I say seriously that I want to give a practical warning to my fellow-countrymen that forming a connection with the State is in order to serve it, it is not in order to grab a salary. And someone like me serves the nation and State through advising and admonishing. And that is through making a good impression. And that is through expecting nothing in return. And that is through being unprejudiced, which is through being without ulterior motives, which is through renouncing all personal benefits. As a consequence, I am excused from not accepting a salary."
The Minister: "Your aim of spreading education in Kurdistan is being discussed by the Cabinet."
The Reply: "According to what rule do you delay education and speed up salaries? Why do you prefer my personal benefits to the general benefit of the nation?"
The Minister became angry.
Bediuzzaman: "I have been free. I grew up in the mountains of Kurdistan, which is the place of absolute freedom. There is no point in getting angry; do not tire yourself for nothing. Send me into exile; be it Fizan or Yemen, I do not mind. I will be saved from falling-from a height."
The Minister: "What do you want to say?"
Bediuzzaman: "You have drawn a veil as thin as a cigarette paper over ', everyone in the face of all these ideas and emotions which are boiling over, and called it law and order. Undemeath everyone is groaning at your oppression like moving corpses. I was inexperienced, I did not go in under the veil, I remained top of it. Then one time it was rent in the Palace. I was in an Armenian’s house in Sisli; it was rent there. I was in the Sweetmakers' Han, it was rent there, too. I was in the mental hospital. And now I am in this place of custody.
"In short, you do so much patching up that I am annoyed, as well. I was well-acquainted with you while I was in Kurdistan. And now the abovementioned events have taught me your secrets well. Especially the mental hospital, it explained these texts to me clearly. So I thank you for these events, because I used always to think favourably, instead of distrusting."
And finally, a newspaper article on the subject written later by the literary figure Esref Edip, who was a close associate of Bediuzzaman's, and played an active role in the constitutional movement with his writings and the magazine, Sirat-t Mustakim, later called Sebilurresad:
"No one, and most of all the Sultan, could at any time agree that there was even the smallest amount of disloyalty in him. They appreciated his excellence, his zeal.
"He had come to Istanbul in order to open schools in the Eastern Provinces, to revivify education. He was a great cherisher of Freedom, he had great courage and civilization. Think of the conditions of the time. What was the attitude of the Palace towards the Namik Kemal's, the Ziya Pasha’s, and other supporters of Freedom? Bediuzzaman was far ahead of them as regards courage and fearlessness, patriotism, and love of Freedom. The Palace displayed great tolerance towards this struggle of his for Freedom out of respect for his learning and virtue. But it was not possible to curtail his striving. His youth, his overflowing brilliant intelligence, his love of Freedom, his combative spirit could not save him from the consequences to which the other supporters of Freedom were subject.
"He. displayed such a degree of courage and boldness in the struggle for Freedom at a time when everyone was frightened to open their mouths and only hinted and made allusions that it was incomprehensible to them. It was only natural that for someone to arrive from the Eastern Provinces and display so much boldness at a time when the Palace and pashas were sovereign and held absolute power would be met with astonishment and surprise. The despotic pashas, who considered the people to be their slaves, could see no ' other way of ridding themselves of him and regaining their comfort apart from saying: `To display this much courage is not conformable with sanity', and putting him in the mental hospital. That was why he was sent there.
"What he said to the doctor in the mental hospital left the doctor in amazement, he was amazed at his intelligence and knowledge, courage and bravery. He understood why he had been sent there, and reminded Bediuzzaman of the refined manners of the age. He advised moderation, then begged his pardon.
"Yes, this is the man they said was mad, this mad lion!”
CHAPTER THREE
 FREEDOM AND CONSTITUTIONALISM
 
 · Salonica
 
Bediuzzaman was saved from his place of custody in Istanbul and taken secretly to Salonica. There he stayed as a guest in the house of Manyasizade Refik Bey, who was to be Minister of Justice in the first Cabinet following the proclamation of the Constitution, and was at that lime Chairman of the Central Committee of the Committee of Union and Progress in Salonica. Through him Bediuzzaman made the acquaintance of the leading figures of the CUP.
As was mentioned above, the CUP was one group within the. Young Turk movement, which formed the main focus of opposition to Sultan Abdulhamid, and had members both within Turkey and in Europe. In Turkey, the movement was well suppressed, but conditions favoured ,its growth, particularly among army officers, the composition of whom was changing as a result of the reforms. It was in Salonica, a place open to diverse influences, I that a group of officers together with a number of others, founded a revolutionary secret society in 1906. And subsequently establishing relations with ' one of the groups of Young Turks in Paris, adopted their name of the Committee of Union and Progress.
It is important at this point. to clarify Bediuzzaman's attitude towards politics generally, and towards the Young 'Turks. We can make two main points. Firstly, Bediuzzaman's involvement with politics was always with the aim of making politics serve religion, to point out Islamic principles and give direction to those in power: He was never involved in politics for their own sake, or for power, prestige or position. The Committee of Union and Progress in Salonica were a `mixed bunch', what unified them was their patriotism and desire to save the crumbling Empire. The majority of them being army officers, they had little experience of politics and political administration, and even when they forced the proclamation of the Constitution, they had no political plan or programme. For the most part, their attitude towards Islam was positive; and not only as the main politically unifying factor of the Empire. Even the secular theorists from among the Young Turks such as Ahmed Riza and Abdullah Cevdet accepted the positive function of Islam in society. Bediuzzaman himself later wrote:
"At the beginning of the Constitutional Period I saw that there were atheists who had infiltrated the CUP who accepted that Islam and the Seriat of Muhammed contained exalted principles extremely beneficial and valuable for the life of society and particularly Ottoman policies and who supported the Seriat with all their strength..." But while a majority of them were in any event not hostile to Islam, due to their secular backgrounds and education, they had been influenced in varying degrees by European ideas; many were uninformed about their religion and were lax in the practice of it. An important reason, therefore, in Bediuzzaman associating with the Young 'Turks before the Constitution was proclaimed was to persuade them that for the Empire's future progress and well-being, Freedom must be established on the Seriat and Islam adhered to, as well as for himself to be able to serve this end. But again it must be stressed that while he continued to support those Young Turks who shared this end, he became a strenuous opponent of those of them who deviated from it. For their part, the leading members of the CUP in Salonica were impressed by the calibre of this famous young scholar, and, as a man of religion and an unswerving supporter of Freedom, were keen to employ him in the propagation of his ideas on Freedom.
The second point to make about Bediuzzaman and politics will perhaps illuminate this further. Bediuzzaman was a realist; he accepted the current situation, and, looking to the future, sought ways of directing the trend of events into Islamic channels. For example, subsequent to the French Revolution, the ideas of liberty, equality, justice, and the rule of law had been universally accepted as preferable to despotism and arbitrary rule; the trend towards representative government was inevitable and unavoidable, in the Ottoman Empire as well as in Europe. Bediuzzaman accepted the trend, and through pointing out that these luminous concepts are not the exclusive property of the West as the Europeans would have it, but are fundamental to Islam, showed the way towards developing a truly Islamic form of government. This demonstrating that consultation, equality before the law, justice, freedom, and brotherhood are enjoined by Islam and were practiced by the Prophet Muhammed and his immediate successors, and that despotism is contrary to Islam, is not apologetics nor some belated and dubious claim to them as is often portrayed, but is a genuine statement of fact, and is, furthermore, a recognition of the dynamic nature of the Seriat
Bediuzzaman's success in spreading these ideas in Salonica caused him to be looked on very favorably by the Committee of Union and Progress, and in regard to this, the Commander of the Third Army, then stationed in Salonica, Field Marshal Ibrahim Pasa, summoned him in order to meet him. Undaunted by the Pasa’s rank and the sensitivity of the issues, Bediuzzaman put forwards his ideas with his usual fearlessness in the interview. The Pasa must have been persuaded of them to a degree anyway for he afterwards asked Kazim Nami, his political advisor: "Did you know this Bediuzzaman before? He is extremely knowledgeable in every subject... his ideas are different just like his dress..." The meeting caused quite a sensation and reports of it appeared in the Young Turk newspapers published in Paris. They praised Bediuzzaman as a hope for Freedom and Justice in the area of religion and learning.
Another figure of some fame, or notoriety, got to hear of Bediuzzaman and his activities, and that was Emanuel Karaso, later the Jewish deputy for Salonica, and Grand Master of the Macedonia Risorta Masons' Lodge. No doubt wanting to find a way of influencing such a talent and using it for his own purposes, he sought a meeting with Bediuzzaman. Bediuzzaman agreed, but the Grand Master left abruptly half way through the conversation, and confessed to those waiting for him outside: "If I had stayed any longer, he would have made a Muslim of me!"
In July, 1908, the events in Macedonia leading to the proclamation of the Constitution followed on one after the other. During a meeting of the Central Committee of the CUP, it was decided that the first speech should be given by Bediuzzaman. This decision is recorded in the memoirs of Atif Bey, also present.
"Despite it [Freedom] being first proclaimed in Manastir, the original decision was for it to be in Salonica, which we called the Cradle of Freedom. We had met in Manyasizade Refik Bey's house. There were eleven of us, of whom eight were in the Army. Refik Bey was in the chair, and there was Bediuzzaman Said Kurdi representing religion, and Hafiz ibrahim Efendi, who had supported the CUP in every respect from the start and was later Deputy for Ipekli. It was decided that the first speech should be given by Bediuzzaman, who attracted attention with everything he did. When Fethi Bey (later CUP General Secretary, and, as Fethi Okay, was Prime Minister under the Republic) suggested we fix its subject, Refit Bey replied pointing to Bediuzzaman: `I am of the opinion that whatever the Hazret says, it will be applauded.' In truth, I still recall the speech. I was astonished, he spoke not about different forms of government and the like, but said that the real need of the country was for roads, bridges, aeroplanes, railways, trade, factories, and institutions of science and learning."
Indeed, in the speech he gave, firstly impromptu in Beyazit in Istanbul immediately following the proclamation of the Constitution, . and subsequently in Freedom Square in Salonica, Bediuzzaman explained to the people the meaning of constitutionalism, and how they should regard it, and that if the Seriat was made the source of it, "This oppressed nation will progress a thousand times further than in former times."
 
· ‘Address to Freedom'
The text of the speech, entitled `Address to Freedom', is too long to include here in its entirety, so we shall rather briefly point out the main ideas it describes, and include parts of it by way of illustration. But first, it is worth noting the importance Bediuzzaman attached to illuminating and mobilizing the ordinary people and community of believers in the struggle for progress, as is illustrated by the few introductory sentences to the Address to Freedom. For while the proclamation of the Constitution was greeted with jubilation it was still believed by many that the new Govemment was irreligious and that it was not permissible to obey it, a belief that was clearly open to exploitation by its opponents.
In addition, in regard to politics, the fundamental ideas that Bediuzzaman adhered to was that all the community should participate in the political process, and that the government should reflect the nation's will, and that, furthermore, government based on these principles was enjoined by Islam. Following the proclamation of the Constitution, therefore, Bediuzzaman expended much effort addressing the ordinary people, and especially his fellows Kurds, who had been subject to negative propaganda about the Constitution and were deeply suspicious of it, in order to explain to them its meaning, and their own rights and responsibilities towards it. And so, in an introductory passage to the Address to Freedom, Bediuzzaman addresses his audience directly and asks them to participate mentally in what he is going to discuss. Let their hearts be open..."For there is work to do for your zeal, religious feeling, and endeavor; they are going to discuss certain matters; they are going to kindle a light from the dark comers of the heart."
Rather than being merely an ode in praise of Freedom, the Address to Freedom is primarily an exhortation to adhere to Islam and its morality in the new era. With the advent of Freedom, the Ottoman nation has been given the opportunity to progress and establish true civilization as in former times, but this will only be achieved if they make the Seriat the foundation of Freedom. It points out the detrimental effects of despotism on the one hand, and the possibilities for progress that Freedom provides on the other. Together with this, it constitutes a programme of what must be achieved and what must be avoided in order to preserve Freedom and secure progress. In doing this It describes some of the causes of the Ottoman decline.
"O Freedom! ... I convey these glad tidings to you, that if you make the Seriat, which is life itself, the source of life, and if you grow in that paradise, this oppressed nation will progress a thousand limes further than in former times. If, that is, it takes you as its guide in all matters and does not besmirch you through harboring personal enmity and thoughts of revenge... Freedom has exhumed us from The grave of desolation and despotism, and summoned us to the paradise of unity and love of nation..."
"...The doors of a suffering-free paradise of progress and civilization have been opened to us... The Constitution, which is in accordance with the Seriat, is the introduction to the sovereignty of the nation and invites us to enter like the treasury-guard of Paradise. O my oppressed compatriots! Let us go and enter!
 
 
So, having pointed out That sovereignty will now lie with the nation, Bediuzzaman goes onto describe "five doors" That have to be entered, or five principles to which the State should be bound so that this paradise might be attained. The first is "the union of hearts". This has been described as preserving the consciousness of the Ottoman State's unity and wholeness, especially in the face of the nationalist and separatist movements of the minorities. The second door is "love of the nation". That is, the individuals who make up the nation being aware of their nationhood and nurturing love for one another. Remembering that "The foundation and spirit of our true riationhood is Islam." The Third is "education", which refers to the cultural and educational level of the nation being raised to a satisfactory point. The fourth is human endcavour ; that is, everyone being guaranteed work, and receiving fair recompense for their labour. And the fifth door is "the giving. up of dissipation", which is understood as the giving up of ostentation and extravagance, both on an individual level and as a society, which cause discord, and were a malaise afflicting state officials in particular at that time.
Bediuzzaman points out the harmful effects of the vice and immorality that result from despotism, material as well as moral, while "The voice of Freedom and justice... raises to life our emotions, hopes, exalted national aspirations, and fine Islamic character and morality, all of which were dead."
After immediately wharning against killing these again "through dissipation and carelessness in religion", Bediuzzaman predicts that unity, adherence to Islamic morality together with the successful functioning of the constitutional government and genuine practice of the Islamic principle of consultation will result in the Ottoman nation soon "competing neck and neck with the civilized nations." The metaphors for progress Bediuzzaman uses in the passage demonstrate his own belief in science and technology.
Bediuzzaman lays great stress on the need to adhere to Islamic morality for true progress and civilization to be achieved, and next voices his constant fear that if Freedom is understood as license, it will be lost and will result in a return to despotism, "for Freedom flourishes and is realized through the observance of the ordinances and conduct of the Seriat, and good morals."
Bediuzzaman next warns against acquiring "the sins and evils of civilization" and abandoning its virtues. The Ottomans should imitate the Japanese in taking from Western civilization what will assist them in progress, while preserving their own national customs:
"We shall take with pleasure the points of Europe-like technology and industry - that will assist us in progress and civilization. However,.... we shall forbid the sins and evils of civilization from entering the bounds of Freedom and our civilization with the sword of the Seriat, so that the young people in our civilization will be protected by the pure, cold spring of life of the Seriat. We must imitate the Japanese in acquiring civilization, for in taking only the virtues of civilization from Europe they preserved their national customs, which arc the leaven of every nation's continuance. Since our national customs grew up within Islam, they should be clung on to in two respects."
By contrasting conditions under the old and new regimes, Bediuzzaman goes on to describe five indestructible truths on which Freedom will be established. They are as follows: the First Truth is unity, the Second, science, learning, and civilization. The Third Truth is a new generation of able and enlightened men to lead and administer the nation. Bediuzzaman describes how with "the rain of Freedom", the abilities and potentialities of everyone, even common villagers, will develop and be expanded so that "the vigorous field of Asia and Rumelia well produce the crops" of the brilliant and superior men so badly needed. "And the East will be to the West what dawn is to sunset. If, that is, they do not wither up through the languor of idleness and poison of malice."
The Fourth Truth is the Seriat. Bediuzzaman explains: "Since the Illustrious Seriat has come from the Pre-Eternal Word of God, it will go to PostEternity." For it is dynamic. The Seriat adapts and expands in relation to man's development. It comprises equality, justice, and true freedom with all its relations and requirements. The initial period of Islam is proof of this. Therefore, Bediuzzaman says, their present unfortunate condition results from four causes: failure to observe the Seriat, arbitrary and erroneous interpretations of it, bigotry on the part of certain "ignorant externalist scholars", and fourthly, "abandoning through ill-fortune and bad choice, the virtues of Europe, which are difficult to acquire, and imitating like parrots or children the sins and evils of civilization, which are agreeable to man's base appetites."
The Fifth Truth is the Parliament, and the Islamic principle of mutual consultation. In this complex modem age, it is only through a constituent assembly, consultation, and freedom of thought that the state can be upheld, administered, and guided.
Bediuzzaman completes the Address with three "warnings". Firstly state officials who are prepared to adapt to the new regime must be treated with respect and their experience must be benefited from. Secondly, he points out that the sickness afflicting the Empire has spread from the centre of the Caliphate, from Istanbul, and goes on to urge reconciliation between "the three main branches of the `public guide"', the scholars of the Madrases, those of secular schools, and the Sufis in the tekkes. This point was discussed above, as was the following, third wharning, which concerns the preachers. Again, Bediuzzaman is urging them to renew their ideas and methods, and speak conformably with the needs of the times.
 
· Bediuzzaman's Ideas on Freedom and Constitutionalism What, then, was the relationship between constitutionalism and Islam?
For in this speech, and in all his speeches and writings of the time, Bediuzzaman was at pains to make clear to the people that the Constitution, which was the 1876 Constitution, was in no way contrary to the Seriat. He describes it as the "Kanun-u Ser’i" or Islamic Constitution, and "the Constitution which is founded on the Seriat."'s "Constitutionalism and the Constitution about which you have heard," explained Bediuzzaman, "consists of true justice and consultation enjoined by the Seriat."
 
Bediuzzaman very often gives clear definitions of constitutionalism by contrasting it with despotism:
"Despotism is oppression. It is dealing with others in an arbitrary fashion. It is compulsion relying on force. It is the opinion of one person. It provides extremely favorable ground for exploitation. It is the basis of tyranny. It annihilates humanity. It is despotism which reduces man to the most abject valleys of abasement, has caused the Islamic world to sink into abjection and degradation, which arouses animosity and malice, has poisoned Islam and in fact sows its poison everywhere by contagion, and has caused endless conflict within Islam by giving rise to its deviant sects like the Mu'tazile, Cebriyya, and Mürci'a...”
Constitutionalism, on ther hand, is "the manifestation of the Qur'anic verses `And consult them in affairs [ of public concern] and `Whose rule in consultation among themselves' It is the consultation enjoined by the Seriat. This luminous body's life is truth, in place of force. Its heart is knowledge, its tongue, love. Its mind is the law, not an individual Indeed, constitutionalism is the sovereignty of the nation..." And again, "...the real meaning of constitutionalism is that power lies in the law..."
 
On another occasion Bediuzzaman stated: "I expounded and commented in detail on the authentic connection between the Seriat and constitutionalism in numerous speeches. And I explained That tyrannous despotism has no connection with The Seriat. For according to the meaning of the Hadith, `A nation's ruler is its servant', the Seriat came to the world in order to extirpate oppression and despotic tyranny... And I said that essentially, the true way of the ,Seriat is the reality of constitutionalism in accordance with the Seriat. That is to say, I accepted constitutionalism on proofs from the Seriat..."
"...I claimed that it is possible to deduce the truths of constitutionalism explicitly, implicitly, permissibly, from the Four Schools of Islamic Law."
A further argument was: "The consensus of the community constitutes a certain proof in the Seriat. The opinion of the mass of the people forms a fundamental principle in the Seriat. The public wish is esteemed and re- specked in the Seriat.”
On the question, "Some people say [constitutionalism] is contrary to the Seriat?" being put to him, Bediuzzaman replied: "The spirit of constitution alism is from the Seriat. And its life is from it. But under force of circumstance it may be that some details fall temporarily contrary to it. Also, it is not necessary for all situations that arise during the constitutional period to have arisen from constitutionalism. And what is there that conforms to the Seriat in every respect...?"
Thus, Bediuzzaman's approach can be seen to be realistic. While in essence constitutionalism did not differ from Islamic principles, the extremely difficult circumstances of the time demanded a measured and balanced approach. It was a question of "making constitutionalism conform to the Seriat meticulously and in a balanced manner taking into account what is required."
As for consultation, which, as is shown above, is enjoined by Islam, Bediuzzaman frequently stressed it as a constituent of constitutionalism. He described it as "the key to the good fortune, felicity, and sovereignty of Islam." Because, due to the nature of constitutionalism, consultation is practiced in all areas of the state and society. "Yes, this is the time of constitutionalism; consultation rules in everything." That is to say, when constitutionalism is adopted by a government, it spreads throughout the state and manifests itself as consultation, the supremacy of public opinion and consensus. These and their accompanying unity, co-operation, and brotherhood are fundamental to progress:
"When constitutionalism falls to the lot of a government, the idea of freedom awakens constitutionalism in every respect. It gives birth to a sort of constitutionalism in every area and walk of life, according to the calling of each. It results in a sort of constitutionalism among the ulema, in the medreses, and among the students. Indeed, it inspires a particular constitutionalism and renewal in all walks of life. It is flashes of consultation, then, hinting of the sun of happiness, and inspiring desire, mutual attraction, and harmony, that have caused me to love the Constitutional Government so much..."
Bediuzzaman also describes scientific progress in terms of `historical consultation', and stresses its importance:
"Just as the consultation of the ages and centuries that mankind has practiced by means of history, a `conjunction of ideas' or `meeting of minds', formed the basis of the progress and sciences of all mankind, so too one reason for the backwardness of Asia, the largest continent, was the failure to practise that true consultation. The key and discloser of the continent of Asia and its future is mutual consultation. That is to say, just as individuals should consult with one another, so must nations and continents also practise consultation..”
As regards Freedom, as is clear from the Address to Freedom, it could only be the source of progress if the Seriat was taken as the basis of it. It did not consist of absolute freedom or license. While technology and industry could be imported from Europe, which in any case were not the property of the West, the Ottomans stood in no need of their culture, morals, and "the evils of civilization".
"I declare with all my strength," said Bediuzzaman, "that our progress will only occur through the progress of Islam, which is our nationality, and through the manifestation of the truths of the Seriat. Otherwise we shall confirm the saying, `he abandoned his own way of walking, and did not learn anyone else's. "'
Bediuzzaman defined Freedom as follows:
"Delicate Freedom is instructed and adorned by the good manners of the Seriat. Freedom to be dissolute and behave scandalously is not Freedom. Rather, it is animality. It is the tyranny of the Devil. It is to be the slave of the evil-commanding soul. General Freedom is the product of the portions of individual Freedom. The characteristic of Freedom is that one harms neither oneself, nor others."
"Freedom is this: apart from the law of justice and punishment, no one can dominate over anyone else. Everybody's rights are protected. In their legitimate actions, everyone is royally free. The prohibition: `Take not one from among yourselves as Lord over you apart from God' is manifest."
That is to say, "Freedom springs from belief in God." for, "belief requires not degrading others through tyranny and oppression, and abasing them, and not abasing oneself before oppressors. Someone who is a true slave of God cannot be a slave to others." "That is to say, however perfected belief is, Freedom will shine to that degree."
Bediuzzaman says that Freedom is not to be absolved from all the ties of social life and civilization, "Rather, what shines like the sun, is the beloved of every soul, and is the equal of the essence of humanity is that Freedom which is seated in the felicitous palace of civilization and is adorned with knowledge, virtue, and the good manners and raiment of Islam."
The positive results of Freedom with regard to progress were in part noted above in the Address to Freedom: unity, love of the nation, the end to "personal enmity and thoughts of revenge", and also to extravagance and vice; the elimination of the chains on human thought; the rearing of a new generation of able men to run the country. In another work he says it is Islamic Freedom "which teaches mankind exalted aims in the form of competition for exalted things, and causes them to strive on that way; which shatters despotism; and excites exalted emotions and destroys jealousy, envy, malice, and rivalry, and is furnished with true awakening, the eagerness of competition, the tendency towards renewal, and the predisposition for civilization.... It has been fitted out with the inclination and desire for the highest perfection’s worthy of humanity."
Indeed, Freedom was the means of "the progress of Islam". Bediuzzaman declared that "Freedom is the only way of delivering three hundred and seventy million strong Islam from captivity."41 And that: "The Ottomans' Freedom is the discloser of mighty Asia's good fortune. It is the key to the prosperity of Islam. It is the foundation of the ramparts of Islamic unity.”
Bediuzzaman explains this in terms of a reawakening of the consciousness of "Islamic nationhood" among individual Muslims. That is to say, as a result of Freedom, sovereignty now lies with the nation, or Islamic community and "each individual Muslim possesses an actual part of the sovereignty." Bediuzzaman's use of scientific language and metaphors in the first of the following passages shows that he wanted to demonstrate that this was the first step on the road to scientific advance and civilization:
"Freedom has made manifest nationhood. The luminous jewel of Islam within the shell of nationhood has begun to appear. It has given news of Islam's stirring and motion [showing] that each Muslim is not independent like an atom, but is part of a compound, interconnected and ascending. Each is united with all the other parts through the general attraction of Islam.” And:
"Islamic Freedom and the consultation enjoined by the Seriat have made manifest the sovereignty of our true nationhood. The foundation and spirit of our true nationhood is Islam... Thus, through the bond of this sacred nationhood, all the people of Islam become like a single tribe... They assist one another morally and if necessary, materially..."
A further point Bediuzzaman frequently stressed was that in this modem age material progress was the most effective way of `upholding the Word of God', with which every believer is charged. In other words, it was a fundamental duty of all Ottomans and Muslims to work for progress.
"Each believer is charged with `upholding the Word of God'. In this age, the greatest cause of this is to progress materially, for the Europeans are morally crushing us under their tyranny with the weapons of science and industry. We, therefore, shall wage holy war with the weapons of science and industry on the greatest enemies of `upholding the Word of God', which are ignorance, poverty, and conflicting ideas. And we shall refer external holy war to the diamond sword of the certain proofs of the Illustrious Seriat. For the civilized are to be conquered through persuasion and being convinced, not through compulsion as though they were savages who understand nothing.”
For Bediuzzaman, then, "Constitutionalism within the sphere of the Seriat" was "the means of upholding the might of Islam and exalting the Word of God."
 
· Bediuzzaman Combats Disunity and Secularism
 
There followed after the proclamation of the Constitution a period of open and vigorous debate made possible by the new freedom of thought and expression. Bediuzzaman took every advantage of this, endeavoring to further the cause of Islam and unity through every means possible. He gave speeches, addressed gatherings, and published articles in many of the news- papers and journals that appeared with the advent of Freedom, together with publishing a number of independent works.
Although the debate centred on the old questions of how progress could be secured and the Empire saved, the tension created by external and internal pressures caused a polarization and hardening of ideas. There were broadly seen to be three main answers: westernization, Islam, and increasingly, in reaction to the separatist activities of the minorities, Turkish nationalism. These did not necessarily run parallel to the political parties which developed, and adherents to all three currents were to be found within the Committee of Union and Progress, though the image it acquired was predominantly secular and Western. Following the Revolution the CUP remained in the background with its headquarters in Salonica, largely making its presence felt through established figures.
The proclamation of the Constitution had been met with widespread rejoicing and optimism; it was seen to be the cure for all the many and serious ills afflicting the Empire. But those high and fervent hopes were soon to be dashed. Almost immediately there were substantial losses of territory, and rather than serving unity, the first parliament opened five months later, intensified division. In pursuing its aim of holding the Empire together through its strong centralist policies, the CUP increasingly resorted to force. The 31st of March Incident provided it with the opportunity to disband the opposition parties and restrict political freedom. Though the opposition reformed, within five years the CUP had set up the military dictatorship that was to lead the Empire to its final collapse in 1918.
In the first months of Freedom, opposition to the CUP was centered in the Liberals, or Ahrar, who, with hasty preparations, were the only party to challenge the new regime in the first elections at the end of 1908. Their leader was Prince Sabahaddin Bey, a nephew of Sultan Abdulhamid and rival in their days of exile in Paris to Ahmed Riza, who became one of the main ideologues of the CUP. While the CUP were committed to a policy of strong central government, following a different school of French philosophers, Sabahaddin Bey had developed what he believed would be the solution for the Empire based on the totally opposite principles of `Personal Initiative and Decentralization'. These ideas, which involved a devolvement of power from the Government to the various millets and religious and ethnic minorities, aroused extreme opposition.
Included in Bediuzzaman’s first work, Nutuk, (Speech) published in 19I0, is an open letter to Sabahaddin Bey entitled, Reply to Prince Sabahaddin Bey's Good but Misunderstood Idea
In it Bediuzzaman points out that a federal system for the Ottoman Empire was theoretically acceptable but because the level of development of the different millets and groups varied greatly, it was not practicable at that time. "Life lies in unity", he wrote. It is interesting to note that at that time of mudslinging, intimidation, and political violence, Sabahaddin Bey himself commented on Bediuzzaman's "intellectual excellence", describing his manner of address as "the very model of polite discourse."
Bediuzzaman likened "love of the nation" to the attraction between particles; just as the latter caused the formation of a mass, so did "love of the nation" result in the formation of a cohesive whole. It was through strengthening these bonds of unity and awareness and love of the nation that a harmony of progress could be achieved. Bediuzzaman did not believe that national differences should be erased, on the contrary as we have seen, it was his view that the Government should be working to raise all the elements of the Empire to the same level through programs geared to "the intellectual capacity and national customs of each." This would result in healthy competition.
 
Quite correctly as it turned out, Bediuzzaman warned Sabahaddin Bey that the idea of decentralization and "its nephews" the political clubs and organizations of the various minorities, would lead to autonomy, and "rending the veil of Ottomanism and constitutionalism", to independence and an army of small states. Bediuzzaman could not equate the breaking-up of the Empire, stirring up of discord, and destruction of the future with the patriotism and nobility of such a gifted and highly-educated person. As believers in God's Unity, they were charged with establishing unity and cultivating love of the nation. Islam was sufficient. Solutions should be sought within the framework of Islam.
Reflecting the attitude of many of the CUP and their followers in this period, there was a general air of laxity, excess, and carelessness in matters of religion. In the face of the circulation of many new ideas from Europe, this was coupled with uncertainty and confusion as to religion and its role. It is in this light that Bediuzzaman's enormous concern to address the intellectuals and to educate as many people as he could reach from all levels of society about the true meaning of Freedom, constitutionalism, and the vital role of Islam in progress should be seen.
Another open letter Bediuzzaman wrote was in December 1908 to Huseyin Cahid, the editor of the Tanin, the chief press organ of the CUP. He was at the same time one of their leading ideologues. An influential r proponent of cultural as well as material Westernization, Huseyin Cahid campaigned for the cause of secularization, that is, the separation of religion from all state affairs. It was in answer to his broaching this vexed question in a leading article in the Tanin on medrese reform that Bediuzzaman wrote his open letter.
The gist of the letter was that, having failed to grasp the true nature of Islam, Huseyin Cahid had made the mistake of attempting to compare it with Christianity. Bediuzzaman quoted the maxim `There is no clergy in Islam' and explained that it was a basic tenet and not open to dispute. It was not possible to compare Christian sects and orders with Sufism, because Islam is a total order and system of living. The duties of worship which Islam imposes cannot be separated from the Serial, because the Seriat does not leave them as theoretical, but makes them the very order of life. Islam is the only religion the ordinances of which provide "eternal criteria" for its members in both the life of this world and the Hereafter. Bediuzzaman understands too that change is necessary and points out that the reinterpretation of the Serial is a duty that should not be restricted to non-particular matters, but also applied to particular ordinances based on custom and usage. He urges Huseyin Cahid to realize and appreciate the dynamic nature of the Serial, "which accepts the principle of change in judgments in the face of changing times."
Bediuzzaman concluded his open letter by advising Hüseyin Cahid to save himself the pointless trouble of examining imported goods such as secularism when there is "the magnificent entity and power" of the Seriat, "which provides for every aspect of the community's life, and came into existence only through the Qur'an, the perpetual miracle of the religion of Islam."
 
· "Europe is pregnant with Islam"
 
In the autumn of 1908, one of the leading members of the famous el-Ezher University in Cairo, and at one time Grand Mufti of Egypt, Seyh Muhammed Bahid visited Istanbul. The Istanbul ulema, who themselves had been unable to better Bediuzzaman in argument and debate, asked Seyh Bahid if he would be prepared to meet him. The Seyh accepted, and an opportunity was found one day after the prayers in Aya Sophia. Bediuzzaman was seated in a tea-house. Other ulema also being present, Seyh Bahid approached Bediuzzaman, and put the following question to him:
"What is your opinion concerning Freedom and the Ottoman State, and European civilization?"
Bediuzzaman's unhesitating reply revealed his realism and insight.
"The Ottoman State is pregnant with Europe, and it will give birth to an
European state one day. And Europe is pregnant with Islam; one day it will give birth to an Islamic state."
Seyh Bahid applauded this answer.
"One cannot argue with this young man", he said. "I am of the same opinion myself. But only Bediuzzaman could express it so succinctly and eloquently."
 
· Bediuzzaman Maintains Public Order
 
As the great effusion of optimism at the coming of Freedom was transformed into disillusion and views and parties became more polarized, the situation generally became increasingly volatile and unstable. Thus, in order that constitutionalism could become established and its benefits be obtained, Bediuzzaman did whatever he could to maintain public order and harmony. There are many examples, such as the following.
The first major blows to the Empire under the new regime occurred soon after the Constitution was proclaimed. On 5 October , 1908, Austria annexed Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Bulgaria proclaimed independence, while on the 6th, Greece annexed Crete. In response to this, on the l 0 th October, the people of Istanbul declared a boycott on all Austrian goods and the places where they were sold. The twenty thousand or so Kurdish porters on whom the commercial life of Istanbul depended defied their foremen and were preparing to go on strike. The whole business started to get out of hand. To avert this threat to Istanbul's trade and business life, Bediuzzaman went immediately to the tea-houses and places the porters frequented and persuaded them to avoid any extreme action.
In one place, the Asiret Han, immediately gaining command of the situation with his line voice, Bediuzzaman said the following to the porters:
"You are all from the East like me, and you have all crossed the Tigris and the Euphrates on rafts. You know too that on one occasion a group crossing the Tigris on a raft tried to get rid of some of the ropes and crossbeams of which the raft was composed in order to lighten the load and move more swiftly. Of course, on doing this the main planks of the raft came apart and both themselves and their belongings ended up in the water.
"In the same way, your foremen arc like the ropes and cross-beams; they do not appear to serve any purpose but in fact they are vital. If they were to go, your harmony would be spoilt and your work confused. just like the raft that sank, you would be compelled to split up and disperse."
with this the insurrection came to nothing. The porters understood their ,r: mistake, and obeying their foremen, returned to work immediately. The Istanbul Chief of Police later came in person to offer his thanks to Bediuzzaman for preventing a harmful situation developing.54
Another occasion Bediuzzaman played a similar role was at a lecture given by The well-known figure and owner of the Mizan newspaper, Messianic Murad Bey, in the Ferah Theater in Sehzadebasi in Istanbul. The subject of the lecture was The rise and fall of the Roman Empire, and as the lecture progressed it became clear that Murad Bey, who had previously represented the `Islamist' group of the Young Turks, was comparing the Committee of Union and Progress and the Government to the Roman stale. His comparisons became more explicit, and the CUP supporters among the audience started muttering and grumbling. Murad Bey continued with this criticisms unperturbed, not wavering even when threatened by a man with a revolver. But when the muttering developed into shouting and stamping, his opponents had their way and he was unable to continue. He withdraw into the wings, and the curtain was lowered. But the hubbub did not abate. On the contrary, the audience, now divided into two camps, started pushing and shoving and flinging insults and abuse at each other. No one attempted to leave, and no one attempted to intervene.
Suddenly, someone sprang nimbly onto his seat and shouted above the din: "O you Muslims one and all!" It was Bediuzzaman. Having commanded the attention of the whole audience, he pointed out that freedom of speech had to be respected, it was shameful for members of a nation that had just proclaimed Freedom and constitutionalism to exceed the bounds of good behavior and prevent a speaker from lecturing in this way. The religion of Islam also commanded that ideas be respected. He supported what he said with verses from the Qur'an and Hadiths, gave examples from Islamic history, and told them of how the Prophet Muhammed used to consult the ideas of others and related his teachings and words, then advised them all to disperse quietly and go on their way.
Bediuzzaman spoke so well and convincingly that no one objected. Even the roughs and rowdies who a few minutes earlier had been hurling invective and abuse said nothing. Everyone left the theater thoroughly subdued and contrite.
The writer of the work from which the description of The above event is taken, Münir Suleyman Capanoglu, had further memories from that time, which he told Necmeddin ,sahiner in an interview in 1972. He said:
"... Certainly, he [Bediuzzaman] was someone who knew his theories well and could defend them well. He began way back at that time, he began in the Constitutional Period. He went at the same tempo, at the same speed, in the same direction, and defended the same idcas.., They were frightened of him at that time the same as in this period, because whenever he came out onto the street, he was immediately surrounded by a crowd."
On being asked if these were his own students who flocked round him, Münir Capanoglu continued:
"Both his students and the ordinary people. But mostly the people; they wanted to see him, they wanted to hear him speak. I myself witnessed this many times. He spoke beautifully. He spoke persuasively..."
We learn from one of his works that on the Constitution being proclaimed, Bediuzzaman sent fifty To sixty telegrams to the Eastern Provinces through the Grand Vizier's Office urging all the tribes to accept it, saying:
"Constitutionalism and the constitution about which you have heard consists of true justice and the consultation enjoined by the Seriat. Consider it favorably and work to preserve it, for our worldly happiness lies in constitutionalism. And we have suffered more than anyone from despotism."
The Constitution was not without opponents, particularly in the East where those whose interests were threatened were seeking to turn all the tribes against it with negative propaganda. While Bediuzzaman spent several months in the summer of 1910 traveling among them explaining its vital importance both for the Kurds and the Empire and Islamic world, as we shall see, at this point his efforts were confined to the written word.
In Istanbul, too, profiting from their ignorance and naivity, opponents of constitutionalism were trying to provoke the Kurdish porters against the Constitution. In response, Bediuzzaman took every opportunity to combat this negative propaganda and illuminate them concerning it. The text of one of his addresses to them is included in Nutuk. In this speech it is unity that Bediuzzaman is most insistent on. He told them that they had three enemies that were destroying them "poverty, ignorance, and Internal conflict", but that they now had to secure "three diamond swords" with which to rout the three enemies and preserve themselves. These were "national unity, human endeavor, and love of the nation".
That is to say, first the Kurds had to achieve unity among themselves, then making over the resulting "mighty force" to the Government and expending it outwardly, they would make themselves worthy of justice, and in return for it would demand justice and their rights from the Government. "...The Turks are our intelligence, and we are their strength, together we make a whole person. We shall not resist them, nor rebel against them. With this resolution of ours; we shall be a good example. to the other minority peoples [elements] of the Empire... If we obeyed [the Government) `to the degree of one batman' during the time of despotism, now ten batman s worth' of obedience and unity are necessary. For we shall see only benefits, because the Constitutional Government is in truth government based on the Seriat... In unity lies strength; in union, life; in brotherhood, happiness; in obedience to the Government, well-being. It is vital to hold fast to the strong rope of unity and bond of love."
A further occasion Bediuzzaman calmed a tense situation was at a mass protest organized by the medrese students in Beyazid in Istanbul in February 1909. Traditionally, students of the religious schools were exempt from military service of any kind, but following the proclamation of the Constitution, the Government had decided to introduce an examination on the pretext that the privilege was being abused. Students who passed the examination were to be exempt from military service, while for those who failed it military service would be compulsory. The student had organized the meeting ostensibly to protest at the very short time they had been given to prepare for the examination.
The meeting was becoming fairly turbulent by the time Bediuzzaman reached it. Well-known to the students, he addressed them explaining the authentic relationship between the Seriat and constitutionalism and pointing out that despotism could in no way be associated with the Seriat. In a short time he calmed the situation and prevented any serious disturbance occurring.
CHAPTER FOUR
 BEDIUZZAMAN AND THE THIRTY-FIRST OF MARCH
INCIDENT
 
 · Introduction
 
After nine months of CUP rule, increasing discontent found expression in the famous `thirty - first of March Incident'. Many aspects of this revolt , which started with Certain sections of the Army in Istanbul mutinying and continued for eleven days, have still not been brought to light, but what is certain is that contrary to the claims of the CUP and their heirs, it was not a `reactionary' movement. For, as Bediuzzaman noted after it: "certain people who make politics the tool of irreligion accuse others of political reaction and exploiting religion for the sake of politics in order to conceal their own wrongdoing.” And as a well-known historian pointed out, the CUP labelled all their opponents `reactionary' (murteci), and the word `reaction' (irtica) became synonymous with `opposition'.3 And so in some respects it continues to be used in the same manner to this day in Turkey.
Bediuzzaman played no part in the revolt, on the contrary as far as he could he used his influence and reputation in persuading the rebelling soldiers to obey their officers and return to barracks, and to no mean degree was successful in this. Nevertheless, when order was restored on the arrival of the `Operation Army' from Salonica, Bediuzzaman was arrested along with many hundreds of others and sent before one of the military courts. The reason for this was his involvement with the ittihad-i Muhammedi Cemiyeti or Society For Muslim Unity, which was accused of inciting the revolt. In any event, not only was he acquitted, and in one hearing, but a ruling of non-responsibility was also given. His defiance speech, which was also instrumental in forty to fifty other prisoners being released, was published in 1911 entitled The Testimonial of Two Schools of Misfortune or The Court Martial.
 
· The Society For Muslim Unity
 
The Society For Muslim Unity had been founded on 5 February , 1909, though the full versions of its manifesto and code of rules did not appear in the Volkan newspaper until 16 March, 1909. The ceremony to mark its founding took the form of a Mevlid and was held at the later, date of 3 April, to coincide with the Prophet Muhammed (PBUH)'s birthday (12 Rebiulevvel 1327). Bediuzzaman played a prominent role in the Mevlid, which was held in Aya Sophia, giving a sermon that lasted two hours. But before describing it, let us lern from Bediuzzaman's address to the Court Martial his reasons for joining the Society, and how he viewed it.
"I heard," said Bediuzzaman, "that a society had been formed called the Society For Muslim Unity [ ittihad-i Muhammedi] . I was frightened to the utmost degree that certain people would act in error under this blessed name. Then I heard that some sound people like Suheyl Pasa and Seyh Sadik had joined so as to make their actions more purely worship and follow the Exalted Sunna of the Prophet. They had transferred from that political society [CUP] and cut their relations with it, and they were not going to interfere in polities. But again I was afraid, I said: `This name is the right of everyone, it cannot be appropriated or restricted.' As for me, just as I belonged' in some respect to seven societies because I saw that their aims were the same, so too I joined this blessed name. However, I define the Society For Muslim Unity I belong to as follows:
"It is a circle bound with a luminous chain stretching from east to west , and from north to south. Those within it number more than three hundred million at this time. The point of unity of this Society and what binds it is Divine Unity. It oath and its promise is belief in God. Its members are all believers, belonging from the time of God's covenant with man. Its register is the Preserved Tablet. The Society’s means of communication are all Islamic books. Its daily newspapers, all religious newspapers whose aim is `upholding the Word of God'. Its clubs and councils are the mosques, religious schools, and Sufi tekkes. Its centre is the two sacred cities [Mecca and Medina]. Its head, the Glory of the World [the Prophet Muhammed]. Its way is the struggle of the each person with his own soul; that is, to assume the morality of the Prophet Muhammed (PBUH), to give new vigour to his practices, and to cultivate love for others and, if it is not harmful, offer them advice. The regulations of this Society are the Practices of the Prophet, and its code of laws, the injunctions and prohibitions of the Seriat. Its swords are clear proofs, for the civilized are to be conquered through persuasion, not compulsion. Investigating the truth is with love, while enmity is for savagery and bigotry. Its aim and purpose is `Upholding the Word of God'. And ninety-nine per cent of the Seriat is concerned with morality, worship, the Hereafter, and virtue. One per cent is concerned with politics; let our rulers think of that."
Bediuzzaman then continued: "Our aim now is to urge everyone towards the ka'ba of achievement and perfections on the way of progress with an eagerness and desire of the conscience through making that luminous chain vibrate. Because at this time the greatest cause of upholding the Word of God is through material progress.
"Thus, I am a member of this Society. I am one of those working for this Society's manifestation. I do not belong to the parties and groups which cause dissension."
Bediuzzaman, then, was firstly concerned to prevent a society bearing the name of the Prophet (PBUH) being appropriated by any group, and, being exploited for political ends, becoming a source of dissension and disunity. Rather, the Society For Muslim Unity embraced all believers and formed a barrier to the serious differences which had developed between the various societies and political parties in the months of CUP rule - differences so bitter that it was to this that Bediuzzaman ascribed what he called `the great disaster', that is, the 3l st of March Incident.
In a newspaper article Bediuzzaman wrote: "Our Society's way is love towards love, and enmity towards enmity. That is, to assist love among Muslims, and defeat the forces of enmity." Infact, he described the ittihad-i Muhammedi as ittihad-i Islam, or Islamic Unity, that is, "the unity that exists either potentially or in fact among all believers." The unity and brotherhood of Muslims were "like hidden veins of gold in half the globe", and the Society in Turkey was "a new flame which had appeared in one corner of it and gave the good news of that mighty reality being wholly revealed." This Society had emerged from the potential to the actual and now sought to awaken other believers and urge them towards the way of progress through the drive of the conscience. Muslims had not realized that vast potential. Through neglect, the luminous chain of unity which had bound the centres of Islam together had become inert, it had not been benefited from. Now it had to be brought to life and made to vibrate.'
The foundation of unity and progress and of the strengthening and liberation of the Islamic world was moral renewal, and Bediuzzaman saw the Society as spearheading a more widespread movement for `moral rearmament' through putting new energy into observing the Seriat and following the Practices of the Prophet. He stated: "The reason for our worldly decline was failure to observe our religion. Also, we are more in need of moral improvement than government reform..."
In these articles Bediuzzaman is explaining in greater detail the aims of the Society For Muslim Unity as they appeared in the Society's Manifesto and Code of Rules. In addition, the Manifesto pointed out that at that time socials and parties of every shade and variety had been organized in different parts of the world, and stated that just as it was not injurious for a Muslim not to belong to the Society, so also belonging to it did not form an obstacle to belonging to other societies, whether religious or political. Societies were necessary, because "the desired fruits can never be plucked from Constitutionalism without parties and societies." The Society recognized ("does not even look askance at") the fact that under the Constitution all citizens, that is non-Muslims as well as Muslims, were equal before the law. Furthermore, the Manifesto was at pains to point out that all its activities, and the activities it aimed to promote among Muslims, were to be within the law.
 
· The Mevlid in Aya Sophia
 
That a Mevlid was being organized by the Society in Aya Sophia to coincide with the Prophet’s birthday was announced in the Volkan on 18 Mart , 1325/31 March, 1909. It stated that the Society "had entered a new era of tranquillity and progress having successfully surmounted all the attacks to which it had been subject, and the crises arising from those attacks." "The Mevlid was to be "a gift to Muhammed (PBUH)'s pure and unstained spirit.”
The news of the Mevlid evoked a tremendous response among the population of Istanbul, and something in the region of one hundred thousand people gathered on the specified day. Never before had there been such a throng in the area surrounding Aya Sophia. However, despite the numbers, no unto ward incidents occurred either before or after the Mevlid, and the whole occasion was most orderly; "a display of Islamic brotherhood and decorum." Dervis Vahdeti described Bediuzzaman's arrival and address as follows:
"Round about ten o'clock Bediuzzaman Said Kurdi Hazretleri arrived at the head of the Society for Students of the Religious Sciences. We greeted him at the. outer doors, where we were meeting all who arrived.... The turbans on the students' heads were white like light and enspiriting like flowers. But more than anything, it was the religious education they had received which gave the students an exceptional quality.
"Since it was requested of him, `Our Hazret', that is, the Wonder of the World of Islam [Bediuzzaman], mounted the pulpit with that famous Kurdish dress and heroic manner of his and like always with a dagger at his waist, and standing, delivered an eloquent address..."
Bediuzzaman began the address with the words: "The truth has risen naked from the grave of the heart. Let those for whom it is prohibited not gaze on it." And mentioning all the important political, social, and religious subjects of the time, he continued for two hours. In the words of one of those present: "The sermon Bediuzzaman delivered standing in the pulpit was a masterpiece.”
 
· Dervis Vahdeti
 
Bediuzzaman was one of the twenty-six members of the Governing Board of the Istanbul Central Committee of the Society for Muslim Unity.It functioned from the offices of the Volkati newspaper, the owner of which was Hafiz Dervis Vahdeti, and it was Dervis Vahdeti who had first founded the Society.
Dervis Vahdeti continues to this day to be something of an unknown quantity. While according to the `official' histories, he has been portrayed as a radical `reactionary' opposed to Constitutionalism, and even as a subversive and British agent, from recent research these accusations appear to be false. He now appears more as a victim of circumstance who was made the symbol of the Revolt and paid the consequences. For from the first issue of the Volkan, which appeared on 28 Tesrin-i Sani 1324/11 December 1908, Vahdeti used it to answer the attacks on the Seriat and Islamic traditions and morality made by the newspapers supporting the CUP. As Vahdeti himself put it, the Volkan: was "very small but active", "moderation" was its "way" "however, when truth and right are attacked, it is not possible for the Volkan not to erupt." Nevertheless, it supported the Constitution and the rule of law, and its aim was to promote the interests of Muslims, and to further the cause of Islam and the Qur'an in the face of the daily increasing despotism and unlawfulness of the CUP and their supporters.
The apprehension expressed by Bediuzzaman on hearing that "certain people" had founded a society called the Society For Muslim Unity mentioned above refers to his anxiety that a society bearing the name of the Prophet Muhammed [ PBUH] should become involved in politics or be limited to one group, rather than referring to Dervis Vahdeti. Nevertheless, however much he shared the views expressed by the newspaper, it is probably fair to say that he wished Dervis Vahdeti to adhere to the moderation which was its way. For Bediuzzaman was severely critical of the divisive role of the press in that period and on several occasions published articles pointing out how the newspapers should conduct themselves. At the end of two long articles of the fifteen of his that appeared in the Volkan, Bediuzzaman wrote a brief reminder to Vahdeti advising him of his responsibility to act moderately as Islam requires:
"My Brother, Dervis Vahdeti Bey!
"Writers should be mannerly. And their manners should be moulded by the manners of Islam. Let the sense of religion in the conscience order the Press Regulations, for this Islamic revolution has shown that what rules in all consciences is Islamic zeal, the light of lights. Also, it has been understood that the Society For Muslim Unity includes all the people of Islam. There is no one outside it."
Articles written by Bediuzzaman appeared in most of the leading newspapers of the day, including Tanin, Ikdam, Serbesti, Mizan, Misbah, and the ,Sark ve Kürdistan Gazetesi, not only in the Volkan. He defended the same ideas in all of them. Since, along the Mizan and other papers, the Volkan had taken up an open position against the CUP, it was itself, and the Society For Muslim Unity, for which it spoke, the objects of much criticism. In his articles, therefore, in the most moderate and reasonable tone, Bediuzzaman particularly sought to allay fears about the Society, explaining it in the terms described above. Three of his later articles, appearing between 31 March 1909 and 15 April, specifically answered criticisms, misgivings, and questions concerning it. The final two installments of the third, `Dispelling Doubts in the Light of the Truth', appeared after the 3l st March Incident had broken out, and this article was given as a further reason for his being arrested and sent before the Court Martial. As for Dervis Vahdeti, he was accused and found guilty of inciting the rebellion, and was hanged along with twelve others on 19 July 1909. Indeed, the committee of Union and Progress well and truly took their revenge: the total numbers executed were two hundred and thirty-seven.
 
· Background to the Revolt
 
The CUP considered the 3l st of March Incident to be a `reactionary' movement and held Sultan Abdulhamid responsible for it. But on the contrary, all the evidence points to the reverse being true, that the CUP at least had a finger in it. It is beyond the scope of this book to examine the Incident in detail, but since both it and Bediuzzaman's role in it, have been consistently misrepresented, we shall attempt to give a clearer perspective by including the following brief outline of its main causes and the course of events.
As has already been noted, when the high hopes and expectations engendered by the proclamation of the Constitution were not realized, there was widespread disappointment and dissatisfaction, particularly among Muslims who themselves received few benefits but saw the minorities using the new freedom to pursue their own interests at the expense of the Empire. Disenchantment with the CUP increased daily as their true colours became more and more evident.
Remaining in the background, the CUP were not an official political party, nor were they responsible to anyone. They were in power, but indirectly. Furthermore, in contrast with Abdulhamid, they were inexperienced, and their refusal to admit to this contributed directly to the immediate loss of territory and the speedy demise of the Empire. Censorship was abolished. The CUP began a relentless attack on the Sultan in the press. Claiming constitutionalism as their own, they tried to force their views on the people. But the more they showed their true colours, the more mistrusted and unpopular they became. And the fiercer became the battle between the parties and societies. The press became the field of battle. In response, the CUP resorted to covert and illegal methods in order to establish themselves more firmly, increasingly using force to eliminate opponents.
This intimidation and political violence created an atmosphere of terror, and all the while those prompting it remained in the background. On 15 December 1908, one of the Sultan's men, Ismail Mahir Pasa, was murdered. He was followed by others, including prominent journalists, one of which was Hasan Fehmi Bey. He was the editor of the Serbesti, one of the loudest voices of opposition to the CUP. His assassination on 6 April 1909 resulted in widespread, unanswered, calls for justice. It was a return to despotism in a form worse than previously.
At the same time, the CUP started a drive to weed out government officials and replace them with their own supporters, whether experienced or not. There were substantial numbers involved. The same policy was followed in the Army. The officers were of two kinds, those risen from the ranks on their merit and experience, and those trained in the new military academies. The CUP started to replace the former with the latter, who were mostly CUP supporters. The numbers expelled from all sections of the Army reached close on eight thousand. Many of the new officers were inexperienced, and the CUP supporters from among them mocked the religion of Islam and tried to prevent the ordinary soldiers carrying out their religious duties. Thus, dissatisfaction within the Army grew to serious proportions, while the expelled officials and officers formed a significant body ready to rebel against the Government.
Also, there was a general feeling of affront and distrust among the people due to the CUP's lax attitude towards religion. Freedom had speeded up the import of Western culture, manners, and morality, and had led to a decline in moral standards.
And finally was the extreme partisanship of the different parties and societies. The excessive and bitter `war' between the newspapers representing the CUP and their opponents continually exacerbated the situation. Dervis ' Vahdeti cannot be altogether exonerated from this.
 
· The Revolt
 
The revolt broke out among one of the Light Infantry battalions which only a few weeks previously had been brought to Istanbul from Salonica as the `Defenders of Freedom'. It started in the middle of the night of 12-13 April. Locking their officers in their rooms, the soldiers took control of the barracks, then poured out into the streets. There, as they made their way to Aya Sophia and the Parliament Building, the throng increased in magnitude as they were joined by other soldiers, medrese students, and members of the public. The shout was for the Seriat. It was daytime by the time they reached Aya Sophia. They surrounded the Parliament and presented their demands. These included the dismissal of the Grand Vizier, the War Minister, and Commander of the Imperial Guards, the removal of Ahmed Riza who had acted as Speaker of the Parliament since the Proclamation of the Constitution, the application in full of the Seriat, the reinstatement of their expelled officers, and a guarantee that the soldiers who had taken part in the rebellion would not be punished.
In the meantime, the rebels had murdered one of the Deputies on the mistaken supposition it was the leading CUP journalist Huseyin Cahid, together with the Justice Minister supposing him to be the Grand Vizier.
The Government resigned, and the Sultan appointed a new Grand Vizier and Minister of War. The rebellion continued; there was looting and some bloodshed. The offices of the CUP and their main press organs were sacked. Rather than attempting to quell the disturbance - it was not supported by anyone of authority either military or civil - the CUP chose to send for forces from Salonica.
News of the uprising provoked a strong reaction in Salonica, which was still the centre of the CUP. Spreading the news that Freedom itself was threatened, the CUP had no difficulty in forming a force of volunteers consisting largely of bands of Serbs, Bulgars, Greeks, Macedonians, and Albanians. Regular units were in a small minority in this `Operation Army'. They were armed, and entrained for Istanbul. The force gathered at Yesilköy several kilometers outside the city, where Mahmud Sevket Pasa took command of it. On 24 April, they took possession of the city, and the following day proclaimed martial law. On the 27th, Sultan Abdulhamid was deposed. It was Tal'at Bey who with great insistence managed to obtain the fetva authorizing the dethronement from two religious notables - having failed to extract it from the Seyhu’l-Islam, just as it was due to Tal'at Bey's influence that having moved to Yesilköy in order to declare their support for the ' Operation Army, members of the Parliament and Upper House had taken the secret decision to depose the Sultan, though they published a declaration saying their purpose was to save him.
It is worth mentioning briefly that the 31st of March Incident should also be seen in the broader perspective of the Great Powers and their rivalry and ambitions concerning the Ottoman Empire. Particularly as far as the British were concerned, Abdulhamid and his Caliphate policy and successful diplomatic maneuvering formed one of the greatest barriers to their designs on the area, including the establishment of a Jewish state. Also, among the CUP were Masons and those representing interests opposed to the Empire, although the great majority of their supporters in the Parliament were patriotic and well disposed towards Islam; if uncertain as to what its role should be. When answering questions on this subject put to him by the tribes in eastern Anatolia the following year, Bediuzzaman said:
"...I observed a situation similar to this in the 31st of March Incident. For Islam's constitutionalism-cherishing and patriotic devotees were suggesting ways of applying certain details in order to adapt to the Seriat the divine bounty of constitutionalism, which they knew to be the very essence of life, and direct those involved in government towards the kible in the prayer of justice, to uphold the sacred Seriat with the strength of constitutionalism, and perpetuate constitutionalism with the strength of the Seriat, and to impute all the former evils to opposition to the Seriat. Then supposing, God forbid, the Seriat to be conducive to despotism, those who could not distinguish right from left started saying: `We want the Seriat!' like parrots and in that situation the real purpose could not be understood. In any case, the plans had been laid. So then a number of villains who had donned masks of false patriotism attacked the sacred name [the Seriat]..."
That is to say, Bediuzzaman is saying that plans had been laid to incite just such a revolt. And when the 31 st of March Incident broke out, it was exploited to the full in order to attack the Seriat, and reduce the power of Islam within the State. Indeed, the historian Cemal Kutay described the military courts set up afterwards as "a cleansing operation", and their purpose, not to carry out justice, but "to eliminate a mentality and a system."
 
· Bediuzzaman Calls For Order
 
We learn of Bediuzzaman's own movements during the revolt and how he did all he could to reestablish order within the Army from his defense speech to the court martial. He told the court:
"I watched the fearful activity on the day of the 3l st of March for two or three minutes from the distance. I heard numerous demands... I understood the matter was bad; obedience was spoilt, advice would have been ineffective. Otherwise like always I would have attempted to quench the fire. But the people were many, my fellow-countrymen heedless and naive, and I would have been conspicuous because of my undeserved fame. I left after three minutes, and went to Bakirkoy so that those who knew me would not join it. And I advised those who just happened to be there not to take part. If I had been involved to even the tiniest degree, my clothes would have shown me up, my unwanted fame would have pointed me out to everyone. I would have appeared very significant in the matter. Indeed, even if alone as far as Ayastefanos [Yesilkoy], I would have put in an appearance confronting the Operation Army. I would have died manfully. Then my involvement would have been plain; it would not have been necessary to prove it.
"On the second day I asked about obedience in the Army, which is the source of our life. They said: `The officers have put on soldiers' uniforms and discipline is not spoilt too much.' Again I asked how many officers had been shot. They deceived me and said: `Only four. And they were tyrants. Also, procedure and punishment will be according to the Seriat.'
"Also, I looked at the newspapers. They too described the uprising as though it was lawful. And in one way I was pleased, because my most sacred aim is for the Seriat rulings to be applied and enacted in full. But I felt infinitely hopeless and saddened because harm had come to discipline in the Army. So I addressed the soldiers through all the newspapers saying:
"`O Soldiers! If your officers are wronging themselves through some transgressions, you are in one respect wronging thirty million Ottomans and three hundred million Muslims and infringing their rights through this insubordination. For the honour, happiness, and banner of Divine Unity of all Islam and all Ottomans is at this time in some respect dependent on your obedience.
"`And you want the Seriat, but through your disobedience you are opposing the Seriat.'
"I Flattered their action and courage, because. the newspapers - those lying interpreters of public opinion - showed us their action as lawful. To a degree I made my advice effective by showing appreciation. And to a degree I quelled the rebellion. Otherwise it would not have been put down so easily."
"On the Friday, together with other ulema I went in among the soldiers who were around the War Ministry. I induced eight battalions to submit and obey orders. My exhortations showed their effect later."
Bediuzzaman then quoted his speech to them, which began similarly to the few sentences from his newspaper address to the rebelling soldiers quoted above, and pointed out that they were threatening Islamic unity and brotherhood through their insubordination. He continued:
"`You should know that the Army corps resembles a huge and wellordered factory. If one machine rebels, it throws the whole factory into turmoil. Private soldiers should not meddle in politics. The Janisseries testify to that. You say you want the Seriat, but you are opposing the Seriat, and besmirching it. It is established by the Seriat, and the Qur'an, and Hadith, and wisdom and experience that it is obligatory to obey trustworthy, religious, and just rulers. Your rulers are your instructors and officers. "' Bediuzzaman then went on to say that they should obey the officers who had come from the new military academies even if their conduct was in part unlawful. Just as if a doctor or engineer committed wrongdoing it did not necessarily harm their professional activities, the same was true for these officers. The banner of Divine Unity was in the hand of the soldiers' courage, and the strength of that hand lay in obedience and order. A thousand regular, obedient soldiers were equal to a hundred thousand irregular troops. He concluded the speech:
 
"I proclaim to you the Glory of the World's decree that obedience is obligatory. Do not rebel against your officers! Long live the Army! Long live The Islamic Constitution!"
 
· The Court Martial
 
If further illustration is needed of Bediuzzaman's unwavering fidelity to the cause he knew to be the only path of salvation for both the Ottomans and the Islamic world, and his extraordinary boldness and courage in furthering it, his defense speech to the court martial provides it. It is a restatement of his ideas, and at the same time forms a stinging condemnation both of the CUP and the new despotism they were creating in the name of constitutionalism, and of the military courts that had been set up in the name of justice following the 3l st of March Incident. Bediuzzaman had been held in prison before being sent before the court martial, which he described as a place of torture; it was this together with his experience of the mental hospital which prompted him to deliver this attack on the CUP's betrayal of constitutionalism and gave the name to the speech when it appeared in book form. The basic lesson he had learnt from these `Two Schools of Misfortune' was "compassion for the weak and an intense detestation of tyranny."
The military courts were fairly awesome affairs with the pasas and officers who were acting as judges haughty and autocratic and holding absolute power of life and death over those brought before them. Formalities were of the most summary nature, and the sentences and executions carried out immediately. The day Bediuzzaman was brought before the court in Bayezid, the corpses of fifteen of its victims could be seen hanging in the square beyond the windows.
At the beginning of the hearing, Bediuzzaman was asked a number of , questions put to all the accused. One of these, asked by Hursid Pasa, the President of the Court, was: "Did you want the Seriat? Those wanting the Seriat are hanged like those out there." Bediuzzaman replied:
"If I had a thousand lives, I would be ready to sacrifice all of them for one truth of the Seriat, for the Seriat is the source of prosperity and happiness, pure justice, and virtue. But not like those who revolted want it."
Then he was asked: "Are you a member of the Society For Muslim Unity?" To which he replied:
"With pride. I am one of its most insignificant members. But in the way that I define it. Show me someone apart from those without religion who is not a member."
Bediuzzaman told the court:
"Pasas and officers! By way of introduction I say: the manly and brave do not stoop to crime. And if they are accused of it, they do not fear the punishment. If I am executed unjustly, I shall gain the reward of two martyrs. And if I remain in prison, prison is probably the most comfortable place of a tyrannical government whose freedom consists thus only of the word. To die oppressed is better than to live as oppressor."
The main part of Bediuzzaman’s long defence took the form of describing the eleven and a half "crimes" for which he had been imprisoned. These were his main activities in the nine months of freedom, and were all in the cause of Islam and the constitution. They have mostly been described above, including his reasons for joining the Society For Muslim Unify and how he viewed it, and his movements during the revolt. Bediuzzaman then said: "...I have done one good thing in place of all these bad deeds. I shall tell you:
"I opposed this branch of despotism here, which has destroyed everyone's enthusiasm and extinguished their joy; awakened feelings of hatred and partisanship, and given rise to the formation of recialist societies, whose name is constitutionalism and meaning is despotism, and who has besmirched the name of unity and progress... Since I am pledged to true constitutionalism based on the Seriat, whatever form despotism takes, even if it clothes itself in constitutionalism and calls itself that, I shall strike it wherever I encounter it. I think the enemies of constitutionalism arc those who make the enemies of mutual consultation many through showing constitutionalism to be tyrannical, ugly, and contrary to the Serial."
"O you who command! I had a good name and I would have served the nation of Islam with it; you have destroyed it. I had an undeserved fame and I used to make my words of advice to the people effective with it; I am pleased to say you have razed it. Now I have a frail life of which I am weary. May I be damned if I begrudge the gallows it. May I not be a man if I do not go laughing to my death... You put me to the touchstone. I wonder how many of those you call the pure party would emerge sound if you put them to the touchstone. If constitutionalism consists of one party's despotism, and it acts contrary to the Seriat, let all the world, men and jinn, bear witness that I am a reactionary..."
Bediuzzaman also wanted to set the record straight concerning the 3l st of March Incident, discipline in the Army, and the Seriat and its role, which from the start had been misinterpreted and misrepresented by newspapers of both sides. The seven main reasons he put forward for the revolt were substantially the same as those given above. Then saying to the court:
"Pasas and officers! Now I want the punishment for my `crimes', and the answers to my questions...", Bediuzzaman put to them eleven and a half questions which pointed out that the majority of those involved were not blameworthy and suggested that injustices arising from CUP rule were the cause. These questions resulted in between forty and fifty prisoners being released.
Towards the end of his address, Bediuzzaman told the court that he was absolutely insistent on everything he had written in all his newspaper articles. Whether he was summoned to a court in the Era of the Prophet, or to one three hundred years hence, his case, "dressed according to how the fashion of the time required", would be exactly the same. "The truth does not change; the truth is the truth."
Bediuzzaman expected to be hanged by this court martial, which for its evidence had relied chiefly on informers and denouncers. Indeed, he had asked the court: "The detectives now are worse than the one's before, how can their word be relied on? How can justice be built on what they say?" On learning that the court's unanimous decision was for his acquittal, Bediuzzaman expressed no gratitude. He turned and left the court on being released, then walked from Bayezid to Sultan Ahmet at the head of the large ' crowd that had gathered, shouting: "Long live Hell for all tyrants! Long live Hell for all tyrants!"
The 31 st of March Incident was indeed as Bediuzzaman described it, "The Great Disaster". Whatever the CUP's role in it, it provided them with the opportunity they had been seeking. Firstly, they realized their long-held ambition to depose Sultan Abdulhamid. Immediately preceding the revolt, they had come out into the open and proclaimed themselves an official party. Then following it, they disbanded the opposition parties, a little later further reduced the powers of the Sultan, and gained tighter control over the State. The same year they introduced a number of measures which restricted freedom to a greater degree than under Abdulhamid. The Society for Muslim Unity was closed and disbanded; indeed, many of its leading members had met their end on the gallows of the military courts.
Bediuzzaman felt profound disillusion with Istanbul and its deceptively civilized exterior after what he had experienced in the short time he had been there. His gaze now returned to his native East. He wrote: "If civilization provides such a favorable ground for honour-destroying aggression and dissension-causing slander, cruel thoughts of revenge, satanic sophistry, and carelessness in matters of religion, let everyone witness that in place of this seat of malice known as the felicitous palace of civilization I prefer the wild nomad tents of the high mountains of Kurdistan, the place of absolute freedom... I thought that writers' conduct should be worthy of literature. But I see some ill-mannered newspapers disseminating hatred. If that is how manners should be, and if public opinion is thus confused, bear witness that I have renounced such literature. I shall have no part in it. In place of the newspapers, I shall study the heavenly bodies and tableaux of the world in the high mountains of my native land....
"Yes, I prefer the wild life to civilization which is thus mixed with despotism, depravity, and degradation. This civilization makes individuals impoverished, dissolute, and immoral, whereas true civilization serves mankind's progress and development and the realization of man's potential. In this regard, therefore, to want civilization is to want humanity...
"Long live Islamic Constitutionalism! Long live the shining Freedom which has learnt a thorough lesson from the instruction of the reality of the Seriat! "
CHAPTER FIVE
 "THE FUTURE SHALL BE ISLAM'S,
AND ISLAM'S ALONE"
  
· Bediuzzaman Heads East
 
Bediuzzaman did not remain long in Istanbul after his acquittal. He set off for the East by way of the Black Sea accompanied by two of his students. It was the spring of 1910. It is recorded that on the way, the boat stopped off at Inebolu, and on visiting the town Bediuzzaman had a warm reception from its leading religious figure, Haci Ziya, and others. And on leaving, was accompanied as far as the boat by a large crowd.' And Bediuzzaman himself related the following incident, which occurred in Tiflis, the capital city of Georgia, while he was making his way from Batum to Van.
Bediuzzaman had climbed a prominent hill known as Seyh Sanan Tepesi, which has a commanding view of the city of Tiflis and the valley of the River Kura in which it is situated together with all the surrounding countryside. He was gazing at the view plunged in thought when approached by a Russian policeman. The following exchange ensued, which began with the policeman asking:
"Why are you studying the land with such attention?" Bediuzzaman replied: "I am planning my medrese."
"Where arc you from?"
"I'm from Bitlis."
"But this is Tiflis!"
"Bitlis is one of Tiflis' brothers."
The policeman was bewildered: "What do you mean?"
Bediuzzaman explained: "Three lights are beginning to be revealed one after the other in Asia and the world of Islam. While with you three layers of darkness will start to recede one over the other. This veil of despotism shall be rent; it will shrink back, and I shall come and build my medrese here."
This only increased the policeman's bewilderment. "I'm sorry for you ",he said. "I'm astonished that you should entertain such a hope."
"And I am astonished at your not understanding!", replied Bediuzzaman. "Do you think it possible that this winter will continue? Every winter is followed by spring, and every night by day."
"But the Islamic world is all broken up and fragmented."
"They have gone to study. It is like this: India is an able son of Islam; it is studying in the high school of the British. Egypt is a clever son of Islam; it is taking lessons in the British school for civil servants. Caucasia and Turkestan are two valiant sons of Islam; they are training in the Russian war academy y. And so on.
"You see, after these noble sons of Islam have received their diplomas , each will lead a continent, and, waving the banner of Islam, their just and mighty father, on the horizons of perfection, they will proclaim the mystery of pre-eternal wisdom inherent in mankind in the view of pre-eternal divine determining and in the face of obstinate fate."
`This short anecdote gives the note for Bediuzzaman's main message for the tribes of eastern Anatolia, and of his celebrated sermon in Damascus early the following year; namely, encouragement and hope for the future. That is to say, despite his disillusion with developments in Istanbul, Bediuzzaman was unwavering in his conviction that constitutionalism was the way to further the cause of Islam and preserve the Empire by securing progress and unity. Indeed, as we shall see when examining the Sermon, Bediuzzaman predicted that according to all the signs, Islam and Islamic - or, true - civilization would prevail in the future, and that the majority of mankind would accept and join the religion of Islam. He said: "In the future when reason , science and technology hold sway, that will surely be the time the Qur'an will gain ascendancy, which relies on rational proofs and makes the reason confirm its pronouncements."
 
· Among the Tribes of Eastern Anatolia
 
Bediuzzaman spent the summer of 1910 traveling throughout the Eastern Provinces. "Making a medrese of mountain and plain," he wrote, "I gave lessons on constitutionalism." He found that the general understanding of the subject was "extremely odd" and confused, and therefore suggested the people ask the questions, which he then answered. He afterwards made a compilation of these and published it in Turkish in 1913 under the title, Munazarat, or The Debates. He also prepared an Arabic version with the title Recetetu’1-Avam, Prescription for the Common People.
The questions cover a number of subjects related to Freedom and the new regime, and its consequences for the tribespeople and their leaders. The answers constitute one of the main sources for Bediuzzaman's ideas on the subject, and form a substantial and fascinating work which space does not allow us to examine in detail. Although those relating specifically to constitutionalism and Freedom have been described in some detail above, here we shall mention a few additional points which explain further how, through the people "awakening" and becoming conscious, as autonomous, enterprising, self sacrificing individuals, of their being members of the "the nation of Islam", the new order would secure the progress - in this instance - of the Kurds, and the unity of Islamic world and the Empire. But first it should not go unnoticed that Bediuzzaman did not spare himself in this struggle, nor did he restrict it to the pen or to the theoretical. He had pursued it as far as Istanbul, publicizing in particular the needs of the East and doing what he could to further his plans for educational reform. Now he had returned to his native country and proceeded to travel all over that wild, mountainous, backward, and impoverished region. And it was primarily the ordinary people he was seeking to address, the ordinary people who through the adoption of the Constitution had been raised to the rank of "sovereign", and were the builders of the future.
On giving definitions of despotism and constitutionalism in response to the people's questions, Bediuzzaman was asked by them why they had not seen the great benefits he described. He replied that it was problems associated with the area such as ignorance, poverty, internal enmity, and lack of civilization that was preventing it. What he wanted to make plain was that the onus lay with them, but added that he only pointed out their faults "to deliver them from laziness." "If you want constitutionalism to come quickly, build a railway out of learning and virtue so that it can mount the train of attainment and achievement called civilization, and riding on the seeds of progress, surmount the obstacles in a short time and greet you. However quickly you build the railway, it will come with the same speed."
It is appropriate here to relate the following anecdote: during his travels through the region, Bediuzzaman had arrived at Urfa from Diyarbakir. He then set out to make a tour of the surrounding area, and returning to Urfa, addressed a large gathering in the courtyard of the Yusuf Pasa Mosque. He be an his address by describing how in one of the places he had visited, a villager he had questioned on the state of local agriculture had replied: "Our aga [feudal landlord or tribal chief] knows" to whatever he had been asked. Bediuzzaman had told him: "Well, in that case, I shall talk with your intelligence which is in your aga’s pocket!", and had proceeded to explain that he should not refer everything to the aga but should be enterprising and have initiative, and himself be informed about all the matters concerning the village. He made this the basis of his address.
It can be seen from these examples that Bediuzzaman wanted to impress on the people that the way forward now lay in their own hands. The sovereignty of the nation was this. When asked about the position of their chiefs and leaders, for traditionally tribal society had been dominated by the chiefs, elders, and religious figures, he replied as follows:
"Each era has its own rule and ruler. According to your terminology, an aga was necessary to make the machine of the former era turn. Thus, the era of despotism’s immaterial rule was force. Whoever had a sharp sword and hard heart rose. But the era of constitutionalism's spring, spirit, force, ruler, and aga is truth; it is reason, knowledge, the law, and public opinion. Whoever has a sharp mind and luminous heart will rise, and only he. Since knowledge increases as it advances in years, and force decreases, medieval governments, which rely on force, are condemned to extinction. While since governments of the modem age rely on science, they shall manifest immortal life."
Bediuzzaman was not attacking the chiefs and elders as such by speaking like this, but describing the way the modem world was taking, and the way they, too, had to take if they were not to remain outside the stream of time. Under the new order, leaders were the servants of the people and the nation. He continued:
"And so, O Kurds! If through relying on force their swords are sharp, your beys and agas, and even your Seyhs, will of necessity fall. And they will deserve it. But if, relying on reason in place of compulsion, they employ love and make the emotions subject to the mind, they will not fall; indeed, they will rise."
In another place in the work we learn of the main criticism Bediuzzaman was levelling at the chiefs, though here he specifies that it is at the former chiefs that he is "throwing his stone", and describes it as another of "the evils of despotism". This was that "certain chiefs, and some imposters who posed as patriots sacrificing themselves for the nation, and certain unqualified, phoney Seyhs who claimed exceptional spiritual powers" had drained the nation of material and moral resources, thereby extinguishing the sense of nationhood, and breaking up and destroying the collectivity of the nation. This idea of the collectivity, or the "collective personality" or "corporate identity" (Sahs-i Manevi) of a nation or social body, is frequently encountered in Bediuzzaman's writings. He described the modern age as "the age of the group or social body (cemaat)... If the `collective personality' , which is the spirit of a social body, is righteous, it is more brilliant and complete (than that of an individual]. But if it is bad, it is exceedingly bad..." That is to say, Bediuzzaman is explaining to the people of eastern Anatolia that what falls to them now is to transcend their narrow traditional interests and loyalties, expand their ideas, and develop, or rather regain, a consciousness of Islamic nationhood. He told them:
"If only those who hold their lives in little account for some benefit, or minor matter of reputation, or imaginary glory, or to hear the words: `So and so's a brave hero', or to uphold the honour of their agas were to awake , would they not hold their lives in little account, and thousands of souls too if they possessed them, for the nation of Islam, which is worth treasuries; that is, the nation of Islam which gains them the brotherhood and moral assistance of three hundred million Muslims?..."
Bediuzzaman went on to say that the willingness to sacrifice one's life for the nation was essentially part of the high morality of Islam, and a requirement of it, which had been stolen from them by non-Muslims. It was the foundation of modem progress. He continued: "We must declare with our spirits, lives, consciences, minds, and all our strength: `If we die, Islam, which is our nation, lives; it will live for ever. Let my nation be strong and well. Reward in the Hereafter is enough for me. My life as part of the nation will make me live; it will make happy in the world above.”
Thus, to recapitulate, with "the destruction of the barrier of despotism" , constitutionalism and the idea of Freedom had spread throughout the Islamic world and had caused a thorough awakening, and had brought about progress in ideas and great changes. This was because it had "showed up the existence of the nation," and in turn, "the luminous jewel of Islam within the shell of nationhood had begun to be manifest." Islam was vibrating, stirring to life. This had made it clear to all Muslims that each was not isolated and disjoined, but connected to all the others through shared interest and fellowfeeling. The whole Islamic world was bound together like a single tribe. This vibrating was also making Muslims aware that they had at their disposal a source of great strength and support. This had given birth to hope, which had revived their morale, previously destroyed by despair.
It may be seen from this why Bediuzzaman was insistent on the present regime, despite the objections that could legitimately be raised concerning the CUP. He answered the uncertainties and objections put to him by the tribesmen, pointing out that it was "the lesser of two evils" and that "if consultation now deviates from the Seriat one finger, formerly it did so one hundred yards." Also through explaining it in this way, he allayed their fears concerning religion, which they had understood to be under threat by the Revolution. On the contrary, constitutionalism was the way to protect Islam. The feeling for Islam and sense of religion which lay behind the public opinion of the nation was a much surer, more effective, and exalted way to protect religion than leaving it to "an unhappy, defeated Sultan, or sycophantic officials, or a few unreasonable policemen."
 
· Questions on Minority Rights
 
As is to be expected; the tribesmen asked a number of questions concerning the Armenians, and non-Muslims generally, and the conformity with the Seriat of their gaining equality of rights under the Constitution. Because both of the universal relevance of the matter, and how it further makes plain Bediuzzaman’s enlightened and realistic views, we include a few of the ". main points.
First, however, to put the questions in context it should be remembered that although the Armenians in their millet had been contented to be part of the Ottoman Empire for centuries, and many of them continued to be loyal to it despite the rise of nationalist sentiments, following the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78, the Russians supported by the British intensified their policy of inciting the Armenians to revolutionary acts of terrorism against the Ottoman State as a way of further dismembering it. The acts of terrorism and slaughter were carried out primarily for propaganda purposes: by provoking retaliatory attacks by the Muslims, the Armenians intended to portray themselves as innocent victims and thus to ignite European feeling against the Turks and gain support for the setting up of an Armenian state in astern Anatolia, even to force Russia and Britain to intervene in their support.
After listening to Bediuzzaman's definitions of Freedom, the tribesmen accepted it as a good thing, but said that the Greeks' and Armenians' freedom seemed to them to be "ugly" and made them think. They wanted to learn Bediuzzaman's opinion. His reply was in two parts:
"Firstly, their freedom consists of leaving them in peace and not oppressing them. And this is what the Seriat enjoins. More than this is their aggression in the face of your bad points and craziness, their benefiting from your ignorance."
It may be understood from this that again Bediuzzaman is impressing on the Kurds that their real enemy is the situation into which had fallen: "Also, our enemy and what is destroying us is Aga Ignorance, and his son, Poverty Efendi, and grandson, Enmity Bey. Even if the Armenians have opposed us in hatred, they have done so under the commandership of these three corrupters."
In the second part of his answer to the question, Bediuzzaman pointed out that even if the Armenians' freedom was as bad as they thought, Muslims still do not cause harm. The Armenians and the total number of non-Muslims in the Empire were relatively few compared with the whole Muslim nation of more than three hundred million. And these three hundred million had been bound with "three dreadful fetters of despotism" and were being "crushed, captive under the Europeans' tyranny." "Thus," continued Bediuzzaman, "the non-Muslims' freedom, which is one branch of our freedom, is the bribe for [the price of ] the freedom of all our nation [the Islamic world]. It is the repelled of that despotism, and the key to those fetters. It is the raiser of the dreadful tyranny the Europeans have made descend on us." Bediuzzaman considered they could afford this price, for as we have seen, "the Ottomans' freedom is the discloser of mighty Asia's good fortune. It is the key to Islam's prosperity. It is the foundation of the ramparts of Islamic Unity."
 
· Bediuzzaman Addresses the Generations of the Future
 
Bediuzzaman's eyes were on the future. It was a time of defeat for the Islamic world, a period of regression and darkness. But he knew the spring would come, and a golden age would dawn bringing true happiness, progress, and civilization for mankind. This retum to life had begun. Flashes of light, signs of life could be seen. Bediuzzaman's view was so clear, he became impatient with the reluctance of the tribesmen to grasp it; rather, he expressed his impatience with his contemporaries generally:
"Why should the world be the world of progress for everyone else, and the world of decline and retrogression only for us? Is that the case? See, I shall not speak to you, I am turning this way; I shall speak to the people of the future:
"O you Said's, Hamza's, Omer's, Osman's, Tahir's, Yusuf's, Ahmed's and the rest of you who are hidden behind the high age of three centuries hence, and listening silently to my words, watch us with a secret, unseen gaze! I am addressing you! Raise your heads and say: `You are right!' And it should be incumbent on you to say it. Let these contemporaries of mine not listen if they do not wish. I am speaking to you over the wireless telegraph that stretches from the valleys of the past called history to your elevated future. What should I do? I was hasty, I came in winter, but you will come in a paradise-like spring. The seeds of light sown now will open as flowers in your ground. And we await this from you as the recompense for our service that when you come to go to the past, pass by my grave, and place a few of those gifts of spring by the citadel of Van, which is the gravestone of my medrese and houses my bones, and is the custodian of the Horhor's earth. We shall warm the custodian; call, and you will hear the cry: `Good health to you"...
"If they wish, let the children who have sucked milk together with us at the breast of this age and whose eyes look behind them at the past, and whose imaginings are disloyal and alienated like themselves, fancy the truths of this book to be delusions. Because I know that with you the matters in this book will prove to be true.
"O my listeners! I am indeed shouting, for I am standing at the top of the ; minaret of the thirteenth century [of the Hijra] , and calling to the mosque those who in ideas are in the deepest valleys of the past.
"And so, O you miserable two-footed mobile mausoleums who have left Islam, which is like the spirit of the two lives! Do not stop at the door of the generation that is coming. The grave awaits you. Retreat into it and let the new generation come forth, which will wave the reality of Islam over the universe in earnest!..."'
 
· The Damascus Sermon
 
In the autumn of 1910, Bediuzzaman moved south and until the following spring, made "a winter Jourey through the Arab lands," continuing "to give lessons on constitutionalism."He visited Damascus in early 1911, where he stayed as a guest in the Salahiya district. It was during this stay that, on the insistence of the Damascus ulema, he gave his famous Damascus Sermon in the Umayyad Mosque. Bediuzzaman's fame must have been considerable, for close on ten thousand people, including one hundred ulema, packed into the historic building to listen to him. The text of the sermon was afterwards printed twice in one week.
If one considers the backwardness of the Islamic world at that time in relation to the West and its resulting subjection to the European Powers, and the accompanying feelings of hopelessness and helplessness on the part of the educated Muslims in particular, it is not difficult to see why Bediuzzaman's message of hope and certain predictions supported by argument of the future supremacy of the Qur'an and Islamic civilization met with the enthusiastic response that they did. The Sermon is in the form of "Six Words" taken from "the pharmacy of the Qur'an", which constitute the cure or medicine for the "six dire sicknesses" which Bediuzzaman had diagnosed as having arrested the development of the Islamic world. He described it as follows:
"In the conditions of the present time in these lands, I have learnt a lesson in the school of mankind's social life and I have realized that what has allowed Europeans to fly towards the future on progress while it arrested us and kept us, in respect of material development, in the Middle Ages are six dire sicknesses. The sicknesses are these:
"Firstly, the coming to life and rise of despair and hopelessness in social life. Secondly, the death of trutltfulness in social and political life. Thirdly, love of enmity. Fourthly, not knowing the luminous bonds that bind the believers to one another. Fifthly, despotism, which spreads like various contagious diseases. And sixthly, restricting endeavour to what is personally beneficial.”
Bediuzzaman had started by quoting the verse: Do not despair of God's mercy, and the Hadith: "I came to perfect good moral qualities", which provide the theme of the six Words of which the Sermon is composed. The First Word is Hope, and we shall describe it in some detail for in it Bediuzzaman sets forth the reasons for his optimism concerning the future of the Islamic world. It consists of "one and a half preliminary arguments" to support his "firm conviction" that "the future shall be Islam's, and Islam's alone. and the truths of the Qur'an and belief shall be sovereign." The premises of his arguments are that "the truths of Islam are able to progress both materially, and in moral and non-material matters, and possess a perfect capacity to do so." The first aspect is progress in moral and non-material matters, and contains five or six main points.
Quoting the Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese army, who in 1905 had defeated Russia at war, Bediuzzaman begins by making this point:
"History shows that the Muslims increased in civilization and progressed in relation to the strength of the truths of Islam; that is, to the degree that they acted in accordance with that strength. And history also shows that they fell into savagery and decline, and disaster and defeat amidst utter confusion to the degree of their weakness in adhering to the truths of Islam.' Bediuzzaman then points out:
"As for other religions, it is quite to the contrary. That is to say, history shows that just as they increased in civilization and progressed in relation to their weakness in adhering to their religions and bigotry, so were they also subject to decline and revolution to the degree of their strength in adhering to them."
Thus, in contradistinction to other religions, Islam has the capacity to progress, it contains within it everything necessary to achieve true civilization. And it is significant that this acute observation was made not only by a non-Muslim, but a Japanese. For the Japanese were held up by many supporters of constitutionalism as an example to be followed in their taking only science and technology from the West in their drive for progress and civilization while retaining their own culture and morality. Following this, Bediuzzaman continues his argument by stating that history presents no evidence for any Muslims having embraced other religions on the strength of reason, whereas as a result of "reasoned argument and certain proofs, the , followers of other religions are "gradually drawing close to and entering Islam." Bediuzzaman then lays this challenge before the believers:
"If we were to display through our actions the perfections of the moral qualities of Islam and the truths of belief, without doubt, the followers of other religions would enter Islam in whole communities; rather, some entire regions and states, even, on the globe of the earth would take refuge in Islam."
Next, Bediuzzaman describes modem man's search for true religion. He says that developments in science together with the terrible wars and events of this century have aroused in man a desire to seek the truth. Man has been awakened by these, and has understood "the true nature of humanity and his own comprehensive disposition." He has thus realized his need for religion, for "the only point of support for impotent mankind in the face of the innumerable disasters and the external and Internal enemies that plague them, ; and the only point from which they may seek help and assistance in the face of the innumerable needs with which they are afflicted and their desires which stretch to erernite despite their utter want and poverty is in recognizing the world's Maker, in faith, and in believing and affirming the Hereafter. There is no other help for awakened mankind apart from this." And he goes on to say that, like a human being, countries and states have also now be n to realize "this intense need of mankind."
For the next stage in his argument, Bediuzzaman points out that the Qur'an repeatedly "refers man to his reason", telling him to use his intelligence, and ponder over and take lessons from his own life and the events of past ages. And so, after advising his listeners to heed these warnings of the Qur’an too, Bediuzzaman makes the conclusion that the Qur'an will prevail in the future:
"We Muslims, who are students of the Qur’an, follow proof; we approach the truths of belief through reason, thought, and our hearts. We do not abandon proof in favour of blind obedience and imitation of the clergy like some adherents of other religions. Therefore, in the future, when reason, science and technology prevail, that will surely be the time that the Qur'an will gain ascendancy, which relies on rational proofs and invites the reason to confirm its pronouncements."
To complete this First Aspect, Bediuzzaman describes "eight serious obstacles" which "prevented the truths of Islam completely conquering the past", but which are now dispersing, and follows this with quoting the testimony to the truth of Islam of two `enemies' by way of proof of his argument.
Before describing the obstacles, Bediuzzaman says that "the veils which eclipse the sun of Islam... and prevent it illuminating mankind have begun to disperse." The sings of dawn were appearing then, in 1911. He later added that the true dawn began in 1371, that is, 1951, when a number of Islamic countries were gaining their independenee. Or even if that was the false dawn, the true dawn would break in forty to fifty years' time. He was absolutely insistent on it. The obstacles were as follows:
The first three obstacles were "the Europeans' ignorance, their barbarity at that time, and their bigotry in their religion. These three obstacles have been destroyed by the virtues of knowledge and civilization, and they have begun to disperse."
The fourth and the fifth were "the domination and arbitrary power of the clergy and religious leaders, and the fact that the Europeans obeyed and followed them blindly. These two obstacles have also started to disappear with the rise among mankind of the idea of freedom and the desire to search for the truth."
The sixth and seventh obstacles were "the despotism that was with us and our immorality and degeneracy that arose from opposing the Seriat... The fact that the separate despotic power residing in a single individual is now declining indicates that the fearful despotism of larger groups in society and of committees will also decline in thirty to forty years time. And the great upsurge in Islamic zeal together with the fact that the ugly results of immorality are becoming apparent show that these two obstacles are about to decline; ratter, that they have begun to do so. God willing, they will completely disappear in the future."
The eighth obstacle was that "since certain positive matters of modern science were imagined to oppose and be contrary to the apparent meanings of the truths of Islam, it prevented, to some extent, their prevailing in the past." That is to say, scientists and philosophers opposed Islam because they did not understand its true meaning, but, "after learning the truth, even the most opinionated philosopher is compelled to submit to it..."
Bediuzzaman concludes the First Aspect of his argument by quoting a few short passages from the 19 th century Scottish philosopher, Thomas Carlyle, and from the famous Prussian, Prince Bismarck (1815-1898). They testify to the truth of Islam and the Qur'an's being the revealed word of God. On the strength of their testimony, Bediuzzaman repeated the prediction he had made previously to Seyh Bahid in Istanbul:
"Europe and America are pregnant with Islam. One day, they will give birth to an Islamic state. Just as the Ottomans were pregnant with Europe and gave birth to a European state." He then concluded:
"O my brothers who are here in the Umayyad Mosque and those who are in the mosque of the world of Islam half a century later! Do the introductory remarks, that is, those made up to here, not point to the conclusion that it is only Islam that will provide true, and moral and spiritual rule in the future, and will urge mankind to happiness in this world and the Hereafter? And that true Christianity, stripping off superstition and corrupted belief, will be transformed into Islam; following the Qur'an, it will unite with Islam?"
The Second Aspect of Bediuzzaman's argument "offers strong proofs for Islam's material progress and supremacy in the future." These proofs he describes in the form of "five extremely powerful, unbreakable Strengths", which having "blended and fused", "are established in the heart of the Islamic world's `collective personality'." But before describing them he makes the very important and interesting point that the Qur'an instructs man in progress and urges him towards it. By mentioning the miracles of the prophets, he says, "the Qur’an is informing mankind that events similar to those miracles will come into existence in the future through progress and is urging them to achieve them, saying: `Come on, work! Show examples of these miracles! Like the Prophet Solomon (PUH), cover a Journey of two months in a day! Like the Prophet Jesus (PUH), work to discover the cure for the most frightful diseases!.. "', and cites further miracles as examples.
Of the Five Strengths, the first is "reality of Islam", the second is "an intense need, which is the real master of civilization and industry" together with "utter, back-breaking poverty", while the third is "the Freedom which is in accordance with the Seriat'. The fourth Strength is the "courage" or "valour of belief', and the fifth, "the pride of Islam, which proclaims and upholds the Word of God." And, as we have seen, "in this age, proclaiming the Word of God is contingent on material progress."
Bediuzzaman then infers that it was because in the drive for modernization so far pursued in the Ottoman Empire it was not the beneficial aspects of civilization that had been taken but its "evils and iniquities" which had been "imitated", that the empire had been reduced to the state of defeat it was then in. And it was also because the iniquities of civilization had prevailed over its benefits that mankind had suffered the bloody and calamitous wars of this century. "God willing," said Bediuzzaman, "through the strength of Islam in the future, the virtues of civilization will predominate, the face of the earth will be cleansed of filth, and universal peace be secured."
Continuing, he says: "Powerful indications and means" to the future supremacy of Asian civilization are the facts that European civilization is founded on the negative virtues of "lust and passion, rivalry and oppression," rather than virtue and guidance, that its evils have predominated over its virtues, and that "it has been infiltrated by revolutionary societies like a worm-eaten tree."
And so. Bediuzzaman asks his audience: "How is it that while there are such powerful and unshakable ways and means for the material and moral progress for the believers and people of Islam, and the road to future happiness has been opened up like a railway, you despair and fall into hopelessness in the face of the future and destroy the morale of the Islamic world?... Since the inclination to seek perfection has been included in man's essential nature, ... in the future truth and equity will show the way to a worldly happiness in the world of Islam, God willing, in which there will be atonement for the former errors of mankind.
"Indeed, consider this: time does not run in a straight line so that its beginning and end draw apart from one another. Rather, it moves in a circle like the motion of the globe of the earth. Sometimes it displays the seasons of spring and summer as progress. And sometimes the seasons of storms and winter as decline. Just as every winter is followed by spring and every night by morning, mankind, also, shall have a morning and a spring, God willing. You may expect from Divine Mercy to see true civilization within universal peace brought about through the sun of the truth of Islam.”
The remaining five `Words' of the Sermon point out how this true civilization will be achieved and the morning and springtime for mankind brought about. They are concerned mainly with morality.
In the Second Word, Bediuzzaman points out some of the destructive results of despair, which he describes as "a most grievous sickness" which "has entered the heart of the world of Islam." He says that it was despair that had destroyed the morale of Muslims, so that the Europeans had been able to dominate them and make them their captives for the preceding four hundred years. And it was despair that had killed their high morality, and caused them to abandon the public good for personal benefit. And despair had even caused them to use "the indifference and despondence of others" as "an excuse for their own laziness," and "to abandon the courageousness of belief, and neglect their Islamic duties." He says that despair "is the quality and pretext of cowards, the base, and the impotent." It cannot be the quality of the Arabs in particular, who are famous for their tenacity. He concludes the Word with a call to the Arabs to give up despair and stand in "true solidarity and concord" with the Turks, and "unfurl the banner of the Qur'an in every part of the world."
The Third Word is Truthfulness. This, says Bediuzzaman, is the basis and foundation of Islam. Truthfulness and honesty are the principles of Islam's social life. Hypocrisy, flattery and artifice, duplicity and double-dealing are all forms of lying. Unbelief in all its varieties is lying and falsehood, while belief is truthfulness and honesty. For this reason, there is a limitless distance between truth and falsehood. Like fire and light, they should not enter one another. But politics and propaganda have mixed and confused them, and as a result have confused man's achievements.
Bediuzzaman points out that this has happened with the passing of time, and that during the Era of Bliss, that is, the time of the Prophet Muhammed (PBUH), truthfulness and lying were as distant from one another as belief and unbelief. They have gradually drawn closer to each other, and now evil and lying have to some degree taken the stage. Salvation, he told them, is only to be found through honesty. Sometimes in the past lying may have been permissible, but since it was abused, now there are only two ways, not three. "Either truthfulness or silence."
The Fourth Word is a call to Love and Brotherhood. Bediuzzaman says that "the thing most worthy of love is love, and the quality most deserving of enmity is enmity." For it is love that guarantees man's social life and ensures his happiness, while enmity and hatred have overturned his social life, and more than anything deserve to be loathed and shunned. The awesome evil and destruction of the two World Wars show that the time for enmity and hostility is finished, so that enemies, even, so long as they are not aggressive, should not attract the enmity of Muslims. Hell and Divine punishment are enough for them.
As for believers, Bediuzzaman says that sometimes arrogance or selfworship may cause a fellow-believer to be unjustly hostile towards them without realizing it. But this is to slight powerful causes of love, like belief, Islam, nationality, and humanity. If the causes of enmity are personal matters, these are like small stones; to nurture enmity towards a Muslim is a great error; it is like scorning the causes of love, which are as great as a mountain.
In the Fifth Word, Bediuzzaman is urging the Arabs to take up their positions alongside the Turks as sentries of the sacred citadel of Islamic nationhood. We have already seen how Freedom and constitutionalism were serving and would serve to develop awareness of the sense of lslamic nationhood among Muslims. Here we learn more of why this was vital for the Islamic world. With his knowledge of the modem world and extraordinarily clear vision of the way it would take, Bediuzzaman explained to his listeners that at this time man's actions, either good or bad, very often do not remain with the doer, but have widespread consequences; one sin may become a hundred sins, and one good deed, a thousand good deeds. He explained it in the following way:
"Thus, through the bond of this sacred nationhood, all the people of Islam are like a single tribe. Like the members of a tribe, the groups and peoples of Islam are bound and connected to one another through Islamic brotherhood. They assist one another morally, and, if necessary, materially. It is as if all the groups of Islam are bound to each other with a luminous chain.
"If a member of one tribe commits a crime, all the members of the tribe are guilty in the eyes of another, enemy, tribe. It is as though each member of the tribe had committed the crime so that the enemy becomes the enemy of all of them. That single crime becomes like thousands of crimes. And if a member of the tribe performs a good act which is the cause of pride affecting the heart of the tribe, all its members take pride in it. It is as if each person in the tribe feels proud at having done that good deed.
"Thus, it is because of this fact that at this time, and particularly in forty to fifty years' time, evil and bad deeds will not remain with the perpetrator, rather, they will transgress the rights of millions of Muslims. Numerous examples of this shall be seen in forty to fifty years' time."
Then, after pointing out the damage caused by laziness and indifference, he says that since at this time good deeds also do not remain with the doer but "may be beneficial to millions of believers", "it is not the time to cast oneself on the bed of idleness..."
Bediuzzaman goes on to remind the Arabs of their responsibility as teachers and leaders towards the other, smaller Muslim groups and peoples, a responsibility they were neglecting through laziness. At the same time their good deeds are also great, he says, and predicts that in forty or fifty years' time, the different Arab peoples would "enter upon exalted circumstances... like those of the United States of America", and would be "successful in establishing Islamic rule in half the globe... If some fearful calamity does not soon erupt, the coming generation shall see it, God willing."
However, Bediuzzaman immediately continues: "Beware, my brothers! Do not fancy or imagine that I am urging you with these words to busy yourselves with politics. God forbid! The truth of Islam is above all politics. All politics may serve it, but no politics can make Islam a tool for itself."
And then: "With my faulty understanding, I imagine Islamic society at this time in the form of a factory containing many wheels and machines. Should one wheel fall behind or encroach on another wheel, which is its fellow, the machine's mechanism ceases to function. Thus, the exact time for Islamic unity is beginning. It necessitates not paying attention to one anther’s faults."
That is to say, Bediuzzaman is saying that Islamic supremacy will be won through the material and technological progress achieved through the unity and co-operation of all the different components, that is, the groups and peoples, that make up the Islamic world.
As we saw when looking at Bediuzzaman's Debates with the Kurdish tribes, he considered that the Europeans had taken from the Muslims some of their high moral values and made them the means of their progress, while giving them their own corrupt morals in return. The willingness to sacrifice everything, even one's life, for one's nation was among these. Bediuzzaman says it was "the firmest foundation in their progress." He then points out that through the idea of nationhood, "an individual becomes as valuable as a nation. For a person's value is relative to his endeavor. If a person's endeavor is his nation, that person forms a miniature nation on his own." Whereas, "Because of the heedlessness of some of us and the Europeans' damaging characteristics that we have acquired, and, despite our strong and sacred Islamic nationhood, through everyone saying: `Me! Me!', and considering personal benefits and not the nation's benefits, a thousand men have fallen to become like one man."
The Sixth Word, or sixth constituent of the cure Bediuzzaman is pre- scribing for the Islamic world is mutual consultation, as enjoined by the verse, "Whose rule is consultation among themselves." We have already discussed this "fundamental principle" in some detail; here, Bediuzzaman describes it as "the key to Muslims' happiness in Islamic social life", and stresses its importance as the basis of progress and scientific development, adding that one reason for Asia's backwardness was the failure to practice consultation. He then says it is "the key and discloser of the continent of Asia and its future," and that, "just as individuals should consult one another, so also must nations and continents practise consultation." This is be- cause, as we have also seen, it was Freedom in accordance with the Seriat - which is born of the consultation enjoined by the Seriat - that would liberate lslam from the various forms of tyranny to which it was subjected, and "cast out the evils of dissolute Western civilization."
To conclude, Bediuzzaman explains that it is the sincerity and solidarity that result from consultation which make it the means of life and progress. For, "three men between whom there is true solidarity may benefit the nation as much as a hundred men. Many historical events inform us that as a result of true sincerity, solidarity, and consultation, ten men may perform the work of a thousand men."
CHAPTER SIX
SERVICE IN THE BALKANS, AND IN THE
'SPECIAL ORGANIZATION'
 · Return to Istanbul
 
Soon after giving his Sermon, Bediuzzaman left Damascus for Beirut, and from there took the boat for Izmir and Istanbul. His intention in returning to Istanbul was to renew his efforts to found the Medresetu'z-Zehra or Eastern University. The last part of Munazarat is devoted to this ideal of Bediuzzaman's, and he many years later described it as "the spirit and foundation" of the work. Thus, after his long travels through the region he resolved to get official support and backing for the construction of the university, reaffirmed in his conviction that it was the most comprehensive and far-reaching solution for the region's problems. And this time he was to have success, though the tide of events finally prevented the realization of his project.
 
· The Rumelia Journey
 
On 5 June, 1911, Sultan Mehmed Resad set out with a large retinue on his famous Rumelia Journey. It was to be the last time an Ottoman sultan visited the European provinces, for soon they were all to be lost to the Empire. The previous year had seen the first Albanian uprising. The purpose of the Sultan's journey was to reawaken feelings of patriotism and solidarity among the various peoples of Macedonia and Albania in the face of the upsurge of nationalism, and to secure social calm. On the request of the Palace, Bediuzzaman joined those accompanying the Sultan as the representative of the Eastern Provinces.
Traveling by sea to Salonica, the Sultan and his party stayed there two days, and then continued their Journey by train, arriving at Skopje on 11 June. In the same compartment as Bediuzzaman on the train were two school teachers who had studied modem science. A discussion of great relevance started between the three on their asking Bediuzzaman: "Which is more necessary and should be stronger, religious zeal or national zeal?" The gist of Bediuzzaman's answer was that "With us Muslims religion and nationality are united, although there is a theoretical, apparent, and incidental difference between them... Religious zeal and Islamic nationhood have completely fused in Turk and Arab and may not now be separated..." And by means of a comparison in which Muslims were represented by a six-yearold child and Europeans or unbelievers by the heroes Hercules and Rustam, he demonstrated the unassailable strength of belief in Divine Unity. Related from some elderly inhabitants of Skopje who recalled the visit was the following description of Bediuzzaman:
"Bediuzzaman was wearing boots. His moustaches were short and his eyes brilliant. He was a handsome, imposing young man with a darkish complexion. He carried a Circassian, gold tula-work whip and at his waist was an ivory-handled dagger. Within a short time he was known in Skopje as `Bediuzzaman Molla Said Efendi.' The Skopje ulema came group by group to visit him and put their questions to him.
"Bediuzzaman was immediately next to Sultan Resad while the Sultan was greeting the people from the balcony of the High School in Skopje, which was later destroyed by an earthquake. Thousands of Skopjans gave them the most enthusiastic reception."
On 16 June, the Sultan and his retinue arrived in Kosova from Pristina, and in the large open space where the tomb of Sultan Murad Hudavendigar is situated, they performed the Friday Prayers, a congregation of two hundred thousand. It was an unforgettable and nostalgic occasion.
While in Kosova, there was much talk of a large university they were attempting to found there, doubtless for reasons similar to Bediuzzaman's Medresetu'z-Zehra. It provided Bediuzzaman with just the opportunity he had been waiting for. He suggested to Sultan Resad and the CUP leaders who were accompanying him that the East was in greater need of a university such as that, for it was like the centre of the Islamic world. They accepted his arguments and promised that a university would be opened in the Eastern Provinces. At the end of the following year, the Balkan War broke out and Kosova was lost to the Empire, whereupon Bediuzzaman applied for the nineteen thousand gold liras allotted to its proposed university. His application was accepted. He then returned to Van and on a site on the shores of Lake Van at Edremit, finally laid the foundations of the Medresetu’z-Zehra. But it was not to be. With the outbreak of the First World War shortly afterwards, the construction was halted and never resumed.
Sultan Resad and his accompanying party completed their visit to Rumelia on returning to Salonica. There they once again boarded the warship Barbaros and attendant vessels, and, being greeted by a cannon-salute at Canakkale, retraced their path to Istanbul. There, on 26 June, they were met by large welcoming crowds. The trip had lasted three weeks.
The tide that was flowing against the Ottomans was running too strongly by this time, however, to be stemmed by such gestures, despite the Sultan's enthusiastic reception on the trip and the large demonstrations of loyalty. The nationalists and separatists continued to receive support from the foreign powers, but more than anything it was CUP misrule that exacerbated the already volatile situation and led finally to the end of Turkey in Europe with the Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913. Also in late 1911 there had been the Tripolitanian War: Italy had attacked Tripoli and Benghazi, modem-day Libya, and they too were lost to the Empire. The Italians went on to occupy the Dodacanese Islands and bombard the entrance to the Dardanelles. And with the outbreak of the Balkan War in November 1912, Greece seized the Aegean Islands, and Salonica was also lost. The deposed Sultan Abdulhamid was hurriedly removed from his place of exile and taken to Beylerbeyi Palace in Istanbul. The unexpected occupation of Tripoli added to the other events caused a political crisis in Istanbul and the CUP were ousted from power for a period of some six months, from July 1912 until the famous `Raid on the Sublime Porte' in January 1913 led by Enver Pasa. After the liberation of Edirne in July 1913, Enver was made Minister of War, and it was he who set up the alliance with Germany the following year which brought Turkey into the First World War on the side of the Central Powers.
 
· The Special Organization
 
Nevertheless, these stark facts of the Ottoman demise mask truly heroic efforts on the part of numbers of largely unsung heroes to maintain its wholeness and regain the independence it had bartered away to the European powers over a period of some hundred years. One of the main organizations to undertake this at this time was the Teskilat-i Mahsusa, or Special Organization. The Special Organization has remained little known in Turkey even, and it is thanks to the publishing enterprises of the historian Cemal Kutay to whom its founder and chief, Esref Sener Kuscubasi (1873-1964), Ieft all his memoirs and papers that we learn of the prominent role Bediuzzaman played in the Organization.
It will be recalled that when Bediuzzaman first visited Istanbul in 1896 it was in the residence of Esref Kuscubasi’s father, Mustafa Bey, that he stayed. His close friendship with Esref Bey began at this time. According to one source, Esref Bey founded the Special Organization together with Baytar Miralay Rasim Bey the following year in Mecca. Its purpose was to gather intelligence for the cause of Islamic Unity, and it was opposed to Abdulhamid's despotism. Another source states that he founded the Organization in 1903 as a clandestine revolutionary society working for the restoration of the Constitution.s After the dethronement of Abdulhamid, the new Sultan, Mehmet Resad, made it an official intelligence service by imperial rescript working for national security and unity. It became the Empire's main security organization, and played an important role in all the main actions of the Tripolitanian, Balkan, and First World Wars. When he became Minister of War, Sultan Resad made Enver Pasa its Commander-in-Chief; however, it remained independent of the State in its operations. Within its ranks were leading intellectual and religious figures, as well as figures from the military establishment and from all fields and walks of life. Mehmed Akif was a member, as was Abdurresid Ibrahim, both old and close associates of Bediuzzaman's. The realization of Islamic Unity continued to be one of the major areas of its activities. Cemal Kutay describes Bediuzzaman as one of its chief theorists and planners in this area, as well as being one its most active members. As one of its propaganda exercises for Islamic Unity, the Special Organization undertook the preparation and distribution of the Cihad Fetva, or religious ruling calling on all Muslims to unite in Holy War against the Entente Powers at the beginning of the First World War. Bediuzzaman played an active role in both its preparation and the distribution.
Cemal Kutay mentions that the person closest to Bediuzzaman in his ideas on Islamic Unity was the poet Mehmed Akif. When in Istanbul, they used frequently to forgather in the offices of the Sirat-i Mustakim, later renamed Sebilurresad. Mehmed Akif was the chief writer for the magazine, which was published by Esref Edip Fergan. Like the poet, Bediuzzaman made a fine brew of tea, and it was he who used to boil up the samovar whenever he visited the Sebilürresad. On one occasion, he translated the following lines of Akif's into Persian, Arabic, and Kurdish:
Your nation was Islam; this nationalism, what is it?
Ah, your nation, if only you had clung to it.
What's being Albanian? Has it a place in the Seriat?
Unbelief it is, advancing your people, not the rest!
What superiority has Arab over Turk,
Persian over Chinese, or Laz over Circassian or Kurd?
What is this? Has Islam now undergone division?
But the Prophet cursed the idea of racialism.
The greatest enemy of division is His spirit,
May the ... .'s name who introduced it into Islam be forgotten!
 
· The Balkan War
 
But nationalism was now a fire that could not easily be quenched. Towards the end of 1912, the Balkan War broke out when, seeking their independence; four states united and attacked the Ottomans. Again from Cemal Kutay we learn that as a member of the Special Organization, Bediuzzaman participated in some of the most valiant actions of this disastrous war as an Honorary Colonel commanding a militia force brought from Eastern Anatolia. According to Esref Kuscubasi’s younger brother, Selim Sami, on whose right flank he fought in the Kalikratya [Kumburgaz] division, "With his athletic physique and dress peculiar to himself, Bediuzzaman fought in the front line like a true hero."
In his memoirs, Esref Bey mentions the retaking of Edirne and the setting-up of the short-lived republic in Western Thrace, and Bediuzzaman's appreciation of Abdulhamid's successful policy of preventing the Balkan states uniting against the Ottomans. It was the CUP's failure to continue the policy that had allowed the present situation to arise:
"We were in the darkest days of the Balkan War. The Bulgarians were drawn up before Catalca. Differences had arisen among the enemy; they were attacking one another. In the Peace Conference in London, the Bulgarians were determined not to return Edirne and it was vital to put [additional] pressure on the Bulgarian Front, which was being shaken by bold action over and above the consent of the Government. And this, the Special Organization undertook to do.
"In truth, the heroic deeds which soothed our hearts at that bitter time did not stop at delivering only Edirne, we set up an independent state in Western Thrace, too. It was the first republic of that sort successfully set up, and ten years before the Republic established in Ankara in 1923.
"Because, through our own negligence and lack of foresight and with our own hands, we had put an end to the deep differences between the Greek and Bulgarian Churches which Sultan Hamid had so masterfully perpetuated for thirty years, Athens and Sofya were reconciled. Then the Serbs and Montenegrans joined them, and they set up themselves up against us as a quadripartite alliance. Bediuzzaman and I were together in the fight to save Edirne and Western Thrace. One time we were having a discussion weighing up events; after addressing me in the gracious way he always did as "my respected commander", he said:
"`I complained to Sultan Hamid himself in his own palace because he did not prefer the learned institution [the ulema] to Yildiz Palace, which I considered to be among the duties of Sultan and Caliph. However right I was to criticize him in that matter, it is necessary to praise and publicize his efforts in administering the Balkans for thirty or so years without raising any trouble. If I do not carry out my duty now, my conscience will be uneasy.'
"And he wrote a letter making known these feelings to the former Sultan , who was virtually a prisoner in Beylerbeyi Palace, and presented it by means of Major Rasim Celaleddin Bey, who was at that time the officer responsible for protecting the former monarch."'
Cemal Kutay also recorded the following description of Bediuzzaman at that time given to him by Esref Bey in person when they together visited Bediuzzaman in Emirdag in 1953:
"As you know, I already knew him in 1896 when he came on the recommendation of Yahya Nuzhet Pasa to Istanbul to our house in Serencebey Yokusu in Besiktas. He had a power to influence that no one who met him could easily forget. In later years, his meeting with Sultan Abdulhamid, his being sent to Toptasi Asylum and the way he got out of it, and his refusing the Sultan's offers of position and wealth all attracted attention to himself. He was straightforward, natural, and unobliged. In those days he had his own way of dressing. He was of athletic build and very handsome. He rode a fine horse and was an excellent shot. He read continually, whenever he had the opportunity. When he had mentioned an event, a name, a text, just once, his memory could henceforth recall it totally and without error from his unconscious at the required moment. He used to listen to the person he was talking to carefully and in silence. And when he started to speak, the person felt himself compelled to listen to him with respect and in silence also.
"I shall tell you of an incident I have not told anyone of before that illustrates this gift of his: when we set up the Western Thrace Government, we fell out with Istanbul. The Grand Vizier, Said Halim Pasa was hesitant and timid, and frightened of some new problem arising. A delegation under the leadership of Cemal Pasa came from Istanbul in order to make us consent to leaving Western Thrace to Greece in return for our taking Edirne. Ali Fetih was one of the delegation; he was later Prime Minister. Fethi and I were together in the ranks of the Special Organization in Tripolitania.
"We were in complete control of the situation, and Great Britain, France, Italy, and Rumania had recognized the legitimacy of the Western Thrace Government. Cemal Pasa said that this recognition was temporary, and that in a short while we would be on our own, and also that Istanbul was not in a position to help us. Our foreign affairs were in the hands of Tevfik Rustu, later Foreign Minister for the Republic. As he was preparing to reply to Cemal Pasa, Bediuzzaman spoke and recalled - using exactly his words - that Cemal Pasa had said when the Bulgarians were drawn up before Catalca that he would kiss the feet of those who would save Edirne:
"`Do not kiss our feet,' he said, ` but do not prevent us either. Conditions were no better for those who conquered this country centuries ago than they are for us now. This nation's history is full of the marvels of its brave, believing sons. The politics of the day are making you deceive yourself.' Only Bediuzzaman could have said that in those circumstances, and to Cemal Pasa..."
On 10 August 1913, the Second Balkan War came to an end with the Treaty of Bucharest. Turkey had retaken Edirne, as we have seen, and all of Eastern Thrace. However, the Republic of Western Thrace was to be short-lived: on the peace agreement between the Ottomans and Bulgaria being signed in Istanbul on 29 September, it was returned to Bulgaria.
 
· Return to Van -1913
 
Sometime previously to this Bediuzzaman had returned to Van, for it was at that time that he laid the foundations for the Medresetu'z-Zehra. His old patron and friend Tahir Pasa, the Governor of Van, was present at the ceremony, and both he and Bediuzzaman gave speeches. The occasion was marked by further celebrations and a banquet.
During his researches in the Archives of the Prime Minister's Office in Istanbul, Necmeddin Sahiner has unearthed twenty or so documents concerning this matter, most of which bear the seal and signature of Tahsin Bey, the Governor of Van, and are addressed to the Palace and Sultan Resad. N. Sahiner writes that Sultan Resad was well-informed of the progress of the project. In the letter he quotes, dated 4 Haziran 1329 (17 June 1913), the Governor writes to the Grand Vizier's Office that all the ulema, notables, and tribal chiefs of the area were requesting the speedy payment of sufficient money "from the Imperial pocked' - only a small amount had been paid up to that time due to the financial straits of the Government - to begin the construction of an Islamic university for eighty students in Van, the plans and preliminaries of which had already been completed. It was hoped the running costs would be met by the Imperial Estates. He writes it would be an important point of support for the continued existence of Islam and the Ottomans [in the area] in the face of daily increasing Shi'i propaganda and the ignorance of the Kurdish people. It would strengthen feeling for Islam and remove every sort of misunderstanding, and would be most beneficial and effective.
While in Van, Bediuzzaman spent much of his time teaching his students in his medrese, the Horhor, which took its onomatopoeic name from the spring that rose at its side. A young visitor to the medrese described it as follows: "There was a green-covered table in Bediuzzaman's medrese in Horhor on which he had written out in thumb-tacks the Hadith: `Seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave.' He himself taught the students when they had finished studying. His students were all selected. He taught about twenty-five of them. He was very fond of me and never called me by my name; he used to call me `nephew'. Before the War he used to stay in Nursin and Husrev Pasa Mosques..."
It was also during this visit to the East that what was known as the Bitlis Incident occurred, when, in July 1913, rebelling against the irreligious behavior of some of the military commanders of the Government, Seyh Selim of Hizan occupied the town for a week. The Seyh had first approached Bediuzzaman seeking his support. But as on numerous occasions including the much larger Seyh Said revolt in 1925, Bediuzzaman declined, refusing to draw his sword against fellow Muslims. He told the Seyh:
"Those bad things and that irreligious behavior is peculiar to commanders like those. The Army is not responsible for them. There are perhaps a hundred thousand saints in the Ottoman Army; I will not draw my sword against it. I will not join you." He continued: "Those people left me, drew their swords, and the futile Bitlis Incident occurred. A short time, later, the First World War broke out, and the Army took part in it in the name of religion, it undertook the Holy War. A hundred thousand martyrs from the Army attained the rank of sainthood, and confirming what I had said, signed their diplomas of sainthood with their blood..."
 
· Outbreak of the First World War and the Proclamation of Holy War
 
It seems likely that the outbreak of War in November 1914 saw Bediuzzaman back in Istanbul. According to Esref Kuscubasi, initially Bediuzzaman thought the Ottomans should remain neutral, "but on the War breaking out, he took up arms and hastened to the front."
Three days after the Ottomans, together with Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, had declared war on the Triple Entente, that is, Britain, France, and Russia, they proclaimed it a Holy War. Their aim in this was to call on all Muslims throughout the world to unite under the banner of the Caliphate, and rid the Islamic lands of the imperialist yoke of Europe. That they should have done so is understandable when it is remembered that, as has been mentioned, the movement for Islamic Unity or `Caliphate Policy', to which Sultan Abdulhamid had attached such importance, had been continued by the CUP after the Constitutional Revolution. And despite the rise of nationalism among even some of the Muslim peoples of the Empire, the Caliphate continued to be a potent means of mobilizing Islamic feeling, and a point round which Muslims would rally. It is also interesting to note the terms in which the British Prime Minister of the time, Lloyd George, saw the war with the Ottomans. Cemal Kutay quotes him as saying: "...the Crusaders have begun their Crusade and shall continue until they reach their aim and goal: we shall bring down the Crescent!..."
Thus, just as it had been the Special Organization who had been responsible for both providing the theory for the Caliphate Policy, and putting it into practice for the CUP, so too, according to Cemal Kutay, it was the Organization who undertook both the preparation of the fetva proclaiming the Holy War together with the Seyhu’l- Islam’s Office, and its dangerous and difficult distribution. A committee of five religious scholars prepared the fetva: Seyhü’l-Islam Hayri Efendi, Seyh Sanusi, Mahmut Efendi, Hamdi Yazir, and Bediuzzaman Said Nursi.
With what remained of the Ottoman Empire being the only Muslim lands unoccupied by enemy powers, the distribution of the cihad proclamation called for much ingenuity and daring. It was undertaken by the Special Organization together with the Germans, who, besides printing in Germany millions of copies of the proclamation in all the myriad languages of the Muslim lands, provided assistance for the groups .dispatched to every point of the compass, including submarines.
Again we learn from Cemal Kutay that Bediuzzaman together with Esref Kuscubasi, were members of a group of twenty which set off in the spring of 1915 by submarine for North Africa from Antalya on Turkey's southem coast. From another work, we have a description of this dangerous mission from the pen of Esref Bey himself:
"...We could not have got from Egypt to Tripoli. The bold way was to travel by German submarine and come up on the shores of Benghazi. We knew the endless small inlets of the coast well. Suson Pasa, who joined the meeting, gave guarantees that the German Navy would manage the matter...
"The German Naval Ministry set aside the best submarines. These would take aboard Turkish and German officers, a mobile medical squad, and a number of select theorists and religious scholars, and secretly put them ashore at Tripoli.
"Among the `idcas men' and men of religion in the group was Seyh Salih Serif Tunusi. He was advisor to the Of ice of the Commander-in-Chief of the Special Organization, and its representative. Secondly, there was Bediuzzaman, who had the authority and standing to have given the first political and religious address in Freedom Square in Salonica after the proclamation of the Constitution. There was Emir Ali Pasa’s grandson, Suleyman Nasuh. As political advisor to the Group was Muhsin Setvan Bey, the brother of Yusuf Setvan Bey, the Deputy for Benghazi. And from the Royal Family was Prince Osman Fuat Efendi, the grandson of Sultan Murad V; he was going to go to Tripoli with a number of officers in a different submarine. We ; had chosen tested people possessing absolutely the qualities sought among men of ideas and religion. Enver Pasa completed our - the Special Organization's - preparations by appointing his own brother, Nuri Pasa, as commander of the military forces in Benghazi.
"We came ashore at night at a pre-arranged place in Benghazi without mishap or misadventure after a Journey the greater part of which had passed beneath the surface. And when we were successful in moving inland, our hopes increased. Our families, even, did not know where we were, and our closest friends thought we were employed elsewhere.
"We waited a while for the other submarines to arrive. Despite the Italian and British fleets which were patrolling the area, the others were able to come ashore continuously, thanks to experience from the 1911 War and the signaling of the local sailors, who were bound to us from the heart. Almost four years had passed since our struggles here against the Italians. 0ur old fighting partners came to find us and greeted us eagerly. Three of us were going to ,Seyh Ahmed Sanusi; Seyh Salih ,Serif Tunusi, Bediuzzaman, and myself. The oldest of us was Seyh Salih serif Tunusi, who was over sixty. Bediuzzaman was around forty years of age. And I was two years older than this friend of mine who had fought in the Balkan War in the ranks of the Special Organization and whose strength and courage were as exceptional as his mind and knowledge. I knew the Benghazi-Jaghbub road, for I had traveled it twice while fighting against the Italians in 1911. In the stopping-places, everything was provided for travelers through those endless, empty, solitary sands; they were welcomed and all their needs catered for.
"Seyyid Ahmed Sanusi greeted us with courtesy and modesty. Since I was an old friend, he showed me particular attention. He was well-informed about Seyh Salih Serif Tunusi and Bediuzzaman. They won the Sanusi Seyh’s admiration with their extensive eloquent, eloquent Arabic, and reassuringly wide knowledge of both religious and worldly subjects. Besides our discussions on how the proposals we had brought with us should be carried out, all the time we were the Seyh’s guests, 0ur discussions on religious subjects also continued. When the day for our departure was drawing close, Seyh Sanusi found a pretext for a private meeting with me...
"On our departure, Seyh Sanusi embraced each of us separately: `Do not stint on your prayers for succour and success. I shall await the military ad visors. May Almighty God protect us always. Amen!'
"Hopes had been tied to Seyh Sanusi's attitude. I had explained the situation. I recommended that as far as it was possible, the basic effort should be for the German assistance to be satisfactory, continuous, and if possible with previously made inventories. Leaving Seyh Salih serif Tunusi at Benghazi, I returned with Bediuzzaman. The German aid of weapons and ammunition were conveyed to Benghazi and Derne by various ways, and, being taken inland by camel-train, were there collected together for transport to Western Egypt"
It may also be noted here that this visit to ,Seyh Ahmed Sanusi was instrumental in securing the active participation of this influential and staunch supporter of the Caliphate and Islamic Unity in the liberation of occupied ' Turkey following World War I. As is well-known, founded as a movement for the revitalization of Islam, the Sanusiyya in North Africa played an important role countering expanding French influence in the 19 th century. In the early 1900's, Seyh Ahmed Sanusi took over as leader of the movement, which took to arms alongside the Ottoman forces in the defense of Tripoli [modem Libya] against Italian aggression in 1911. His close association with Esref Kuscubasi, Enver Bey, and other Ottoman leaders dated from this time. Seyh Sanusi was invited to Istanbul in 1918, and was subsequently sent to Ankara by Sultan Vahideddin to persuade Mustafa Kemal to give up his opposition to the institution of the Caliphate and Sultanate. He stayed in Turkey till the final victory of the 'Turks in the War of Independence in which he played no small part. He was given the position of `General Preacher', and traveled the eastern and southern provinces in particular addressing the people and getting them to unite with the Ankara Government and the national straggle. It was Seyh Ahmed Sanusi's position of `General Preacher' that, among other things, Mustafa Kemal was to offer to Bediuzzaman in 1923 when trying secure his support, but Bediuzzaman declined to accept them, as we shall see.
CHAPTER SEVEN
 WAR AND CAPTIVITY
 
· Bediuzzaman and The War
 
For Bediuzzaman, the War may be seen as a watershed. On his return from North Africa, he visited Enver Pasa, the Minister of War, to discuss his intention of returning to the Eastern Provinces to participate in the defense against the invading Russians, and was appointed by the Pasa to raise and command a volunteer militia force. This Bediuzzaman then did, making his own students the centre of the force. It was a Holy War, and Bediuzzaman performed this bounden duty of Muslims on two fronts. In addition to raising the militia, training it to the very highest standards, and personally leading his men in the most bold and courageous actions, he continued to teach his students and himself write his celebrated commentary on the Qur'an. Wielding both sword and pen, he was like a figure from the golden age of Islam, a model Muslim. When Bitlis fell to the Russians in early March 1916, Bediuzzaman was captured and spent the next two years in various prisoner-of-war camps in Kosturma in Russia. He escaped, and traveling across Russia safely, came to Warsaw and Berlin, and arrived back in Istanbul in June 1918. But the rigours of his captivity had taken their toll on his health, and his outlook, too, had changed. The dreadful period of defeat and foreign occupation following the War was one of inner turmoil for Bediuzzaman, despite his worldly position and success, but from it the New Said was to emerge.
 
· Events on the Eastern Front
 
The first shots of the War had been fired when Russia invaded northeastern Anatolia on 31 October 1914. On this occasion, Russia was not successful, and the invasion was repulsed by the Ottoman army under Enver Pasa. But he was only successful in this after leading the disastrous counteroffensive at Sarikamis in the arctic conditions of December and January as a result of which sixty-thousand out of his one hundred-thousand strong army perished. The Russian Army retreated, and Grand Duke Nicholas spent the following year completing preparations for the final invasion of Anatolia. This operation he began on 13 January 1916. Defeating the Ottomans at Pasinler with an army three times the size of their's, the Russians entered Erzurum on 16 February.
The Russians had long been inciting the Armenians to acts of terrorism against the Ottoman state, and providing material and moral support for their revolutionary societies. Now, in pursuit of an independent state in eastern Anatolia, the Armenians collaborated with the Russians on a large scale, many entering the Russian army. Just as Armenian officers had played a prominent role in the 1877 invasion of north-Eastern Anatolian. Distorted and exaggerated accounts by Armenian nationalists of the events of 1915 were seized on by the Entente Powers and used in their propaganda war against the Turks, as they had been so doing for years. Indeed, the same propaganda is still being used at the present time. Since Bediuzzaman was present and actively engaged in the defence of the Empire against the Russians and Armenians, we include the following facts concerning those events, all of which are taken from the second volume of the History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey by the American historians S. J. and E. K. Shaw.
Upon the Russian withdrawal in January 1915, the Ottomans ordered the evacuation of all Armenians from the provinces of Van, Bitlis, and Erzurum as part of their preparations for the inevitable second invasion. It was arranged that they should settle in the Mosul area of northern Iraq. A special commission was set up to record the Armenians' property, all of which was to be handed back on their return after the War. Just as the army was specifically instructed to protect and provide the needs of the deportees on their Journey. Armenian propagandists claimed that over one million Armenians were massacred in the War. But according to the Ottoman census, the population was 1,300,000, not 2.5 million as claimed. And the number of those transported was no more than 400,000. The figure that died was probably around 200,000, and not only of transportation, but of war, famine, and disease that killed 2 million Muslims at the same time." In April 1915, the Armenians staged a revolt in Van. In May, the Russians reached the city, and a massacre of Muslims followed. An Armenian state was proclaimed under Russian protection, and by July some 250,000 Armenians had crowded into the area. Early the same month, the Ottomans were successful in pushing back the Russo-Armenian Army, together with which were some 200,000 refugees. Of these, some 40,000 perished, not because they were deliberately massacred, but from conditions of war.
 
· "Arms and Books Side by Side"
 
On his arrival in Van, Bediuzzaman immediately set about forming the militia. Besides his own students, he toured all the surrounding country raising volunteers for the force, which, when formed numbered four to five thousand men. At the same time, he continued to teach his students.
Quoting one of two friends from Dogubayezit who attended Bediuzzaman's medrese, Necmeddin Sahiner describes how for military training, Bediuzzaman used to take his recruits up Mount Sübhan and set up eggs for target practice. He would give whoever hit an egg a mecidiye [a silver coin] as a reward. The students Bediuzzaman was thus training became so proficient and bold that when they came to the mountain for training, the Armenian revolutionaries would make themselves scarce and go elsewhere.
With his charismatic character and ability to inspire great love and devotion in his students and followers, which manifested itself particularly under those harsh and testing wartime conditions, Bediuzzaman was able to infuse them with something of his own absolute fearlessness and powers of endurance, and move them to acts of great bravery. The following are some contemporary accounts of Bediuzzaman, his medrese, and the militia he formed; but first, two short descriptions of his activities against the Armenians, the first by himself:
"Since at that time years ago the Old Said's students' devotion to their Master was such that they would have sacrificed everything for him, the Old Said never rested in the face of the Armenian Tasnak revolutionary societies, and was able to silence them to a degree although they were very active. He found Mauser rifles for his students, and for a time his medrese was like a barracks with arms and books side by side..."
"In 1331 (1915), the Armenian and Russian savages were in no way successful in killing Bediuzzaman, although they used to attack him from every quarter and tried to do so. As for Bediuzzaman and his followers, they used to pursue the Armenians mercilessly, who used to flee as hard as they could.”
And a description of a visit to Bediuzzaman's medrese-barracks given to Necmeddin Sahiner by Nureddin Burak, who related it exactly as told by his father, Zeyneddin Burak:
"At that time in the East, studying in the medreses was like this: the hoca (teacher) taught for nothing; in fact, through the mediation of the hoca, the people provided the students' livelihood. So there was no material reason preventing study. The choice of teacher was made only through his standing in regard to learning. So if someone was known as a great scholar, he would have many students; everyone would want to be taught by him. At that time, a few friends and myself gathered together and began to search for a good teacher. We were told of Said the Famous in Van, in a medrese called the Horhor Medrese.
"Three of us went there. Hoca Efendi was not present when we arrived at the medrese. Someone called Molla Habib met us and invited us inside. He told us to wait saying the hoca would come soon. At this point, the medrese's walls caught our attention. Hung up on them in rows were Mauser rifles, and various weapons, swords, daggers, and cartridge-belts. Together with these were books on reading-stands. In truth, we were astonished.
"In a short while they said: `Hoca Efendi is coming.' We straightened ourselves up. He entered, and said: `Welcome!', then asked us why we had come.
"The second thing that caught our attention and astonished us was the hoca's manner and dress, because we did not see the customary hoca's dress which we knew and had expected. With a conical hat on his head, boots on his feet, dagger at his waist, and firm step, he reminded us of a soldier or high-ranking officer rather than a hoca. In fact, because of his youth, we thought to ourselves: `I wonder if he is learned.' But then Molla Habib, the most advanced student, was studying books like Molla Cami. He was like the students' sergeant.
"We said we had come to study under him. So he told us: `Fine, but I have conditions. You can on condition you comply with them.' Then he added: `There is no possibility of going back for someone who starts with me. He remains with me to the end of his life.' And he then said: `And do not think you can accept and give your word today, then leave later if you get fed up or for any other reason, because the Governor of Van is my close friend. I could have you brought back here through him. Tonight you are my guests. Stay here and think it over, then make your decision in the morning.'
"We were bewildered and did not know what to say to the proposal. We consulted with Molla Habib. We asked him: `Do you stay with the hoca under those conditions?' `Yes,' he replied. `We gave our words once and undertook the matter. It is true it is not all that easy, but his learning is truly extraordinary. But you know best, do whatever seems right for you.' We bowed our heads in shame, and saying we could not accept, left."
And finally, the owner of the newspaper Hur Adam , Sinan Omur, had these memories of Bediuzzaman and the militia, which he related to Necmettin Sahiner in interview.
"I was a student in the teachers' training college in Istanbul when the First World War broke out. I was eighteen years old at the time, so they took me into the Army. I first saw Bediuzzaman in August 1331 (1915) on Mount Subhan. He was on a white horse. Galloping up and down, he was raising the soldiers' morale. He was commander of the militia forces at that time. He had a turban on his head, and epaulets on his shoulders. He was continually moving in among .the volunteers on horseback to give them courage. Enver Pasa had appointed Bediuzzaman to , the militia forces. They had long been friends. So Bediuzzaman formed the militia in the East; it consisted of around four to five thousand men.
"The militia forces did not obtain their weapons and provisions from us, but provided everything for themselves. 'They always 'went in front of the Army, and always fought in the front lines. They were known as the Felt Hats. The Russians did not know where to flee when they heard: `The Felt Hats are coming!'; they did not know what had hit them. At that time our swords were only for prodding, but they used to use them on horseback and would hit whatever they struck at. They used to wear white capes so as to blend in with the snow-covered ground and not be detected by the enemy. They would throw the horse's reins over one arm, or attach them to the horse's neck and leave the animal completely free, then galloping at speed, would fire their rifles uninterruptedly. They were extremely accurate shots. While the commanders addressed the volunteers in order to encourage them to fight, in their excitement, the volunteers could not remain in their places squatting on the ground; as soon as the order to move was given: "Tention! 'Tention!', they would spring up, and flying onto their horses, would gallop off against the enemy.”
 
· The Front
 
When the Russians began their second invasion in January 1916, Bediuzzaman and his militia moved to the front at Pasinler near Erzurum. A second Russian force moved south down the eastern side of Lake Van. There at the front the fighting was fierce and cold intense. The Ottomans were greatly outnumbered. To boost the volunteers' morale in those arduous conditions, Bediuzzaman rarely entered the trenches, but moved around the front lines on his horse, always to the fore of the fighting. He later wrote:
"In the Pasinler Front during the Great War, the late Molla Habib and I were moving forward with the intention of attacking the enemy. 'Their artillery fired three shells at us at one or two minute intervals. The three shells passed right over our heads two metres high, and although our soldiers were concealed in the ravine behind us and could not be seen, they retreated. By way of a test I said: `What do you say, Molla Habib, I am not going to hide myself from the shells of these infidels?' And he replied: `I am not going to fall back either, I shall stay behind you.' A further shell fell very close to us. Certain that Divine succour would preserve us, I said to Molla Habib: `Forward! These infidels' shells cannot kill us. We shall not deign to draw back! "'
Of several accounts Necmeddin Sahiner has collected from soldiers present at Pasinler, all describe Bediuzzaman's moving about the trenches on horseback in this way, in complete disdain of the Russian shells. The following account mentions particularly the severity of the shelling:
"... It was snowing and everywhere was white. We were defending our beloved country against the Russians. We could not raise our heads above the trenches because of the bullets which were falling like rain. We were fighting under shells that fell like rain. It was just as though shrapnel was raining from the skies. The thing we were most powerless before was this shrapnel, which exploded in the air. It was destroying us and our losses were heavy. The shrapnel which exploded in the air was scattered to right and left in fragments.
"Just when this going on, Molla Said the Famous was touring the trenches. He was moving up and down the valley on horseback. Then some people emerged from their trenches, and they were hit and killed.
"I wanted both to see Molla Said and to kiss his hands, but I was frightened of being hit. I had heard the name before, but I was seeing this great person for the first time at the bloody front at Pasinler. Then I saw he had come level with me.... I heard him say:
"Fight for Allah! Allah is our helper! "'
Another soldier who fought under Bediuzzaman at Pasinler, Mustafa Yalcin, recalled him like this:
"...They suddenly took us from Canakkale, and sent us to the Eastern Front. We were in the Eighth Division in Kars, and at our head was Molla Said. Bands of Russians and Armenians were attacking us ceaselessly.
"At that time, Molla Said used to teach us concerning religious matters. Every night he used to teach us. At Hasankale [Pasinler] we fought against the Russians mercilessly with Molla Said. Before, the Hoca used to wear a turban, but while fighting he would wear what we called a `felt hat'.
"At that point I was wounded at Hasankale and drew back. I received this shrapnel wound on my hip, look, it is still open.... I would have died long before but Molla Said wrote out a prayer for each of four of us. We hung them round our necks, and no bullets hit us. At that time there were a hundred infidels firing on one Muslim. In the end I was wounded and they took me back. Molla Said continued to fight. They treated me in Konya, then sent me to the Western, Austrian, Carpathian, and Galician Fronts.
"Molla Said was an heroic person. At the front, he used to lead the attacks on horseback. He was a good shot. He did not go into the trenches. Once, Molla Said was told that some units were about to break up. He immediately removed the cause of their differences, and made sure that they did not disperse. He explained things wonderfully well, it was as though he could cast a spell on people.
"Then during that hell-like war he was writing a book. His students used to write down what he dictated. He was an excellent horseman. They used to heave out great rocks and roll them down on the Russians. He used to say to us: `Do not be frightened of anything, a Muslim's belief is stronger than any power.' Every night he used to read to us from the books he had written. I could not understand much because I am not educated, but whenever I saw Molla Said, my courage soared. He was formidable person, but he acted most kindly towards us."
 
· "Signs of Miraculousness"
 
The book Mustafa Yalcin describes Bediuzzaman as writing here was his commentary on the Qur'an, Signs of Miraculousness (Isaratu’I-I’caz fi Mazanni’I-Icaz), and it was Molla Habib who used to act as his scribe. Written on horseback, in the trenches, and in the skirmishing lines, this Arabic commentary, only the first section of which was completed, was later acclaimed by the ulema in Damascus and Baghdad, while Ali Riza Efendi, the head of the office for issuing fetvas in Istanbul [fetva emini], described it as: "As powerful and valuable as a thousand other commentaries."' In the work, Bediuzzaman described its purpose as follows:
"Our aim from this work entitled Signs of Miraculousness is to explain the indications and signs of the miraculousness present in the Qur'an's word order. For it is in its word order that an important aspect of its miraculousness is manifested. And it is of the embroideries of its word order that its most brilliant miraculousness consists."
In addition, in the Preface, setting out the method by which Qur'anic commentaries should be written in the modem age, Bediuzzaman explains further his purpose in writing it.He first explains the nature of the Qur’an as Divine speech addressing all men in every age, then points out that it also encompasses the sciences which make known the physical world. Indeed, the Qur'an's truths become manifest through the discoveries of science. Thus, in the modern age when the cosmos is being opened up and its workings are being revealed by science, commentaries on the Qur'an must keep pace with these giant strides science is taking. Bediuzzaman points out that it is beyond the capacity of an individual or even a small group to be familiar with all the sciences, and a commentary should therefore be written by a committee of scholars who are specialists in a number of sciences, both religious and modern. It will be recalled that among Bediuzzaman's proposals for educational reform were the `combining' and joint teaching of the religious and modem sciences, specialization, and the application of the principle of mutual consultation.
When Bediuzzaman understood that some great catastrophe was going to occur - he gave repeated warnings; of it in the years preceding the First War as many of his students testified,he began to write Signs of Miraculousness on his own. It was because he realized its extreme urgency and importance that he continued to write it in the unfavorable conditions of the front. In fact, he had had a dream or vision around the beginning of the War which had corroborated his premonitions and confirmed his intention to write the commentary.' Thus, he presents the work as a model or example which could be followed by a committee of schoIars such as he had described at some point in the future.
 
· Bediuzzaman and His Millitia Move South
 
The Ottomans were unable to prevent the enemy advance in north-east Anatolia, and retreated as the Russians moved or to take Erzurum. Bediuzzaman and his militia withdrew to Van to join its defence against the second major Russian force, though it is not known at precisely what point. There, as the city was being evacuated in the face of the Russian attack, he and a number of his students decided to hold out to the end in the citadel. Unwilling to lose such a valuable figure in that way , the Governor of Van, Cevdet Bey - who was the son of Tahir Pasa the old Governor - insisted that they withdraw to Gevas, on the road to Bitlis. For it was to Bitlis that all the officials, the army, and people of the area were retreating.
There are many incidents recorded of the heroic actions of Bediuzzaman and his volunteers at this stage of the bitter fight to save eastern Anatolia from the Russians and Armenians. At Gaves, as the mass exodus from Van was in progress, a Cossack cavalry regiment staged an attack. Bediuzzaman together with about forty men made a stand against the attack in order to prevent the people and their possessions falling into the hands of the enemy. Climbing a mountain, they attacked the Cossacks at night from above, and deceived them into thinking a large number of reinforcements had arrived. In this way, Bediuzzaman and his force threw the Cossacks into sufficient disarray to allow the people to move on to safety, and Gaves too was saved.
Many of Bediuzzaman's students and volunteers fell at this time. Molla Habib also was killed, at Gaves, after having successfully conveyed news of the enemy's movements to Halil Pasa at the Iranian Front.
On one occasion when the Ottomans were retreating, the Felt Hats lured the Russians and Armenians - filled with false confidence - into an enclosed valley, and opening fire on them, wiped out the entire force.
On another occasion, Bediuzzaman and his volunteers were able to recapture thirty large guns off the Russians by surprising them at night. And using them to delay the Russian advance, allowed all the woman and children of the area to be evacuated. Necmeddin Sahiner notes that all these exploits appear in the contemporary military records of the militia forces. Bediuzzaman's students, too, were famous for their daring and bravery. One of them called Mir Mahey actually crossed into the Russian units several times, and killing as many as ten to fifteen of the enemy returned to his own lines.
Just as Bediuzzaman is mentioned in the Ottoman records, so also do his activities at this time appear in foreign records. One of these, quoted by Necmeddin Sahiner, is the French, Documents Sur Les Atrocites ArmenoRusses, a copy of which is in Istanbul Municipal Library. The following is a translation of just one page:
"Yusuf and Abdurrahman, sons of Mehmed, said the following under oath:
“Our family comes from Nurs, Vavink, And, and Mezraa-i And, the summer pastures of the district of Isparit in the sub-province of Hizan. After the sub-province of Catak had been occupied by the Russians, the Armenians of the neighboring villages of Livar, Yukari Chutes, Asagi Kutis, Cacuan, Sicker, and Yukari Adr came to the village of Yukari Kutis under the leadership of Lato, also known as Mihran, and Kazar Dilo, both of whom had infiltrated into Anatolia from Russia. They presented three written proposals to the notables there. Among the notables was Molla Said, who is well-known under the name of Bediuzzaman. Was he taken prisoner, or was he killed? I do not know. These were the proposals:
 
1. Surrender.
2. Evacuate the district.
3. Fight.
"Nine hours after the enemy had arrived, a force of six hundred attacked the village. The enemy soldiers were wearing uniforms and caps. We could not discover whether or not there were Russians soldiers among them. The number of those who looked destitute in the enemy army was extremely high. These could have been Russians or Armenians come from Russia.
"The enemy took all the people of our village to Mezraa-i And. Abdurrahman, the son of Hursid Bey, one of the notables, was also present together with his son and wife. The following day, thirty-three men and boys, and around eighty women, young women, and girls were moved to Mukus in separate convoys. The women's convoy was left at Cacuan, but at night all the men were put to the sword. I was saved from the slaughter because I had been assigned a duty. When they gave me the duty, they said this:
"`We promise to give you money. Go to Molla Said, and tell him to hand over to us the Armenians who remain there. Tell him there is no benefit in having them killed unnecessarily. The country is just about entirely occupied. The Russians have reached as far as Aleppo. Armenia has been set up. Bring us information about the numbers and strength of the Turkish Army there.'
"This was said to me by Dilo. I set out immediately. When I reached Cacuan, I saw that our forces, which were formed of gendarmes and Kurds, had arrived there together with our mayor and Molla Said. Our forces under the command of Bediuzzaman Said Efendi were successful in saving the women's convoy after five hours of fierce fighting. The state of the women was really pitiful. They did not have the strength to walk. Most of the children had been trodden underfoot. And of the thirty-three men, only two of us survived."
When the Armenians massacred the Muslim women and children as well as the men, Armenian children would sometimes be killed in retaliation. But to a degree Bediuzzaman was able to put a stop to this barbaric practice through his example true Islamic conduct, and was able to bring some humanity to the chaos of war. One time, thousands of Armenian women and children had been gathered together in the place where Bediuzzaman was. He issued an order that none of them were to be touched. Then later he released them and they returned to their families in Russian-held territory. The Armenians were so impressed at this example of Muslim morality that from then on they themselves refrained form slaughtering Muslim children. In this way, many innocent lives were saved.
 
· The Fall of Bitlis and Capture of Bediuzzaman
 
Having taken Van to the east of Lake Van and Mus to the west, the Russians moved south with three divisions to attack Bitlis. Their advance was halted for a time by the fierce resistance they met from the Turkish and volunteer forces at the defence line at Mount Dideban. In the appalling February conditions of eastern Anatolia with snow lying to a depth of three to four metres the important centre of Bitlis was evacuated. Once again the women and children, the sick and the lame, the Government officials and dignitaries retreated before the advancing enemy. The Russians were unable to break the Ottoman lines, and it was only through the treachery of the Armenians, who opened up the way for them by capturing Mount Dideban, and setting up machine-guns at crucial points and gunning down many people, that they were finally able to enter the town. Bediuzzaman was in the town with what remained of his volunteers, and fought a fierce hand to hand battle with the enemy cavalry. With one of his legs broken, Bediuzzaman hid with his four surviving students in an underground water conduit. After thirty hours they surrendered to the Russians. We have a description of this from Bediuzzaman's own pen:
"...Although in one minute three bullets hit me in vital spots, they had no effect. When Bitlis fell, a number of my students and myself found ourselves in the middle of a battalion of Russians. They surrounded us and there was firing on every side. All my friends were killed with the exception of four. Then we broke through the four lines of the battalion and went into a place that was still where they were. Although they were above us and all around us and could hear our voices and coughs, they did not see us. We remained thirty hours in that way in the mud with me wounded; I was preserved with a tranquil heart by Divine succour.”
Finally, since their lives were in danger from loss of blood and extreme cold. one of them went and informed the Russians of their whereabouts. The Russians came and took them prisoner.
One of those four surviving students of Bediuzzaman's was Ali Aras from the village of Coravanis near Van. Also known as Ali Cavus, he wrote down his memories of Bediuzzaman at the fall of Bitlis, and they were published in the newspaper Ittihad six years after his death, in April 1971. They also give a lively account of Bediuzzaman and his Russian captors after they had been taken prisoner.
"The Russians occupied Mus before we reached it. The people who had '' evacuated Mus said when we met them on the road that all the ammunition together with fourteen heavy guns had remained there. Ustad Bediuzzaman divided up the three-hundred man force according to the fourteen guns and assigned a six-man squad to capture the ammunition. We captured the guns and ammunition and handed them over to a regular regiment which was posted on the Bitlis-Tatvan road. At this point the Russians began to attack from three sides and left us cut off in the Bitlis valley. The defence against the Russians continued day and night for seven days. Three shells hit Ustad. Of these, one hit the handle of his dagger, another his cigarette case, and the , third his right shoulder. Kel Ali, the commander of the regular troops, witnessed this and said to Ustad:
"`Bullets have no effect on you either, Bediuzzaman!' To which Bediuzzaman replied: `If Allah protects a person, even the shells of a heavy gun cannot kill him!'
"At the end of a week's fierce resistance, the Russians still could not enter Bitlis, so they evacuated `he Papsin Han on the Tatvin road and withdrew. Then it was seen that guided by the Armenians, they had skirted round the south of Bitlis by the Guzeldere road by way of Simek, had cut the Bitlis-Siirt road, and were holding the Arab Bridge. After midnight they started the attack on Bitlis. There was very fierce fighting. At this point Ustad's nephew, Ubeyd, of whom he was very fond, and many of his students, and our friends, were killed.
"Since the Russians had taken the town's three bridges, Ustad wanted to get to the other side of the town. We jumped down from on top of a conduit which passed beneath a large building next to what is now Kazimpasa Primary School. Because the water was entirely covered by snow and it was also night-time, we could not estimate the ground, and Ustad hit his leg on a stone and broke it. Showing me a more suitable place underneath the conduit. he said: `Get me in there, Ali. Then go. I give you permission. God willing, you will get away.' I got him in there and sat him down. He continued to insist that I go, but when I said that I was not going and that I wanted to remain and die as a martyr alongside him, he stroked my head with his hand, and said: `Fate has made us prisoners.' I declared that I too had surrendered to fate.
"We remained in the water for about thirty-six hours. The Russians had occupied the building over the conduit and their voices could be heard from below. We were busy planning how we could get out of there when a squad of fifty Russians soldiers arrived. They pulled us all out and took us to a building which was a hotel beneath and in which the Russian Second Army was billeted. They placed us in a room.
"A regimental commander met us. They brought a chicken for Ustad to eat. Two Russian commanders started to speak with Ustad. It was clear they were talking about the War. Ustad was talking to them standing on one leg. It was as though Ustad was the commander and the two Russian commanders were prisoners. Ustad did not take them seriously at all. They realized that his leg was broken, and called a health orderly, who put it in plaster. After about two and a half hours there, we were taken to the Government Building by a detachment of soldiers. A Tatar officer, who we later learnt was a Muslim, took pity on us, and taking us inside, put us in the Governor’s room.
"It was during the first week of our stay in Movernment House that an aide-de-camp arrived. He asked for Ustad, then said the General had summoned him. They took Ustad to the place the General was staying in Mahallebasi by stretcher, because his leg was broken. Ustad went in. The General asked a number of questions. These were centred on someone well-known called Abdulmecid, who had gone to Iran and was planning to go from there to the Caucasus to organize the Muslims there to fight against the Russians. They wanted information about him from Ustad. Ustad answered the questions as required. The General's questioning and the coming and going continued for about two weeks. Since we waited in the room outside, we could hear them speaking. We would hear Ustad's terse answers and sharp retorts, and from time to time the sound of a fist being thumped on the table. We would get worried and shudder at the possibility of being lined up and shot, and when from time to time Ustad emerged from the room, we did not neglect to reproach him because of these sharp exchanges.
"On the twenty-seventh day of our stay in Government House they took us to what was then the Gendarme Station and is now the Courthouse. They had brought there around twenty-five captured officers and government officials, most of whom were high-ranking. Then the General's aide-de-camp again came, and said to Ustad: `Take one of your students, we are sending you away now.' Ustad took a student called Said. We did not want to part from him. To console us he said to the police chief, Irfan Bey, who also a prisoner: `I entrust my students to you. Show them the police there.'
"Before leaving the Gendarme Station, he said as a prayer: `I am hopeful that, God willing, you will return, but I cannot say the same for Said.' And in fact, the student he took with him called Said was killed while fighting the Russians in Turkestan. They separated us from Ustad, and sent us to Russia. Ustad told me on his return from captivity that they had made him wait a further month because his leg was in plaster.
"A month later, they sent Ustad to Van, and from there on to Khuy in Iran, from where he was put on a train for Russia. We remained in Russia thirty months as prisoners. On the Communist Revolution, we got away to Rumania by way of Hungary and handed ourselves over to a Turkish division there. As for Ustad, I read in the newspapers in Rumania that he had got to Berlin by way of Warsaw, the capital of Poland, and from there had returned to Istanbul.
"The 15 th Division in Rumania was formed into the North Caucasus Corps with some reinforcements, and I served a further fourteen months in it before being demobilized after the Treaty of Sevres, when I returned to Van.”
The heroism of Bediuzzaman and his students in defending the east against the Russians and Armenians became legendary among the people of the area. They told also of how the Russians had tried to kill Bediuzzaman on his surrendering to them, and how this desire had been transformed into wonder at this courage, since Bediuzzaman did not so much as wince when they handled his broken leg? Also one of his students who fought alongside him tells of Bediuzzaman's anger on learning, when being questioned by the Russians, that the Armenian interpreter was misinterpreting what they said, so that the Russians brought a Tatar interpreter, and his rejection of the Russians' proposals that he should write letters to all the tribes calling on them to surrender their arms.
Further interesting documents which have recently come to light in the Archives of the Prime Minister's Office in Istanbul show that in September of 1916, Bediuzzaman was still in Tiflis in Georgia, presumably receiving treatment for his leg. The first, dated 9 August 1332 (22 August 1916) is from Memduh, the Deputy Governor of Bitlis, to the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Istanbul. It states that the officials held as prisoners-of-war in Tiflis required their salaries to be sent to them. Also in need of money there was Bediuzzaman Said-i Kurdi, who had saved eight large guns from Mus during the fall of Bitlis and had gathered together volunteers. The second, dated 7 Eylul 1332 (20 September 1916), is from the Interior Minister, Tal'at Bey, to the Director of the Ottoman Red Crescent Society, Besim Omer Pasa, requesting him to send sixty lira to Bediuzzaman in Tiflis by special courier. And the third is Besim Omer Pasa’s reply, dated three days later, informing Tal'at Pasa that the sixty liras had been changed into 1254 marks and despatched as requested.
 
· The Prisoner-of-War Camps
 
Bediuzzaman was sent to the province of Kosturma in north-western Russia. Firstly, to the town of Kologrif, and then - according to one source, after a period in a large camp further into the northern wastes - to a camp in the town of Kosturma on the River Volga. It was here that a large part of his two years of captivity was spent. There are various accounts of him and his activities in the camp from a number of his fellow prisoners. As the commanding officer of a regiment, he was in a position of authority. This he used to ensure the prisoners' freedom to practise their religious duties. He won the right for them to perform the five daily prayers, which he led, and secured a room for use as a mosque. Also, as a commander he received a salary which he spent almost entirely on the mosque and things beneficial for the other prisoners. He was in a group of ninety or so officers, to whom he would give ders or religious instruction. Conditions were hard in the camp. The winters long and dark and extremely cold. In this way he endeavoured to maintain the prisoners' morale.
Mustafa Yalcin, whose description of Bediuzzaman at the Pasinler Front is quoted above, was already at the camp when one day to his amazement he saw that Bediuzzaman had been brought there. Among his recollections, he says:
"...And on our arriving there, they said that some prisoners had arrived from the Eastern Front. We all gathered outside in the camp with interest. There were a lot of prisoners, but there were two they were bringing from the other side and keeping a close eye on. I looked and suddenly saw that these were MOLLA SAID and one of his students, whom we called Iznikli Osman. He was carrying something like a trunk; it had Ustad's books in it. He did not allow anyone other than Osman to be with him. Osman saw to his needs. He was wounded. He had been wounded in the leg. They treated it there. They put him in a dormitory.
"It was terribly cold. And you could not tell day from night. [In the summer] the sun did not set. And there as well, Molla Said Efendi was not idle at night; he used to go to other camps and read to them, although it was forbidden. He himself used to lead the prayers for us during the day. First of all they intervened and did not let us perform them. Then Ustad spoke to them and they allowed us a bit more freedom. They did not want too many of us to gather together at the same time. We used to call Bediuzzaman `Head of Religious Affairs'. He used to explain religion to the Russian guards even. The Russian officers would harass those of them who listened. Molla Said Efendi always boosted our morale. `Do not worry', he used to say. `We shall be saved.' I never knew him sleep at night there. He always read and took notes. He would say to us. These will be Muslims, too, in the future, but they do not know it now.' We were never frightened or distressed so long as he was with us."
Mustafa Yalcm went on to describe how one night he escaped along with a group of seventeen other prisoners. Bediuzzaman declined to join them, but among the group was a major who had been trained by him. He acted as their guide, finding the way "from everything from the stars to the moss on the trees." He continued:
"Molla Said was completely fearless. Night and day he strove for Islam. He always used to say: `It is belief in God that is necessary,' and, `Belief in God is worth everything'."
Another fellow prisoner, Dr. M. Asaf Disci, recalled that he first saw Bediuzzaman in the town of Kologrif. They were together there for about six months and then Bediuzzaman was sent to another large prisoner-of-camp further into the interior. In Kologrif they were held in a cinema, and he divided off part of it and made it into a mosque. Dr. Asaf Disci went on to say:
"...Because he was the commander of a regiment, the other prisoners used to be very respectful towards him, but he used to say: `I am a hoca [teacher]'... He lived very frugally. He would make do with two eggs and a slice of bread a day... His time was always full. He would read his commentary on the Qur'an, and teach the prisoners. The officers and men were all extremely deferential towards him... he commanded respect..."
Mustafa Bolay, a prisoner who spent six months in the Kosturma camp with Bediuzzaman, stated that Russians wanted to kill Bediuzzaman and that it was the military high command that had specified his being sent to that camp. Bediuzzaman's nephew, Abdurrahman, who wrote a short biography of his uncle, corroborated this claim. He wrote:
"They sent my uncle to Kosturma by way of Van, Julfa, Tiflis, and Kologrif. I wanted to describe in detail all the dangers to which he had been subject at this time - the Russian officers had even wanted to kill him on several occasions, then record that he had committed suicide - but he would not permit it, so I just wrote it briefly."
Perhaps further insight into this is provided by the following statement in `Tal'at Pasa’s Memoirs From Exile', prepared for publication by Cemal Kutay. According to this, Bediuzzaman informed the Ottoman Movernment that the Bolshevik Revolution would occur. One passage states: "Bediuzzaman Said-i Kurdi, who was in the structure of the Teskilat-i Mahsusa... provided information from Siberia where he had been exiled concerning the state of the Russians that we would not have been able to learn from any other source." "We learnt the Bolshevik Revolution would happen from Bediuzzaman Said-i Kurdi."
Both Mustafa Bolay and Mustafa Yalcin also corroborate an event concerning Bediuzzaman which happened in the prisoner-of war camp, and doubtless contributed to the awe in which he was held by captors and captives alike. It is described in Bediuzzaman's biography, and Necmeddin Sahiner gives a longer version from an article by Abdurrahim Zapsu in the magazine Ehl-i Sunnet, which is what we give here:
On one occasion, Nicola Nicolayavich, the Czar's uncle who at the same time was Commander-in-Chief of the Russian forces at the Caucasian Front, came on an inspection of the camp. While on his tour of it, he passed by Bediuzzaman, who was seated. Bediuzzaman paid him no attention and did not so much as stir. The General noticed him, and finding some excuse, passed in front of him a second time. Bediuzzaman still did not rise to his feet. So he passed by him a third time then stopped. He said to him through an interpreter:
"Do you not know who I am?"
"Yes, I know," replied Bediuzzaman, and told him.
"So why do you insult me?" asked the General.
"Forgive me, but I have not insulted you. I only did as my beliefs commanded me."
"What do your beliefs command?"
"I am a Muslim scholar. There is faith in my heart. A person with faith is superior to a person without. If I had risen to my feet, it would have been disrespectful to my beliefs. Therefore, I did not."
"In which case, you are saying that I am without faith, and you are insulting both myself, and the Army of which I am a member, and my nation, and the Czar. A court martial will be set up immediately, and you will be questioned."
As the General decreed, a court martial was set up. The Turkish, German, and Austrian officers all came to the headquarters and tried to persuade Bediuzzaman to apologize to the General, but he told them:
"I am eager to travel to the realm of the Hereafter and enter the presence of God's Prophet. and I have to have a passport. I cannot act contrary to my beliefs."
Unable to dispute this reply, they awaited the court's verdict. The examination was completed. Then the decision was given for Bediuzzaman's execution on the grounds of insulting the Czar and the Russian Army.
When the squad arrived to carry out the sentence, Bediuzzaman requested fifteen minutes "to perform his duty." This was to take his ablutions and perform two rak'ats of prayers. The Russian General arrived on the scene while Bediuzzaman was doing this. He suddenly realized his mistake and said to Bediuzzaman when he had finished praying:
"Forgive me! I thought you behaved as you did in order to insult me and I acted accordingly. Now I realize you were merely acting as your beliefs required. Your sentence is quashed. You should be commended for your firmness of belief. Once again, I apologize."
Bediuzzaman mentioned this incident, which demonstrates his extraordinary personal qualities, in a letter to one of his students written when being held in another prison, Afyon, in 1949. The story had appeared in the newspapers. He wrote:
"The incident which happened while I was a prisoner-of war is basically true, but I did not describe it in detail because I had no witnesses. Only, I did not know [at first] that the squad had come to execute me; I understood later. And I did not know that the Russian Commander had said some things in Russian by way of an apology. That is to say, the Muslim captain who was present and told the newspapers of the incident understood that the commander had said repeatedly: `Forgive me! Forgive me! "'
In the spring of 1918, Bediuzzaman found a way to escape amid the confusion following the Bolshevik Revolution. In later years, he wrote an evocative description of his "temporary awakening" in the winter darkness of the days preceding his escape, and the almost miraculous ease with which it was accomplished. The following is a translation of part of the piece, which forms part of the twenty-sixth Flash.
"In the First World War, as a prisoner, I was in the distant province of Kosturma in Northern Russia. There was a small mosque there belonging to the Tatars beside the famous River Volga. I used to become wearied among my friends, the other officers. I craved solitude, yet I could not wander about outside without permission. Then they took me on bail to the Tatar quarter, to that small mosque on the banks of the Volga. I used to sleep in the mosque, alone. Spring was close. I used to be very wakeful during the long, long nights of that northern land; the sad plashing of the Volga and the mirthless patter of the rain and the melancholy sighing of the wind of those dark nights in that dark exile had temporarily roused me from a deep sleep of heedlessness. I did not yet consider myself old, but those who had experienced the Great War were old. For those were days that, as though manifesting the verse: A day that will turn the hair of children grey, made even children old. And while I was forty years old, I felt myself to be eighty. In those long, dark nights and sorrowful exile and melancholic state, I despaired of life and of my homeland. I looked at my powerlessness and aloneness, and my hope failed.
"Then, while in that state, succour arrived from the All-Wise Qur'an; my tongue said: God is enough for us; and how excellent a guardian is He.
"And weeping, my heart cried out: `I am a stranger, I am alone, I am weak, I am powerless: I seek mercy, I seek forgiveness, I seek help from You, O my God!'
"And, thinking of my old friends in my homeland, and imagining myself dying in exile there, like Niyazi Misri, my spirit poured forth these lines:
 
Fleeing the world's grief,
Taking flight with ardour and. longing,
Opening my wings to the void,
Crying with each breath, Friend! Friend!
 
It was searching for its friends.
 
"Anyway... My weakness and impotence became such potent intercessors and means at the Divine Court on that melancholy, pitiful, separationafflicted, long night in exile that now I still wonder at it. For several days later I escaped in the most unexpected manner, on my own, not knowing Russian, across a distance that would have taken a year on foot. I was saved in a wondrous fashion through Divine favour, which was bestowed as a consequence of my weakness and impotence. Then, passing through Warsaw and Austria, I reached Istanbul, so that to be saved in this way so easily was quite extraordinary. I completed the long flight with an ease and facility that even the boldest and most cunning Russian-speakers could not have accomplished.
"And that night in the mosque on the banks of the Volga made me decide to pass the rest of my life in caves. Enough now of mixing in this social life of people. Since finally I would enter the grave alone, I said that from now on I would chose solitude in order to become accustomed to it.
"But. regretfully, things of no consequence like my many and serious friends in Istanbul, and the glittering worldly life there, and in particular the fame and honour granted me which were far greater than my due , made me temporarily forget my decision . It was as though that night in exile was a luminous blackness in my life’s eye, and the glittering white daytime of Istanbul, a lightless white in it. It could not see ahead, it still slumbered. Until two years later, Gavs-i Geylani opened my eyes once more with his book Futuhu’l-Gayb.
CHAPTER EIGHT
RETURN AND APPOINTMENT TO THE
DARU’L-HIKMETI’L-ISLAMIYE
 
 · The Escape and Return Journey
 
Bediuzzaman never described in detail either the manner of his escape or his Journey back to Istanbul, nor did he permit his nephew to write it, as we have seen. However, once again some of the missing details have been brought to light by Cemal Kutay, who learnt them either from Esref Kuscubasi or from Bediuzzaman himself on his visit in 1953. Necmeddin Sahiner, too, has uncovered one or two facts during his researches. Among these was the account of Major Ali Haydar Bey, of Corum, who for many years worked in the Salonica Recruiting Office. He stated that he broke out of the camp together with Bediuzzaman, and described their extraordinary crossing of the Volga. He said:
"Bediuzzaman and I crossed the Volga in the most miraculous fashion. While crossing the river, we sank into the water sometimes up to our ankles, sometimes up to our knees, as though our feet were sinking into snow. I became very excited. When we had crossed it, Bediuzzaman turned to me and said:
 
"`Ali Haydar, my brother! Just as Almighty God subjugated the sea to Moses (Peace be upon him), so too, out of respect for you, did He subjugate the River Volga to us.'
"He wanted to allay my bewilderment and astonishment. I said to him: `I do not know how we crossed and were saved, but you know, Ustad. Once again it is as you say."' How Ali Haydar Bey continued on his Journey to freedom is not recorded, and Necmeddin Sahiner notes that he could learn nothing further of him.
The miraculous ease and divine assistance described here continued throughout the long Journey as Bediuzzaman himself said in the piece quoted above. In another work he said that this "unseen protection" was granted him through the saintly intercession of Abdulkadir Geylani, the Gavs-i Azam, who, "with Divine permission, performed this duty through his supplications like an angel."
Having reached Petersburg in this manner, Bediuzzaman made his way to the border with Poland, and crossed over into a part which was then under German control. He took asylum with the Germans, who were, of course, the allies of the Ottomans. As an officer and escaped prisoner-of-war, Bediuzzaman was given every assistance by the Germans. He then went to Berlin by way of Warsaw. He remained two months in Berlin, where he stayed in the Adlon Hotel.
Cemal Kutay recounts a conversation with Bediuzzaman during which he described how, during his stay in Berlin, he slipped out of the Adlon Hotel, and unknown to anyone else traveled down to Switzerland, where he stayed for three days. Even though the likelihood of an Ottoman victory was small, and he himself was suffering from physical and mental exhaustion after two years' captivity and an arduous escape, he was pursuing ways of rebuilding and strengthening the Ottoman nation. Cemal Kutay quoted him as saying:
"I always saw Switzerland as a place where various peoples, various religions and denominations, various races had blended, as a country which made one nation. I always thought of it like that. Would I be able to find some sort of conformity between Switzerland and my own country? If we were to take their way, would we be able to stop hampering one another and meet on some defined common ground? I had this question in my mind. I went to Switzerland in order to learn this and study the problem in situ. I traveled round Italian Switzerland. German Switzerland, and French Switzerland separately, and I saw that they were all Swiss. The people were neither German, nor Italian, nor French. Right, so what was it that brought this about? It was a common cause. They shared a common philosophy of the State. And besides the philosophy of the State, they had economic and social ties...."
While in Berlin, Bediuzzaman also participated in its intellectual life. On one occasion he was invited to address a gathering of literary and intellectual figures. He told them:
“Throughout history the Turks and the Germans have been friends. The Turks are always scrupulous in remaining true to that friendship.”
In June, 1918, Bediuzzaman returned to Istanbul by way of Vienna and Sofya, certainly the last past of the Journey was by train. In Sofya he was given a passport by the Military Attaché. Dated 17 June 1918, it gives these details of Bediuzzaman on the front face:
 
Name : Said Mirza Efendi
Rank : Honorary Lt. Colonel
Detachment : Volunteer Kurdish Cavalry Regiment
Nationality : Ottoman
Point of Departure : Sofya
Destination : Istanbul (Dersaadet)
Reason for journey : Returning from captivity
Date : 17 June 1918
 
And the back of the passport bears a copy of the photograph of Bediuzzaman taken by the German authorities, and states that the train fare is to be charged to the Army's account.
Bediuzzaman's arrival in Istanbul was announced in several of the newspapers. The Tanin dated 25 June 1918 carried this short announcement:
"Bediuzzaman Said-i Kurdi Efendi, one of the Kurdistan ulema, who fought in the War on the Caucasian Front together with his students and fell prisoner to the Russians, has recently arrived back in our city."
 
· Istanbul
 
Bediuzzaman was given a hero's welcome on his return to Istanbul. Enver Pasa introduced him to the leading military personnel in the War Ministry saying: "Do you see this hoca? This was the person who withstood the Russian Cossacks in the East!" He received invitations from prominent pasas and dignitaries, or was visited by them. He was offered various positions and honours, and was awarded a War Medal. Molla Suleyman, one of his students, recounted the following exchange between Enver Pasa and Bediuzzaman to Necmeddin Sahiner:
"I read of Bediuzzaman's return in the Tanin, and visited him in Sultan Ahmet and kissed his hand. Later Enver Pasa, the Minister of War, invited him to visit the War Ministry. He said to him there: `How are you? What are you doing these days, hoca?' Bediuzzaman replied: `If you are offering me work for some worldly gain, I do not want it. If there some duties concerned with knowledge and learning, that would be different. But for now I am in need of rest, for I received much harsh treatment and suffered great hardship while I was a prisoner. "
Also at this time Bediuzzaman was endeavoring to have his commentary on the Qur'an, Signs of Miraculous, published. Wanting to show hi great appreciation of the work and of Bediuzzaman's service in the War, Enver Pasa offered to publish it for him. So Bediuzzaman suggested he might get the paper. Not easy to find in war-time Turkey. Thus, Enver Pasa provided the paper for Signs of Miraculous, and Bediuzzaman had it published.
Bediuzzaman was not given the opportunity to rest and regain hi strength. On 12 August 1918, the Darul-Hikmeti’l-lslamiye, a learned council or Islamic academy, was set up in association with the Office of the Seyhu’l-Islam, and without his knowledge, Bediuzzaman was appointed a the nominee of the Army. However, before continuing, in order to understand better the problems this institution faced and Bediuzzaman's attitude towards it, and indeed all his thought and activities at this time, we include here a brief outline of the main events of these difficult years.
 
· An Outline of Events from 1918 to 1922
 
Indeed, through bringing the Ottoman Empire into the War on the side o the Central Powers, the leaders of the Committee of Union and Progress had secured its final demise. For, on its defeat, the victors and Britain in particular, were able to realize their long-cherished designs of finally breaking up the Ottoman Empire and vanquishing their ancient foe, the Turk. On hearing the terms of the Mudros Armistice, signed by 'Turkey and Britain on 30 October 1918, the Sultan was heard to murmur: "This is not an armistice; it is an unconditional surrender."" The day following its signature, the leading; members of the CUP fled the country for Berlin. On 13 November a fleet o f fifty-five ships belonging to the victors anchored off Istanbul, including four Greek warships which was contrary to the agreement. and on 8 December, a military administration was set up. While there can have been nothing more galling for the Muslim Turks than to see the Allied forces enter Istanbul a conquerors, the Ottoman Greeks, Jews, and Armenians of the city greeted them rapturously. The French General, Franchet Desperey, even, riding) through the streets of Istanbul to the French Embassy on a white horse, in the style of some conquering king or emperor.
A number of secret war-time agreements had been signed by the Entente Powers concerning the partition of the Ottoman Empire. When Russia renounced her claims following the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, her place was taken by Italy. And when, in a timely move, the Greek Prime Minister Venizelos, brought his country into the War the same year, it was or the promise of Izmir and a portion of Aegean 'Turkey. The same area had, incidentally, already been promised to the Italians.
Thus, on the signing of the Armistice, the French occupied parts of southern and south-Eastern 'Turkey, while in February 1919; their troops entered Istanbul as mentioned above. On 29 April, Italian troops landed at Antalya. The British held the Dardanelles and other places of strategic importance. Plans had been made to set up a Kurdish state in Eastern Anatolia. And the Armenians prepared to set up an Armenian state in the north-east of the country. While the Greeks of the Black Sea region aimed to resurrect the Greek state of Pontus. Indeed, the ultimate aim of Venizelos and many Greeks was to recreate a Greater Byzantine Empire based on Istanbul - the ancient capital of Constantinople. And when on 15 May 1919, the Greek Army landed at Izmir with the assistance of French, British, and American warships, it provided the spark that ignited the Muslim inhabitants of Anatolia to resist the invaders and finally after more than two years of struggle and war to rid their country of all aggressors.
But there was no united front in the face of the oceupation. While the various groups based and fighting in Anatolia, `the National Forces', had many supporters in Istanbul, among whom was Bediuzzaman, many of the Deputies in the Parliament, the Sultan and a number of prominent statesmen and ulema opposed it, believing the interests of the Ottoman State would be best served by co-operation and collaboration with the occupying Powers. The supporters of the National Forces gaining strength in Istanbul, notably in the new Parliament opened in January 1920, led to a reoccupation of the city by British troops in March, and large-scale arrests and deportations. Under considerable pressure from the British, the Sultan dissolved the Parliament the following month, and a fetva was extracted from a specially installed Seyhu’I-Islam declaring the nationalists to be rebels and the killing of them a duty. An army was then formed to fight them.
In Ankara, which became the centre of the national movement, a new representative assembly was formed, and on 23 April 1920, the Turkish Grand National Assembly had its formal opening. But it was only on the Istanbul Government’s agreeing to sign the Treaty of Sevres in August 1920 that the nationalist cause obtained the almost total support of the Turkish people. Enraged by the signature of this ill-gotten and vengeful document, which purported to legitimize the carving up of Turkey itself between the Powers mentioned above, they determined to liberate their country from its foreign invaders.
It is beyond the scope of this book to describe the course of the War of Independence, but it may be noted that up to the Armistice, the Turks had been engaged in various wars since 1909, and in 1920 were exhausted and impoverished, with the male population decimated. On their defeat the Ottoman Army had been disarmed and disbanded by the victors. Against the heaviest odds, inspired and sustained by their faith in God and the religion of Islam, the Turks won a truly remarkable victory. Indeed, religion and men of religion played a role of the greatest importance in the War, which was proclaimed a Holy War, and one of the main aims of which was considered by all, including the Ankara Government, to be the saving of the Caliph and Sultan from enemy hands.'s Their victory was recognized by the Mudanya Armistice, signed by Britain and Turkey on 11 October 1922, and received intentional recognition in the Treaty of Lausanne, signed 24 July 1923.
The Turkish victory in their War of Independence was not simply the thwarting of the imperialist designs of a number of European Powers. As has already been suggested, the matter must be seen in a much wider perspective: for a thousand years the 'Turks had been "the standard-bearers of the Islamic World" against the Christian West. The word `Turk' was synonymous with 'Islam'. When they were victorious against the West, it was in the name of Islam, and when they suffered defeat, it was at Islam, which they represented, that the blows had very often been directed. And so, when the Ottomans failed to match the material progress of the West and as a result became progressively subject to it, this was interpreted by Christian Europe as being proof of the superiority of Western civilization. And it was also seen as a kind of justification for their greed, as they vied with one another over the disposal of "the sick man of Europe's" estate.
It was for British imperialism that Islam came to present the greatest obstacle. Though British efforts to conquer, subdue, and divide the Islamic world had been countered with some success by the Ottomans' Caliphate Policy and Movement for Islamic Unity, which has been mentioned above. The revolt of the Arabs against the Ottomans during the First World War and subsequent setting up of separate Arab states was one result of Britain's sustained and intense espionage and propaganda campaign against the Ottomans.
Thus, the defeat of the Ottomans in 1918 was seen by the victors as the final triumph of the West over Islam, of Western civilization over Islamic civilization, of the Cross over the Crescent. It is in this light that the occupation of Istanbul should be seen, and also the extremely harsh terms of the peace treaties, which were far harsher than those imposed on the other defeated nations.
But the desire of the British and French in particular to venge themselves on their ancient foe did not stop there. Appointing officials to oversee the various Ministries, the Government itself was no more than a puppet. And having for many years spurred on the Christian minorities to rebel against the Ottoman state, they now proceeded to encourage them to take over all poisons of authority in local government and state officialdom. This discrimination against Muslim Turks in their own country went so far that only Christian children could attend state schools. The Armenians and Greeks also massacred thousands of Muslims, while the occupying forces turned a blind eye.
The problems associated with the occupation of foreign armies are many. But in this case the situation was thus exacerbated by these deep-seated attitudes of the victors. Here it was not only the gall of defeat and excesses of occupying troops relaxing in "the flesh-pots of Constantinople" that had to be borne, an insidious policy of Christianization through attempts to discredit Islam on the one hand, and on the other, of attempts to sap the moral fibre of the Turks through the deliberate encouragement of immorality, the drinking of alcohol, and other "evils of civilization" had to be combated. As Bediuzzaman later told the deputies in the Ankara National Assembly: "A1- though for a long time the Western world has been attacking the Islamic world with its civilization, its philosophy, its sciences, its missionaries, and all the means at its disposal and has conquered it materially, it has not been able to conquer it in religion..." Now, it seemed, the stage was set for it to pursue this inauspicious and unachievable aim.
 
· Bediuzzaman and the Daru'I-Hikmeti'I-lslamiye
 
It may be seen from the above description how great the need was for a learned body with the authority of the Daru’l-Hikmet. The bill proposing its establishment had been introduced in Parliament at the beginning of the year, and it was envisaged that it would perform various functions. Just as it was to find solutions for problems confronting the Islamic world, so was it to answer in a scholarly manner the attacks made on it, combating attempts to discredit the religion of Islam. It was to have the power to refer the open flouting of Islamic morality to the relevant authorities. Furthermore, it was to serve the Muslim people of Turkey, answering questions, informing them concerning Internal and external dangers, and generally meeting their religious needs with various publications. To this end, branches were opened in all provinces and major towns. At any one time, it was composed of nine members, a principal, and various officers. Mehmed Akif was appointed as its first Secretary (Baskatip). The members, all of whom were prominent ulema, were divided into three committees: jurisprudence (fikh), ethics (ahlak), and theology (kelam). Bediuzzaman remained as a member of the Daru'l-Hikmet for the four years of its short existence. It was closed in November 1922 when the Sultanate was abolished by the Ankara Government. However, as we shall see, despite the great need for the Daru'l-Hikmet, and the efforts of its members, the situation did not allow for the full accomplishment of its aims.
A number of Daru'l-Hikmet documents concerning Bediuzzaman are still extant. Below are the Seyhu’l-Islam’s memo concerning his appointment to the rank of Mahrec, and the Caliph's edict ratifying the appointment. Firstly is the War Ministry's request that he be appointed, signed by Enver Pasa, referred to in the Seyhu’l-Islam’s memo.
"Exalted permission is requested that, on account of his patriotic efforts in mobilizing the tribes to fight and his distinguished and witnessed public-spirited services to the fatherland, Bediuzzaman Said Efendi, who took part in the fight against the Russians at Bitlis, was taken prisoner, and has recently returned, be appointed to a rank in the religious establishment conformable with the dignity of his learning.
"10 Agustos 1334 (10 August 1918)
"Deputy of the Commander-in-Chief
"and Minister of War ,
“Enver”
 
 
 
"The Office of the Seyhu’l-Islam
"212
"Honored Sir ,
"It has been made known by the Illustrious Ministry of War that Bediuzzaman Said-i Kurdi, who took part in the battle with the Russians at Bitlis, was taken prisoner, and has recently returned, has been honored with a grade in the religious establishment on account of his patriotic efforts in mobilizing the tribes to fight and his distinguished and witnessed public-spirited services to the fatherland. The Imperial Rescript considering it suitable that the above-mentioned, who has recently been appointed to the Daru’l-Hikmeti’l-Islamiye, be honored with the rank of Mahrec, has been set out and presented. In whatever way , therefore, the Caliph s Imperial Decree is concerned with the matter, it is evident, Sir, haste will be made to carry it out.
 
"17 Zi’l-Ka’de 1336/24 Agustos 1334 (24 August 1918)
"Seyhü’l-Islam
"MUSA KAZIM"
 
 
 
“The Office of the Seyhü’l-Islam Mehmed Vahiduddin
"Bediuzzaman Said Efendi, a member of the Darü’l-Hikmeti’l- Islamiye, has been awarded the rank of Mahrec.
"The Office of the SeyhuI’l-Islam is charged with carrying out this Imperial Decree.
"18 Zi’l-Qa’de 1336/25 Agustos 1334
"Seyhu’1-Islam
· “Musa Kazim”
On his return to Istanbul, Bediuzzaman had been joined by his nephew, Abdurrahman. Born in 1903 in Nurs the son of Bediuzzaman's elder brother Molla Abdullah, he was very intelligent and able, and was described by Bediuzzaman as both student, and assistant, and friend, and amanuensis, and spiritual son. He remained with his uncle for a number of years, during which time he wrote his biography of Bediuzzaman. It was forty- five pages in length and forms the main source for Bediuzzaman's early life. It was published in Istanbul in 1919. The following is a passage from an appendix to it describing Bediuzzaman's appointment to the Daru'l-Hikmet, and something of his attitude towards it and his resulting activities.
"I have described the life of my uncle, Said-i Kurdi, the author of the Lemeat Collection, briefly in an independent work. But for the past two and a half years they have burdened him with the duty of the Daru’l-Hikmeti’l- Islamiye. He used to say: `I would have given it up, but I want to render an account to the nation.' And now I am writing a few words about how my uncle wanted to render an account through his duties in the Daru’l-Hikmeti’I-Islamiye.
"It was two years ago in 1334 (1918) that without his consent, my uncle was appointed as a member of the Darul’l-Hikmeti’l-Islamiye. But because he was very shaken by his captivity, he obtained leave not to take up his duty. In fact, he tried to resign on many occasions, but his friends would not let him. So he continued, and now it is two and a half years.
"From the beginning I noticed that he did not spend anything on himself over and above what was necessary. In reply to those who asked him: `Why do you live so poorly?', he would say: `I want to follow the majority of Muslims. The majority can only obtain this much. I do not want to follow the extravagant minority.' And after putting aside the minimum amount from his salary from the Daru’l-Hikmet, he would give me the remainder saying: `Look after this!' But, relying on my uncle's kindness towards me and his contempt for possessions, I spent all of the money which had been left over in a year without telling him. So he said to me: `It was not licit for us to spend that money, it belonged to the nation. Why did you spend it? But since this is how the matter stands, I dismiss you from the post of Deputy for Expenditure and I appoint myself!' After this, he put aside twenty liras a month for me, and fifteen for himself. But other expenses were included in his fifteen. That is to say; ten or twelve liras used to remain over for him per month. He used to put aside any money that remained over and above this.
"Some time passed and it occurred to him to have twelve of his works printed in the name of religion. He gave the money which had accumulated, about one hundred liras, to cover the expense of having the works printed. Then with the exception of only one or two small one's, he had them distributed free. I asked him why he had not had them sold, and he said to me: `It is permissible for me to take only just enough to live on out of the salary. Anything more than that is the property of the nation. In this way I am returning it to the nation.'
"His service in the Darü’I-Hikmeti’I-Islamiye was all in the form of personal enterprises like that. For he saw certain obstacles in working jointly there. Those who were acquainted with him knew that he had put on his shroud and was risking his life. It was for this reason that he resisted and stood firm as a rock in the Daru’l-Hikmeti’I-Islamiye. He would not let the foreigners' influence make the Daru’l-Hikmet a tool for itself. He held out against the wrong fetvas and opposed them. When a current harmful to Islam appeared, he used to publish a work to destroy it."
Thus, as may be seen from this, Bediuzzaman's main service in the Daru’l-Hikmet - and indeed the greater part of his activities in this periodwas countering the divisive and corrupting influence of the occupying forces. For the situation in Istanbul under occupation did not permit the Darü'I-Hikmet to altogether fulfil its important functions. There were several reasons for this. On being asked on one occasion why he had nothing to do with politics during this period, he said: "I take refuge with God from Satan and politics. Yes, Istanbul politics are like Spanish `flu; they make a person delirious. We do not act of our own accord, but at the agency of another. Europe puffs, and we here dance..." That is to say, at a time when the British were using every means to utilize all areas of power and influence in Istanbul for their own ends, Bediuzzaman worked to neutralize their influence as far as the Darü'l-Hikmet was concerned, even if it lessened the effectiveness of the institution itself. And in another work Bediuzzaman pointed out that it was because it lacked any real power that the Daru'l-Hikmet could not put an end to serious wrongs such as immoral conduct, the drinking of alcohol, and gambling, whereas the Government in Anatolia stopped them with one command.
Another reason Bediuzzaman gave for the Daru’l-Hikmet being unable to perform its duties adequately was lack of harmony between its members. Their personal qualities prevented "a communal spirit" emerging. The "I’ s" did not become a "We". In fact, Bediuzzaman had long favored the setting-up of a learned body such as the Daru’l-Hikmet, made up of specialists in different fields and based on the principle of consultation, to tackle the problems facing not only the Ottoman Empire, but the Islamic world as well. In Sunuhat, published in 1919-20, he discussed this in connection with the Caliphate, a subject of urgent debate at the time. Briefly, having stated that the Sultanate and Caliphate were inseparable, and that the Office of Grand Vizier represented the former and The Office of Seyhü’l-Islam the latter, he pointed out that in modem, complex society and in the face of the myriad problems facing the Islamic world, it was beyond the capacity of a single individual to perform the duty of Seyhu’l-lslam effectively. A voice of such strength and authority was required at that time that it could only be supplied by a learned council such as one described above. He suggested that with the addition of further ulema, both Ottoman and from other parts of the Islamic world, an up-graded Darü'l-Hikmeti'l-Islamiye could form its basis.
Bediuzzaman's efforts, and success, in preventing the Daru’l-Hikmet being subverted and becoming a mere puppet in the hands of the British should not be underestimated. For it should be remembered that the British were all-powerful in Istanbul and exerted overwhelming pressure on the Sultan and those in positions of authority to have their will carried out. Also, there were severe differences of opinion among Turks - including the ulema - as to solutions to Turkey's predicament. These ranged from acceptance of the partition of Turkey, through various mandates or protectorates, to national sovereignty and independence. Furthermore, manipulation of the Caliphate played an important part in Britain's imperialist games. That Bediuzzaman was held in the greatest respect by other ulema is attested to in the recollections of Professor Ali Nihad Tarlan, who visited him on several occasions during these years, here one night in the Medresetü’l-Mutehassisin in Yavuz Selim:
"Bediuzzaman was wearing grey. He spoke of many matters that night , scholarly and religious. I'll tell you how he greeted me there; he met me saying: `Welcome, my dear brother!' He was always thinking, always reflecting. He was a superhuman person. Babanzade Ahmed Naim Bey said of him: `Whenever Bediuzzaman started to speak in the Daru'I-Hikmet, we used to just listen to him in wonder.”
 
· Fetva and Counter-Fetva
 
As was mentioned when describing the outline of events above, following their reoccupation of Istanbul in March 1920, the British forced Seyhul’l- Islam Durrizade Abdullah Efendi - installed after his predecessor, Haydarizade Ibrahim Efendi, had resigned rather than sign it - to issue a fetva declaring the various nationalist groups in Anatolia to be rebels and the killing of them the bounden duty of Muslims. In his book on the fundamental role of religion and men of religion in the national struggle, which includes a short section on Bediuzzaman, Kadir Misiroglu describes both the coercion by which the fetva was extracted by the British, and in some detail the counter fetva signed by 84 muftis in Anatolia, and a further 68 ulema, of whom 11 were deputies in the Ankara Assembly. This counter fetva stated that a fetva issued under enemy duress was null and void, and declared the national struggle to be a cihad, a Holy War.
Bediuzzaman also opposed the Seyhü’l-Islam’s fetva, and said:
"A fetva issued by a government and Seyhü’l-Islam’s Office in a country under enemy occupation and under the command and constraint of the British, is defective, and should not be heeded. Those operating against the enemy invasion are not rebels. The fetva must be rescinded."
In addition, Bediuzzaman opposed it on the learned grounds that since it comprised a legal judgement, the claims of both parties should have been considered before judgement had been passed. He wrote:
"It is not only a fetva so that it might be justified. It is a fetva that comprises a legal judgement. Because the difference between a fetva and a legal judgement is that its subject is general, not specific, neither is it binding. Whereas a legal judgement is both specific and binding. As for this fetva, it is both specific - whoever looks at it will necessarily understand its purpose, and it is binding, because its ultimate cause is to impel the mass of Muslims against them [the National Forces].
"This fetva comprises a legal judgement, but in a legal judgement it is imperative that the enemies (both sides) hear it. Anatolia should also have been made to speak. The fetva could have been issued after judgement had been passed on the assertions and counterclaims by a committee of politicians and ulema taking into account the interests of Islam. In fact, a number of things are being reversed these days. Opposites are changing their names and being substituted for each other; tyranny is being called justice; cihad, insurrection; and captivity, freedom."
 
· Green Crescent Society and Medrese Teachers' Association
 
Bediuzzaman was involved with further organizations and societies at this time, one of which was the Green Crescent Society, founded on 5 March 1920. Bediuzzaman was a founder member of this non-political society, set up specifically to combat the spread of alcoholic liquor and other harmful addictions, which were being deliberately encouraged by the occupying forces. Other members were the Seyhu’l-Islam, Haydarizade Ibrahim Efendi, Dr. Tevfik Rustu Aras, Esref Edip. and Fahreddin Kerim Gokay. Answering questions put to him in 1975 by Necmeddin Sahiner, Fahreddin Gokay quoted some minutes taken at a meeting of the Society in which "Said Efendi" [Bediuzzaman] suggested giving priority to the writing and free distribution of articles and pamphlets.
Another society in which Bediuzzaman was involved was the Medrese Teachers' Association (Cemiyet-i Muderrisin), founded 15 February 1335/ 1919. Its main aims were "to undertake the necessary enterprises for raising the teaching profession to the high level that is in keeping with the the Islamic nation (millet) and civilization,... to produce students of the ulema profession who would be thoroughly informed of the Islamic sciences and have knowledge of the modern sciences sufficient for the needs of the times... To instill the truths of religion and elevated conduct of Islam in Muslims' spirits, strengthen bonds of brotherhood, encourage personal enterprise, and to protect the rights of medrese teachers. This society was subsequently transformed into the Society for the Advancement of Islam [24 November, 1919], with which Bediuzzaman does not appear to have been connected, in distinction to many of the initial members. A number of the leading ulema of the time belonged to the Medrese Teachers' Society, including Mustafa Safvet Efendi, Mustafa Sabri - twice Seyhu’l-Islam, and Mehmet Atif Efendi. These last two together with Bediuzzaman undertook to reply to articles attacking Islam that appeared in the press. Bediuzzaman included some of his replies, on such subjects as polygamy, slavery, the position of women, and the representation of the human form, in some of his subsequent works. They are most reasonable and convincing, and by way of example we include here a short reply concerning polygamy and slavery:
"The ordinances of Islam are of two sorts: the first is those on which the Seriat is based. This sort is pure and true good. The other is the modified Seriat. That is, it removes from a most savage and cruel form, is the lesser of two evils, rectifying, practicable for human nature, and in order to make it possible to move on to pure good, has been cast in a form taken from time and place. For it would necessitate reversing human nature to suddenly do away with a matter which prevails over it. Thus, the Seriat did not impose slavery. Rather, it reduced it from a most savage form to one which would open the way to complete freedom; it adjusted and rectified it. Also, the Seriat did not raise the number of wives from one to four - although polygamy is conformable with nature, reason, and wisdom. Rather, it reduced it to four from eight or nine. And in polygamy particularly it imposed such conditions that no harm at all can be caused in the practice of it. And even if there is any bad in certain points of it, it is the lesser of two evils. And the lesser of two evils is relative justice. Alas, there cannot be pure good in every situation in this world!"
 
· Bediuzzaman's III-Health
 
As his nephew described in the piece of his biography quoted above, it was only with reluctance that Bediuzzaman had taken up his position in the Daru'l-Hikmet. He had been severely shaken by the War, but because of his sense of responsibility towards `the nation', he undertook the duties imposed on him as a way of serving it. Abdurrahman wrote that he asked his uncle why he had been shaken to such a great extent, and Bediuzzaman replied:
"I can bear my own sorrows, but the sorrows arising from Islam's grief have crushed me. I feel each blow delivered at the world of Islam to be delivered first at my own heart. That is why I have been so shaken. But I see a light; it will make those sorrows be forgotten, God willing."
Among the extant documents of the Darü'I-Hikmet are two requests of Bediuzzaman's for leave of absence on grounds of ill-health. We include them here together with an identity paper dated 26 September 1921, and Bediuzzaman's answers to an official questionnaire dated 17 October 1921. They are all included in the unpaged appendix of Sadik Albayrak's book on the Darü'l-Hikmet.
 
"To the Illustrious Seyhü’l-Islam
"A Petition:
"The nervous debility with which I am afflicted as a result of both the searing difficulties I endured day and night for two years on the Caucasian Front in the present War in defence of religion and country, and the intolerable hardships I suffered in two and a half years of captivity, and the regretful conditions which we witness at the present time, has turned into neurasthenia.
"As required in accordance with the attached report giving the results of the doctors' examination stating that five to six months' change of air is imperative, I request the permission of the Illustrious Seyhu’l-Islam for leave for about six months' change of air.
"And the command belongs....
"19 Nisan 1335 (19 April 1919)
"Bediuzzaman Said
"Member of the Daru' l-Hikmet "
 
"Member Said Efendi's request, corroborated by a doctor's report, for five months' leave of absence for a change of air on account of his having neurasthenia has been accepted. Since there is no obstacle in his leaving his post for that period, his petition has been noted accordingly... 17 Receb 1337 / 19 Nisan 1335 (19 April 1919)"
 
"To the Illustrious Seyhü’l-Islam
"Illustrious and Munificent Excellency ,
"Since, as the attached report makes clear, the illness from which I suffered earlier has returned and I am at present undergoing treatment by a specialist doctor in Sariyer, I request that permission be granted for three months leave of absence for treatment and a change of air as the report requires.
"13 Eylul 1337 (13 September 1921)
"Said
"Member of the Daru' l-Hikmeti' l-Islamiye
 
 
 
DOCUMENT CONCERNING THE CURRICULUM VITAE
OF OFFICIALS, CLERKS, AND EMPLOYEES
OF THE OTTOMAN STATE
Price ten kurus
(1) My name is Said, I am known as Bediuzzaman ,my father’s name was Mirza. I am not connected to any well-known family. I belong to the Shafi'i school of law. I am a subject of the Ottoman State.
(2) My date of birth was 1293 (1877). My place of birth was the village of Nurs in the district of Isparit, attached to the district of Hizan in the province of Bitlis·
(3) I made my preliminary studies under my brother for about two years in the above-mentioned sub-district of Isparit. Later I completed the customary course of study in the study-circle of Seyh Muhammed Celali in the town of (Dogu) Bayezit in the province of Erzurum. Later on I started to study in Van. For about fifteen years I was occupied with studying various sciences. I took part in the recent War on its declaration as a volunteer and regimental commander. I was taken prisoner b the Russians at Bitlis. I escaped from captivity and returned to Istanbul. I have been a member of the Daru'I-Hikmeti’l Islamiye since it was first founded. I lost the diploma. I received from the above-mentioned Muhammed Celali Efendi while I was a prisoner-ofwar. I am the author of seventeen works. Firstly, in Arabic, are the Qur’anic commentary Isaratu’l-l'caz, the treatises on logic called Talikat and Kizil Icaz, and EI-Hutbetu’s-Samiye. And I have written works in Turkish like Nokta, Suaat, Sunuhat, Munazarat, Muhakemat, Tulu’at, Lemaat, Rumuz, Isarat, Hutuvat-i Sitte, Iki Mekteb-i Musibetin Sehadetnamesi and Hakikat Cekirdekleri. Most of my works are written as admonishments for the guidance of Muslims and to awaken the heedless. Just as I speak Turkish and Kurdish, so also do I read and write Arabic and Persian. No copies remain of Rumuz, Isarat, Hutuvat-i Sitte, Iki Mekteb-i Musibetin ,Sehadetnamesi, El-Hutbetu'l Samiye, Munazarat, Muhakemat, and Talikat. I have no certificate or diploma in science or other subjects.
(4) On the declaration of the Great War, I joined the Army for the honour of it and as a volunteer, first as a regimental mufti , and secondly as a regimental commander. While performing this duty, I was taken prisoner b the Russians at Bitlis. All these duties were undertaken as a volunteer. Only, on my return to Istanbul from captivity, as a gratuity , the Ministry of War gave me fifty liras a month for three months making a total of one hundred and fifty liras. I have one War Medal. I have no other rank or decoration. I have no foreign decorations or medals. I was appointed to the Daru’l-Hikmeti’l-Islamiye on a salary of five thousand kurus in accordance with the Imperial Rescript dated 26 Sevval 1336, and as required by the Imperial Decree dated 18 Zi'1-Ka'de 1336, I was honoured with the rank of Mahrec.....
 
17 Tesrin-i Evvel 1337 (17 October 1921)
Bediuzzaman Said
Member of the Darü'1-Hikmeti'I-Islamiye
 
 
A MEMORANDUM OF THE OTTOMAN STATE
 
Name: Bediuzzaman Said Efendi
Father's name and place of residence: The late Mirza Efendi
Mother's Name: The late Nuriye Hanim
Date and place of birth: 1295 (AH) and 1293 (Rumi) (1877-8),
the village of Nurs in the sub-district of Hizan.
Religion (millet): Muslim
Profession, title, and eligibility to vote: a member of the Daru’l-Hikmeti’I-Islamiye.
Whether married or not: single
 
FEATURES AND PLACE WHERE REGISTERED
 
Height: average
Eyes: hazel
Complexion: dark
Distinguishing marks: none
Vilayet: Istanbul
District: Beyoglu, European Bosphorus
Quarter: Sariyer
Street: Fistikli Baglar
Number of residence: 18/11
Type of residence: foreigner (not local). Originally registered in the province of Bitlis, District of Hizan, village of Nurs.
Bediuzzaman Said Efendi whose name, state, and description is written above is a national of the Ottoman Empire, and this document showing that he is recorded on the register of births is duly delivered.
26 Eylul 1337 (26 September 1921)
Ministry of Internal Affairs.
CHAPTER NINE
 
THE SUPREMACY OF THE QUR'AN
AND BIRTH OF THE NEW SAID
 
 
· "The Strongest Voice will be Islam's"
 
In the December of 1919, Bediuzzaman had a "true dream" or sort of vision, which he subsequently recorded and included in Sünuhat. l He tells us there that he was at the time greatly distressed at the course of events and was "searching for a light in the dense darkness." In his dream, Bediuzzaman was summoned by "a great assembly" made up of representatives of the leading figures of Islam from each century and called upon to give an account of the present state of Islam. Contrary to what might be expected, Bediuzzaman's reply pointed out positive aspects of the defeat, including the strengthening of Islamic brotherhood and the Ottomans' being saved from being carried away to a greater extent on "the tyrannical current" of capitalism. Then, in order to show why Islam rejects modern Western civilization, which was epitomised by the ugly and exploitative capitalism and aggressive imperialism of the time, he made a comparison of the principles on which Western civilization and Islamic civilization are based and their results. This extremely interesting and original exposition was greeted with approval by the Assembly in the dream, and one of the deputies declared:
"Yes, be hopeful! The loudest and strongest voice in the coming upheavals and changes will be that of Islam!"
The same comparison of Western and Islamic civilizations appears in different contexts in a number of Bediuzzaman's works of the period. And from these and from other references to the same subject, we see in greater detail his views on the subject, and also the reasons for the optimism and hope for the future engendered by the dream.
It should be noted firstly that Bediuzzaman frequently pointed out that just as modem civilization was not the product or property of Christianity, neither was decline and retrogression in keeping with Islam: "To consider civilization to be the property of Christianity, which it is not, and to show decline, which is the enemy of Islam, to be its friend, is to suggest that the firmament is revolving in the opposite direction." As we have already seen, Islam enjoins progress and comprises all the necessities of civilization: "I declare with all my strength that there is nothing which is in reality good in civilization that is itself, or what is better than it, not guaranteed either explicitly or implicitly by Islam..." And in another work he wrote: "The things known as the virtues of civilization are each a transformed matter of the Seriat.” Further to this, Bediuzzaman pointed out that Islam had played a fundamental and significant role in the development of modem civilization:
"I cannot deny this: there are numerous virtues in [modern] civilization, but they are neither the property of Christianity, nor the creation of Europe, nor the work of this century. Rather, they are the property of all. They arise from the combined thought of mankind, the laws of the revealed religions, innate need, and in particular from the Islamic revolution brought about by the Seriat of Muhammed (PBUH)." And in another work he put it in even stronger terms: "The good things and great industrial progress to be seen in Western civilization are entirely reflected and derived from Islamic civilization, the guidance of the Qur'an, and the [other] revealed religions...."
However, in the West, the evils of civilization had come to preponderate over its beneficial aspects. Bediuzzaman gave two reasons for this. The first was the permissive attitude of Western civilization towards "dissipation" and "the appetites of the flesh", which arose from "not making religion and virtue the principles of civilization." While the second was "the appalling inequality in the means of livelihood", which also ultimately resulted from lack of religion. These would eventually lead to its destruction.
Thus, Bediuzzaman predicted that because Western civilization had become distant from true Christianity and was based not on the principles of revealed religion, but on those of Greek and, primarily, Roman philosophy, it would eventually "be dispersed" and "change its form", and make way for the emergence of Islamic civilization. His comparisons, then, are between the "positive" principles and results of revelation, and the "negative" principles and results of philosophy, or between divine guidance (hüda) and genius, meaning 'reason' (deha), as he sometimes calls them. Western civilization he describes as follows:
"It takes as its point of support force, which manifests itself in aggression. Its aim and purpose is benefit and self-interest, after which everyone jostles and pushes without restraint. Its principle in life is conflict, which manifests itself in contention and discord. The tie between different groups is racialism and negative nationalism, which thrives on devouring others and which manifests itself in ghastly clashes. Its alluring service is encouraging lust and passion, satisfying desires, and facilitating the attainment of whims. And as for lust and passion, they make man descend from the level of the angels to that of a dog. They cause him to become a beast. If most of these civilized people were turned inside out, the skin of a wolf, bear, snake, pig, or ape would appear. Or so it seems to the imagination."
The principles on which Islamic civilization is based, on the other hand, are the reverse of these:
"Its point of support is truth instead of force, which is manifest as justice and equity. Its aims are virtue and God's pleasure in place of benefit and self-interest, which are manifest as love and friendly competition. Its means of unity are the bonds of religion, country, and class instead of racialism and nationalism, which are manifest as sincere brotherhood and reconciliation, and co-operation in only defending against outside aggression. The principle in life is that of mutual assistance and co-operation instead of conflict, which is manifest as unity and mutual support. In place of lust is guidance, which is manifest as progress for humanity and being perfected spiritually. It restricts the passions, and instead of facilitating the base desires of the carnal soul, it gratifies the high sentiments of the spirit.”
Of the various aspects of civilization of which there are more detailed comparisons in Bediuzzaman's works, we shall briefly mention two. The first of these is literature.
In a piece on the subject in Lemeat, a collection of writings in free verse on various subjects which was published in Istanbul, probably in 1921, Bediuzzaman makes a comparison between the Qur’an as literature and European literature. This literature is represented by the novel, for which there had been a strong vogue among 'Europeanized' Ottomans since the time of Abdulhamid. Bediuzzaman states that there are three areas of literature. These are concerned with love and beauty, heroism and valour, and thirdly, the depiction of reality. As regards European literature, he says that in the first sort it does not know the meaning of true love, and merely excites the carnal appetites - though it purports to be high-minded and condemn such things as unfitting for man, while in the second, it does not favour right and justice, but exalts the concept of force.
In the depiction of reality, Bediuzzaman describes the Western view in greater detail. He points out that since European literature regards the universe not as Divine art, but from the point of view of nature, it prompts materialism and the worship of nature. And the novel, whether in book form, or as theatre or cinema, is the only remedy it has been able to find for the distress of the spirit arising from this misguidance. He goes on to say that both produce feelings of sadness, but while the sadness produced by the Qur'an is of a lofty and elevated nature, that caused European literature offers no hope. This again springs from the view of existence it expresses. The world is a wild and ownerless place; what inspires the sorrow is "deaf nature" and "blind force". It is the pathetic woe of an orphan, of the lack of friends, rather than their absence. And while both give pleasure and stir the emotions, where the Qur'an stirs the spirit and moves the higher emotions, European literature stimulates man's animal appetites and affords pleasure to his lower nature only.
The second aspect to be considered here is of a socio-economic nature. It concerns the injustice inherent in Western civilization and the remedy for its grievous consequences provided by Islam.
Bediuzzaman summarizes the root cause of the great social upheavals man has suffered, particularly this century, in two phrases. One is: "So long as I'm full, what is it to me if others die of hunger." And the other: "You struggle and labour so that I can live in ease and comfort." And he demonstrates that if they are to be eradicated, it will be through applying the Qur'anic injunction of almsgiving (vucub-u zekat) and prohibition on usury and interest (hurmet-i riba). His argument is as follows:
Through urging the wealthy classes to act in a cruel, oppressive, and arrogant manner towards the poor, the first phrase has been the cause of such sedition and strife that it has come close to overturning humanity. And the second phrase, through driving the poor to harbour hatred and envy towards the rich, has for several centuries destroyed public order and security, and this century, due to the struggle between capital and labour, has given rise to disaster and disorder on a vast scale. The role of zekat and the prohibition on interest in rectifying this situation is this:
The most important factor in maintaining the order of society as a whole is not allowing an unbridgeable gulf to develop between the various classes. The upper classes and the rich should not become so far removed from the lower classes and the poor that the lines of communication are broken, as happened in European civilization. "Despite all its societies for good works, all its establishments for the teaching of ethics, all its severe discipline and regulations", it could neither reconcile those two classes, nor heal the two wounds in human life caused by the two phrases above. However, through making the payment of zekat obligatory and prohibiting interest, Islam establishes relations between rich and poor, and forges links of respect and sympathy between them. By not allowing the classes to draw far apart, it maintains the order and balance of society. It "uproots" the two phrases and heals the wounds they have caused in mankind.
How is it then that while Islam comprises true civilization, it was materially defeated by Western civilization? In his dream, Bediuzzaman was questioned concerning this. He was asked by one of the deputies in the Assembly: "With which of your actions did you issue a fetva to Divine Determining so that it ordered this disaster for you?" Bediuzzaman replied that it was their neglect of three of the 'pillars of Islam' - the prescribed prayers, fasting in Ramadan, and payment of zekat- that had brought it upon them. And he afterwards added a note to this, including neglect of the Hajj.
 
· The Absolute Sovereignty of the Qur'an
 
Many reasons have been touched on in describing Bediuzzaman's thought and works up to here for the decline of the Islamic world and the Ottomans in particular. Broadly speaking they can be classed under two main headings. One is despotism and the other is religion, or rather the failure to adhere to its principles in various areas. The two are interconnected. Despotism, together with its numerous, far-reaching, and negative consequences, and the solutions for them in the form of Constitutionalism and Freedom within the sphere of the ,Seriat worked for with such dedication by Bediuzzaman, we have discussed in some detail. With regard to religion, many areas of decline may be included under this heading, and these too, together with their solutions, have been described in various places. For example, the decline in the field of learning and medrese education, and the solutions put forward by Bediuzzaman for this which would also heal the deep rifts that had developed between the ulema, the Sufi community, and those with a secular, Western educational background. The negligent attitude towards the 'pillars of Islam' mentioned in the dream above. And the various "sicknesses" in the social life of Muslims, and in the field of morality, and the "remedies" offered by Bediuzzaman in his sermon in Damascus. However, rather than attempting a comprehensive analysis of all the reasons Bediuzzaman put forward for the decline and relative backwardness of the Islamic world, we shall just make the following points.
In Muhakemat, a work written to establish the principles of Qua’nic exegesis (tefsir) and published in 1911, Bediuzzaman attributes the decline to the fact that the heart or true meaning of the teachings of Islam had been abandoned for its externals. He wrote:
"...Abandoning the essence and kernel of Islam, we fixed our gazes on its exterior and shell. And through misapprehension and ill-manners, we did not afford Islam its right nor pay it the respect it was due. So in disgust, it swathed itself in clouds of illusion and delusion, and concealed itself. And it had the right, for we mixed Isra’iliyat with the fundamentals of belief, and stories with the tenets of faith, and metaphors with the truths of belief, and did not appreciate its value. So to punish us in this world, it left us in abasement and penury. And what will save us, is again its mercy.’’
Later in the same work, Bediuzzaman expands on this, explaining how some Isra’iliyat, and a portion of Greek philosophy, had been incorporated into Islam, and "appearing in the apparel of religion", had thrown minds into disarray. Explaining how this happened, he concludes that when commenting on the Qur'an, some 'externalist' ulema had expounded certain of its verses (nakliyat) by making them fit the Isra’iliyat. "Whereas", he wrote. "What will explain and expound the Qur'an is again the Qur'an, and sound Hadiths. Not the Gospels and the Torah, whose ordinances have been superseded, just as their stories are corrupted."
As for Greek philosophy, it had sprung from fables and superstition, and just as it had caused confusion, so also had it opened up a way to mere imitation (taklid) in place of investigative and dynamic scholarship. Supposing there to be points of similarity and agreement between philosophy and matters of the Qur'an which demand the use of reason (akliyat), externalist scholars explained these verses in terms of the philosophy and adapted them to it. Bediuzzaman then said:
"God forbid! ...For the criterion of the Book of Miraculous Exposition is its miraculousness. Its expounder and commentator is its parts. Its meaning is within it. Its shell, too, is of pearl, not clods...."
And so to return to Sunuhat , published in 1919-20 , and a piece concerned with the Qur'an and the decline of Islam. Entitled, The Absolute Sovereignty of the Qur'an, it describes what Bediuzzaman considered to be "the most important cause of the Islamic community displaying carelessness and negligence in the precepts of religion."
The gist of Bediuzzaman’s argument is that while it is the sacredness (kudsiyet) of the Qur'an, rather than reasoning, that drives the mass of ordinary believers to conform to the precepts of religion, the way Qur'anic commentaries and books on the Seriat have developed in the course of time is such that they have come to act as a veil to the Qur’an’s sacredness.
Firstly in his argument, Bediuzzaman states that although the fundamentals of belief and pillars of Islam, which are the 'personal' property of the Qur'an and the Sunna of the Prophet (PBUH), which expounds the Qur’an, form ninety per cent of the religion, and controversial matters which are open to interpretation (ictihadi) form only ten per cent, in the course of time the former have been "placed under the patronage" of the latter, have been combined with them, and become subordinate to them.
Then, while "the books of those qualified to interpret the law (muctahidin) should be like means and display the Qur'an as though they were glass; they should neither act on its behalf nor obscure it", it is on these books that the attention of the mass of believers became focused. They have only thought of the Qur'an in a hazy sort of way. They have read these books in order to understand not what the Qur'an says, but what the authors say. As a result of this the ordinary believer's conscience "has become accustomed to being indifferent, and has become lifeless and unresponsive." However, Bediuzzaman continues:
"If the Qur'an had been shown directly in the fundamentals of religion, the mind would have naturally perceived its sacredness, which urges conformity (to the precepts of religion), is the rouser of the conscience, and is [the Qur'an's] inherent property. In this way the heart would have become sensitive towards it, and would not have remained deaf to the admonitions of belief."
Bediuzzaman then states that there are three ways to direct the attention of the mass of believers towards the Qur'an - "the exemplification of the Pre-Eternal Address, which shimmers with the attraction of miraculousness, has a halo of sacredness, and constantly stirs the conscience through belief." The first he describes as dangerous, the second as needing time, while the third is to remove the veils obscuring the Qur'an and display it directly to the ordinary believers; to seek its "pure, unmixed property" from itself alone, and only its secondary (bilvasita) decrees from the means.
That is to say, the fundamentals and essentials, which as we saw form ninety per cent, should be sought from the Qur'an itself and from the Sunna, while matters of secondary importance, which are open to interpretation and form ten per cent, sought from the works of those qualified to interpret them, that is, the muctahids. If that had been the case, the demand shown for these truly numerous commentaries and books on the Seriat and divided up between them would have been directed towards the Qur'an itself, indeed, the demand would have been greater because of need. And in that way the Qur’an would have been dominant and influential in its full meaning over the Muslim community.
Bediuzzaman had a significant dream shortly after writing this piece, and included it at the end of it. We also include it:
"One night shortly after writing this matter, I dreamt of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). I was in a medrese in his blessed presence. The Prophet was going to instruct me in the Qur'an. On their bringing the Our'an, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) rose to his feet out of respect. It occurred to me at that moment that he rose in order to guide his community.
"Finally I related this dream to a righteous member of his community, and he interpreted it in this way: 'It is a powerful sign and certain good news that the Qur'an of Mighty Stature will acquire the exalted position of which it is worthy throughout the world.’’
 
· Birth of the New Said
 
Some two years after his return to Istanbul from the prisoner-of-war camp in Russia, Bediuzzaman underwent a radical interior change, "a strange revolution of the spirit", and out of this inner turmoil, the New Said was born. Indeed, it is clear from Abdurrahman's biography and from his own requests for leave of absence from the Daru’l-Hikmet that from his return Bediuzzaman suffered certain difficulties. The strains of war and harsh conditions of his captivity had taken their toll on his health, while the Ottoman defeat and foreign occupation were sources of great distress. However, as we saw at the end of the piece describing his "awakening" in the little mosque beside the River Volga, Bediuzzaman considered the first two years of his return, despite all his activities, to be a period of heedlessness, during which his fame and the acclaim he received made him temporarily forget his decision to withdraw from social life and concentrate on the inner life. Bediuzzaman described the major turning-point that then occurred in some detail in various places in his works, and we shall chart its course from these.
It seems that a few flashes of realization restarted the process of "spiritual awakening". These occurred on high vantage points overlooking the city of Istanbul and took the form of realizing the stark realities of death and separation, old age and the transitoriness of things. Bediuzzaman says that then, before anything, he tried to find consolation and a ray of light in his learning and the things he had studied for so many years. But rather than providing this, he found that they had "dirtied his spirit", and been an obstacle to his spiritual progress.
Until this time, Bediuzzaman had "filled his brain with the philosophical as well as the Islamic sciences", for he thought that "the philosophical sciences were the means to spiritual progress and enlightenment." In addition, he was of the opinion that European science and philosophy could be used to "reinforce" and "strengthen" Islam. He described it like this:
The Old Said together with a group of thinkers accepted in part the principles of human philosophy [as opposed to revealed knowledge] and European science, and fought them with their own weapons; they admitted them to a degree. They accepted unshakeably some of their principles in the form of the positive sciences, and thus could not demonstrate the true value of Islam. Simply, they supposed philosophy's roots to be extremely deep, and grafted Islam with its branches, as though they were strengthening it. But since the victories were few, and it depreciated Islam, I gave up that way. And I demonstrated [in the Risale-i Nur] that Islam's principles are so profound that those of philosophy cannot reach them; indeed, they remain superficial beside them.’’
And, now, when overwhelmed by the realization of his own increasing years and the fleeting nature of everything to which he was attached, Bediuzzaman's learning afforded him no light, no hope. "The spiritual darkness arising from the sciences of philosophy plunged my spirit into the universe, suffocating it. Whichever way I looked seeking light, I could find no light in those matters, I could not breathe...''
Bediuzzaman's spiritual crisis prompted him to withdraw from the society of men and seek solitude in places removed from Istanbul life. He retreated to Yusa Tepesi, a high hill on the Asian side of the Bosphorus near its junction with the Black Sea. Here, he tells us, he would not permit Abdurrahman even to attend to his essential needs. Following this he took a house in Sariyer, on the European side, and it was here in this old wooden house which is still standing that Bediuzzaman's crisis was resolved and he found what he was searching for.
It was Gavs-i A'zam, Abdulkadir Geylani, who came first to Bediuzzaman's aid. A copy of his Futuhu’l-Gayb came into Bediuzzaman's possession "by a happy coincidence", and on opening the pages at random to take an omen from it, these lines came up:
 
166’daki arabca ibare konulacak
 
or, as Bediuzzaman interpreted them:
"Oh, you unfortunate! As a member of the Daru'l-Hikmeti’l-Islamiye you are as though a doctor curing the spiritual sicknesses of the people of Islam, whereas it is you who is sicker than anyone. You first of all find a doctor for yourself, then try to cure others!" Bediuzzaman continued:
"So I said to the Seyh: 'You be my doctor!' And I took him as my doctor, and read the book as though it was addressing me. But it was most severe. It smashed my pride in the most fearsome manner. It carried out the most drastic surgery on my soul. I could not stand it. I read half of it as though it was addressing me, but did not have the strength and endurance to finish it. I put the book back on the shelf. Then a week later the pain of that curative operation subsided, and the pleasure came in its place. I again opened the book and read it right through; I benefited a lot from that book of my first master. I listened to his prayers and supplications, and profited abundantly.
The second work which was instrumental in transforming the Old Said into the New Said was the Mektubat of Seyh Ahmed Sirhindi, Imam-i Rabbani. Some time after his "cure" through the mediation of Gavs-i A'zam, Bediuzzaman opened Imam-i Rabbani’s Mektubat to take an omen from this too. He wrote:
"It is strange, but in the whole of Mektubat, the word Bediuzzaman appears only twice. And those two letters fell open for me at once. I saw that written at the head of them was: Letter to Mirza Bediuzzaman, and my father's name was Mirza. Glory be to God! I exclaimed, these letters are addressing me. At that time the Old Said was also known as Bediuzzaman. Apart from Bediuzzaman Hamadani, I knew of no one else in the last three hundred years famous with the name. Whereas in the Imam's time there was such a person and he wrote him these two letters. This person's state must have been similar to mine, for I found these letters to be the cure for my ills. Only, the Imam persistently recommended in many of his letters what he wrote in these two, which was: 'Make your kible one.' That is, take one person as your master and follow him; do not concern yourself with anyone else.'
Bediuzzaman wrote that this most important piece of advice seemed inappropriate for his state of mind, and he was bewildered as whom to follow. In the Introduction to the Mesnevi-i Nuriye, he explained this in greater detail:
"Since the Old Said proceeded more in the rational and philosophical sciences, he started to look for a way to the essence of reality like that of the Sufi’s (ehl-i tarikat) and the mystics (ehl-i hakikat). But he was not content to proceed with the heart only like the Sufis, for his intellect and thought were to a degree wounded by philosophy; a cure was needed. Then, he wanted to follow some of the great mystics, who approached reality with both the heart and the mind. He looked, and each of them had different points of attraction. He was bewildered as to which of them to follow.” None of the great figures, such as Imam Gazzali, Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi, or Imam-i Rabbani, answered all of his needs.
While in this state, "it was imparted to the Old Said's much wounded heart" that the one true master was the Holy Qur'an. It occurred to him "through Divine Mercy" that "the head of these various ways and the source of these streams and the sun of these planets is the All-Wise Qur'an; the true single kible is to be found in it. In which case, it is also the most elevated guide and most holy master. So I clasped it with both hands and clung on to it.”
Thus, we can say that Bediuzzaman's enlightenment occurred in three stages. Firstly, he realized the deficiency of the "human philosophy" he had studied and how it had been an obstacle to his enlightenment and progress. And secondly, as Bediuzzaman himself confessed, through the "bitter medicine" of ,Seyh Abdulkadir Geylani 's Futuhu'l-Gayb: "I understood my faults, perceived my wounds, and my pride was to a degree destroyed.” Then to complete the process of his transformation into the New Said. he understood through the Mektubat of Imam-i Rabbani that he should take the Qur'an as his sole master. The instruction in Divine Unity he then received from the Qur’an through the phrase There is no god but God was "a most brilliant light" scattering the darkness in which he had been plunged and allowing him to breathe easily. Bediuzzaman describes how the Devil and his 'evilcommanding soul' would not brook this, and "relying on what they had learnt from philosophers and the people of misguidance, attacked his mind and his heart", but that the ensuing debate resulted in "the heart's victory.’
Bediuzzaman notes that he now proceeded "through an alliance of mind and heart". That is, through the guidance of the Qur'an he found a way to the essence of reality through employing both the heart and the mind. And since it employed both heart and mind, he found that before anything it cured his wounded spirit and heart, and silencing Satan and his evil-commanding soul, rescued him from doubts and skepticism. This then was the way of the New Said. It was also to be the way of the Risale-i Nur. In fact, the first work the New Said wrote was a collection of eleven or so treatises in Arabic called the Mesnevi-i Nuriye, which he described as "a kind of seed of the Risale-i Nur", and as "the seedbed" and the Risale-i Nur as "its garden."
As will be recalled, Bediuzzaman had undergone "a radical change in his ideas" at the turn of the century on learning of the explicit threats to the Qur'an and Islamic world made by the British Colonial Secretary, and had understood that he should dedicate his life to the defence of them with his learning. However events and his youth had served as "obstacles", preventing him "taking up the duty.” From Bediuzzaman's own accounts of his transformation into the New Said quoted above it is seen that his first realization was of the deficiency of "human philosophy" as opposed to revealed knowledge. And so. in addition to the other “obstacles” which had prevented him from "taking up his duty to defend the Qur'an and Islam" was his preoccupation with "philosophy". Now some twenty years later at the age of forty-three or four, through what was clearly an overwhelming mental and spiritual upheaval, he had found what he had been searching for. Near the end of his life, he described this search in the presence of his close student, Mustafa Sungur:
"Sixty years ago, I was searching for a way to reach the truth and reality at the present time. That is, I was searching for a short way to obtain firm faith and belief and a complete understanding of Islam which would not be shaken by the attacks of the numerous negative and damaging currents. Firstly, I had recourse to the way of the philosophers; I wanted to reach the truth with just the reason. I reached it only twice with extreme difficulty. I looked and saw that even the greatest geniuses of mankind had gone only half the way, only one or two had been able to reach the truth by means of the reason alone. Then I said: 'A way which even the greatest geniuses had been unable to take cannot be made general for everyone', and I gave it up. For numerous philosophers, even Ibn-i Sina [Avicenna], Farabi, Aristotle and others had only got half way. I saw that only one or two had been able to rise to the truth. Then I understood that a path and way by which not even the great geniuses had been able to rise, could not be the way for everyone. Then I had recourse to the way of Sufism and studied it. I saw that it was most luminous and effulgent, but that it needed the greatest caution. Only the highest of the elite could take that way. And so, saying, neither can this way be a way for everyone at this time, I sought help from the Qur'an. And thanks be to God, the Risale-i Nur was bestowed on me, which at this time is a sound and short way of the Qur'an for the believers."
CHAPTER TEN
 OPPOSITION TO THE BRITISH
AND MOVE TO ANKARA
 
· Bediuzzaman's Dagger
 
Before continuing with the story of Bediuzzaman's life, it is appropriate to relate the following story of his dagger, which he gave at this time to Gazi Ahmet Muhtar Pasa. Having first been compelled to carry a dagger when at tacked by fellow students jealous of his fame and success in scholarly debate in Siirt in 1309 Rumi/1891, Bediuzzaman had followed this local custom ever since. The writer and historian Ibrahim Hakki Konyali described to Necmeddin Sahiner how he came across the ivory-handled dagger:
"There are many mementos of great value, old and new, in the Military Museum, and among them I found an ivory-handled dagger while classifying the weapons. It had the name Said-i Kurdi engraved on it. I made enquiries as to how and when it had come to the Museum. Formerly known as Said-i Kurdi, Said Nursi had been appointed as a member of the Darü’l-Hikmeti’I-Islamiye in the years following the Great War. I knew him personally. He used to go around in the vicinity of Sehzadebasi and wore a turban wound round a long cap and the local dress of eastern Anatolia with a dagger at his waist. According to what I learnt, the great scholar and historian and second founder and curator of the Military Museum, Ahmet Muhtar Pasa, had got to know Said Nursi, and had acquired great respect for him because of his learning. Thus, he had taken his dagger for the Museum as a memento, and had numbered it and put it away."
 
· Bediuzzaman Opposes an Autonomous Kurdistan
 
Bediuzzaman’s undergoing great inner changes at this time did not prevent him from combatting the British occupying forces in whatever ways he could. Described above are some of his activities concerning this in the Darü’i-Hikmet, the area of learning, and in various other fields. In addition to this, Bediuzzaman opposed the British openly in the press, above all warning against their intrigues in the field of politics and efforts to sow discord among the ulema. Before looking at this more closely though, another subject of importance concerning the British and with which Bediuzzaman was also concerned should be mentioned, and this was the question of Kurdistan.
It will be remembered that when allotting the spoils of the Ottoman Empire, Britain - and also France - had laid claim to the geographical region of Kurdistan and the oil-fields of Mesopotamia. In order to further its interests in the area, British plans included the setting-up of an autonomous Kurdistan, and provision for this was contained in the Treaty of Sevres. And so, following the war, the promise of autonomy was used by the British as a means of instigating the inhabitants of the area to rebel against Ottoman authority, and also, incidentally, to hamper the National Forces. A number of political societies with the same aim were founded at the same time, one of which was the Society for the Advancement of Kurdistan (Kürdistan Teali Cemiyeti) z Bediuzzaman was again approached in the hope of gaining his support and access to his considerable influence, but as before and after, he refused absolutely and condemned any action which would damage unity with the Turks. One of those who approached him was Seyyid Abdülkadir, the president of the above society. Bediuzzaman is reported to have given him this reply:
"Almighty God says in the Holy Qur'an: God shall produce a people whom He will love as they will love Him. I pondered over this Divine declaration and I understood that this people is the Turkish nation, which for a thousand years acted as the standard-bearer of the Islamic world. I shall not follow a few brainless racialists rather than serving this heroic nation, in place of four hundred and fifty million true Muslim brothers."
Necmeddin Sahiner also quotes another passage from the same work, which, since it includes a firsthand description of Bediuzzaman besides illustrating further the point in question, we give it in full. It is related by Konsolidçi Asaf Bey, a well-known writer:
"One day while sitting in the printing office a man entered. He was wearing a strange outfit and had some sort of long cap on his head. On seeing him. Mevlânzâde rose to his feet and pointed to me. He said:
" `This is our leader-writer, Konsolidçi Asaf.' Then addressing me, he said:
" `This is Bediuzzaman Said Efendi, one of our greatest religious scholars.' So from that point I started to have conversations with Bediuzzaman. And truly, I benefited enormously from his knowledgeable conversation. After this he used to come frequently to our press and we would talk. Sometimes we would even go out together and go round the town.
"I do not know how long it was after this, Said Nursi left Istanbul. I can not remember now whether he went to his home region or some other place. Anyway, Germany and its allies had met with a crushing defeat. The country was divided up and they started to create new states in every comer of it. Armenia was one of these. One day, Mevlânzâde Rifat Bey said to me:
" `They are setting up an Armenian state. So, since the Empire is falling apart, we ought to set up a Kurdish one.'
"When I looked at him in astonishment, he said to me:
" `I am not a traitor. And it is not me who broke up the mighty Ottoman Empire. God curse those who did destroy it; they have all fled like thieves. For sure there are the National Forces, but they do not offer much hope. We are not living in the age of miracles. I'm going to write to Bediuzzaman about the matter, because he is very influential. He is thought a lot of, so I shall write to him and ask him to join us.'
"Mevlânzade wrote and sent the letter. Then, about ten days or two weeks later we were sitting in the printing office with some guests. There was Cakali Hamdi Pasa, who was Minister of the Navy at the time, and also the Chief of the Military Court. We were talking of this and that when the postman came in, left a letter, and went. Rifat Bey's face darkened as he read the letter, it was clear he was angry. After reading it through, he flung it at me, saying:
" `Read this and see. Bediuzzaman rejects my proposal and says he does not support my idea.'
"It would have been rude to read the letter to myself, so I began to read it out Ioud. Cakali Hamdi Bey and Mustafa Pasa, the Chief of the Military Court, listened. Although I do not remember exactly how the letter went, Bediuzzaman rejected Mevlanzâde's proposal to set up [an independent state of] Kurdistan, and said: `Rifat Bey, let's not set up Kurdistan, let's revive the Ottoman Empire. If you accept to do this, I am willing to sacrifice even my life for it.'
"After listening to this, Mustafa Pasa turned to Mevlânzâde and said:
" `You are wrong, Rifat Bey, and Bediuzzaman is right. It is not Kurdistan that should be formed, but the Ottoman Empire that should be re-formed and revived."
Indeed, Bediuzzaman continued to support any attempts to strengthen unity between the Kurds and the rest of `the nation'. As before, this was particularly in the fundamental area of education. In 1919 a society was founded to this end of which he was one of the fifteen founder members. Called The Society for the Propagation of Education Among Kurds (Kürt Nesr-i Ma'arif Cemiyeti), it was non-political, independent, and concerned solely with education. It aimed initially to set up one primary school for Kurdish children in Istanbul, who, "of all the sons of the fatherland, were the ones most deprived of the bounty of education", and later as funds permitted to found others in areas where Kurds foamed the majority of the inhabitants. Bediuzzaman was also going to be successful in securing further funds from the Ankara Government for the Medresetü'z-Zehra, his university-level `medrese' in the East, as we shall see.
 
· Bediuzzaman Combats the British
 
During this time, the Seyhü’l-Islam’s Office was presented with a questionnaire on the religion of Islam by the Church of England authorities, and as a member of the Darü'I-Hikmet, Bediuzzaman was asked to prepare the answers. Outraged at this insolence on the part of the British, Bediuzzaman wrote a few succinct words which bore the meaning of insults rather than answers. His intention was to protect the honour of Islam. He later described the affair as follows:
"One time, when the British had destroyed the guns on the Bosphorus and had invaded Istanbul, the chief cleric of the Anglican Church, which is that country's highest religious authority, asked the Seyhü’l-Islam’s Office six questions about religion. I was a member of the Darü’l-Hikmeti’l-Islanıiye at the time and they said to me: `You answer them!' They wanted a six-hundred-word reply to the six questions. I said: `I shall answer not with six hundred words, nor with six words, and not even with one word, but with a mouthful of spit! Because, you can see, the moment they stepped ashore here, their chief cleric arrogantly started asking us questions. What has to be done in the face of this is to spit in his face. So spit in the face of that merciless tyrant! "And in Rumuz, Signs, a work he published at the time, Bediuzzaman included the following piece entitled, Answer To a Scheming Cleric Who Wanted to Pour Scorn on Us:
"Someone has thrown you down into the mud and is killing you. Although he is pressing his foot on your throat, he asks mockingly what school of law you follow. The silencing answer to this is to feel the offence, be silent. and spit in his face. (Spit in that accursed shameless face!) So not to him, but in the name of the truth:
1) Q. What does the religion of Muhammad consist of?
A. The Qur'an.
2) Q. What has it given to life and thought?
A. Divine Unity and moderation.
3) Q. What is the remedy for man's troubles?
A. The prohibition of interest and usury and the obligatory payment of zekat.
4) Q. What does it say concerning the present upheavals?
A. Man has nought save that which he strives. And those who amass gold and silver and do not spend it in the way of God; announce to them a most grievous punishment.
Bediuzzaman's most effective work at this time, however, was a short work called The Six Steps, in which he pointed out six ways in which the British, and the Greeks, sowed discord and dissension in the Muslim community. It has at its head the verse: And do not follow in the footsteps of Satan, and Bediuzzaman later described it as having "turned the Istanbul ulema's opinions against the British and in favour of the national movement", and as having "spoilt the fearsome plan of the commander of the British forces occupying Istanbul." This plan was "to prepare the ground for the defeat of the National Forces and victory of Greeks through sowing strife among Muslims, and even deceiving the Seyhü’I-Islam and some of the ulema and inciting them against each other, and through making the supporters of the two main political groupings contend with each other [that is, those of the by then disbanded Committee of Union and Progress and those of the Freedom and Accord Party]."
To illuminate this further, it should be mentioned that the source of the conflict lay in the fact that, according to the official account, Sultan Vahideddin, the Istanbul Government, some of the ulema, and others, opposed the national movement in Anatolia absolutely. They considered those involved in it to be either members of the Committee of Union and Progress or people of a like kind, that is to say, bandits, whom they held responsible for entering Turkey into the War, and for its defeat which had dealt the death-blow to the Empire. Although it never came to power, the old rivals of the CUP and now dominant political party, the Freedom and Accord Party, also considered those involved in the national movement to be the chief enemy rather than the foreign aggressors.
In addition, many Western-inclined intellectuals opposed the nationalists, and the distorted writings of these combined with the propaganda of the British aiming to widen and play on divisions, were a cause of confusion among the people, shaking their faith even, and weakening their resolve to withstand the enemy. Thus, in his writings, Bediuzzaman pointed out the distortions, and in The Six Steps in particular, showed with his usual clarity how the British were playing on their differences and answered their insidious suggestions so summarily and witheringly that it both illuminated its readers and heartened them.
Bediuzzaman also severely condemned those who disparaged their own nation and thought that "the interests and ambitions of the British nation were consistent with the interests and dignity of Islam" and accepted British protection. When asked which society or grouping he belonged to and why he was severely critical of the opposition, that is, the Freedom and Accord Party, he replied:
"I belong to the society of martyrs. It is inauspicious to either deny or belittle a single saint. So it is the most inauspicious of all inauspiciousness to deny two million martyrs who are saints, and to consider their blood to have spilt in vain. Because the opposition say that we were wrong to enter the [First World] War, and that our enemies were right; that it was not a cihad. Thus, such a judgment is to deny the martyrdom of two million martyrs. In my opinion the prayer we should utter most is: O God, do not put harm amongst us!
"There is a fact before which the most uncivilized and even the most savage bow their heads in submission and respect, and that is, when confronted by an external enemy, two hostile clans of a tribe lay aside their own enmity instinctively. It is astonishing therefore that those who are considered to be civilized and enlightened are far inferior to those savages; when confronted by external hostility, they intensify Internal enmity. If civilization and science are thus, then man's happiness lies in savagery and ignorance!"
The Six Steps was published shortly before the reoccupation of Istanbul by the British in March 1920. and as they came to realize Bediuzzaman's effectiveness in opposing them, the British authorities determined to get rid of him. However, they were told that if they attempted to assassinate him, the inhabitants and tribes of eastern Anatolia would never forgive the British, and it would earn them their eternal enmity. There are various sources which corroborate the fact that the British wanted to do away with this vehement enemy who so persistently and successfully foiled their attempts to annihilate Islam and the Turkish nation through their plots and propaganda. One such incident was related by Bediuzzaman's student, Molla Süleyman:
"... We set off in the direction of the Divanyolu, and Misirli Said Molla was there. He was the second president of The Friends of England Association. He had no religion; and whether he was a Mason or what he was, I do not know. This man used to inform on Bediuzzaman to the British; he used to tell them about his appearance, features, dress, and where he lived. This was because Bediuzzaman used to make dreadful attacks on them in the press. He used to publish articles in the Tanin and other newspapers which said things like: `Spit in the shameless face of the accursed British!' And `You dogs, who are more basely and utterly dog-like than any dog!'
"Then one day, soldiers of the occupying forces were waiting for Bediuzzaman in the square by Aya Sophia, they were going to seize him. I was terrified and he said to me: `You follow close behind me, Süleyman, and don't fall behind.' Then he recited the verse from Sura Ya Sin: And We have put a bar in front of them and a bar behind them, and further, We have covered them; so that they cannot see, and they did not see us. We passed right by them and came to the house. I knocked on the door, and when it was slow in opening, I said to my friend inside: `Come on open it quickly; Bediuzzaman is with me!' He opened it immediately and we went in. Bediuzzaman sat down on the divan, and I pulled off his boots. Then he asked me:
" `What did you understand from all that?'
" `I do not know', I replied. So he said:
" `They had received the order to shoot me, and I did as I did in order to save you. I pitied you because you had no weapon. Otherwise I would have lined up ten of them and taken my aim. I would have killed at least ten of them before being killed myself."'
Another account of Bediuzzaman at this time has been given by Tevfik Demiroglu, who later served as the Deputy for Van for many years. He provides a number of details concerning Bediuzzaman's life, and recalls particularly his own adventures with Abdurrahman when distributing The Six Steps secretly under the noses of the British. The work was printed secretly "through the efforts of Esref Edip." Tevfik Demiroglu also notes that Bediuzzaman was closely associated with Esref Edip, and with Mehmet Akif and the magazine Sebilürresad - as indeed he had been before the War, and that they used to meet for long conversations in the Yusuf Izzeddin Pasa Pavilion in Çamlica, where Bediuzzaman stayed for some time. He also de scribes his adventures in stealing breech-blocks from the arsenals so as to make the British heavy guns unusable, while others would steal rifles and other weapons.
Bediuzzaman's enemies were not restricted to the British. Some thirty years later he wrote in a letter that a fellow member of the Darü'I-Hikmet Seyyid Sadeddin Pasa, had warned him of another plot to kill him. The Pasa had told him: "I have learnt via certain means that an aggressive atheistic organization [zindika komitesi) which is here but whose roots are abroad has read one of your works, and has declared that so long as its author remains in this world, they shall be unable to impose their ideas, that is, irreligious, on this nation, and that he shall have to be eliminated. So guard yourself well!" Bediuzzaman wrote that in reply he said to Sadeddin Pasa: "I place my trust in God! Death only comes once, and the time of its coming cannot be changed."
 
· Ankara
 
In recognition in these services to the national cause, and particularly through The Six Steps, the national leaders in Ankara invited Bediuzzaman to join them there. However Bediuzzaman declined to "flee" from Istanbul. Mustafa Kemal Pasa himself, who had been elected as President of the Grand National Assembly, sent three messages in cipher summoning Bediuzzaman. These were repeated on numerous occasions by various people including Marshal Fevzi Çakmak; this is corroborated by `National Defence Imam' and Regimental Mufti, Osman Nuri Efendi. But Bediuzzaman told them:
"I want to fight where it is dangerous; I do not like fighting behind trenches. I consider here to be more dangerous than Anatolia."
On these insistent demands, Bediuzzaman sent three of his students, Tevfik Demiroglu, Molla Süleyman, and Major Refik Bey to offer their support to the National Government. He himself finally went on being invited by his old fiend, the Deputy and former Governor of Van, Tahsin Bey.
Necmeddin Sahiner writes that he travelled by train, arriving a week before the 'Eid al-Adha, the Feast of the Sacrifices, known in Turkey as Kurban Bayrami, which that year, 1922, fell on 4 August, and relates a conversation between Bediuzzaman and the Deputy for Siverek, Captain Abdülgani Ensari. On the eve of the festival Bediuzzaman told the Deputy that the following day his head would be cut off. The Deputy looked aghast, so Bediuzzaman explained; if the letter Sin is removed from the word Said, the word 'eid remains, which means festival!
The War of Independence was reaching its climax, and on 22 August there began what became known as the `Great Offensive', which by 29 September had resulted in the Turkish victory and liberation of Anatolia. In October, the Mudanya Armistice was signed. These were also the last days of the Ottoman Empire. The Armistice had been signed with the Ankara Government, but the Sultan's Government was still nominally functioning in Istanbul. And so to solve the problem, on 1 November 1922, at the prompting of Mustafa Kemal, the Grand National Assembly voted to abolish the Sultanate and retain only the Caliphate. The right to choose the Caliph would rest with the Assembly. The deposed Sultan Vahiddedin left the country on a British warship on 16 November, and his cousin Abdülmecid was appointed as Caliph by the Assembly. The Caliphate was finally abolished on 3 March 1924 after being held for 407 years by the Ottoman House.
With all these momentous events, it was not till 9 November, 1922, that Bediuzzaman was given an official `welcoming' in the Assembly. The ceremony was recorded as follows in the minutes of that day:
"Welcome for the religious scholar Bediuzzaman Said Efendi Hazretleri.
"Speaker: The Deputy for Bitlis, Arif Bey, and his friends have a motion.
"We propose to the Illustrious Presidency that a welcome is given to Bediuzzaman Molla Said Efendi Hazretleri, one of the well-known ulema of the Eastern Provinces, who has come here from Istanbul in order to visit the gazis of Anatolia and this Exalted Assembly and is at present in the Visitors' Gallery.
 
Bitlis Bitlis Mus Mus Siirt Bitlis Ergani
Arif Dervis Kasim (Ilyas Sami) Salih Resul Hakki
 
"(Applause)
"Rasih Efendi (Antalya): We request him to honour the platform and offer prayers."
Whereupon Bediuzzaman mounted the platform, then congratulated the veterans of the War of Independence and offered prayers.
Despite the warm reception he was given and the rejoicing at the triumph of Islam and the 'Turks over their enemies, Bediuzzaman was dismayed to find a lax and indifferent attitude towards Islam and their religious duties among many of the Deputies in the Assembly. His intention in coming to Ankara had been to encourage those in power to set up a form of government based on the Qur’an and the Seriat. Through Divine assistance, the Turks had totally defeated those who had wanted to destroy Islam and them-selves. It was the beginning of a new era and exactly the time to marshal their forces to make the new Republic the means for bringing about a renaissance of Islam and Islamic civilization, and make it a centre and source of support for the Islamic world. But rather than this, in addition to an indifference towards religion, he found that atheistic ideas were being propagated. He described it like this:
"When I went to Ankara in 1922, the morale of the people of belief was extremely high as a result of the victory of the army of Islam over the Greeks. But I saw that an abominable current of atheism was treacherously trying to subvert, poison, and destroy their minds. `Oh God!', I said. `This monster is going to harm the pillars of belief."
That is to say, once the victory had been won, the old differences came to the fore once again. Up to the final victory it would have been considered traitorous of any Deputy in the Assembly to assume any position opposed to Islam. but once it was secured those who favoured Westernization and the abandoning of religion, began to show their true colours. Indeed, since its inception there had been various opposing groups in the National Assembly. In the summer of 1922 a group was formed which opposed the autocracy of Mustafa Kemal. But with the victory, he was to increase his dictatorial powers, and with the aim of gaining total control of the Assembly the position of the `religious' group was now progressively weakened, until in the elections of June, 1923, before which Bediuzzaman had left Ankara, he was able to have elected a docile Assembly which would present him with no serious opposition.
In the face of the laxity and "current of atheism" which he found, Bediuzzaman wrote a work in Arabic disproving atheism called Zeylü’l-Zeyl, and another called Hubab. He noted however that, ".... Alas, those who knew Arabic were few and those who considered it seriously were rare, also its argument was in an extremely concise and abbreviated form. As a result, the treatise did not have the effect it should have done, and sadly, the current of atheism both swelled and gained strength." Bediuzzaman's main concern in Ankara, however, was urging the Deputies to adhere to Islam and perform their religious duties at this crucial time. In regard to this he published a ten point circular which he had distributed to all the Deputies. It was read to Mustafa Kemal by Kazim Karabekir Pasa.
The circular, dated 19 January 1923, stresses in particular the necessity of performing the prescribed prayers and is of some length, so rather than giving the whole text, we shall include a translation of the last part. Firstly Bediuzzaman is pointing out here the harm to the nation if their leaders and representatives do not perform their religious duties, and says that in truth such people are not fit to govern:
"What excuse can be found for the neglect and giving up of the religious obligations, which causes harm to matters of both religion and the world? How can patriotism permit it? Especially these mücahidin commanders and this Grand Assembly, for they are held as examples. The nation will either imitate their faults or criticize them, and both are harmful. That is to say, their religious duties concern the rights of all. True and serious work cannot be seen from those who, comprising the meaning of consensus and agreement, do not heed innumerable warnings and indications, and accept delusions arising from the sophistry of the soul and the whisperings of Satan. The foundation stones of this mighty revolution have to be firm..."
Bediuzzaman then states that due to the power invested in it by the nation, the Assembly now represents the Sultanate. It has also to represent the Caliphate, but to do this it has to both fulfill its religious obligations and see that they are fulfilled by the nation, and answer the nation's religious needs. If it does not do these things, out of need, the nation will compel it to "give meaning" to the "name" of the Caliphate, which in effect it had undertaken as mentioned above, and will also invest the Assembly with the power to carry out the Caliphate's functions. However, Bediuzzaman says, if due to its members' negligence and laxity in performing their religious obligations the Assembly does not have the ability to do this, it will give rise to discord and disunion, which is contrary to the verse, And hold fast all together to the Rope of God.
Bediuzzaman goes on to make a point which is fundamental to his ideas and that has been mentioned in several places in the present work so far. This is that the modem age is the `mass' age or age of the community or social group. Communities give rise to `collective personalities' or `spirits'. In the case of government or authority, in this complex modem age, they can only function adequately by means of `collective personalities' of this sort. He mentions this here in regard to the Caliphate.
‘The present is the time of community. The collective personality of a community, which is its spirit, is firmer and more capable of carrying out the ordinances of the Seriat. The person of the Caliph can only undertake his duties through relying on [such a collective personality]. If a collective personality, the spirit of a community, is righteous, it is more brilliant and perfect [than that of an individual]. But if it is bad, it is exceedingly bad. Both the goodness and badness of an individual are limited, but those of a community are unlimited. Do not spoil the goodness you have gained in the face of external [enemies] through Internal badness. You know that your perpetual enemies and opposites and foes are destroying the practices and marks of Islam. Therefore, your essential duty is to revive and preserve them. Other wise, unconsciously you will be helping the conscious enemy. Contempt for the practices and marks of Islam shows weakness of nationhood, and as for weakness, it does not arrest the enemy, it encourages him.
"God is enough for us, and how excellent a Guardian is He. "
This exhortation of Bediuzzaman's had a considerable effect; it added around sixty to the number of Deputies who performed the prayer regularly and the room used as a mosque had to be changed for larger one. However, it drew an unfavourable reaction from the President of the Assembly, Mustafa Kemal Pasa. One day in the presence of a large number of Deputies in the Assembly, he shouted angrily at Bediuzzaman:
"We are in need of heroic hocas like you. We called you here in order to benefit from your elevated ideas, but you came here and immediately started writing things about the prayers, and have caused differences amongst us." Bediuzzaman countered this with a few words, then himself in anger, he jabbed his fingers and said:
"Pasa! Pasa! After belief, the most elevated truth in Islam is the obligatory prayers. Those who do not perform the prayers are traitors, and the opinions of traitors are to be rejected."
In saying these words to Mustafa Kemal, Bediuzzaman had, in his own words, smashed an appalling idol". Those present feared for him, certain that he would be made to suffer for his words. But Mustafa Kemal suppressed his anger and in effect apologized, for two days later he had a two hour meeting with Bediuzzaman in his office.
Just as with the pasas in the court martial and Grand Duke Nicholas in Kosturma, Bediuzzaman did not bow before Mustafa Kemal. He took the opportunity to admonish him on the great harm to the nation, country, and Islamic world in attacking Islam and trying to eradicate its practices in the hope of gaining a reputation among their enemies. If a revolution had to be brought about, it had to be achieved through making the Qur'an the basis of it. He dwelt particularly on the great error of trying to find favour with the enemies of Islam and the Turks by attacking Islam in order to satisfy ambition and the desire for fame and position. Mustafa Kemal apparently took no offence at Bediuzzaman for these words which "wounded all his sensibilities and principles", on the contrary, he tried to placate him and win him over so as to take advantage of his influence. He offered Bediuzzaman Seyh Sanusi's post as `General Preacher' in the Eastern Provinces with a salary of 300 liras, a deputyship in the Assembly, and a post equivalent to that he had held in the Darü’l-Hikmeti’l-Islamiye, together with various perks such as a residence. Bediuzzaman did not accept, and before examining the reasons, it may also be mentioned that Mustafa Kemal was also one of the 163 deputies who endorsed the allotting of I50,000 liras for Bediuzzaman's Medresetü'z-Zehra.
Throughout the time Bediuzzaman was in Ankara, he pursued the matter of founding this university in the East. There were three points in particular that he impressed on the Deputies in regard to it, many of whom were of the belief that the religious sciences should be dispensed with and that general education should be in the Western style and concentrate on the modem sciences. Firstly was the geographical location of the Eastern Provinces; since they were like a centre of the Islamic world, it was essential to teach the religious sciences together with modem science. Secondly, the fact that most of the prophets had appeared in the East and most of the great philosophers in the West showed that the East would only be aroused by religion; progress was dependent on religion. And thirdly was the most important point that religion and the teaching of it was the only way to maintain unity. If religion was not taken as the basis, the non-Turkish Muslims of the region "would not feel true brotherhood for the 'Turks", and the need for cooperation and solidarity at that time was great. Of two hundred Deputies addressed on this question, 163 endorsed the decision to set aside 150,000 liras for the project.
One reason Bediuzzaman gave for declining Mustafa Kemal's offers was the change that had come about in himself. As he wrote: "Their conduct and the way they were going did not accord with my own feelings of old age." And he quoted himself as telling them: "The New Said wants to work for the Next World and cannot work with you, but he will not interfere with you either." However, the main reason was that Bediuzzaman had perceived Mustafa Kemal's true purpose.
The Lausanne Peace Conference had begun on 20 November 1922, and on the discussions reaching a deadlock at the beginning of February 1923, the delegations returned to their countries. Ismet Inönü, the 'Turkish Chief Delegate, met secretly with Mustafa Kemal, then in Ankara there were closed sessions of the Assembly. The debates were of an extremely fierce and acrimonious nature, with the Second Group, the opposition, opposing the proposals of the First Group, Mustafa Kemal and the Government, absolutely 45 From part of an article entitled "The Inside Face of Lausanne" from the 29th edition of Büyük Doğu magazine, reproduced in Emirdag Lahikasi, we learn the true reasons for this, though the debates centred on other issues. The plan of the British Chief Delegate, Lord Curzon, was summarized by these words of his:
"If Turkey dissolves with its own hand its ties with Islam and its representative role and casts them aside, it will become truly united with us and gain the respect and gratitude of the Christian world, and we shall give it what it wants."
These secret and insidious plans fitted in with the designs of Inönü and Mustafa Kemal, and on Inönü’s return visit they decided to fall in with them. So that after the treaty had been signed, Lord Curzon was able to answer objections by saying:
"The truth of matter is that the Turks will never be able to regain their former might and power, for we have killed them from the inside..."
According to the article, the original architect of the plan to leave 'Turkey free physically but destroy it from the inside, do away with the Qur'an and its ordinances and make the 'Turkish people lose their religion, kill its spirit by means of some of its own people, was the zionist, Haim Naum. He had come to Ankara and met with Mustafa Kemal, as well as meeting with Lord Curzon.
Thus, in the disturbed and confusing situation of the time, Bediuzzaman perceived clearly what Mustafa Kemal's intentions were, and understood that he could not work alongside him. And just as time proved him to be right in this matter, so too at that time he saw realized in Mustafa Kemal the prophecies in some Hadiths concerning the fearsome individuals who will appear at the end of time, which he had expounded some fifteen years earlier. He understood now whom they referred to. He described it as follows in a defence speech in Afyon Court in 1948:
"Forty years ago and the year before Freedom, I came to Istanbul. At the time, the Japanese Commander-in-Chief had asked the Muslim Ulema certain questions about religion. The Istanbul hocas asked me about them, and they asked me about many things in connection with them. In short, they asked me about a Hadith which says: `At the end of time a fearsome person will rise up and on his forehead will be written: this is a kafir.' I said, this strange person will come to lead this nation. He will rise in the morning and put a hat on his head, and he will make others wear it. After this answer, they asked me: `Won't those who wear it be a kafir then?' I said, the hat will be worn and he will say: `Do not prostrate [in prayer]'. But the belief in God in the head will make the hat prostrate. God willing, it will make it Muslim. Then they said: `The same person will drink some water and his hand will have a hole in it, and through this he will be known as Sufyan?' I replied there is saying: it is said of someone who is very wasteful that he has a hole in his hand. That is, possessions do not remain in his hand, they flow away and are lost. Thus, that fearsome person will be addicted to raki, which is sort of water, he will become ill through it, and he himself will become infinitely wasteful and he make others accustomed to being wasteful. Then one of them said: `When he dies, Satan will shout out to the world from the obelisk in Istanbul: so and so is dead!' So I said that the news will be given by telegraph, but some time later I heard that the radio had been invented; I understood that it was not quite my answer, so eight years later while in the Darü’l-Hikmet I said that it would be broadcast throughout the world by radio, like Satan. Then they asked me questions about the barrier of Zu’I Karneyn, Gog and Magog, the Dabbetu' l-Arz, Deccal, and the second coming of Jesus(peace be upon him). I gave them answers, and some of them are even partly written in my old treatises."
Bediuzzaman went on to describe how Mustafa Kemal had called him to Ankara in the War of Independence and made him various offers, as described above. But Bediuzzaman continued that he saw a part of these prophecies realized in a person there, then said:
"So I was compelled to leave those most important posts. And saying that nothing can be gained from working with or responding to this person, I abandoned the world and politics and social life, and spent all of my time on the way of saving belief."
Indeed, from the narrations mentioned here, Bediuzzaman also understood that it would be followers of the Qur'an that would combat these godless individuals, and that they would be defeated not in the realm of politics, but with the "immaterial sword" of the Qur'an's miraculousness. refused to work together with the new leaders and left Ankara where he retired into a life of solitude:
When leaving, Bediuzzaman was escorted to the station by a number of Deputies and friends. Mustafa Kemal Pasa also, who at the time was living by the station, joined the group. It is recorded that they had a conversation about statues, and that on the Pasa asking Bediuzzaman his opinion on them, Bediuzzaman replied sharply: "The Qur'an's attacks are all at statues and idols. The statues of Muslims are monuments like hospitals, schools, orphanages, mosques, and roads.” The date on Bediuzzaman's ticket - the ticket which took the Old Said to the New Said - shows that it was issued on 17/4/39; that is, 17 April 1923, which was the first day of Ramazan, 1341.
CHAPTER ONE
VAN
  · Van
 
On arriving in Van, Bediuzzaman stayed with his younger brother, Abdülmecid, a teacher of Arabic, in the Toprakkale district of the town. But we learn from Abdülmecid's wife, Rabia, that his well-wishers and visitors were so numerous that he was obliged to move to Nursin Mosque. This then became Bediuzzaman's base in Van in place of his medrese, the Horhor, which had been razed in the general destruction of the city wrought by the Armenians and occupying Russians during the War. Nursin Mosque became a centre of learning, with large numbers of religious scholars and Seyhs coming to visit Bediuzzaman to pay him their respects and seek his advice. Bediuzzaman again attracted many students and began to teach them, in addition to speaking with his many visitors. This busy life however weighed on Bediuzzaman and impinged on his inner life. So as soon as the weather became sufficiently warm, taking a small number of his students with him, he withdrew from Van to Mount Erek, a mountain among jagged peaks to the east of the town. Here he was able to devote himself entirely to prayer and contemplation.
That he was the New Said was clear to everyone in Van. Most of those who have recorded their memories of him at this time have mentioned some aspect of the changes that had come about in him. The most apparent of these was that he had abandoned the colorful local dress of the area for clothes of a more sober nature. Indeed, on first seeing his destroyed medrese and the sacked and burnt city of Van, he was to relive the harrowing events of war and the deaths of so many of his students that had been instrumental in bringing about the New Said. Then too they saw that he had altogether turned his back on politics and the world, and those who heard him speak learnt of the way of the New Said, that of saving belief, which would form the basis of renewal and reconstruction.
For the next two years Bediuzzaman stayed on the mountain, inhabiting a cave near the source of the river Zernabad and returning to Van only for the coldest months of the winter. It was also his practice to go down to the town on Fridays, to give the sermon in Nursin Mosque. From what has been recorded of these sermons and what he taught his students, they too were entirely in accordance with the way of the New Said. That is to say, Bediuzzaman concentrated on explaining and teaching the fundamentals of belief, the basic tenets of faith. Such subjects as Divine Unity and the resurrection of the dead and the hereafter. He told one of his students on this being questioned, for his treatment of these subjects was new and different in addition to his congregations being unaccustomed to hearing these basic matters:
“My aim is to construct firmly the foundations of belief. If the foundations are sound, they cannot be destroyed by any upheavals.”
The same student, Molla Hamid, has also quoted Bediuzzaman as saying in relation to this:
"Honoured sirs, the Old Said is dead; you still think of me as the Old Said. This is the New Said you see before you. Almighty God has granted limitless blessings to the New Said... Ten months of the New Said's teaching may be the equivalent of what the Old Said taught in ten years, and sufficient."
The New Said was to find total manifestation in the Risale-i Nur and the three years till the spring of 1926 when he was inspired to write the first parts may be seen as a time of preparation and waiting for Divine Guidance, but it may also be noted that just as, as was described in a previous chapter, the first writings of the New Said, the Mesnevi-i Nuriye, were "seed-bed" of the Risale-i Nur, so too at this time in Van, some of the `ders's Bediuzzaman gave or subjects he taught were later included in the Risale-i Nur. Another student, Ismail Perihanoğlu, has recorded two instances of this, which we include here:
"...Another day, Molla Resul, Kopanisli Molla Yusuf and I went together with Ustad to Zeve, the people of which had been entirely wiped out in the Armenian massacres. Ustad paused standing, and said:
" `This is the resting-place of martyrs. My brother Molla Ahmed-i Cano lies here also.' And unable to hold back his tears, he wept with great sorrow.
"Molla Ahmed-i Cano had studied with Ustad.
"Later Ustad taught us concerning the levels of life as described in the First Letter. And we afterwards wrote out this `ders' and duplicated it."
On another occasion they climbed to the top of the citadel in Van, and as was Bediuzzaman's practice, he climbed to the very highest point and spread out his prayer-rug there. Looking down on the ruins of his medrese at the foot of the citadel, he spoke of the signs of the end of the world. Then shifting his gaze to Lake Van, he explained the story of Jonah and the whale. He made a comparison of Jonah's situation and that of modem man , and explained how his moral and spiritual state resembles that of Jonah in the belly of the whale. Bediuzzaman later incorporated this into the Risale-i Nur as the First Flash.
Bediuzzaman's absorption in worship has also been commented on by many of those connected with him at this time. His sister-in-law, Rabia, notes that he never slept at night while staying with them, from his room came the continuous sound of prayer and supplication. Ismail Perihanoglu notes how Bediuzzaman preferred to perform his worship, an important element of which was contemplation [tefekkür] , in high places and elevated spots. Besides describing him climbing to the highest point in the citadel of Van, mentioned above, he tells of another occasion when he found Bediuzzaman on the roof of the mosque plunged in thought.While Molla Hamid who spent the most time with him on Mount Erek, states that Bediuzzaman was never for a moment idle, but always occupied, mostly in prayer and supplication. He spent hours on his knees, so that his toes became raw. When one of his students suggested he sat in a more comfortable position like themselves, he replied:
"We have to win eternal life in this brief life and fleeting world. Both sit comfortably and claim Paradise - that's not possible! I'm not so bold as to sit comfortably!"
Bediuzzaman and his students transformed a ruined monastery on the mountain into a mosque, and in a thicket of trees by the source of the Zernabad, they built a small platform on the interwoven branches for Bediuzzaman, which he found conducive to study, prayer, and contemplation. These tree-houses became a mark of the New Said and after he had been exiled to western Anatolia, he had a number made in spots favourable for `reading the book of the universe'.
Molla Hamid also relates many anecdotes illustrating Bediuzzaman's great kindness towards animals and his respect for them as creatures, and his affinity with them and power over them. The following is an example showing this last, that is, illustrating Bediuzzaman's keramet, or spiritual powers.
A number of people arrived one day on the mountain to visit Bediuzzaman, and when it became apparent they were to stay overnight, Molla Hamid was sent down to a neighboring village to get some quilts. He was frightened of meeting wolves, dogs, or other wild animals, of which there were many, and cut himself a stout stick. But Bediuzzaman would not allow this. "The dogs won't harm you", he told him.
Molla Hamid set off and on approaching the village, he encountered a flock of sheep or goats guarded by dogs. He saw that a great brute of a dog lay across the path, blocking it. Remembering Bediuzzaman's words, he approached the animal; it rose to its feet and moved off making way for him. On reaching the village, the villagers expressed their astonishment, saying that they could not approach the herd even as a group armed with clubs, for the dogs were fed on sheep's milk to make them sufficiently ferocious to ward off the wolves. Whereupon Molla Hamid told them he had been sent by Bediuzzaman. "Ah," they said. "We can accept it then!"
Molla Hamid took the quilts and retraced his steps. He was met by Bediuzzaman when he arrived, who asked him if he had been attacked by dogs on the way. On hearing that he had not, he told him:
"Have courage! Don't be scared!"
It had been a lesson in courage for Molla Hamid.
Molla Hamid also related this `lesson' which Bediuzzaman gave him. In answer to an unasked question about looking at what is forbidden, Bediuzzaman struck himself angrily on the knee, and said:
"I am not satisfied with the Old Said, I'm only happy at three things about him." Then he added: "At a glittering time in Istanbul, I used to change my dress once a week, splendid clothes. I used to go to the most brilliant places in Istanbul. Then my hoca friends appointed one of themselves as observer and got him to follow me, to see where I went and what I did. Three days later while talking with these friends they said to me: `Said, whatever you do is right. Where you are going is right, and you will be successful in it.' When I asked them why they said this, they told me: `We have had you followed for three days to see if you did anything contrary to Islam, and we saw that you are not concerned with anything apart from your own business. Therefore you will achieve your aims.' Just as a small flame thrown into a forest will by degrees destroy the whole forest, a believer who lowers himself to look at what is forbidden will day by day eat up his actions and destroy them. I am frightened of such a person's end being grievous..." Then he added:
"The Old Said stayed in Istanbul for ten years during his youth, and he did not look at a woman once."
 
· The Seyh Said Revolt
 
Although it was known by everyone that Bediuzzaman had given up all political concerns and gone into retreat, the tribal leaders and those with power .till wished to benefit from his enormous influence in the eastern provinces. Thus among his visitors were chiefs and tribal leaders, besides those who came to him purely as a man of religion. For the problems of the area had found no solution. Among the Kurds were many who favoured independence or autonomy, especially since the abolition of the Sultanate and Caliphate and the establishment of what many of them saw as the godless Republic. It provided too a fertile ground for the British to pursue their ambitions in the area. By early 1925 unrest was widespread, and the tribal chiefs tried to gain Bediuzzaman's support for a full-scale uprising against the Government. As before, Bediuzzaman did all he could to persuade them against such a move. A number complied with his wishes. Thus many thousands of lives were saved when what was to be known as the Seyh Said Revolt finally broke out on 13 February, 1925, so called as it was lead by a Naksibendi seyh called Seyh Said of Palu. He too had tried to gain Bediuzzaman's support in a letter Bediuzzaman's reply to which is still extant and is given below. The Revolt, which was only put down after two months or so, was to have far-reaching results, for Bediuzzaman, who was sent into exile entirely unjustly as a consequence along with many hundreds of others, for the area, and not least for the future of the country as a whole. It set the course for the new regime. For the Government in Ankara used the revolt as a pretext for rushing through the Law for the Maintenance of Order, passed 4 March 1925, which empowered them to set up the notorious `Independence Tribunals' and gave them dictatorial powers to pursue their policies without opposition.'
Among the tribal leaders who visited Bediuzzaman was Kör Hüseyin Pasa, it would seem on several occasions. One time he was accompanied by Abdülbaki, the son of the Mufti of Van, Seyh Masum, a close friend of Bediuzzaman's. This visit Abdülbaki describes in some detail, telling of the extremely ascetic conditions under which Bediuzzaman lived on Mount Erek. He also records that during the visit Bediuzzaman foretold the great difficulties they would undergo in the future, but that they should not be unduly dismayed for Allah would send someone to protect and revive His religion of Islam. Interestingly, there is another record of his foretelling the difficulties of the future. On this occasion he told his students to "seek refuge with Almighty God....dire things are going to happen..." When they asked for an explanation of this, he merely told them that he was not permitted to say anything further at present.
During the same visit, Kör Hüseyin Pasa tried to give Bediuzzaman money, something he never accepted under any circumstances. Molla Hamid describes a similar occasion, noting Bediuzzaman's anger at the offer and his refusal. Their exchange continued with Hüseyin Pasa saying:
"I want to consult you. My soldiers, horses, weapons and ammunition are all ready. We only await your command."
"What do you mean? Whom do you want to fight?"
"Mustafa Kemal"
"And who are Mustafa Kemal's soldiers?"
"I don't know... soldiers."
So Bediuzzaman told him: "Those soldiers are the sons of this land. They are my kith and kin and your kith and kin. Whom will you kill? And whom will they kill? Think! Use your head! Are you going to make Ahmed kill Mehmed, and Hasan kill Hüseyin?"
Kör Hüseyin Pasa also approached Bediuzzaman on the question on a further occasion, this time in Nursin Mosque after the Friday Prayers and in the company of several other tribal leaders and notables. Ali Çavus describes how together with the Deputy for Çaldiran, Hasan Bey, and three others he again tried to obtain Bediuzzaman's support. The Governor of Van was alarned by the visit of these chiefs and on the pretext of a burial service also attended the prayers at the mosque. But his alarm turned out to be needless, for on them admitting to their intention of joining the revolt, Bediuzzaman told them:
"Where has the idea of serving this cause come from, I wonder? I ask you. Is it the Seriat you want? But such an action is absolutely opposed to the Seriat. There is very great likelihood of its being the tool to the foreigners' provocations. The Seriat can't be contravened by making it a tool and saying: `We want the Seriat.' The Seriat can't be demanded like that. The key to the Seriat is with me. Now, all of you return to your own homes and places!.."
When he had finished speaking, Bediuzzaman rose to his feet and returned to Mount Erek. As for Kör Hüseyin Pasa and the tribal leaders, they heeded his warnings and did not join the revolt, which meant too that Van and its people were not forced to join it and thousands of lives were thus saved. Many others testify to this fact.
As was mentioned above, Seyh Said wrote in person to Bediuzzaman requesting him to join the movement, for if he did so the would be "victorious". Bediuzzaman replied as follows:
"The Turkish nation has acted as the standard-bearer of Islam for centuries. It has produced many saints and given many martyrs. The sword may not be drawn against the sons of such a nation. We are Muslims , we are their brothers, we may not make brother fight brother. It is not permissible according to the Seriat. The sword is to be drawn against external enemies, it may not be used internally. Our only salvation at this time is to offer illumination and guidance through the truths of the Qur'an and belief; it is to get rid of our greatest enemy, ignorance. Give up this attempt of yours, for it will be fruitless. Thousands of innocent men and women may perish on account of a few bandits.”
 
· The Journey to Exile
 
Towards the end of the revolt, the authorities started to round up all the influential religious and tribal leaders in the province of Van, although they had not taken part in the revolt, and send them into exile in western Anatolia. Rumours began to circulate that Bediuzzaman also was going to be exiled. There were moves to persuade him to leave the area for Iran or Arabia. But Bediuzzaman declined the offers, saying that should he go to Anatolia, it would be of his own consent. First Seyh Masum, the Mufti of Van, was arrested, then a squad of three gendarmes and a captain were seen climbing the lower slopes of Mount Erek; they were going towards the source of the Zernabad and Bediuzzaman's cave.
Bediuzzaman was uninformed of this squad and its orders, and on being surprised in his retreat and curtly ordered by the captain to accompany them in a most peremptory and overbearing fashion, he responded with the boldness that had always marked his response to arbitrary and tyrannical behaviour. A tense and electric situation was suddenly created. In the meanwhile Bediuzzaman's students and a number of people from the nearest villages had gathered. They awaited his orders to act; it would have been simple for them to get him away from the area and out of the country. However, Bediuzzaman prevented them attempting action of any sort and permitted the gendarmes to take him to Van.
Those arrested and awaiting exile were held in a secondary school in Van. Besides Bediuzzaman and Seyh Masum were Kör Hüseyin Pasa, the Mufti of Gevas, Hasan Efendi, Küfecizade Seyh Abdülbaki Efendi, and Abdullah Efendi, the son of Seyh Hami Pasa, in addition to hundreds of others including the elderly, women, and children. It was the month of Ramazan when they started their long trek, just as it had been in Ramazan that Bediuzzaman had returned to Van almost exactly two years previously. That year, 1925, it began on 25 March. It was still bitterly cold and the whole land covered in snow. They set off from Van, some seventy to eighty sledges drawn by oxen or horses, with many also on foot or on horseback. The whole caravan stretched for about a kilometre. To start with Bediuzzaman was handcuffed to Seyh Masum. According to Haydar Süphandagli, Kör Hüseyin Pasa’s son, unlike all the others being exiled, who were leaving their homes and native land amid tears and in trepidation like a retreating army, Bediuzzaman was entirely calm and resigned at the turn of events. He also stated that the caravan stopped for three to four days in Patnos, one night in Agri, and a week in Erzurum, from where they continued in horsedrawn carts. At Trabzon, where they stayed some twenty days, they boarded a ship for the week-long journey to Istanbul. Here Bediuzzaman stayed some twenty to twenty-five days before traveling on with other exiles to Izmir and Antalya in the same boat. From there he was sent on to Burdur in south-western Anatolia, his destination.
Kinyas Kartal, who as a young man of twenty-five or so was sent into exile in the same group, related that when they were leaving Van, villagers, the rich, many people from the surrounding area collected together a considerable sum of money and gold in order to give to Bediuzzaman. But he would not even look at it. He would accept presents, charity, or money from no one. Among his own memories of Bediuzzaman on the journey he tells also how `Seyda' did not sleep at night in their first stopping-place, spending it in prayer. After this he requested a room to himself, so as not to disturb the others. That Bediuzzaman received special treatment on the journey is attested to by the gendarme assigned to guard him, Mustafa Agrali. He gives a detailed description of Bediuzzaman, the caravan, and some of the villages in which they stayed. He said:
"... Despite the other sledges all being loaded up with people and belongings, there was nothing on Bediuzzaman's at all. He was all alone. He was being given special treatment. Wound round his head was a long, twisted turban of white printed muslin material. He had thick black moustaches, and no beard..."
Mustafa Agrali described also the hospitality they received from the Kurdish villagers in the places where they stopped for the night. He notes however that in the first place Bediuzzaman refused all offers of food pleading illness. And after spending the night in prayer and performing together with him the morning prayers, he got out a kettle from the small basket which contained his belongings, then proceeded to boil himself an egg on the stove. It was the first food he had eaten since leaving Van.
Of the details given about Bediuzzaman by Münir Bakan when the caravan stayed two or three days in his village of Koruçuk near Erzurum is the fact that there were officers assigned to write down whatever he said. As he told Necmeddin Sahiner, "Of course, they weren't writing down these notes out of `sincerity', but for `capital'." One of the things Bediuzzaman said to Münir Bakan was:
"Don't be afraid, my brother, these disasters that are being visited on us are temporary. Only there is one point you should take careful note of and be afraid of: make your children study, otherwise this religion will be lost to you in no time at all.”
By the time the exiles boarded the ship for Istanbul in Trabzon, it was spring and approaching summer in the warmer western climate. Two independent witnesses have told of how Bediuzzaman insisted on remaining on deck in the ship, defying the captain when he tried to force him to go below to join the other exiles.
In Istanbul, Bediuzzaman stayed in the `Barley Sellers' Mosque in Sirkeci, in the Hidayet Mosque, and with his student Tevfik Demiroglu. His fears about Mustafa Kemal's true intentions had been justified, for the attempts to uproot Islam and expunge Turrkey’s Islamic past and identity had already begun, and he saw here some of the results. He described one of these as follows:
"When I was brought to Istanbul on my way to exile, I asked what had happened to the Seyhü’l-Islam’s Office, for I was connected with it having worked and served the Qur'an in the Darü’l-Hikmeti’I-Islamiye, which was attached to it. Alas! I received such an answer that my spirit, heart, and mind trembled and wept. The man I asked said: `That Office, which for hundreds of years shone with the lights of the Seriat, is now an older girls' lycee and playground.' I was seized by such a mental state that it was as though the world had collapsed on my head. I had no power, no strength. Uttering sighs of anguish in sheer despair, I turned towards the Divine Court. And the feverish sighs of many others whose hearts were burning like mine combined with my sighs. I cannot remember whether or not I sought the assistance of Seyh-i Geylani's prayers and saintly power for our supplications; I do not know. But in any event it was his prayers and influence that set fire to the sighs of those like me in order to save from darkness a place which for so long had been a place of light. For that night the Seyhü’l-Islam’s Office was in part burnt down. Everyone said, what a pity. But I, and those who were burning like me, said, All praise and thanks be to God!"
According to Tahsin Tandogan, who was a Chief Superintendent of Police in Istanbul in 1925, Bediuzzaman also stayed in Süleymaniye near the old Seyhü’l-Islam’s Office. His recollections of Bediuzzaman have been recorded by Necmeddin Sahiner and provide both added proof of Bediuzzaman's innocence and further interesting details of his stay in Istanbul. Tahsin Bey himself arrested those ring-leaders of the Seyh Said Revolt who were in Istanbul and took their statements. Namely, Palulu Sadi, Seyyid Abdülkadir, his son Mehmed Bey, and Nazif Bey. He was also ordered by his Chief, Ziya Bey, to go to Süleymaniye to the Seyhü’l-Islam’s Office, in order to fetch Bediuzzaman to the Police Headquarters and take his statement. The Police Chief told Chief Superintendent Tahsin Bey: "It is the famous Said-i Kürdi, but he is not in touch with these here involved in the Revolt. We could not establish any connection between them at all." Tahsin Bey continued in his conversation with Necmeddin Sahiner:
"They had recently brought him [Bediuzzaman] from the East. He was staying in Süleymaniye. He had one of his students with him called Bitlisli Kürt Hakki, who attended to his needs. I myself went to Süleymaniye to get him and bring him to the Special Branch. I had his file. It was me who took the file to the Police Chief and to the Governor [of Istanbul] to have it signed. I myself took his statements. Said Nursi said:
" `I have no connection with this revolt whatsoever. I would have nothing to do with a negative movement such as that and know nothing of it. I would not have my brothers' blood on my hands. Movements such as that are the cause of the ;blood of brothers being spilt."'
Tahsin Bey went on to describe how he took the other four to Diyarbakir to the Independence Tribunal, where three were condemned to death and executed, and one, Nazif Bey, was acquitted. He then went on to say that the esquires continued for fifteen days, after which they let Bediuzzaman go. Both Seyyid Abdülkadir and Palulu Sadi testified that Said Nursi had no connection with them at all. Tahsin Bey described his impressions of Bediuzzaman like this:
"Bediuzzaman was an extremely intelligent person. I have never seen such an intelligent person. Thousands of guilty people have passed though my hands, and I understand what they are from their faces. What eyes he had! Like a motor, sparking, turning. I have never in my life seen such eyes. They sent him to Isparta as a precautionary measure, he was ordered to reside there. I am of the opinion that he was not the sort of man to be involved in simple revolts such as that; he was a most intelligent person."
After some three weeks, the greater part of which thus passed in `helping the police with their enquiries', Bediuzzaman again boarded the ship, which set sail for Antalya having called at Izmir to disembark a number of the other exiles. A considerable crowd of friends and well-wishers gathered on the Galata Bridge to make known their sorrow at his leaving them and bid him farewell. From Antalya he was taken inland to the small town of Burdur.
 
· Burdur
 
Thus unjustly began twenty-five years of exile for Bediuzzaman. And the injustice was to continue. For rather than merely `compulsory residence', he was to be held under the most oppressive conditions, constantly under supervision and subject to arbitrary and unlawful treatment by government officials. He arrived in Burdur in the mulberry season, that is, June, and stayed in the Haci Abdullah Mosque in the Degirmenler district of the town. We learn from another neighbour that he used to hold `ders', or teach, every day in the mosque after the afternoon prayers, and that this attracted many people. It is probable that as material for these `derses' he used what was later entitled `The First Door of the Risale-i Nur' (Nur'un IIk Kapisi). This was a collection of thirteen short sections, called `derses', which he wrote while in Burdur and had put together secretly into book form. This was then duplicated by hand by people who felt the need for the basic truths of belief that it teaches. Bediuzzaman described it as "an index, list, and seed of the Risale-i Nur" and as "the Qur'an's first lesson to the New Said."
Of those who came to visit Bediuzzaman in Burdur was A. Hamdi Kasaboglu, a member of the Consultative Council of the Department of Religious Affairs. He related the following to Necmeddin Sahiner:
"One day, I went to visit Bediuzzaman in Burdur. I took a page of Arabic with me wondering if he knew Arabic. During the visit, I said to him, ‘ Would you read this for me please ?’ , and I handed it to him. He took it, cast an eye over it, and handed it back to me. And saying, `Now let's see if I can remember it', he read by heart the whole page..."
Field Marshal Fevzi Çakmak, the Head of General Staff, came to Burdur while Bediuzzaman was there. He knew Bediuzzaman of old, and when the Governor complained to him about Bediuzzaman, saying that he, and a number of his students, declined to report to the Police Station every evening as was required of them, and that he was giving religious instruction to those who came to him, Fevzi Pasa told him: "No harm will come from Bediuzzaman. Treat him with respect and don't bother him."
 
· Isparta
 
However, Bediuzzaman's activities were contrary to what those inimical to religion had expected when he had been exiled to this small Anatolian town, and they began to raise anxieties among the authorities concerning him. And so in January 1926, Bediuzzaman was taken from Burdur and sent to the centre of Isparta. There he stayed in the Müftü Tahsin Efendi Medrese and at once again began to teach and attract many students. The Governor of the town felt consternation at this. According to one eye witness who visited the medrese, when he went there, it was full to overflowing and he was only able to sit in the doorway. So the authorities determined to send Bediuzzaman away to some tiny and remote place where he would not attract attention, and where deprived of all company and civilization, he would just fade away and be forgotten. The place they chose was the village of Barla, a tiny hamlet in the mountains near the north-western shore of Lake Egridir. After some twenty days in Isparta, Bediuzzaman was taken there.
Always severely self-critical and interpreting events according to their inner or true meaning, Bediuzzaman gave the following reasons for his being exiled to the three places we have described:
"...This concerns this unfortunate Said: whenever I have flagged in my duties, and saying `what is it to me', have become preoccupied with own private affairs, I have received a slap....
"For example, so long as this unfortunate Said was busy teaching the truths of the Qur'an in Van at the time of the Seyh Said events, the suspicious Government did not and could not interfere with me. Then when I said `What is it to me?' and thinking of myself withdrew into a ruined cave on Mount Erek in order to save my life in the hereafter, they took me without cause and exiled me. And I was brought to Burdur.
"There, again so long as I was serving the Qur’an - at that time all the exiles were watched very closely, and although I was supposed to report to the police in person every evening, my sincere students and myself remained as exceptions [we did not comply]. The Governor there complained to Fevzi Pasa when he came. But Fevzi Pasa said: `Don't interfere with him; treat him with respect.' What made him say that was the sacred nature of service to the Qur'an. But whenever I have been overcome by the idea of saving myself and thought only of my life in the hereafter, and there has been a temporary slackening in my serving the Qur'an, I have received a slap contrary to my intentions. That is to say, I was sent from one place of exile to another. I was sent to Isparta.
"In Isparta I began my duties once again. After twenty days, a number of cowardly people said by way of a warning: `Perhaps the Government won't look favourably on this situation. It would be better if you go a bit cautiously.' Again the idea of thinking only of myself gained strength with me, and I said: `Let the people not come!' And again I was taken from that place of exile and sent to a third, to Barla.
"And in Barla whenever a slackness has come over me and the idea of thinking of myself only has gained strength, one of these serpents and two-faced hypocrites from among those concerned only with this world has been set to pester me...."
Thus, after his short stay in his second place of exile, Isparta, Bediuzzaman was sent to the village of Barla. At that time the easiest way to travel there through that mountainous country was by way of Lake Egridir. The gendarme who accompanied him from the village of Egridir to Barla, Sevket Demiray, described their journey as follows:
"The morning after market day in Egridir, they called me to the Town Hall. I went, and the head official of the district, the gendarme commander, members of the Town Council, and an imposing-looking man of around forty years of age wearing turban and gown were there. The gendarme commander said to me: `Look here, son, you've got to take this Hoca Efendi to Barla. He is the famous Bediuzzaman Said Efendi. It is a very important task for you. When you hand him over to the police station there, get these documents signed and then report back here.' I said: `Right away, Sir!', and undertook the duty. I went out from there with the Hoca Efendi, and said to him on the way: `You are my superior, forgive me, but what can I do. it is my duty.' We arrived at the jetty and there agreed on a price with a boatman. He accepted to take us for fifty Kurus. Bediuzzaman Efendi got cut the money for the boat and paid him. Then he gave a further ten kurus and got them to buy a kilo of seedless raisins. When boarding the boat he had in his hand a basket containing his belongings: a teapot and kettle, a few glasses, and a prayer-rug. In his other hand was a Qur'an. With the two boatmen, a friend of the boatmen's, and the two of us, we were five in the boat. It was afternoon. The weather was cold. It was round about the time when the first signs of spring were appearing. The lake was iced over in places. The front boatman broke the ice with a long pole he had in his hand opening a way for the sailing boat. Bediuzzaman offered each of us raisins and pieces of dried pressed fruit from the East on the way. I was watching him carefully; he was completely calm and steady. He was looking at the lake and surrounding mountains. His fingers were long and thin. He was shipping as though electric was burning inside him. He was wearing a silver ring set with a stone, and on his back was a garment of very high quality cloth.
"It was immediately the time for the afternoon prayers since the days were short. He wanted to perform them in the boat. We turned the boat towards the kible, then I heard the sound of `Allahu Ekber'. The first time I heard the words uttered in this awe-inspiring and solemn way was from him. He declared the words `Allahu Ekber', `God is Most Great', in such a fashion that we all shivered. His manner did not resemble that of any other hoca. We were trying not to let the boat veer away from the direction of the kible. Bediuzzaman offered the words of peace and completed the prayers, then turned to us and said: `Yes, brother... that was a bother for you.' He was a most polite and gentlemanly person. We arrived at the Barla jetty after a voyage of some two hours. The forester Burhan was wandering up and down on the jetty. I called out to him: `Hey, son, come here!' He came immediately. We took the Hoca's basket and sheepskin from him and put them on the donkey.
"At this point, the boatman Mehmed took the forester's rifle intending to shoot partridges with it, but Bediuzzaman prevented him saying: `The spring is close now and their mating season. It's a shame, give up the idea if you like.' He stopped him shooting them. And the partridges took off and started to fly over our heads following us.
"I slung my rifle over my left shoulder and took Hoca Efendi's left arm. We climbed the hill slowly and after walking for about an hour came to Barla. The partridges which had taken off from the shore remained above us as far as Barla. They kept flying round above us.
"Evening had drawn close. We stopped at the police station beside the Ak Mescid in Barla. The head official of the district, Bahri Baba, and the chief of the police station were there. I handed Bediuzzaman Efendi over to them and got them to sign the papers. After spending the night there I returned to Egridir in the morning."
CHAPTER TWO
 BARLA
  · Isolation in Barla
 
Barla, Ankara had indeed found a remote spot removed from easy contact with the outside world. With its low, red-rooved houses nestling on a hillside among the green-sprinkled mountains to the west of Lake Egridir, this small village could only be reached on foot, or by horse or donkey; there was no motor road. The road was to come to Barla in later years, as was the telephone and electricity. The authorities in Ankara were not to know, however, that in unjustly exiling Bediuzzaman to this distant spot that they were serving the very cause they were intending to extirpate. They were not to know that their injustice in not only exiling him, but in imposing these conditions of isolation on him would be “transformed into a Divine Mercy”. They allowed him only the occasional visitor, and spreading rumours and slander about him in the area of Barla they frightened off the local people and tried to prevent them approaching him; they had him watched, followed and harassed continuously; and when after a time the Government granted an amnesty to those exiled with Bediuzzaman, they denied him this right, too. But these repressive measures were merely serving the purposes of Divine Wisdom. For in this way Bediuzzaman was isolated from all distraction and his mind was kept clear, so that he could "freely receive the effulgence of the Qur'an" and be employed to a greater degree by his "Compassionate Sustainer in its service." Bediuzzaman was to remain nearly eight and a half years in the gardens and mountains of Barla, and during this time he wrote the greater part of the one hundred and thirty parts of the Risale-i Nur. Barla became the centre from which irradiated the lights of the truths of belief at a time when the darkness of absolute unbelief was gathering force to completely stifle the Islamic faith of the people of Anatolia.
 
· The Attempt to Uproot Islam
 
Indeed, 1925 had seen the start of twenty-five years of an absolute despotism which descended on Anatolia at the very moment of its liberation. By supreme effort its people had driven out the enemies who had seized their land and threatened their existence. Now it was becoming clear that one of those who had led them in that struggle and subsequently established himself as the nation's leader in Ankara, namely Mustafa Kemal, intended to root up the very values they had sacrificed themselves to preserve, their religion, Islam, and replace it with those of their eternal enemies. This could be done only by force. His purpose was to make Turkey into a Western-style state, so had to uproot one complete way of life together with everything that made it what it was, and impose an alien one. For centuries the Turkish people had carried the banner of the Islamic world, to be a Turk was to be a Muslim, every comer of Anatolia bore the traces of their forefather's religion, each part of its soil had been watered by their blood. Now, in order to remove all obstacles to Westernization, the intention was to distance them from Islam, to make them forget their religion, to sever all their links with the past. How could this be done other than by force, by despotism, by rooting out the very heart of the Turkish nation?
The drive to bring this about began soon after the victory in the War of Independence, and proceeded on all fronts. One after the other the institutions and marks of Islam were abolished or banned, and replaced by imported Western models. First the power of the Ulema, still considerable, which also constituted a possible threat to Mustafa Kemal, was removed. The Caliphate, the Office of Seyhü’l-Islam, and Ministry of the Seriat were all abolished; and the religious schools, the medreses, were closed. This all occurred in 1924 before Bediuzzaman visited Istanbul on his way to exile.
Following the Seyh Said Revolt in 1925, with the new dictatorial powers afforded the Government by the Law for the Maintenance of Order mentioned above, a law was passed providing for the closure of all dervish lodges, Sufi convents, and tombs of saints, and for the disbanding of the Sufi orders, in addition to banning their meetings and special dress.
Later the same year Mustafa Kemal announced his decision that the people of Anatolia should dress in a "civilized" manner, that is, according to Western fashion. Religious dress was banned, and the famous `Hat Act' of November 1925 stated that all men should wear European-style hats making the wearing of all other headgear a criminal offence. These decrees provoked outraged reactions and were imposed only by means of the Independence Tribunals and not a few executions. Many hundreds of people were arrested in efforts to enforce this law, men of religion being the main targets and victims. Characteristically, Bediuzzaman resolutely refused to discard his turban and gown, and persisted in defying attempts to make him do so till the end of his days, even making his court appearances in them. "This turban comes off with this head! ", he told Nevzat Tandogan, the Governor of Ankara, in 1943 after a very sharp exchange. He was taken from the Governor's Office and transported to prison in Denizli.
The traditional calendars and forms of time-keeping were the next to go. The Western Gregorian calendar and twenty-four hour clock were introduced with effect from 1 January, 1926. Then came the final blow to the Ulema and Islamic establishment: the adoption of European codes of law. The adoption of the Swiss Civil Code removed the last areas where the Seriat was still in force, personal and family law, and the remaining areas of competence of its lawyers.
These changes were not without opponents, even at the highest level, and a conspiracy against Mustafa Kemal in June 1926 provided him with the pretext to do away with many of them. The Independence Tribunals went into action following the discovery of the plot and many were sent to the gallows, whether implicated or not.
By 1928, Mustafa Kemal felt sufficiently secure to adopt first Western numerals, and then the Latin alphabet. The `New Turkish Letters' were officially adopted in accordance with a law passed on 3 November, 1928, and the Arabic alphabet, the script of the Qur'an and mark of Islam, was declared banned after the end of that year. A more effective way of cutting off an entire nation from its religion, its roots, and its past could not have been devised. The Risale-i Nur was to play an important role in keeping the Qur'anic script alive in 'Turkey.
Having `Turkified' the alphabet the next logical step was to `Turkify' Islam itself. The Arabic letters had been done away with, now the language itself had to be substituted by Turkish. To retain the Arabic language was considered incompatible with the principle of nationalism, one of the six basic principles of `Kemalism', and the decision was taken to substitute it by Turkish. Thus from the end of January, l932, the glorious Arabic words of the call to prayer, the great mark and symbol of Islam, were banned and a Turkish version was provided to take its place. This, which according to one historian "caused more widespread popular resentment than any of the other secularist measures", remained in use till the Democrat Government repealed the law in June, 1950, as one of its first pieces of legislation.
All these `revolutions' were carried out in the cause of Secularism, one of the most important of the Kemalist principles. The meaning of this concept, laiklik, taken from the French, laicism, was and continues to be a subject of most fierce debate. Suffice it to say here that during the twenty-five years of Republican People's Party (RPP) rule, its implementation was seen as the means of destroying most of the outward signs of the religion of Islam in Turkish life. It shall be discussed in greater detail in a subsequent chapter. Indeed, it was the alleged infringement of this principle that was used as the pretext for Bediuzzaman's arrest and imprisonment on a number of occasions.
In the early 1930's the RPP, the party Mustafa Kemal had founded, merged with the state, thereby gaining absolute control over it and its resources. Its six principles were written into the 'Turkish Constitution in 1937. Having obtained an absolute monopoly of power, the RPP embarked on a programme of mass education in the principles of the `Kemalist Revolution. Opening thousands of `People's Houses', `People's Rooms', and later `Village Institutes' in every comer of the country, these were the means of instilling the six principles, particularly secularism and nationalism, and Western culture, into the Turkish people at grass roots level. The Qur'an, and traditional, Islamic, culture were to go, everybody had to identify with the new order. Eyes had to be turned from the Islamic past to a Godless future. If they could not impose their atheistic principles on many of the people of mature years, the young and the generations of the future could be made to accept them. It is said that the underlying intention of these programmes was the eventual establishment of communism or socialism in 'Turkey.
Thus, the above is a brief description of the main course of the `Kemalist revolutions', and prevailing atmosphere and conditions in 'Turkey during the twenty-five years of Bediuzzaman's exile, first in Barla and then in other places. And while it does not adequately express the tyranny, oppression, and injustice which accompanied these changes, it is hoped that as the story of Bediuzzaman's struggle in the face of them unfolds, the magnitude of that struggle and his success through the Risale-i Nur in overcoming these ill-gotten designs on the Qur'an and Islam will become clear.
 
· The Risale-i Nur
 
Within a month or two of arriving in Barla, Bediuzzaman wrote a treatise proving the Resurrection of the Dead and existence of the Hereafter; it was the first part of the Risale-i Nur to be written. This was followed by a succession of others, one of the most significant being. `The Miraculousness of the Qur’an', which proves the very points by which its enemies had attempted to discredit the Qur'an to be the sources of its "eloquence" and "miraculousness". By 1929 the first collection of the treatises, thirty-two in number, was completed, the thirty-third was added later, and Bediuzzaman gave it the name of Sözler, The Words. Thus began Bediuzzaman's silent struggle against the forces of irreligion. The way the Risale-i Nur was composed was unique, just as its form and manner of exposition are unique. It was inspired directly by the Qur'an at this time when foremost in Turkey the Qur'an faced severe threats, and the greater part of the Islamic world too was under foreign domination and suffering dissension of all kinds. Bediuzzaman wrote:
"Unlike other works, the Risale-i Nur was not taken from the sciences and branches of learning or from other books; it has no source other than the Qur'an; it has no master other than the Qur'an; it has no authority other than the Qur’an. Its author had no other book with him when it was written. It was directly inspired by the effulgence of the Qur'an, and descended and was revealed from the skies of the Qur'an and the stars of its verses."'
The Risale-i Nur is a commentary (tefsir) on the Qur'an that expounds it not according to the order of the verses and the immediate causes for its revelation, but explains those verses which concern the truths of belief. For commentaries on the Qur'an are of various sorts. As the Pre-Etemal Word of God, the Qur’an addresses all people of every age; it has a face that looks to each century and age, and speaks according to the conditions and needs peculiar to each. The Risale-i Nur expounds that face which looks to the modem age, and by virtue of its source possesses certain characteristics which uniquely qualify it to address contemporary man and his needs.
Firstly, it is almost entirely concerned with expounding the truths of belief, as opposed to verses concerning social and `fiqh' or ‘Shari’ matters; it explains and proves `the pillars of faith', like the existence and Unity of God, the Resurrection of the Dead, the Hereafter, and Prophethood, together with such questions as the true nature of man and the universe. For while in the past these were secure, it was these very bases of faith which were now under attack. The method it employs to do this is reasoned argument and logical proof - since they had been attacked in the name of reason, and also in the manner of the Qur'an, through the use of comparison and allegory. That is to say, the Risale-i Nur answers the attacks made on the Qur'an and belief in the name of science and Western philosophy and civilization, and through comparisons of the two demonstrates the rationality of belief and logical absurdity of materialist philosophy, and that man's happiness and salvation lie only in the former.
Furthermore, through these comparisons it explains matters from the simplest to the most profound and abstruse in such a manner that everyone can grasp them in accordance with their level of understanding. This last point is of fundamental importance: the Risale-i Nur is `populist'. That is to say, just as the Old Said had striven to make his message heard to ordinary people and to involve them in the great movement of the time, so too the New Said in his new struggle strove to reach the ordinary people and to renew and strengthen their belief. The Risale-i Nur makes available in this age of mass communication the truths of belief, and even the most profound aspects of them which were hitherto available only to the few, to the whole community of believers, so that all may gain firm and true belief. For it is only through true belief that the assaults of the various forms of misguidance at the present time may be withstood. The many further points about the Risale-i Nur and the new way to the truth that it opened up will become clear in later chapters. Before examining the Tenth Word, the Treatise on Resurrection and the Hereafter, which illustrates many of the points made above, let us return briefly to Bediuzzaman and his life in Barla.
Bediuzzaman lived the life of a recluse in Barla, thinking and writing. The first week he spent as a guest of one of the villagers, Muhacir Hafiz Ahmed, who together with his family was later to perform great services for Bediuzzaman and the Risale-i Nur. On Bediuzzaman's request for somewhere quieter and less-frequented, a small, two-roomed house was suggested, that had formerly served as the village meeting-house. This humble dwelling was more suitable to Bediuzzaman's needs and he stayed there for the next eight years. In his own words it became his "first Nur Medrese" that is, “Risale-i Nur School". Beneath it ran a stream, summer and winter, and in front stood a truly majestic plane tree. Among its great boughs Bediuzzaman had made a small tree-house, which in spring and summer he used as a place for contemplation and prayer. His students and the people of Barla used to say that he would remain there all night, neither rising nor sleeping, and at dawn the birds would fly round the tree as though drawn by the sound of his supplications and join their songs to his prayers.
Barla's situation is one of great beauty. Mountains rise up behind it, and before it the land falls away to Lake Egridir, with orchards and fields along the curve if its valley. Bediuzzaman spent much of his time walking through this country and down along the lake. High above the lake some four hours' distance from Barla is Çam Dagi, the Pine Mountain. Here Bediuzzaman spent much time, particularly after 1930, staying weeks on end in complete solitude. Here too he had tree-houses made, two of them, one in a pine tree and one in a cedar, where he would write and also correct the hand-written copies of `The Words', and other parts of the Risale-i Nur, which by that time were becoming increasingly numerous as it became better known and more widely spread.
The way the Risale-i Nur was written and disseminated was another of its unique aspects. Together with his extraordinary learning and abilities, Bediuzzaman himself had very poor hand-writing, so that he described himself as "semi-literate". He interpreted this as a Divine bounty, however, because as a consequence ,of this need, Almighty God sent him students who were heroes of the pen . He would dictate at speed to these scribes, who would write down what he dictated with equal speed. The actual act of writing , therefore, was very fast, so that some of the parts of the Risale-i Nur were written in an incredibly short space of time, like one or two hours. This shall be discussed at greater length later. And Bediuzzaman himself was busy with the actual writing for only an hour or two each day. Copies of the original were written out by hand, and distributed. These then were copied and passed on to others who would write out further copies. In this way `The Words' passed from village to village, and in the course of time, from town to town, and throughout Turkey, as we shall see.
 
· `Resurrection and the Hereafter'
 
Since the New Said had emerged from the Old Said in the years following the First World War, Bediuzzaman had immersed himself in the Qur'an in his search for a new way to reach and relate its truths in the fast-changing conditions of the times. He had withdrawn from public life of every sort and given himself over to an intense inner life of worship, thought, and contemplation. Thus, what was to be known as the Tenth Word, the Treatise on Resurrection and the Hereafter, was the first fruit of those five or six years of inner search, the answer to his prayers and supplications.
On revisiting Barla in 1954 with some of his students, Bediuzzaman described to them how it was written. They had gone to the fields and orchards on the slopes to the east of Barla down towards Lake Egridir when Bediuzzaman rose to his feet and pointing to the orchards, told them:
"My brothers! It was about thirty years ago and just the same season. I was walking through these orchards and the almond trees were in blossom. Suddenly the verse, `So think on the signs of God's Mercy, how He gives life to the earth after its death; indeed, He it is Who will give life to the dead and He is powerful over all things’ came to mind. It became clear to me that day. I was both walking and repeating that verse over and over again at the top of my voice. I recited it forty times. Then in the evening I returned and together with Samli Hafiz Tevfik wrote the Tenth Word. That is, I dictated and Hafiz Tevfik wrote it down.”
Unlike most subsequent parts of the Risale-i Nur when they were first written, Bediuzzaman was able to have the Tenth Word printed. Immediately it was written, a local merchant, Bekir Dikmen, took the manuscript to Istanbul and gave it to one of Bediuzzaman's old students from the East, Müküslü Hamza Efendi, who had a thousand copies printed. When the sixty-threepage books were ready, Bekir Dikmen brought them back to Egridir, from where they were taken by boat to Barla, and there handed over to Bediuzzaman. Bediuzzaman then corrected each copy and had them distributed.'
A number of these copies Bediuzzaman had sent to Ankara and distributed among the Deputies in the National Assembly and top government officials. It happened that this coincided with moves in government circles to officially inculcate ideas denying bodily resurrection in the 'Turkish people.' Bediuzzaman later described this as follows:
The Council for Education had met in Ankara in order to discuss their programme for uprooting religious ideas and imposing their atheistic views on school children and students. They decided that this should be carried out through the teaching of philosophy and denial of the resurrection of the dead. A short time after this meeting, one of the members of the Council encountered a Deputy who had with him a copy of Bediuzzaman's treatise at the door of the Assembly. He spotted the book and told the deputy: "Said Nursi is receiving information about our work and is writing works to counteract it." Kazim Karabekir Pasa informed Bediuzzaman of this. But Bediuzzaman explained it like this:
"I had received no such information, that the Council for Education had taken that decision. Rather, Almighty God bestowed the Treatise on Resurrection on me on account of their decision. I did not write it out of my own desire or at my own whim. It was written as a consequence of need."'
This was an instance of an extraordinary property associated with the Qur'an and which was manifested particularly in the Tenth Word, and in other parts of the Risale-i Nur, which may be mentioned briefly at this point, and that is what is known as `tevafuk', that is, `coinciding' or `agreement'. This consists of the coinciding of events or more usually of certain letters or words in written copies of these works. The most well-known is the Divine Name of `Allah' in copies of the Qur'an written according to the pagination of Hafiz Osman, which on some pages takes up positions forming vertical lines or other patterns. It is a most striking and clear indication of its miraculous nature. In regard to the Risale-i Nur, Bediuzzaman wrote:
"My brothers! We are in need of truly great moral strength in the face of misguidance and heedlessness at this time. But regrettably, I personally am extremely weak and bankrupt, I do not possess any wonderful spiritual powers with which to prove these truths, nor do I have any saintly powers with which to attract hearts. I do not possess an elevated genius with which to subjugate minds. I am like a suppliant servant at the court of the AllWise Qur'an. Sometimes I seek help from the All-Wise Qur'an's mysteries in order to smash the obduracy of the stubborn people of misguidance and make them see things fairly. I perceived a Divine favour in this `coinciding', as instances of the miraculous power of the Qur'an, and I embraced it with both hands..."
In the Tenth Word, this appeared both in the timing of its being written, and in hand-written copies of the work in particular, written by Bediuzzaman's students, where, in a manner entirely outside their will, the letter `alif, the first letter of the word `Allah', displayed this `coinciding' to such a degree that it could in no way be attributed to chance. Examples in other parts of the Risale-i Nur will be given later.
Bediuzzaman attached the greatest importance to this treatise which as he said, "explained to ordinary people, and even to children", truths of belief which even a genius of philosophy like Ibn-i Sina had confessed his impotence before. Ibn-i Sina (Avicenna) had declared that `resurrection cannot be understood by rational criteria.’ Bediuzzaman wrote also in a letter in the early 1930's that its "value had not been fully appreciated." And that he himself had "studied it perhaps fifty times, and each time I have received pleasure from it and felt the need to reread it.”
What form then does Bediuzzaman's Treatise on Resurrection take that it is able to prove such difficult matters so simply and clearly? He himself described it like this:
"Each [of the `Twelve Truths' of which the main part of the work is composed] proves three things at the same time. Each proves both the existence of the Necessarily Existent One, and His Names and attributes, then it constructs the resurrection of the dead on these and proves it." Bediuzzaman then continues: "Everyone from the most obdurate unbeliever to the most sincere believer can take his share from each Truth, because in each, the gaze is turned towards beings, works. Each says: `There are well-ordered acts in these, and a well-ordered act cannot be without an author. In which case it has an author. And since that act has been carried out with order and balance, its author must be wise and just. Since he is wise, he does nothing in vain. And since he acts with justice, he does not permit rights to be violated. There will therefore be a great gathering, a supreme tribunal.' The Truths have been tackled in this way. They are succinct, and thus prove the three things at once.
At the end of the Conclusion of the Tenth Word itself, this is enlarged upon. Bediuzzaman explains that the proofs for resurrection rest on Divine works in the universe which proceed from the manifestation of the Greatest Divine Name and the greatest degree of manifestation of the other Names and are therefore vast and immense. He writes:
"Since the Resurrection and Great Gathering occur through the manifestation of the Greatest Name, they are to be proved as easily as the spring, and submitted to with certainty, and believed in firmly, through seeing and demonstrating the immense acts which are apparent through the manifestation of God Almighty's Greatest Name and the greatest degree of all His Names."
Thus, Bediuzzaman explains that it is because of this great breadth and profundity that the matter of resurrection is difficult to comprehend rationally. But he adds that thanks should be offered that the way had been shown by the Qur’an where man's reason on its own had remained impotent. For readers who wish to see an example of this, included as the first Addendum to this work is the Ninth of the Twelve `Truths', which Bediuzzaman described as the "summary" of the work.
 
· Life in Barla
 
Barla's spring and summer rains are famous. The sunny skies suddenly cloud over, the thunder crashes, the lightening flashes, and the heavens open. Then the air is filled with the sweet smell of the soaked earth.
On one of the early days of the first summer he was in Barla, Bediuzzaman was walking alone in the surrounding country when the skies darkened and just such rain started to fall. Finding nowhere to shelter in the mountains, he made his way back to Barla drenched to the skin. On entering the village, he slowly climbed the narrow streets to the common water tap with his by now ripped black rubber shoes in his hand and white woollen stockings soaked in mud. There, a group of the villagers were gathered together chatting. One of them, seeing the `Hoca' in this sorry and lonely state, parted from the group and came up behind Bediuzzaman.
Sensing there was someone behind him, Bediuzzaman turned. and seeing Süleyman as he was called, said to him: "Come, my brother!" Süleyman hurried forward, and taking the tom and muddy shoes. washed them in the trough, then together they climbed on up the hill to Bediuzzaman's house. This Süleyman attended to Bediuzzaman's needs with complete willingness and faithfulness for the next eight years. Bediuzzaman called him `Siddik Süleyman', Süleyman the True. The twenty-eighth Word, about Paradise, was written in his garden. To this day it is known as the Paradise Garden.
Bediuzzaman continued to suffer from bad health all the time he was in Barla. It was also his habit to eat only just sufficient to keep body and soul together. This had always been his practice and had often been noted by those who knew him. Generally a small bowl of soup and a small piece of bread. The first four years he was in Barla, his soup came from Muhacir Hafiz Ahmed`s house, brought by his two seven and eight year old children, who were ‘hafiz’ es of the Qur'an like himself. Bediuzzaman would always without fail give them the price of the soup in return, ten kurus in those days. The four ears following this it was provided by another of the villagers, Abdullah Çavus.
Particularly the first years Bediuzzaman was in Barla, he was very much alone, and he described this isolation in several letters, two of which are given below. However he also raised a lot of interest in the area, and on occasion received visits from local people from all walks of life. One of these was by a local District Official called Ihsan Üstündag, who visited Bediuzzaman together with the District Doctor, the Finance Officer, and a chemist, sometime between 1926 and I930. As a firsthand account as well as because of its interest, his description of the visit is included here:
"While on the way to Barla in the boat, a conversation started up on religious matters. The chemist had little religious belief, and he said to us: `You say God exists, so why did He create evil?', denying God. We could in no way convince him. So we spoke to him of Bediuzzaman, and told him: `Don't say anything else, or we'll throw you in the lake! We're going to Barla so ask the Hoca Efendi there; he’ 11 give you your answer. We went the District Chief s house and before drinking our coffee even, sent word that we wanted to go to Bediuzzaman, He received us gladly, greeting us standing. `While it should have been I that visited you, you have come to visit me', he said, and before we could ask any questions, opened the subject of good and evil. He continued: `Now I'll explain to you how evil can be g·' We gasped in amazement. He gave this example: `Cutting off an arm infected with gangrene is not evil, it is good, Because if it isn't cut off, the body would go. That means Allah created that evil for good,' Then he turned to the doctor and the chemist, and said: `You are a doctor and a chemist, you know this better than I do.' On hearing this, the chemist turned as white as chalk. He was completely tongue-tied. [They had not said who they were.] Hoca Efendi then gave an additional example: `If a number of eggs are put under a turkey and nothing comes of some of them, but from the others chicks hatch, can it be said that this is evil? Because each chick that hatches is worth five hundred eggs.' Finally he described the heart from the medical point of view, giving a lot of scientific facts. Several days later, Dr. Kemal Bey said to me: `I had never before heard such a fine scientific exposition of the heart from professors even!' "
The following are extracts from the two letters describing Bediuzzaman's solitude. All his letters begin with the words, "In His Name, be He glorified", and are followed by the verse: "And there is nothing but glorifies Him with praise.”
"My Dear Brothers!
"I am now on a high peak on the Pine Mountain, at the top of a mighty pine tree in a tree-house. In lonely solitude far from men, I have grown accustomed to this desolation. When I wish for conversation with men, I imagine you to be here with me, and I talk with you and find consolation. If there is nothing to prevent it, I would like to remain alone here for one or two months. If I return to Barla, I shall search for some means for the verbal conversation with you I so long for, if you would like it. For now I am writing two or three things which come to mind here in this pine tree.
"The First: this is somewhat confidential, but no secrets are concealed from you. It is thus:
"Some of the people of truth manifest the the Divine Name of Loving One, and through that manifestation at a maximum degree look to the Necessarily Existent One through the windows of beings. In the same way, but just when he is employed in service of the Qur'an and is the herald of its infinite treasuries, this brother of yours who is nothing, but nothing, has been given a state that is the means to manifesting the Divine Names of All - Compassionate and All-Wise. God willing, The Words manifest the meaning of the verse: He who has been given wisdom, has been given great good.
"The Second: This saying concerning the Naksibendi tarikat suddenly occurred to me: "On the Naksibendi way, one must abandon four things: the world, the hereafter, existence, and abandoning itself." Together with it, the following arose in my mind:
"On the way of impotence four things are necessary: absolute poverty, absolute impotence, absolute thanks, and absolute ardour, my friend...
Another example is Bediuzzaman's famous `Gurbet' letter. There is no direct equivalent for the word `gurbet' in English; it denotes the idea of being away from home, exile, and strangeness, and has long been a muchworked theme in the literatures of the Islamic lands. After starting in his customary way, Bediuzzaman writes:
"My hard-working brothers, zealous friends, and means of consolation in these lands of exile known as the world!
"...These last two or three months I have been very much alone. Sometimes once every two or three weeks I have a guest with me. The rest of the time I am alone. And for nearly three weeks now there have been none of those working in the mountains near me; they have all dispersed...
"One night in these strange mountains, silent and alone amid the moumful sighing of the trees, I saw myself in five exiles of different hues.
"The first: due to old age, I was alone and a stranger away from the great majority of my friends, relations, and those close to me; I felt a sad exile at their having left me and departed for the Intermediate Realm [the grave]. Then another sphere of exile was opened within this one: I felt a sad sense of separation and exile at most of the beings to which I was attached, like last spring, having left me and departed. And a further sphere of exile opened up within this, which was that I had fallen apart from my native land and relations, and was alone. I felt a sense of separation and exile arising from this too. Then through that, the lonesomeness of the night and the mountains made me feel another pitiable exile. And then I saw my spirit in an overwhelming exile, which had been prepared to journey to eternity both from this exile and from the transitory guest-house of this world. I said to myself suddenly, My God, how can these exiles and layers of darkness be borne? My heart cried out:
"My Lord! I am a stranger, I have no one, I am weak,
I am powerless, I am impotent, I am old;
"I am without will; I seek recourse, I seek forgiveness,
I seek help from Your Court, O God!
"Suddenly the light of belief, the effulgence of the Qur'an, and the grace of the Most Merciful came to my aid. It transformed those five dark exiles into five luminous and familiar spheres. My tongue said:
"God is enough for us, and He is the best disposer of affairs.
"While my heart recited the verse:
"And if they turn away, say: God is enough for me, there is
no god but He; in Him do I place my my trust, for He is the
Lord of the Mighty Throne..."
Bediuzzaman goes on to quote lines of poetry, and concludes that: "through impotence and reliance on God, and poverty and seeking refuge with Him, the door of light is opened and the layers of darkness dispersed..." "What does the one who finds God lose? And what does the one who loses Him find?"
And in another letter Bediuzzaman wrote: "I have understood and believe firmly that this world is a guest-house undergoing rapid change. It is not, therefore, the true homeland and everywhere is the same... Since everywhere is a guest-house, if the mercy of the guest-house's Owner befriends one, everyone is a friend and everywhere is friendly. If it does not befriend one. everywhere is a load on the heart and everyone an enemy."
 
· Abdurrahman’s Death and Bediuzzaman's Students
 
These letters were written to Hulisi Yahyagil, "the first student of the Risale-i Nur". Then serving as a captain in the army stationed at Egridir, he first visited Bediuzzaman in the spring of 1929. From Elazig in eastern 'Turkey, he was to perform enormous services for the Risale-i Nur when he returned there eighteen months later. He formed a very close bond with Bediuzzaman identifying completely with `The Words', and "his zeal and seriousness was the most important cause for the last of The Words (Sözler) and most of the Letters (Mektubat) being written." More than this, Bediuzzaman considered him to be successor to his nephew, Abdurrahman.
Yes, together with all the other hardships he suffered at this time, Bediuzzaman was struck too by this heavy blow: the death of his spiritual son, companion, and helper, Abdurrahman. Let us hear it from Bediuzzaman's own pen:
"One time I was being held in the district of Barla in the province of Isparta in a distressing captivity under the name of exile, in a truly wretched state suffering both illness, and old age, and absence from home, and in a village alone and with no one, barred from all social intercourse and communication. Then, in His perfect, mercy, Almighty God bestowed a light on me concerning the subtle points and mysteries of the All-Wise Qur'an which was a means of consolation for me. With it, I tried to forget my pitiful, grievous, sad state. I was able to forget my native land, my friends and relations, but, alas, there was one person I could not forget, and that was Abdurrahman, who was both my nephew, and my spiritual son, and my most self sacrificing student, and my bravest friend. He had parted from me six or seven years previously.... Then, out of the blue someone gave me a letter. I opened it, and saw that it was from Abdurrahman, written in a way showing his true self....It made me weep, and it still makes me weep. The late Abdurrahman wrote in the letter seriously and sincerely that he was disgusted with the pleasures of this world and that his greatest desire was to reach me and look to my needs in my old age just as I had looked to his when he was young. He also wanted to help me with his capable pen in spreading the mysteries of the Qur'an, my true duty in this world. He even wrote in his letter: `Send me twenty or thirty treatises and I'll write twenty or thirty copies of each and get others to write them.'....
"He had obtained a copy of the Tenth Word on belief in the Hereafter before writing the letter. It was as if the treatise had been a remedy for him curing all the spiritual wounds he had received during those six or seven years. He then wrote the letter to me as if he was awaiting his death with a truly strong and shining belief. One or two months later while thinking of once again passing a happy worldly life by means of Abdurrahman, alas, I suddenly received news of his death. I was so shaken by the news that five years later I am still under the effect of it.... Half of my private world had died with the death of my mother, and now with Abdurrahman's death, the other half died. My ties with the world were now completely cut...."
Once again Bediuzzaman found consolation through the Qur'an, this time through the meaning of the verse: Everything shall perish save His countenance; His is the command, and to Him shall you return, and the phrase. "The Etemal One, He is the Etemal One". And Bediuzzaman completes this piece, taken from his Treatise for the Elderly, by saying that Almighty God gave him thirty Abdurrahman's in place of the one He had taken.
The most important of these new students was Hulûsi Yahyagil, who first visited Bediuzzaman a year or so after Abdurrahman's death. Another was Kuleönlü Mustafa, whom Bediuzzaman found waiting for him when he returned home to Barla after hearing the news. There were also a number of army officers, besides Hulûsi Bey. One of these was Re'fet Bey, a retired captain, another was Colonel Asim Bey, who died under interrogation in Isparta in 1935 when Bediuzzaman and over a hundred of his students were rounded up and arrested. There was also `Santral Sabri', the `jetty keeper' at the village of Bedre on Lake Egridir, who played a central role in distributing the parts of the Risale-i Nur to the surrounding villages. He was the prayer-leader in the village mosque, and shared with Bediuzzaman a "seal of brotherhood", in the form of the second and third toes of one foot being webbed. And Hüsrev from Isparta, who had very fine handwriting and entirely devoted himself to writing out copies of the Risale-i Nur and to its service.
Bediuzzaman's relations with his students were quite unlike the usual formal, distant relations between teacher and students or seyh and followers. He considered himself to be a student of the Risale-i Nur the same as them, and besides having close personal relations with them - true to his belief in consultation - consulted them concerning all matters to do with the writing and dissemination of the Risale-i Nur. And just as he was most awe-inspiring and utterly uncompromising in the face of unbelief and the enemies of religion, towards those who served the truth, he was most kind and compassionate. Bediuzzaman was also extremely modest with his students, and courteous, and personally would accept no superior position, or praise or adulation. "I don't like myself', he used to say, "and I don't like those who like me!" He would only accept praise in so far as it belonged to the Risale-i Nur or the Qur'an. Bediuzzaman also kept in constant touch with his students and an unceasing flow of letters passed between them. These thousands of letters were gathered together and form a substantial part of the Risale-i Nur. The following is part of a letter, from the collection of those written while Bediuzzaman was in Barla. ·
"My brothers Hüsrev, Lütfi, and Rüstü,
"... In one respect - beyond my due - you are my students, and in one respect you are my fellow students, and in one respect you are my assistants and consultants.
"My dear brothers! Your Üstad [Master] is not infallible.. It is an error to suppose him to be free of error. One rotten apple in an orchard does not harm the orchard. And one worn coin in a treasury does not negate the treasury's value. If good points are reckoned as ten and bad points as one, it is fair in the face of the good points not to upset the heart and object because of the one bad point and error...
"Understand this, my brothers and fellow students! I shall be happy if you tell me freely when you see a fault in me. If you hit me over the head with it even, I shall say, May God be pleased with you! Other sakes should not be considered in preserving the sake of the truth. I will accept it immediately because of the egotism of the evil-commanding soul, not to defend a truth which I did not know was for the sake of the truth. Understand that at this time, this duty of serving belief is most important. It should not be loaded on a wretch who is weak and whose thought is dispersed in numerous directions; assistance should be given as far as it is possible. Yes, the absolute and succinct truths emerge and I am the apparent means, and the ordering and clarifying and giving of form are up to my valuable and capable fellow students...
" You know that in summer the heedlessness of this world prevails. Most of my fellow students become slack and are compelled to cease from their occupations. They cannot be fully occupied with serious truths. In His perfect Mercy for two years now Almighty God has granted a favour to our minds with the subtle `coincidences' [tevafukat], which are like fruits in relation to the serious truths; He has given joy to our minds. In His perfect compassion, through the fruits of those subtle `coincidences', He has driven our minds to a serious Qur'anic truth, and made those fruits food and sustenance for our spirits. Like dates, they have been both fruit and basic sustenance...."
It is important to all the time bear in mind when reading these pages the extremely difficult conditions under which Bediuzzaman and his students were working at this time. It will be recalled that the plans had been laid to entirely root out Islam from the fabric of Turkish society, and that these plans were being progressively, and forceably, put into practice. First the medreses and Sufi tekkes had been closed. Then a final stop had been effectively put to the teaching of religion with the banning of the Arabic alphabet in 1928 and its substitution by the Latin letters. Subsequent to this those , caught teaching or reading books in the old alphabet were treated as criminals, and very often suffered imprisonment, exile, or even death as a consequence. This was also true for the Qur'an. The teaching and learning of it were carried on in secrecy. Imprisonment and torture were the lot of the persecuted hocas caught teaching it. It was a nightmare time for people of Anatolia, so bound to the religion of their fathers. This official terror and persecution increased in severity throughout the 1930's and 40's.
In reading the letters of those who were introduced to the Risale-i Nur at this time, it becomes clear how greatly they benefited from it. Their belief became firm and strengthened as they read its treatises and they gained great strength and courage. So also they had the example of Bediuzzaman and his proverbial courage and persistence, so that they bore all the hardships, attached no importance to the persecution, and like Bediuzzaman devoted themselves entirely to writing out copies of the treatises of the Risale-i Nur and passing them on to others. The following are two examples of letters to Bediuzzaman from his students. The first is from Hüsrev of the "graceful pen", who for years wrote innumerable copies of the Risale-i Nur.
"My Dear and Respected Master!
"Each of your Words, that is, your treatises, is a mighty cure. I receive great blessings from your Words. So much so that the more I read them the more I want to read them. And I can't describe the sublime delight I feel each time I read them. I am certain that one who takes, not all, but even one of your Words and reads it fairly will be obliged to submit to the truth; and if he is a denier, he will be obliged to give up the way he has taken; and if he is a sinner, he will be obliged to repent..."
The second is from Kuleönlü Mustafa, who as mentioned above visited Bediuzzaman after he had received news of Abdurrahman's death, and was a forerunner of the many hardworking students who were to devote themselves to the Risale-i Nur in place of Abdurrahman. Included here are only several extracts of his long letter, which is interesting in that it describes both how he himself found his "guide" in the Risale-i Nur, and how others like him responded to it in the same way and found how it "cured their wounds", and also how the hocas, not known for their readiness to accept anything new, recognized its unique value. This letter also makes the important point that at that time when the medreses had been closed and the people were deprived of any opportunity of learning Arabic, the language in which all leaching of religion had been carried out, the Risale-i Nur now took the place of the medreses, Leaching the truths of belief and the Qur'an both in Turkish and in a way suitable for their needs.
" My Revered Master!
"...My spirit was searching for a perfect guide, and while searching it was imparted to me, `You are seeking the guide far away, while close by there is Bediuzzaman. His Risale-i Nur is like a regenerator. It is both the spiritual pole, and the Zu’l-Karneyn, and the deputy of Jesus (upon whom be peace), who is to come at the end of time; that is to say, it brings the good news of him.' Whereupon I approached the respected Master. He gave me the order to write out the treatises. So I wrote out fifteen or so of The Words and I am reading them... I began to benefit from them immensely... Eventually young people gathered around me...
"My Esteemed Master! 'The treatises cure the material and spiritual wounds of these hundred friends of mine.. Sometimes even those from far off are submerged in doubts and they come here; if this impotent student of yours reads a treatise to them, their doubts are dispelled and disappear...
"This impotent student of yours never studied Arabic nor saw the inside of a medrese. He used to read books in Turkish written long ago and could find no remedy to cure his material and spiritual wounds.... [But] just as Almighty God creates a Paradise-like time in a Hell-like time, and creates solutions appropriate for each time and bestows remedies appropriate for each wound, so too in this time of ours which lacks medreses He is causing the treatises [of the Risale-i Nur] to be written by means of our Esteemed Master. in 'Turkish, for those wounded like us. ... Countless and innumerable thanks be to Almighty God, and may He give our Esteemed Master success in the service of the Qur'an and exalt him in this world and the next. Amen! Although I received no education in Arabic nor had ten to fifteen years' medrese education and have only written out the treatises of the Risale-i Nur and studied them seriously, I imagine myself to have studied in a medrese for twenty years. The reason is this: many Arabic hocas now come to this impotent, humble wretch and are in wonder at what he has studied. Those who have previously received training from perfect guides come and are captivated by the words they hear from me. Many hocas come in all humility and get me to read the Risale-i Nur. If my voice was sufficiently powerful I would shout with all my strength to the young people on the earth: "Writing and studying the Risale-i Nur seriously is superior to studying in a medrese for twenty years and more beneficial!.. ..."
 
· The Risale-i Nur Spreads
 
By degrees the Risale-i Nur was disseminated as the writing of it became more widespread. Particularly in the area of Isparta, there were eventually thousands of Students of the Risale-i Nur, men and women, young and old, who devoted themselves to writing out copies of it. Of Lhese Students, there were some who did not emerge from their houses for seven or eight years. In the village of Sav even, which came to be known as the Nur School, the treatises of the Risale-i Nur were duplicated by literally a thousand pens. And this continued for a considerable number of years. A duplicating machine was first used continuously in Inebolu in 1946 or 47, while it was not till 1956 that it was possible to print the whole Risale-i Nur Collection, and in the new script. The number given for hand-written copies of the various parts of the Risale-i Nur is six hundred thousand.
Radiating out from Bediuzzaman himself through these Students of the Risale-i Nur was a courage and hope which countered the pervading air of defeat and despair engendered by the pressure, propaganda, and terror directed against Islam and those who practised it. This courage and hope were contagious and generated a positive movement which eventually spread through the whole country. And so too all these Students were undaunted by the intimidation and official efforts to prevent them. They suffered every sort of persecution. They lived under the constant threat of having their houses raided and searched for copies of the Risale-i Nur. Many were taken time and again from their houses to police stations, where they suffered imprisonment, torture, the bastinado.
The women too played a vital and heroic role in this extraordinary movement. Some taking on their husband's work to leave them free to either write or serve the Risale-i Nur in some other way. Some assisting their husbands in writing. Many wrote out copies by simply tracing the letters. Many others now learnt to read and write for the first time and wrote out copies of the treatises themselves. Others read the Risale-i Nur themselves and then read it to other women in the vicinity. Undaunted like their husbands at the intimidation, they found their strength from the firm belief they obtained through reading and listening to the "lessons" of the Risale-i Nur. The children too played an important part in writing out the treatises.
It may be seen from this how the Risale-i Nur contributed to preserving the Qur'anic script in 'Turkey when the authorities were attempting to exterminate it entirely. And more than this, in the face of the so-called language reforms which followed in the 1930's and aimed at removing all words of Arabic and Persian origin from the Turkish language, it played a truly important role in maintaining and even reinvigorating traditional, Islamic, culture. It may even be said that the Risale-i Nur movement contributed significantly to increasing the literacy rate and raising the cultural level of thousands of people, quite apart from its duty of preserving and renewing the Islamic faith. In connection with this Bediuzzaman wrote: "...Just as the Risale-i Nur works to protect the truths of belief against atheism, so also one of its duties is to preserve the letters and script of the Qur’an against innovations..."
What was it about the Risale-i Nur that attracted these people to it, causing them to undertake so many risks and hardships and very often leave aside their own concerns so as to devote themselves to its service? What was the source of its power to strengthen their belief in this way? Or was it in fact Bediuzzaman that attracted them and infused them with this zeal? Or did the the Risale-i Nur itself possess some attractive power that drew them and held them? First we can say that Bediuzzaman always directed attention away from his own personality and self towards the Risale-i Nur, shunning any sort of adulation that would damage the absolute sincerity he considered necessary for the task to which he had been appointed. Also, he considered that all of himself had gone into the Risale-i Nur. And as was mentioned before, he saw himself, not as the source of the Risale-i Nur, but merely as its "translator", as the means of its being written. He said of himself: "Just as an ordinary private can announce the commands of a field marshal, and a bankrupt can shout out the wares of a shop full of priceless jewels and diamonds, so too I announce the wares of the sacred shop of the Qur’an.” And he also wrote: "I do not say about The Words out of modesty, but to state a fact, that the truths and perfections in The Words are not mine they are the Qur'an's, and have issued from the Qur'an." Thus, it may be said that it was the lights of the Qur'an shining through the Risale-i Nur that were attracting and illuminating ever-increasing numbers of people.
 
· "Divine Favours" Associated with
the Writing of the Risale-i Nur
As a form of thanks and also in order to encourage his students in their work in the difficult conditions of the time, Bediuzzaman dedicated a long section of one of his letters to describing a number of "divine favours" associated with the writing of the Risale-i Nur which strengthen this claim. He told them that without their knowledge and beyond their will, someone was employing them in these important matters. And his evidence for this was these favours and the fact that things were made easy for them. He then enumerated some of them, calling them `Indications'.
Firstly was the question of the `coincidences' (tevafukat), mentioned above in connection with the Tenth Word. Here Bediuzzaman takes the Nineteenth Letter as an example, which in certain hand-written copies displayed some truly extraordinary examples of these `agreements' or `coincidings'. He also used it as an example for others of the points, including the great ease and speed with which most of the Risale-i Nur was written, for the most part when Bediuzzaman was suffering most from illness and the torments of the authorities. Briefly, the Nineteenth Letter, entitled The Miracles of Muhammed (PBUH), describes more than three hundred of the Prophet's miracles, very often citing the narrators of the Hadiths quoted. Despite being over a hundred pages long, it was written entirely from memory, without recourse to any books for reference, outside in the countryside, and within the space of three or four days working only for two or three hours each day, thus making a total of about twelve hours. When the first copies were made, it was before they knew about these `coincidings', and in copies written by eight different, inexperienced, scribes, who were in different places and did not communicate with each other, the alignments and positioning of the phrase "the Most Noble Prophet, Upon whom be blessings and peace," turned out to be so clear and well-ordered that it was impossible to attribute them to chance. As though positioned by an unseen hand, this arrangement of the phrase was itself a sort of miracle or wonder of the Miracles of Muhammed (PBUH).
The Second Indication was "the brothers, each of whose pens were like diamond swords", whom Almighty God had bestowed on Bediuzzaman as helpers. They themselves formed a sort of `coincidence', and the fact that they dedicated themselves to serving the cause of the Qur'an through the Risale-i Nur, "never flagging and with total enthusiasm and enterprise, at that time when the alphabet had been changed and there were no printing-presses and everyone was in need of the lights of belief, and there were many things to destroy their enthusiasm, was itself a sort of miracle of the Qur'an and a clear Divine favour."
A further Indication was that the Risale-i Nur proved all the most important truths of belief and the Qur'an in the most clear fashion, and Bediuzzaman cited a number by way of example. For instance, the Tenth Word, about the resurrection of the dead and the hereafter, before which, as we have seen, even Ibn-i Sina had confessed his impotence. Another is the twenty-sixth Word, which solves the problem of Divine Determining, sometimes called fate or destiny, and human will, in a manner that everyone may understand. Others are the twenty-fourth Letter, and the twenty-ninth Word, which is a brilliant exposition on the angels, the immortality of man's spirit, and the resurrection of the dead, and the Thirtieth Word, on the human `I' or ego, and the transformations of minute particles, all of which "uncover and explain the talisman of the astonishing activity in the universe, the riddle of the creation or the world and its end, and the mystery of the wisdom in the motion of minute particles."
The Fourth Indication to the Divine favours associated with the writing of the Risale-i Nur, Bediuzzaman writes modestly, was that the various parts of it explain, by means of comparisons, the most profound and inaccessible truths of belief to even the common people, in a way beyond his own abilities and outside what the conditions of the time allowed. These comparisons, which are an important feature of the Risale-i Nur and are "reflections" and "similitudes" of the comparisons in the Qur'an, "bring the most distant truths close and teach them to the most ordinary person." So also, although the Risale-i Nur had by then become widespread, its treatises had not been the object of criticism, by religious scholars or anyone else, and everyone from religious scholars and those who followed the tarikats to atheistically-minded philosophers and the ordinary people had benefited from it according to their degree; it addressed everyone according to their level.
The Sixth Indication is very significant. and it shall be mentioned again later; it was that Bediuzzaman's whole life had been as though in preparation for the Risale-i Nur. He wrote: "I am now certain that my life has passed in such a way, beyond my will and power, consciousness and planning and has been given so strange a course, so that it would yield the result of these treatises to serve the All-Wise Qur'an. It is quite simply as though all my scholarly life has been an introduction to them and in preparation of them. It has passed in such a way that the displaying of the Qur’an’s miraculousness through The Words (the Risale-i Nur) would be its result..." And now his isolation in Barla and the persecution he suffered from the authorities, not even being allowed his books for study, had concentrated all his attention on the Qur'an and the writing of the Risale-i Nur.
So also "almost all the treatises had been bestowed on the spur of the moment and instantaneously due to some need arising out of [Bediuzzaman's] spirit, without any external cause." After they had been read by others, Bediuzzaman learnt from them that the treatises met the needs of the times and were a cure for its ailments.
And final indication of the Divine favour directed towards them was the easiness and assistance they experienced in all the matters concerned with the writing, copying, and disseminating of the Risale-i Nur. Bediuzzaman described this as being "extraordinary", and said that he had no doubt it emanated from the Qur'an. So also they found that they received an ease and plenty in their livelihoods as a result of serving the Risale-i Nur.
 
· The Authorities Increase Their Pressure on Bediuzzaman
 
As the Risale-i Nur became more widely spread and it became clear to the authorities that they had failed to stifle Bediuzzaman's endeavors in the cause of Islam, they stepped up their pressure on him. The aim was by constantly needling him - unlawfully, to provoke a reaction which would provide them with the excuse to further curtail his freedom. With this aim, two officials were posted to Barla in 1931, one was a new Chief District Officer, while the other was the teacher. Although these two were a constant thorn in the flesh for Bediuzzaman, they failed in their attempts to provoke him. Even when they arranged for his small mosque to be raided while he and a few others were worshipping, and then closed it, Bediuzzaman contained his righteous wrath. They had anyway previously barred him from it on occasion in their efforts to make his isolation total, as well as preventing him from holding his ders or readings with one or two of his students in his own room even.
When Bediuzzaman had first come to Barla, he had repaired a small mosque which had fallen into disuse, and thereafter, on the strength of his certificate which dated from before his exile, acted as imam or prayer-leader to a small congregation of three or four people. Thus these two officials staged a raid on the mosque making the new law imposing the 'Turkish call to prayer the pretext.
According to Cemal Can, the District Chief, when Bediuzzaman refused to have the call to prayer and the kamet given in anything other than Arabic in his mosque, he received repeated directives from Ankara on the subject and finally arranged the raid. On 18 July 1932, then, gendarmes were concealed in various dark corners of the mosque, and on the Arabic words being uttered, sprang into view with bayonets fixed surrounding Bediuzzaman and his small congregation of innocent villagers. Four of these were then arrested and marched off to Egridir. They were however later released after questioning and being ill-treated. Bediuzzaman described the affair like this:
"The aggression of the heretics behind the scenes recently has taken on a most ugly form; they have assaulted the people of belief in a most tyrannical and irreligious manner. During the private and unofficial worship of myself and one or two friends in the mosque I myself repaired for my own use, they intervened in the call to prayer and kamet. `Why are you saying the kamet and call to prayer secretly in Arabic?', they demanded." He then went on to make a verbal attack, not on "those lacking conscience" who planned the raid, whom he said were not worth addressing, but on "the heretics and innovators" who were the instigators of these moves in the name of Turkish nationalism, "the heads of the committees who, following the path of pharaoh, are playing in arbitrary and tyrannical fashion with the nation's destiny."
Tevfik Tigli, the teacher, said of Cemal Can that he made every effort to have Bediuzzaman moved from Barla. And he too took it on himself to pester and harass him. In fact, both sharing the pettiness and desire to domineer characteristic of minor officials, they mostly combined their efforts to that end. However, as very often happened with those whose intention was to harm Bediuzzaman, the Chief District Official received a blow from the Almighty: totally unexpectedly, he was arrested in connection with some quite different matter and was sent to prison for two and half years.
In regard to the changes to the call to prayer, Bediuzzaman supported his adamant opposition to `Turkifying' the practices of Islam with various reasoned arguments. Particularly in regard to the Qur'an, when the authorities announced it was to be translated in the early thirties, he wrote various letters and treatises arguing the impossibility of translating it, and pointing out the evil intentions of those who were urging it.
For example, some people said that words of the Qur'an and those used by the Prophet (PBUH) in various prayers and supplications illuminate man's inner faculties and are spiritual sustenance for him. Just the words are not enough if their meaning is not known. The words are like clothes; if they are changed, would that not be more beneficial? To which Bediuzzaman replied:
"The words of the Qur'an and those of the glorifications of the Prophet (PBUH) are not lifeless clothes; they are like the living skin of a body. Indeed, with the passage of time, they have become the skin. Clothes can be changed, but if skin is changed it is harmful to the body. Indeed, the blessed words like those in the prescribed prayers and in the call to prayer, for example, have become the signs and marks of their accepted meanings. And as for signs and names, they cannot be changed." Bediuzzaman then goes on to say that whenever they are repeated, each of man's subtle inner senses takes its share from these phrases, whereas if they are in a language other than the revealed Arabic of the Qur'an, man's spirit remains in darkness, and he becomes heedless of the Divine presence. So also Bediuzzaman provides arguments stating it to be contrary to the Seriat to change these `marks of Islam'.
In another letter after pointing out that it was blind imitation of Europe that was the source of these attempts to change the `marks of Islam', as in all bad things; Bediuzzaman stressed the importance of an environment which constantly reminds Muslims of the meanings of these sacred phrases, and instructs them in them - these phrases which are "each a seed of the pillars of belief."
Bediuzzaman said that when the proposal was first made to translate the Qur'an, it was part of the conspiracy against the Qur'an and was made with the direct intention of discrediting it. "But," he wrote, "the irrefutable arguments of the Risale-i Nur have proved that a true translation of the Qur'an is not possible. No other language can preserve the subtle points and fine qualities of the Qur'an in place of the grammatical language of Arabic. The trite and partial translations of man cannot hold the place of the miraculous and comprehensive expressions of the words of the Qur'an, each letter of which affords from ten to a thousand rewards; [such translations] may not be read in mosques." While some aspect of this fact is shown to be true in many places in the Risale-i Nur, it is chiefly the twenty-fifth Word, called the Miraculousness of the Qur'an, which in demonstrating forty aspects of the Qur'an's miraculousness, proves this decisively to be the case. This astonishing treatise, which demonstrates Bediuzzaman's profound and extensive knowledge of the Qur’an, unique this age, shows its miraculousness in respect of the eloquence of its word order, meanings, styles, manner of exposition, the comprehensiveness of its words, meanings, subjects, styles and conciseness; its giving news of the Unseen, preserving its youth, and addressing all classes and levels of men, and in various other respects.
The more they increased the pressure on Bediuzzaman with their arbitrary and unlawful oppression, the greater was his endeavour and the more the Risale-i Nur spread. Just as by unjustly exiling him, and unlawfully isolating him and preventing him from all social intercourse, the authorities in Ankara had unwittingly served the cause of the Qur'an, now too in Barla their persecution of him served only to "make the lights of the Qur'an shine brighter." Indeed, the same was true for the next twenty years; the spread and successes of the Risale-i Nur were in direct proportion to the continual increase in the severity of the treatment meted out to Bediuzzaman and his students. Bediuzzaman points this out in the conclusion to the following letter, describing some of the injustices he received in Barla.
"The treatment I have received this seven years has been purely arbitrary and outside the law. For the laws concerning exiles and prisoners and those in prison are clear. By law, they can meet with their relations and they are not prevented from mixing with others. In every nation and state worship and prayer are immune from interference. Those like me stayed together with their friends and relations in towns. They were prevented neither from mixing with others. nor from communicating, nor from moving about freely. I was prevented. And my mosque and my worship even were raided. And while it is Sunna to repeat the words, There is no god but God in the prayers following the prescribed prayers according to the Shafi’ school, they tried to make me give them up. Even, one of the old exiles in Burdur, an illiterate called Sebab, and his mother-in-law, came here for a change of air. They came to me because we come from the same place. They were summoned from the mosque by three armed gendarmes. The official then tried to hide that he had made a mistake and acted unlawfully, and apologized, saying: `Don't be angry, it was my duty." Then he gave them permission and told them to go. If other things and treatment are compared to this event, it is understood that the treatment accorded to me is purely arbitrary, and that they inflict vipers and curs on me. But I don't condescend to bother with them. I refer it to Almighty God to ward off their evil. In fact, those who instigated the event that was the cause of the exile are now back in their own lands. And powerful chiefs are back at the heads of their tribes. Everyone has been discharged... Whereas they put me in a village and set those with the least conscience on me. And just as I have only been able to go to another village twenty minutes away twice in six years, so too they did not give me permission to go there for a few days' change of air, crushing me even more under their tyranny. Whereas whatever form a government takes the law is the same for all. There cannot be different laws for villages and for different individuals. That is to say, the law as far as I am concerned is unlawfulness. The officials here utilize the government influence in their own personal grudges. But I offer a hundred thousand thanks to Almighty God, and by way of making known His bounties, I say this: `All this oppression: and tyranny of theirs is like pieces of wood for the fire of ardour and endeavour which illuminates the lights of the Qur'an; it makes them flare up and shine. And those lights of the Qur'an, which have suffered that persecution of theirs and have spread with the heat of endeavour, have made this province, indeed, most of the country, like a medrese in place of Barla. They supposed me to a prisoner in a village. On the contrary, in spite of the atheists, Barla has become the teaching desk, and many places, like Isparta, have become like the medrese.. "'
 
· Bediuzzaman's Relations with the World and the Worldly
 
In early February 1934, Bediuzzaman wrote this letter to Re’fet Bey in Isparta:
"My Dear, Loyal, Meticulous, and Ardent Brother, Re'fet Bey!
"However much you want to talk with me, I want to talk with you probably more. But unfortunately, I am in a distressing situation afflicted with numerous difficulties. When I find the opportunity, I try to write seven or eight letters in the space of one or two hours. Galib too, who used to come from time to time, has been prevented. Only poor Samli remains, and he cannot come all the time. Also they wound these vipers and make them attack us like savage beasts. They try to cause annoyance at every opportunity.... And because they have made me think of the world, the ideas that come to me have ceased. Let it be the end of them, thinking of the worldlys' world is poison for me... I implore Almighty God to bestow on me firm patience and to abstract my mind so I do not think of it ...."
The New Said had withdrawn from the world and politics. The Ankara Government had aimed to isolate him from all contacts with the world beyond the village of Barla, and indeed within it too, but this was also what the New Said had chosen. It was after all from the cave in Mount Erek near Van that he had been taken to exile. But now the authorities would not leave him in peace. They would not leave him alone. They could not pin anything on him, he did not break any of their laws, yet the religious treatises he was writing were being duplicated in hundreds of homes in the province of Isparta and beyond at a time when the production of books and writings on Islam had been suppressed virtually entirely. They were extremely agitated by Bediuzzaman and the Risale-i Nur, interpreting his writings only in political terms. According to their way of thinking - Bediuzzaman calls them ehl-i dünya, the worldly whose view is restricted solely to the life of this world the Risale-i Nur was being written as a means to political ends. Hence their constant provocation and harassment of him and his students. Bediuzzaman answered these suspicions of the politicians and the authorities in several letters, stating clearly that he was compelled to explain the matter to them "in the tongue the Old Said not that of the New Said", in order to save not himself, but his friends and the Risale-i Nur from “the unfounded suspicions and torments of the worldly:” In the Sixteenth Letter, Bediuzzaman made clear his attitude towards politics like this:
"The New Said flees from politics so vehemently in order not to sacrifice for one or two years of dubious worldly life..., his working for and gaining etemal life, which lasts millions of years, and so also to serve belief and the Qur’an , which is the most important and necessary, the most sincere and loyal duty. For he says, I am getting old, I don't know how much longer I shall live. For me the most important matter, therefore, has to be working for eternal life. And the first means of gaining etemal life and the key to eternal happiness is belief in God, so one has to strive for them. But because I am bound by the Seriat to be beneficial to others in regard to learning , I want to perform that duty. Therefore, I gave up the other way and chose the way of serving belief, which is the most important, the most necessary, and the soundest....
"But if you ask: `Why does service to the Qur'an and belief bar you [from politics]?', I would reply: Since the truths of belief and the Qur'an are each like diamonds, if I was polluted by politics, the ordinary people, who can be deceived, might wonder: `Isn't he making political propaganda in order to win supporters?', and they might look at those diamonds as though they were common glass. Then I would be wronging those diamonds by being in contact with politics, and would be as though reducing their value...."
A passage in the Thirteenth Letter enlarges on this, pointing out that politics were not the way to bring the guidance of the Qur'an to the majority of people at that time, in fact, they formed an obstacle. It shows Bediuzzaman's acute awareness of the state of Turkish society and its needs. In the face of the misguidance which had permeated all aspects of life, most people were not opposed to the truth, they were confused and uncertain; what they needed was to be drawn to the truth through the lights of the Qur’an, where as politics frightened them off. Only a minority embraced misguidance but all the attention was focussed on them, while the bewildered majority remained deprived of the guidance of which they were in need. Bediuzzaman's concern was for this majority. He also pointed out that there were supporters of the truth in all the political currents; thus, one showing the truths of the Qur'an had remain outside all partisanship, so that the Qur'an should not be left open to attack by his political opponents.
 
· Isparta
 
In the summer of 1934 Bediuzzaman wrote to one of his students in Isparta, a calligrapher called Tenekeci Mehmed, saying that things had become intolerable in Barla. He wrote:
"My brother, the torments of the teacher and Chief District Officer here have made my situation unbearable. They discomfort me incredibly. I can't even go out into the countryside. I live in my damp room as though living in the grave..."
This student took the letter immediately to the Governor, Mehmed Fevzi Daldal, and the next day, 25 July, Bediuzzaman was collected and taken to Isparta. He was to remain there till the following April, staying first in the medrese he had used before being sent to Barla. He moved then to a twostorey house set amid gardens where his student Re'fet Barutçu was staying, and afterwards rented a wooden house belonging to another student, Sükrü Içhan.
These months in Isparta Bediuzzaman was held under very close surveillance. There were police permanently posted on his door and in the vicinity. One particularly obnoxious police officer has found his place in history, called Dündar. He used to make whatever trouble he could for Bediuzzaman and his students, so that Bediuzzaman called him Murdar, `Foul'. Often his students could not approach Bediuzzaman, he was kept under such strict surveillance. For a time just one, called Mehmed Gülirmak, was permitted to remain with him to attend to his needs. He also acted as `Nur Postman', collecting or distributing the Risale-i Nur as required. In Isparta, Bediuzzaman wrote several more parts of Lem'alar, The Flashes, the third collection of the Risale-i Nur. When completed, The Flashes numbered thirty treatises, and the complete Risale-i Nur, one hundred and Thirty. Bediuzzaman loved the province of Isparta, as the centre from which the Risale-i Nur irradiated by means of his numerous students. He expressed this to a number of them sometime later: "...Because of you, I love Isparta and the surrounding country together with its very stones and soil. I can even say that if the Isparta authorities were to impose a prison sentence on me and another province was to acquit me, I would still choose Isparta..."
In the town of Isparta were some of Bediuzzaman's closest students such as Husrev and Re'fet Bey. They remained with him as far as they were able now that he had been moved there, principally acting as his scribes and writing out copies of the Risale-i Nur. Among Re'fet Bey's reminiscences of this time were these:
"Husrev and I were writing out copies of the Risale. Ustad was in the upstair's room. Suddenly the door clicked and opened, and what did we see but Ustad entering with a tray and two glasses of tea. We were overcome with confusion and embarrassment and sprang to our feet wanting to take the tray from him. But he lifted his hand and said, `No, no. It's me that has to serve you.' My goodness, and he added `has to'. What modesty! What courtesy! I never saw such courtesy and modesty anywhere..."
"We were studying the truths of the Qur'an and writing them. We were benefiting enormously. To tell him this one day, we said to him: `What would we have done, Ustad, if we had not found you?' And again with that tremendous modesty he replied to us: `What would I have done if I had not found you? If you are happy once over that you found ma, I should be happy a thousand times that I found you."'
Of the three parts of the Risale-i Nur written here, among which were the Nineteenth, twenty-fifth, and twenty-sixth Flashes, called the treatises On Frugality, For the Sick, and For the Elderly, respectively, Re'fet Bey recalled the following about the writing of the Treatise for the Elderly. In the event only the first thirteen `Hopes' were written due to Bediuzzaman and his students being taken into custody by the authorities:
"One day Ustad called us, and saying: `The twenty-sixth Flash is about the elderly. It consists of twenty-six 'Hopes'. The First Hope...', he began to dictate.
"He dictated five or six Hopes, and it stopped at that. Some time passed and certain parts of other treatises were written in the interval. Then one day he called us, and without asking, without saying something like, `Where did we stop, just read out a bit', he continued to dictate from where we had left off." That is to say, it was still fresh in Bediuzzaman's mind as though they had broken off five minutes earlier. Re'fet Bey then went on:
"I used to go to him early, to assist him. One day I was a bit late. When I arrived. he said to me, `Brother! If only you had come a bit earlier, what I have just told this person (indicating the Kadi Zeynel Efendi beside him) would have made an excellent addendum to the treatise on Divine Determining.' He had answered the Kadi’s questions about Divine Determining and taught him on the subject of Fate. We understood from all this that his works were born in his heart through Divine inspiration. And he would write at that time only.”
CHAPTER THREE
 ESKISEHIR
 · The Arrests Start
 
On 25 April, 1935, a number of Bediuzzaman's students were taken from their homes and places of work and held in custody. Two days later Bediuzzaman himself and another group were arrested. It was the start of an event which very often bordered on the ridiculous, despite its seriousness, and was another example of the lengths the Government went to to reduce the standing of influential religious figures and to scare the population away from religion.
According to Süleyman Rüsdü, the affair began when Bediuzzaman went to attend the Friday prayers and thousands of people poured into the streets to see him. The town's Governor and administrators took fright at this, and when a copy of the Tenth Word, Bediuzzaman's treatise on Resurrection and the Hereafter, was found on the Governor’s desk, they panicked and sent urgent wires to Ankara saying, "Bediuzzaman and his students have taken to the streets. They are storming the Government Building ." In fact this was part of the `plan' of the authorities to provoke `an incident', as we shall see. The houses of anyone known to have had any connection with Bediüuzzaman were then searched and the arrests began.
Tenekeci Mehmed tells how someone sent word to him that this was happening, and he took all the parts of the Risale-i Nur he had in his house together with any other books to do with Islam or religion and buried them in he garden. At that point no less than eighteen police came and searched the house. Despite their thoroughness, they found nothing, and he was one of the few not arrested. Besides Isparta and its province, suspects were arrested in Milas, Antalya, Bolvadin, Aydin, Van, and other places. They had been denounced to the authorities as `reactionaries' (mürteci), and were charged under Article 163 of the Criminal Code, which among other things prohibited the exploitation of religion and religious sentiments in any way damaging to the security of the state, and the formation of political associations on the basis of religion. There was questioning and statements were taken, and it was while this was in progress that Colonel Asim Bey died. He had to make the choice between saying something that could be harmful to Bediuzzaman, and telling a lie, which his honour would not allow. So he uttered a prayer: "Lord! Take my spirit!", and indeed, the Almighty did take his spirit, and he attained the rank of what Bediuzzaman called "an integrity martyr".
Meanwhile, a furore was started in the press startling the country with stories of a "network of reactionaries" which had been uncovered. And as though to quell some major unrest which threatened the foundations of the state, the Minister of Internal Affairs, Sükrü Kaya, the Commander-in-Chief of the Gendarmerie. Kazim Orbay, and the Chief of Police travelled together to Isparta at the head of a detachment of gendarmes. Isparta and the surrounding country was put under the control of military units, and cavalry was posted along the road all the way from Isparta to Afyon. Rumours were spread throughout the region that Bediuzzaman and his students were going to be executed, and a general atmosphere of terror was generated. At the same time, in order to forestall any uprising in the eastern Turkey that Bediuzzaman's being put in prison might provoke, Inönü, the head of that despotic government, set off on a tour of the Eastern Provinces.
On around 12 May, Bediuzzaman and thirty-one of his students were handcuffed in pairs as though they were dangerous criminals, and bundled into lorries at the point of bayonets. Unknown to them, they were to be taken to the prison at Eskisehir, some three hundred and thirty kilometers to the north. Thousands of the local people gathered when they were leaving, weeping families of those arrested, all the people weeping to see Bediuzzaman being taken from them in this pitiable state. One of the gendarmes sent from Ankara to escort them related this and the journey, first telling how they had been fitted out with new equipment and how Bediuzzaman had been described to them in the most exaggeratedly unfavourable terms, Sükrü Kaya, the Home Affairs Minister, calling him in derogatory fashion, "the Kurdish Hoca". In fact the order was to offload Bediuzzaman and his students in some isolated spot on the road and to shoot them. However, the officer in charge, Ruhi Bey, was sympathetic and did not carry out the order. Moreover, he ordered their handcuffs to be unfastened at the appropriate time, so they could perform the prayers. One student records that he was expelled from the army as a consequence. They travelled as far as Afyon in the lorries, in which they had been permitted neither to speak nor to open any window for air, and still handcuffed in pairs and under the bayonets of gendarmes, were transferred to a train. The following morning they arrived at Eskisehir.
 
· Eskisehir Prison
 
Conditions in the prison were appalling. Bediuzzaman was put in solitary confinement, the others together in a ward. Their number grew from thirty-two to one hundred and twenty as they were joined by more Students arrested elsewhere. Once they entered the prison they were not allowed to visit the lavatories. After hours some warders came and dug a hole near the door and inserted a pipe. This is what they would have to use, they were not to be allowed out. With the filth, the bed-bugs, and the cockroaches, it was impossible to sleep at night. For twelve days they were kept without food. The fact was they were considered to be condemned prisoners doomed for the gallows. Notwithstanding the conditions, Bediuzzaman continued to write, completing five more treatises in the months he was here. These were the Twenty-Eighth, twenty-ninth, and Thirtieth Flashes, and the First and Second Rays. He wrote them very much with his students in mind, suffering so unjustly this first imprisonment. He named prison the School of Joseph (Medrese-i Yusufiye), after the Prophet Joseph, the patron of prisoners.
Among those arrested were some that had only the very slightest connection with Bediuzzaman. It was another example of how the Government had blown up the case out of all proportion. These were members of the "network of reactionaries" which was threatening the state! A businessman from Bolvadin called Sükrü Sahinler related his own case and two others:
"I had become acquainted with Halil Ibrahim Çöllüoglu in connection with some business. He then wrote me a letter and requested a reply. The reply I sent was enough to send me to Eskisehir Prison and include me among the students of the Risale-i Nur. Also in that way I was able to see Bediuzzaman in Eskisehir and visit him.
"There was an optician in Aydin called Sevket Gözaçan. Because he had treated the eyes of one of Bediuzzaman's students, Bediuzzaman wrote him a short note to thank him three or four lines long. They sent Sevket Bey to Eskisehir Prison because of this.
"And again, one of Bediuzzaman students called Ahmed Feyzi Kul had written Bediuzzaman a letter in Barla and signed it `The Müftü of Aydin' [by way of a joke, aydin means `enlightened', as well as being a placename]. When the affair erupted, they sent the real Müftü of Aydin to Eskisehir although he was not connected in any way at all. Müftü Mustafa Efendi stayed in prison for months together with me. Eskisehir was somewhere where crazy mix-ups like this all came together."
Perhaps the most crazy was the case of Bediuzzaman's treatise on the wisdom of fasting in the month of Ramazan. When searching the houses of Bediuzzaman and his students for copies of the Risale-i Nur, the police had come across this treatise, called in Turkish, Ramazan'a Ait, which can mean either Belonging to Ramazan, or Concerning Ramazan. Besides the holy month of fasting, in Turkey it is also a man's name. Thus, the police started searching the villages of Isparta for someone of that name. During the operation it was learnt that the neighbour of a house searched in some remote village was called Ramazan. So they came and clapped handcuffs on the unfortunate villager who knew neither how to read nor write, and sent him to Eskisehir Prison, despite his bewildered protestations of innocence. And there he remained for two months until the authorities admitted their mistake and released him.
 
· "The Prison Became Like a Mosque"
 
The prison authorities did not neglect to plant an informer in the ward where Bediuzzaman's students were. `Postman Kâmil' as he was called was doing his military service as a gendarme in Eskisehir when he was assigned to the job. Bediuzzaman sent his students a note one day stuck to the bottom of the teapot warning them not to speak against the Government as there was an informer amongst them. In the event, `Postman Kâmil' was so impressed by Bediuzzaman and these completely innocent individuals that he himself began to perform the obligatory prayers and in his reports wrote that they were innocent. When describing these days to Necmeddin Sahiner in 1985, he told him:
"...While serving in the prison, I was startled by some sudden news: `Some condemned prisoners are coming, and they are hocas!'... Several days later Hoca Efendi [Bediuzzaman] arrived, and after him, the other hocas, his students..."
After Kâmil had been instructed to act as informer on the new arrivals, he joined them inside, ostensibly serving the sentence for some crime. He continued:
"Everyone got on well with each other in Eskisehir Prison... They used to perform the prescribed prayers all together, recite the Qur'an, and offer prayers.
"They emptied the juveniles' ward for Bediuzzaman and put him in it. His students were somewhere else. The juveniles' ward was large and Bediuzzaman stayed in it all alone. They [the authorities] were always speaking ill of Bediuzzaman to us, so that unavoidably I was influenced by what they said. Then one day I went and kissed his hand. He was a saintly old man, frail, and his hair quite long. His beard had grown a bit, since it had not been shaved. On my being cordial he embraced me. I was very touched and started to weep. He began to tell me about his life... He said: `I only want the Risale-i Nur. I won't give up these works of mine.' I was very moved and affected by his terse words, and was sorry at the injustice done to such a great person. I wondered to myself: `Why do they bother this elderly man so much?' Without letting it be known to anyone I kept on visiting him. One time Hoca Efendi drew two fingers over my forehead, and said to me: `Repent and seek forgiveness; provide food for sixty people and pay the blood-money.' This was extraordinary. I hadn't said I had killed someone, but with his saintly powers, he knew what I'd done. He was a great saint...
"I stayed in Hoca's students' ward, so of course I was in close contact with them. It was not possible to think of anything else in those cramped quarters. They held good talks there, the prayers were performed, and the Qur'an recited...
"That dark prison ward shone with the lights of the Qur'an. Everyone would rise early for the prayers, and take their sections (a thirtieth part) of the Qur'an, then the recitations of the whole Qur'an would begin. After the morning prayer, the prayer for a complete recitation of the Qur’an would be said. From time to time one of the hocas with a fine voice [Mehmed Gülirmak] would sing a `kaside'. He used to send us into raptures. Then they would start reciting the Qur'an again. The whole Qur'an was recited several times each day. Those innocent people were saved by the readings of the Qur'an and the prayers. Those were good days..... The prison became like a mosque. If only I had been able to be like them. There's another thing I witnessed in Eskisehir Prison which has stayed in my mind these fifty years; I always pray for Hoca Efendi's soul. I had plenty to eat, but he made do with tea and a few olives each day. God's grace was with him; just how great he was, I didn't know..."
 
· Eskisehir Court
 
It is apparent from the overreaction of the Interior Minister, Sükrii Kaya, and the Government, the furore started in the press, and the rumours put around both in Isparta and Eskisehir, that the intention was to do away with Bediuzzaman. Quite likely when it is remembered that countless people, and especially men of religion, had fallen prey to the secularizing `Reforms', accused of lesser `crimes'. The charges were several, and involved the infringement of the principle of secularism and of Article 163 of the Criminal Code through, among other things, exploiting religion for political ends "with the idea of political reaction" and organizing a group which might be harmful to public, security. The Court was under pressure from the Interior Minister to condemn Bediuzzaman. It was thus a matter of life and death for him, and his students, but it was not himself he set about to defend in the Court, his defence speeches are for the most part defences of the Risale-i Nur. They are masterpieces which demolish with his usual straightforward reasoning the Government’s baseless suspicions concerning him and the trumped-up charges of the Court. The fact was that due to his percipience and foresight, Bediuzzaman had succeeded in counteracting the depredations of Ataturk and the Ankara regime into the Islamic faith of the people of Turkey. And more than this, with his writings, he had started a positive movement of renewal without apparently breaking the new laws. And he was able to prove this to the Court.
Thus despite the pressure brought to bear on it, the Court cleared him of all the charges, save one, which concerned a short treatise expounding some Qur'anic verses concerning Islamic dress. A topical subject, it made this the excuse, and arbitrarily sentenced Bediuzzaman to eleven months imprisonment, and fifteen of his students to six months.’ The remaining one hundred and two were acquitted; three had already been released. Bediuzzaman objected to this, for if they had been found guilty of the crimes of which they had been accused, it would have resulted in his own execution and at least imprisonment with hard labour for his students. He described it as "the sentence for a horse thief', and demanded that they show in accordance with the law that his guilt necessitated either his execution or one hundred and one years' imprisonment, or else give him and his friends and his writings their complete freedom and recover their losses from those who caused them.
Quite apart from the trumped-up charges and arbitrary sentence, Bediuzzaman was also denied his most basic rights when it came to preparing his defence, which he himself wrote and delivered. While it had taken the Court three to four months to prepare the case, he was allowed only a few days in which to prepare his whole defence; and for some parts of it only a few hours. So also, when he found writing by hand so laborious, he was denied a scribe. And he was not permitted to speak with anyone for two months. However, Bediuzzaman was not intimidated by these injustices; he was prepared to do all he could so that the Risale-i Nur be cleared and justice upheld. For he recognized the law and the process of the law, and was absolutely opposed to any activities which usurped it, damaged public security, and infringed the rights of the majority. Thus, in addition to answering the charges according to the existing laws, Bediuzzaman told the Court that copies of his defence were to be sent to the Interior Minister and the Governing Body of the National Assembly. And when, despite proving quite clearly that Article 163 was not applicable to him and his activities, he was found guilty of one charge by the Court, he applied for the case to be sent to the Court, of Appeal. And in the event of the A al Court upholding the Court s decision was prepared to send a petition to the highest level of government, the Cabinet.
 
· Bediuzzaman's Defence
 
One by one Bediuzzaman answered the charges made against him, supporting all his replies with evidence. He told the Court that since the best wile was to be without wiles, he had taken truth and honesty as the basis of his defence. Thus, he openly admitted his service to belief and the Qur'an, which being in no way concerned with politics was not contrary to the law, and exposed to the Court the plot that had been laid against him because of this service. To involve the legal system in this conspiracy, and attempt to achieve its aims in the name of the law, was a grave error and brought the law and legal system into disrepute. He was quite undaunted by the manifest purpose of the Court, his execution. He was after all the Bediuzzaman who had faced the Court Martial set up after the 3l st March Incident in 1909, and won his acquittal. He was also the practised preacher and fine orator who had addressed thousands in Aya Sophia the same year, and thousands in the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus in 191l. Thus, Bediuzzaman started off his defence with a skillful move which turned the tables on those judging him. He was answering the main charge of "making a tool of religion with the idea of political reaction, with the intention of undertaking an enterprise which might damage public security":
"God forbid a hundred thousand times that the sciences of belief with which we are occupied should be a tool for anything apart from Divine pleasure! For sure, just as the sun cannot be a satellite of the moon and follow it, so too belief in God, which is the luminous and sacred key to etemal happiness and a sun of the life of the hereafter, cannot be the tool of social life. There is no matter in the universe more important than the mystery of belief, the greatest question and greatest riddle of the creation of this world , so that belief can be made the tool of it.
"Judges of the Court! If this tortuous imprisonment of mine concerned only myself and my life in this world, you can be sure that I would remain silent like I have for these last ten years. But since it concerns the etemal life of many, and the Risale-i Nur, which reveals and explains the mighty talisman of creation, if I had a hundred heads and each day one was cut off, I would not give up this mighty mystery. And even if I am delivered from your hands, I cannot be saved from the clutches of the appointed hour. I am old and at the door of the grave. And so, consider only this mystery of belief concerning the appointed hour and the grave, which will come to everyone, one of the hundreds of matters the Risale-i Nur reveals...
"Can all the most weighty political questions of the world loom larger than death for someone who is certain of death, so that he can make it the tool of those questions. For the time of its coming is not specified. The appointed hour, which may come at any time to cut off your head, may be either etemal extinction or the despatch papers to go to a better world. The ever-open grave is either the door to a pit of non-being and eternal darkness, or the gate onto a world more permanent and full of light than this world.
"...Thus, Respected Sirs, is it at all fair, is it at all reasonable to consider the Risale-i Nur, which uncovers and explains hundreds of questions of belief like this, to be biased books exploiting political currents like harmful writings? What law requires this?... Also, since the secular Republic remains impartial according to the principle of secularism and does not interfere with those without religion, of course it also should not interfere with religious people on whatever pretext."
Thus, Bediuzzaman established that it was the cause of belief and the Risale-i Nur that he was going to defend, and then went on to rebut the charges concerning his exploiting religion for political ends. The important questions of political reaction and secularism shall be discussed later.
After pointing out that he had refused Mustafa Kemal's offers to work alongside the new regime in 1923 because he had already withdrawn from the world and politics, Bediuzzaman described to the Court five `Pointers' showing that he had not "interfered in the state's business".
Firstly, for thirteen years Bediuzzaman had not so much as opened a newspaper, newspapers being "the tongue of politics", which everyone he knew could testify to. Then, for the ten years he had been in the province of Isparta there was not the slightest hint to suggest he had made any attempt "to be involved in politics", despite the great upheavals that were occurring during that time. His house had been raided and searched thoroughly, and all his private papers and books taken. And though these had been studied by both the police and the Governor’s Office, nothing of any political content had been found. Only, in all the works, they had found a few points they were able to raise objections about. These were mostly scholarly expositions on a number of Qur'anic verses to do with women's dress and inheritance. However, he told the Court, these short pieces had been written years before while he was a member of the Darü'I-Hikmeti'I-Islamiye, and he had suppressed them when the new laws were passed, which they might be seen as opposing. Only one copy had been sent to someone by mistake. Furthermore, the fact that he had chosen to remain for nine years in a remote village proved Bediuzzaman's desire to remain removed from all involvement in social and political matters. In fact he said, it was his not applying to the Isparta authorities to be released or transferred elsewhere that had "wounded their pride", so that they had caused the affair to erupt by alarming Ankara. He told the Court:
"All my friends who are in touch with me know that it isn't being involved in politics or attempting anything political, even thinking about it is contrary to my basic aim, my mental state, and my sacred duties towards belief. Light (nur) has been given me; the club of politics has not been given me..."
So too there was absolutely no evidence to support the charge of disturbing public security by exciting religious emotions. On the contrary , as Bediuzzaman pointed out, the Risale-i Nur upheld security:
"The Risale-i Nur, which consists of the sciences of belief, establishes and ensures public security and peace. Yes, belief, the source of good characteristics and fine qualities, certainly doesn't disturb public order; it ensures it. It is unbelief that disturbs it, because of its bad character."
Also, not one of Bediuzzaman's students, or anyone who read the Risale-i Nur had been involved in any of the disturbances which had been given a religious colouring and had occurred since the `Reforms' had been first enacted. In another part of his defence, Bediuzzaman said: "Those who receive instruction from the Risale-i Nur certainly do not get involved in any public disturbances, which are the, use of the blood of innocents being spilt and their rights being violated... Furthermore, Bediuzzaman pointed out that if Article 163 was applicable to them, it was applicable also to the Directorate of Religious Affairs and all the imams and preachers whom they employed, since they encouraged religious feelings in the same way.
A further charge, and one that Bediuzzaman was to be frequently charged with, was with instructing in Sufis, for as was mentioned earlier , Sufism had been prohibited in 1925, and the orders disbanded and their tekkes closed. This was another quite baseless charge; as all the Risale-i Nur showed, Bediuzzaman was concerned with the truths of belief. He told the Court:
"As I have written in numerous treatises, this is not the time of Sufism; it is the time to save belief. There are many who enter Paradise without belonging to a Sufi order, but none who enter it without belief. It is therefore the time to work for belief." There was no one who could come forward and say he had taught them Sufism. What he had taught to a small number of his special students was "not training in Sufism (tarikat), but instruction in the direct way to reality (hakikat)." In connection with this, the Court wanted to know what Bediuzzaman lived on. But his extreme frugality was wellknown and easily established, as well as his life-long habit of not accepting presents or charity in any form.
Another of the main charges, which was also clearly trumped up, was that Bediuzzaman had set up an organization for political purposes. He was persistently questioned by the Court concerning this, and asked where he had secured the funds for it. Bediuzzaman’s reply was in four parts. He began:
 
"Firstly. And I ask those who ask, What document, what is there to suggest the existence of a political organization such as that? What evidence, what proof have they found that we have set up an organization with money that they ask so persistently? For the last ten years I have been in the province of Isparta under strict surveillance. I used to see only one or two assistants and in ten days one or two travellers. I was alone, a stranger, tired of the world, felt extreme disgust with politics, and had repeatedly witnessed how powerful political movements had been harmful and come to nothing through their reactions. I rejected and look no part in political movements when among my own people and thousands of friends at the most crucial opportunity, and fled from politics as though fleeing from the Devil considering it to be the greatest crime to damage through political partisanship service to true belief, which is most sacred and which it is not permissible to harm by anything... It is not only me, but the province of Isparta and all who know me, and indeed anyone who possesses reason and a conscience, will meet with disgust the slanders of those who say, There is such a organization and you are hatching political plots, and will say to them, You are accusing him due to your own malicious plans...." Bediuzzaman continued:
"Our business is belief. Through the brotherhood of belief, we are brothers with ninety-nine per cent of the people of Isparta and in this country. Whereas a society or organization is the alliance of a minority within the majority. Ninety-nine people do not form a society in the face of one man..." And he concluded answering this charge by pointing out how unrealistic it was to wonder where someone who had managed to live on a hundred lira in ten years and had worn the same patched cloak for seven years had obtained the money for the organization he was supposed to have formed .
The main point on which the trial rested, however, was the vexed question of secularism, in the cause of which all the radical changes since the establishment of the Republic had been brought about. What lay at the base of the accusations against Bediuzzaman was that he had opposed the Government and its programme of secularization. While for his part, Bediuzzaman denied that he had opposed it, arguing that "the secular republic means the separation of religion from (the matters of) this world" and that since, according to the principle [of secularism] the secular republic remains impartial and does not interfere with those without religion, so too of course it also should not interfere with those with religion on whatever pretext."That is to say, secularism should ensure freedom of conscience, and of expression, and other liberties. This conflict of interpretations over the meaning of secularism and how it should be applied remains unresolved to this day. Thus, Bediuzzaman argued that the Risale-i Nur was a scholarly work - and as such should be unrestricted under the secular republic - which silenced materialism and naturalism and the philosophers of Europe and their attacks on the Qur'an; for more than thirty years his attention had been directed towards their attacks. The Internal problems of the country, he saw as resulting from their corrupting influence. The Risale-i Nur dealt "powerful blows" at them and at the atheists who furthered their interests and plots in the country under the cover of secularization. It was these "intriguers" and "their irreligious committees" that Bediuzzaman opposed, not the Government. Bediuzzaman differentiated between the Government and these committees or secret societies working for the cause of irreligion, and warned about their infiltrating the Government and deceiving it. It was they who raised the outcries of "political reaction" and "exploiting religion for political ends."
These accusations levelled at people who supported religion were not new, of course. Much use had been made of them after the Constitutional Revolution of l909, when the debate between those who favoured secularization and total westernization and those who did not was often most virulent, as was described in an earlier chapter. At that time, Bediuzzaman told the court martial set up after the 3l st March Incident: "Certain people who make politics the tool of irreligion accuse others of political reaction and exploiting religion for the sake of politics in order to conceal their own misdeeds." And in the Republic, these slogans were used for the same ends: to blacken the names of Muslims and reduce their standing in the eyes of the population, and so by frightening the people away from Islam, to pave the way for the spreading of irreligious ideas. The Menemen Incident was a classic example, and part of the charge against Bediuzzaman was that he had attempted "to imitate" that revolt. It had been a minor incident which occurred in response to provocation, and amid great storms in the press had been suppressed brutally as a "reactionary movement". Thirty-three people had been executed in the wake of it, and in numerous places repressive measures taken against people known to work for the cause of religion. Reprisals had also been taken against Bediuzzaman, although he had absolutely no connection with it. Bediuzzaman explained to the Court how forces representing the same interests had attempted to provoke a similar incident in Isparta, and having failed were now trying to deceive the judiciary. Saying also that the matter had to be seen in the light of the perpetual struggle between belief and unbelief, religion and irreligion, and that "everyone who is aware of the heart of this matter knows that these attacks on us are an assault on religion directly on behalf of irreligion."
Thus, Bediuzzaman demanded a fair trial from the Court. He told it: "Among the branches of government, the one charged more than any other with preserving its independence, and, remaining free of outside influences, with considering matters impartially and without emotion is certainly the court." Nevertheless, irregularities had taken place. For example, while his name was Said Nursi, in his questioning Bediuzzaman was always referred to as "Said-i Kurdi" and "the Kurd" in a way which would inevitably produce biased opinions. Indeed, the intention was to link Bediuzzaman with the constant opposition to the Government and rebellions in eastern Turkey, as is shown clearly from the slanderous campaigns orchestrated against him in the press at the same time. So also, despite his correcting them in all his statements, the dates his works were written were deliberately confused with the dates they were copied out and pieces written over a period of twenty years were shown as having been written in one year.
It was due to his "scholarly defence" of a few Qur'anic verses concerning women's dress and inheritance, written before the foundation of the Republic and adoption of the new Civil Code, "against the objections and attacks of European philosophers", part of which had been included in the Risale-i Nur as the twenty-fourth Flash, that the Court finally convicted Bediuzzaman and sentenced him in entirely arbitrary fashion to eleven months imprisonment, and as mentioned, fifteen of his students to six months. Sentence was passed on 19 August, 1935.
An extraordinary event occurred while Bediuzzaman was being held in the prison, occasions similar to which were also recorded while he was in Denizli Prison. One day, the Eskisehir Public Prosecutor saw Bediuzzaman in the market. Being very surprised he went immediately to the Prison Governor and asked him why he had allowed Bediuzzaman out of the prison. The Governor assured him Bediuzzaman was being held in solitary confinement inside the prison They went and looked, and sure enough Bediuzzaman was in his cell. The event became well-known, though the authorities had to admit they were at a loss to understand it.
 
CHAPTER FOUR
 KASTAMONU
 
 · Life in Kastamonu
 
Bediuzzaman was released from Eskisehir Prison in March, 1936 after serving the eleven month sentence and was sent to Kastamonu in the Ilgaz Mountains to the south of the Black Sea. His enforced residence in this the major town of the province of Kastamonu was to last seven and a half years. Under constant surveillance, his movements were more restricted than in Barla, and the harassment and persecution continued. Bediuzzaman wrote further additions to the Risale-i Nur while here, including one of its most important treatises, The Supreme Sign. He attracted new students and Kastamonu and particularly the town of Inebolu on the Black Sea earned the name of "the second Isparta" as a centre from which the Risale-i Nur spread. Bediuzzaman kept up a continual correspondence with his students in Isparta and elsewhere and these Ietters were gathered together to form the Kastamonu Lahikasi, or Kastamonu Letters. They form an important source for the matters with which Bediuzzaman was concerned at this time, and most of the subjects they discuss will be touched on in the course of this chapter. They were a source of great enlightenment, instruction, and encouragement for Bediuzzaman's students, now parted from him, and were conveyed from town to town and village to village by `Nur Postmen' with copies being made of them on the way, since it was very often not possible for them to be sent by post.
His first three months in Kastamonu, Bediuzzaman stayed "as a guest" in the police station. He describes what a trying time this was for him as someone who preferred a life of solitude, and also could not abide the compulsory changes in dress.' Bediuzzaman's refusal to abandon his Islamic cübbe and turban were doubtless made a pretext for the harassment he received there. Following this he was moved to a rented house immediately opposite the police station. On two floors, it was a traditional wooden house with the ground floor used as a store for logs and an outside staircase leading to the two upstairs rooms. Bediuzzaman remained here for the seven years he was in Kastamonu.
It was during his first weeks in Kastamonu that Bediuzzaman attracted the first of those who were to be his closest students here, `Çayci Emin'. He was an exile the same as Bediuzzaman. A Kurdish tribal chief, he had been exiled to Kastamonu some ten years previously and now made his livelihood by running a tea-stall in the courtyard of the Nasrullah Mosque. It was here that he first saw Bediuzzaman. Bediuzzaman won his heart when he warned him against approaching him, but Çayci Emin was not one to be deterred by any possible harm from officialdom and thereafter did all he could to assist Bediuzzaman. Of Bediuzzaman's other close students in the town of Kastamonu was Mehmed Feyzi, who had a scholarly background. These two most constantly attended Bediuzzaman - as far as they were able, securing his daily needs, and Mehmed Feyzi in particular acting as his scribe and assistant with the Risale-i Nur.
Bediuzzaman was virtually confined to his house, going out only once or twice a week either up into the surrounding mountains or climbing up to the citadel which dominates the town. He spent his time either writing the Risale-i Nur or correcting the hand-written copies of existing parts, or in worship, prayer and supplication, or in contemplation. The nights he spent in prayer. He was busy with the same activities when he went out into the mountains, and on the way there even; he never passed an idle moment. Mehmed Feyzi tells how when accompanying him, Bediuzzaman on horseback would be correcting copies of the Risale-i Nur or listening to himself reading them out, or else teaching him and Çayci Emin and any other of his students who were present. Although Bediuzzaman corrected the copies with the greatest care, he never consulted the originals; they were all in his head.
The high altitude of Kastamonu makes the winters very cold. In several letters Bediuzzaman mentions the bitter cold together with the illnesses he suffered. He was afflicted with chronic lumbago and rheumatism, in addition to which he was poisoned on several occasions. He writes that despite suffering these tribulations in addition to all his other hardships, "I offer endless thanks to my Creator that He has sent me belief, the most sacred remedy for every ill, and the medicine of resignation to the Divine Decree, which results from belief in Divine Determining; it has afforded me complete patience and caused me to offer thanks."
Bediuzzaman's indefatigable endurance is illustrated by the following memory of Çayci Emin's:
"I used to go to Bediuzzaman's house early to light his stove. One day I went it was extremely cold, and without realizing it I had gone two hours before the call to prayer. He was rapt in worship on his prayer-rug. In candlelight in the pre-dawn cold, he was praying in a sad and touching voice, he was pleading, beseeching. Agitated, I waited on my feet for a full one and a half hours. Shivering and trembling, I watched this elevated sight. Finally the sound of the call to prayer began to come from afar.. but the Turkish call to prayer of that time. He turned to me and said:
" `Emin, you made a great mistake! I swear that I have certain times that should the angels come even, I would not receive them... "' Çayci Emin apologized saying he had been misled by the light of the bright moon and said he would not come again before the call to prayer.
Bediuzzaman was subject to constant harassment. Ankara appointed governors to the province whom they knew would keep up the pressure on him. These were the most fearsome days of the Republican People's Party's rule , when it was pursuing its Westernization programme and struggle against Islam with all its resources. Governor Avni Dogan was appointed in September of the year Bediuzzaman was sent to Kastamonu. He was the epitome of the new breed of officials grown up under Republican Party rule. An avowed enemy of Islam, he did all he could to inflict torment on Bediuzzaman and his students. He remained in this post for nearly four years and was succeeded in 1940 by Mithat Altiok, whose attitude towards Bediuzzaman was somewhat more conciliatory. Bediuzzaman, however, endured all that was inflicted on him by these officials, even on one occasion preventing harm coming to Avni Dogan, and incidentally gaining for himself an important student in the process.
Briefly, in response to the destruction of the mosques and Sufi tekkes and tombs of saints which was carried out with greater ferocity and efficiency in Kastamonu after Avni Dogan was appointed as Governor, one of the town's Seyhs, Hilmi Bey, known as `the Little Seyh', in order to try and put a stop to the destruction, vowed to kill the Govemor. He obtained a rifle and laid the plans. Then when all was ready, he was walking plunged in thought before Bediuzzaman's house when there was a tap at the window, and Bediuzzaman beckoned to him. Wondering what this elderly hoca wanted, he climbed the stairs up to the house. But Bediuzzaman merely gave him a copy of a prayer called the Tahmidiye, and asked him to write out copies of it. Hilmi Bey agreed, and on returning home, sat down immediately and started to write it out. He continued far into the night. When he had finished, his mind had been changed completely, and he had given up all idea of his projected crime. And thereafter, he became a devoted student of Bediuzzaman's, dedicating himself to writing out the Risale-i Nur and serving its author.
 
At Avni Dogan instigation, Bediuzzaman's house was frequently searched by the police for copies of the Risale-i Nur, and they had to hide them in whatever unlikely places they could find. However some of the police officers charged with plaguing him paid for it. One called Hafiz Nuri would come every few days and go through Bediuzzaman's house with a tooth-comb; he was finally struck down by a mysterious illness and died. Another called Safvet in the time of Mithat Altiok also came to a sorry end. Bediuzzaman wished them no ill; as he told Hafiz Nuri's family who came to plead for him, they received these blows from the Qur’an.
Another of Bediuzzaman's students was Tasköprülü Sadik Bey, the local aga or lord. The grandson of Sadik Pasa, one of the heroes of Plevne and educated in the Military Academy in Istanbul, he cast aside his rank and position and devoted himself to serving Bediuzzaman and the Risale-i Nur. His village of Tasköprü became a centre for the writing out of the Risale-i Nur, as did the town of Inebolu. The Risale-i Nur was introduced into Inebolu by two other important students of Bediuzzaman's, Nazif and Selahaddin Çelebi, who were father and son. Selahaddin recounted this while describing his first visit to Bediuzzaman, when he took to be corrected a copy of the Fourth Ray which his father had written:
"....I climbed the mountain.... under a tree a person dressed in white was performing the prayers. `This must be him', I said to myself. After finishing them, he motioned with his head for me to sit. I knelt down and said `Amen' to his supplications; in a touching voice he was beseeching Almighty God for the peace and happiness in this world and the next of humanity and the Islamic world. Finally I gave him the book I had brought. `Welcome, my brother', he said. `Let's correct it.' It took half an hour. I studied the Hoca Efendi carefully, whom I was seeing for the first time. He was correcting it with great attention, even correcting wrong points and letters in the words. He asked me: `Do you know this [Ottoman] writing?', and got me to write a sentence.
"`Ma'shallah! You write very well', he said. `Will you write out a treatise if I give you one?' When I said I would with pleasure, he gave me around nine of the Short Words. And he gave me the Eleventh and Twelfth Words for my father. `They must be written out exactly', he said. I asked his permission, and left him.
"The Risale-i Nur was introduced into Inebolu in this way. Subsequently, hundreds of hands started to write it out....for five years their pens worked like a printing press. The Nur Postmen were organized between Kastamonu and Inebolu. And the various treatises of the Risale-i Nur were sent to Anatolia [by sea] from the port of Inebolu.... These duties were being carried on unceasingly in this way when I saw a duplicating machine in a shop in Istanbul. On learning that it duplicated at the rate of a hundred pages a minute, I bought it immediately and took it to Inebolu. First of all we duplicated the Seventh Ray, The Supreme Sign, which is `the observations of a traveler questioning the universe concerning his Creator.' When I took the first copy to Ustad, he was tremendously pleased. He expressed his feelings at the end of the work with these words:
" `Oh God, grant happiness in Paradise to Nazif Çelebi and his blessed helpers, who have written five hundred copies with one pen!"'
In the villages of Isparta the treatises of the Risale-i Nur were being written out by hand unceasingly. Bedre, Ilema, Kuleönü, Islamköy, Sav, and Atabey; hundreds of people in these villages devoted themselves entirely to writing out the Risale-i Nur. `Nur Exchange' Sabri, the `Jetty Official', in the village of Bedre. The parts of the Risale and Bediuzzaman's letters would come to him. He would make copies immediately and send them by means of `Nur Postmen to Egridir, and from there they would taken to Hafiz Ali in Islamköy. A11 were aware of the urgency of the task. In the village of Sav, and elsewhere, the women in particular dedicated themselves with great devotion to writing, while the shepherds acted as carriers for the written pieces. We learn from one of Bediuzzaman's letters that his student Hüsrev, "one of the heroes of the Risale-i Nur", wrote out in his exceptionally fine hand-writing four hundred copies of various parts of the Risale-i Nur over a period of nine to ten years, as well as three copies of the Qur'an which contained clear examples of the coinciding of Divine Name of Allah (tevafukat).
Bediuzzaman's letters to his students, which, like the Risale-i Nur, have a warmth and directness which address all who read them, concern mostly the aims, purpose, and way of the Risale-i Nur and the position its students should take in the face of the political and social conditions of the time. They stress the caution they should practice in the face of their numerous enemies. And stress also the importance of obtaining sincerity and selflessness in their task of serving the Qur'an so as to be able to form strong bonds of brotherhood with their fellows and develop the `collective personality' necessary to combat the joint attacks of those who were inimical to Islam. Many of the letters also describe the importance of the role the Risale-i Nur and its Students had to play, and also the great blessings and benefits associated with it. Bediuzzaman often expresses his gratitude for the students who had been drawn to the Risale-i Nur and their self sacrificing service; it was a major source of consolation for him in the face of the oppressive conditions under which he had to live and work. Before examining some of the letters concerning the Risale-i Nur, included here are one or two examples illustrating this:
"My Dear and Loyal Blessed Brothers and Sincere, Vigorous, and Renowned Comrades in the Service of the Qur'an and Belief!
"I offer endless thanks and praise to Almighty God that He has affirmed the hopes expressed in the Treatise for the Elderly and proved true the claims in the treatise containing my defence speeches. Yes... He has bestowed on the Risale-i Nur through you thirty Abdurrahmans who are the equivalent of thirty thousand, rather, He has bestowed one hundred and thirty or one thousand one hundred and thirty Abdurrahmans....." And another example:
"My Dear and Absolutely Loyal Brothers!
"You are my consolation and means of joy in this world. If it hadn't been for you, I wouldn't have been able to endure these four years of torment. Your persistence and fortitude have afforded me a powerful patience and endurance..." And again:
"My Dear and Loyal Brothers!
"I was happier at your letters than I can describe. Especially Husrev's two most valuable letters, that the Risale-i Nur is spreading in extraordinary fashion in Haci Hafiz’s village - they have been kept like copies of the Risale-i Nur and clear proofs, and are being shown to the Risale-i Nur Students in this area as a spur and encouragement..."
 
· The Way of the Risale-i Nur and its Function
 
Bediuzzaman wrote to his students that the Risale-i Nur's function was to save and strengthen belief in the face of the severe and combined attacks against it at the present time. In addition to the attacks against Islam and belief carried out by the new regime and its supporters, which have been briefly described in the preceding chapters, Bediuzzaman explained also that what was being suffered at that time was the accumulated objections and doubts levelled against belief and the Qur'an by the European [Western] philosophers over a period of some thousand years. Their aim was to shake the pillars of belief, which are the foundation and key of eternal life and and everlasting happiness. Thus, what was essential .was to strengthen belief and transform it from “imitative belief” into “certain belief”. In one letter he described the enormity of the Risale-i Nur's role like this:
"The Risale-i Nur is not only repairing some minor damage or some small house; it is repairing vast damage and the all-embracing citadel which contains Islam, the stones of which are the size of mountains. And it is not striving to reform only a private heart and an individual conscience; it is striving to cure with the medicines of the Qur'an and belief and the Qur'an's miraculousness the collective heart and generally-held ideas, which have been breached in awesome fashion by the tools of corruption prepared and stored up over a thousand years, and the general conscience, which is facing corruption through the destruction of the foundations, currents, and marks of Islam which are the refuge of all and particularly the mass of believers.
"Certainly, for such universal breaches and awesome wounds, proofs and equipment of the utmost certitude and the strength of mountains, and wellproven medicines and numberless drugs of the effectiveness of a thousand remedies are necessary. Emerging at this time from the miraculousness of the Qur'an of Miraculous Exposition, the Risale-i Nur performs this function, and is also the means of advancing and progressing through the infinite degrees of belief.”
Thus, in the course of time the belief of the mass of believers in the fundamentals of Islam had lost its vitality, primarily as a result of the doubts and scepticism planted in the common mind by Western philosophy. This process had received a powerful impetus with the deliberate policy of Westernization favoured since the establishment of the Republic. It was the Risale-i Nur with its concentration on developing belief from being merely imitative into "certain" belief, and into the degrees beyond this, that had the ability to reverse the decline and help rebuild the structure of Islam. While in Kastamonu Bediuzzaman wrote the Supreme Sign, to which he attached great importance as one of the parts of the Risale-i Nur most effective at developing "certain belief'. We can look at it briefly in order to learn both what Bediuzzaman meant by belief of this kind, and the new method he put forward in the Risale-i Nur by which it could be attained.
 
· The Supreme Sign
 
The Supreme Sign is a key to understanding Bediuzzaman's own view of existence and his way of worshipping, for he said of it that he wrote it for himself according to his own understanding. The treatise comprises "the observations of a traveller questioning the universe about his Maker", and describes a journey in the mind through the universe made by a traveller most curious to learn about and become acquainted with "the Owner of this fine guest-house, the Author of this vast book, the Monarch of this mighty realm." He questions first the heavens with their suns and stars and heavenly bodies, then the atmosphere with its thunder and lightening, winds, clouds and rain, then the earth, and so on, each of which proves the necessary existence and unity of their Maker. With the "thirty-three degrees in the necessary existence and Unity of the Creator" proclaimed by these "thirty-three universal tongues", it forms thirty-three degrees of belief. That is to say, as the traveller travels through the universe questioning each of its realms and learning of their testimony to the Divine existence and Unity, his belief , gains universality and strength with each degree and passes from being “imitative belief ” to the degree of “certain and true belief ” , and beyond.
One of the central features in this new way which the Risale-i Nur opened up to renew and strengthen belief in God, is that it "blends" the heart and the mind. That is, both the reasoning faculty and the subtle inner senses are utilized in reaching the truth and in the process are illuminated with the knowledge obtained. We can look first at the first of these, the mind or reason.
It will be recalled that on realizing the extremely severe nature of the threats to the Qur'an and Islam way back at the beginning of the century, Bediuzzaman set himself the task of learning modem science, for he understood that it was only through science, in addition to the Islamic sciences, that they could be truly defended in the modem age. These he mastered, and they became "the steps by which to understand the Qur'an and prove its truths." And while the Old Said strove to find a short path to the truth which would blend science and religion, and also to found the Medresetü’z-Zehra which would teach them in combined form, it was not till the New Said and the writing of the Risale-i Nur that this desire was realized. Yes, the evidence of Bediuzzaman's knowledge of modem science is to be found on almost every page of the Risale-i Nur. The physical sciences uncover and describe the order in the universe and its functioning. Each branch, such as astronomy, geography, geology, and biology, describes the order in a particular area of the universe. Thus, since the Qur'an was being attacked in the name of science, and science and philosophy were being put forward as alternatives to religion and concepts such as `nature' taking the place of the Creator, benefiting from his knowledge of science, Bediuzzaman also described the universe, but showed that through its order and the infinite wisdom and other attributes manifested in it, it demonstrated the existence and Unity of a Single Maker. It may be seen from this how the Risale-i Nur addresses the reason; the evidence for the reasoned proofs its puts forward for the truths of belief is taken from the functioning universe as described by the modem sciences. For an example of this, we can return to The Supreme Sign:
"Then [the traveller] looks at the rain and sees that within it are contained benefits as numerous as the raindrops, and manifestations of the Most Merciful One as multiple as the particles of rain, and instances of wisdom as plentiful as its atoms. Those sweet, delicate, and blessed drops are moreover created in so beautiful and ordered a fashion, that particularly the rain sent in the summertime, is despatched and caused to fall with such balance and regularity that not even stormy winds that cause large objects to collide can destroy its equilibrium and order; the drops do not collide with each other or merge in such fashion as to become harmful masses of water. Water, composed of two simple elements like hydrogen and oxygen. is employed in hundreds of thousands of other wise, purposeful tasks and arts, particularly in animate beings; although it is itself inanimate and unconscious. Rain which is then the very embodiment of Divine Mercy can only be manufactured in the unseen treasury of mercy of One Most Compassionate and Merciful, and on its descent expounds in physical form the verse: And He it is Who sends down rain after men have despaired, and thus spreads out His Mercy ..."
An important element of the Risale-i Nur's method which is related to the mind is `reflection' or `meditation' (tefekkür). In one of his letters to his students, Bediuzzaman writes that because he took the path of `reflection' at the time the Old Said was being transformed into the New Said, he sought the true meaning of the Hadith, An hour's reflection is better than a year's (voluntary) worship. And after twenty years this meaning had found, after The Supreme Sign, its final form in a collection of Arabic pieces which included the well-known Cevsenü’l-Kebir, and a summarized extract of The Supreme Sign, called the Hulâsatü’l-Hulasa. This reflection entails pondering over the beings in the universe in the mariner of the traveller in the Supreme Sign and "reading their tongues", which proclaim the Unity of their Maker and point to the other Divine Names and attributes. Bediuzzaman described how this form of reflection illuminates the whole universe, on the one hand displaying the baselessness of concepts such as nature on which unbelief is based, and on the other, resulting in a belief which is such that it leads to an awareness of the universal Divine presence and universal worship:
"In the Hizbü’l-Nuri there is both the meaning of An hour's reflection, and universal worship.... I saw that the Cevsenü' l-Kebir, the Risale-i Nur, and the Hizbü’l-Nuri illuminate the universe from top to bottom; they disperse the darknesses; they destroy heedlessness and `nature'; and they rend the veils under which the people of heedlessness and misguidance want to hide. I observed that they card the universe and all its beings like cotton, and comb them out. They show the lights of Divine Unity behind the furthest and broadest veils of the universe in which the people of misguidance have become submerged....And they show in such a way that from top to bottom the universe reflects the manifestations of the Divine Names like mirrors that no possibility remains for heedlessness. Nothing becomes an obstacle to the Divine presence. I saw that rather than banishing or forgetting or not recalling the universe like the Sufis and mystics [ehl-i tarikat ve hakikat] in order to gain permanent access to the Divine Presence, the universe gains a level of the Divine presence as broad as the universe, and that a sphere of worship opens up as broad and universal and permanent as the universe..."
Very often while explaining the way of the Risale-i Nur, Bediuzzaman offers comparisons with Sufism, as in the above piece. Founding a new tarikat was something with which he was constantly accused as was mentioned in his defence in Eskisehir Court, so also it was the way with which many of his students were familiar. These comparisons show clearly the differences between them, besides seeing and learning to `read' the universe as the means to knowledge of God rather than casting it into oblivion, the main difference being that while in Sufism it is the `heart' that is the means to reaching reality through illumination and wonder-working, the Risale-i Nur addresses the reason as well as the heart and other subtle faculties. The conditions of the time demand this. With its proofs based on the modem understanding of the universe, it saves belief and raises it to a level of certainty whereby it can withstand all the doubts and assaults made against belief and religion at the present time. So also, Bediuzzaman writes, the Risale-i Nur does not only teach "with the feet of the reason" like the works of the Ulema, the religious scholars, "...rather, proceeding with the feet of the blending and combining of the reason and the heart, and the mutual assistance of the spirit and other subtle faculties, it flies to the highest peaks; it ascends to where, not the feet, but the eyes even of the philosophy which attacks (religion] cannot reach; and it shows the truths of belief to eyes that are blind even."
Bediuzzaman found that The Supreme Sign with its thirty-three degrees proving the Divine existence and Unity and Hizbü’l-Nuriye in particular illuminated the heart and other inner faculties. He wrote that when he read them, his "spirit, imagination, and heart expanded and unfolded to such a degree that when I gave the testimony `There is no god but God' that each degree declares, I was aware of the Divine Unity on a vast scale as though that universal tongue was mine. Thus, The Supreme Sign can impart lights of belief to the spirit like the sun. I formed the unshakeable conviction, and I saw it."
 
· `Regenerator of Religion'
 
In connection with its unparalleled role in strengthening and revitalizing belief in this century of severe attacks on religion, Bediuzzaman and the Risale-i Nur came to be recognized by many as fulfilling the requirements of Regenerator of Religion, promised by the Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) in the well-known Hadith: "At the start of each century Almighty God will send someone to this community [umma] to renew its religion." In addition to Bediuzzaman's students recognizing the Risale-i Nur as such, many established Ulema and religious scholars also did not hesitate to speak out in its defence, recommending it in the most fulsome terms. We can mention three of these. The first and most important was one of the highest of the Istanbul Ulema and former head of the office for issuing fetvas. Fetva Emini, Ali Riza Efendi. He said after studying The Supreme Sign and the Twenty-Fifth Word on the Miraculousness of the Qur'an, and other parts of the Risale-i Nur:
"Bediuzzaman has performed the greatest service to the religion of Islam at this time. His works are absolutely correct, and no one else has been able to sacrifice themselves in such deprivation at this time, that is, give up the world and produce such a work. He is altogether worthy of congratulation. The Risale-i Nur is the Regenerator of Religion; may Almighty God grant him every success and good."
Another was Haci Hafiz Hasan Sarikaya. Known as `the Golden Voiced Hafiz', he had led the morning prayers for Sultan Abdulhamid II in Yildiz Palace before the Sultan's dethronement, and had known Bediuzzaman at that time. Then after the establishment of the Republic and closure of the medreses, he had persisted in teaching religion and the Qur'an, and had produced many hundreds of students. He told his son:
"The Imam and Renewer of this century is Bediuzzaman..... He is not merely a religious scholar. Every century has its Renewer, and he is the Renewer of this century..."
A third example is the Mufti of Karaman Maras, Hafiz Ali Efendi. He told Mustafa Ramazanoglu, one of Bediuzzaman's students, in the 1950's:
"Such a work has not appeared for two hundred years; and it is not clear whether one will appear again in the future [that is, another will not appear]........I have no doubt that he is the Regenerator of Religion."
It is also recorded that Bediuzzaman's mission as Renewer was foretold in the year of his birth, and this was not by someone in his native East, but by one of the leading figures of the Naksibendi tarikat in the region of Isparta, Beskazalizade Osman Halidi. The Seyh gave certain news in the year of his death, 1293, that is, 1876 or 7, or possibly the previous year, that "A Renewer who will save belief in God will appear, and he was born this year." He added that one of his four sons would have the honour of seeing him. And indeed, some fifty years later Bediuzzaman was exiled to the province of Isparta, and his youngest son, Ahmed Efendi, met him. And it was here that Bediuzzaman wrote the greater part of the Risale-i Nur, and from this centre that it was spread.
 
· Mevlana Halid-i Bagdadi’ s Cübbe
 
Probably in 1940, Asiye Hanim, the wife of the Govemor of Kastamonu Prison, brought a hundred-year-old cübbe, that is, the gown worn by religious scholars, to give to Bediuzzaman. Knowing that he would not accept it as a gift, she consulted Mehmed Feyzi, and they decided on presenting it to him as a `trust'. Bediuzzaman however accepted it readily as though receiving his own property.
Asiye Hanim had inherited the cübbe from her father, who in turn had received it from his father, Seyh Muhammed ibn Abdullah el-Hâlidi, wellknown by the name `Küçük Asik'. From Afyonkarahisar, he had made his way to Baghdad when still of tender years to study under the famous founder of the Naksibendi Hâlidi Order, Mevlana Halid Bagdadî. On completing his studies he was sent by the Master as a halife to Anatolia, who gave him the cübbe as a gift. Küçük Asik later went on to Egypt where he died in 1884. His family preserved the cübbe, and even when they were forced to abandon their home in Afyon in the face of the Greek invasion during the War of Independence, the first thing they took with them was this. Finally Asiye Hanim married an official called Tahir Bey. On his being posted to Kastamonu as Govemor of the Prison, Asiye Hanim came to know of Bediuzzaman, and realized that the cübbe they had so carefully guarded all these years as a trust had found its true owner, and she handed it over to him. Bediuzzaman recalled in a letter that when he had received his diploma on completing his studies, he had been too young to don the scholar's gown and turban. Now fifty-six years later Mevlana Halid had dressed him in his own cübbe over a hundred year distance.
Mevlana Halid was the most important figure in Naksibendi sufism after Seyh Ahmed Sirhindi, Imam-i Rabbani, Bediuzzaman's spiritual link with whom has been mentioned in several contexts. Born a hundred or so years later than Imam-i Rabbani, who was known the Regenerator of the Second Millenium, Mevlana Halid was recognized by many as the Regenerator or Renewer of the following century. The movement he started was one of renewal and became very influential in the eastern Ottoman Empire. In a short piece, one of Bediuzzaman's students, Samli Hafiz, pointed out some of the parallels, and differences, between Bediuzzaman and Mevlana Halid, which show that indeed the cübbe had found its true owner. The main ones are as follows. The dates are according to the Rumi calendar:
Mevlana Halid was born in 1193, in 1224 went to the capital of India, Cihanabad, where he entered the Naksi Order and its revivalist (müceddidi) branch in particular. In 1238 "he attracted the attention of the politicians" and had to migrate to Damascus. Descended from Hazret-i Osman, the third Caliph of Islam, he was brilliant and highly gifted and before reaching the age of twenty became the foremost scholar of his time. These points coincide with corresponding dates in Bediuzzaman's life in a way that cannot be attributed to chance. Bediuzzaman was born in 1293, in 1224 he went to Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, where he prepared for his struggle in the way of Islam. In 1238 he went to Ankara, saw that he could not work alongside the new leaders, and withdrew to Van, from where as a result of the baseless suspicions of the politicians, he was sent into exile. So too at the extraordinarily early age of fourteen Bediuzzaman received his diploma and started to teach. When it comes to the differences, the most important are that while Mevlana Halid's person was the `pole' and guide, Bediuzzaman "dismissed his own person, and showed only the Risale-i Nur", and while together with attaching great importance to and strengthening the Prophet's Sunna, Mevlana Halid's way was that of Sufism (ilm-i tarikat), Bediuzzaman, "due to the requirements of this fearsome age, favoured the science of reality (ilm-i hakikat) and the way of the truths of belief, and looked at Sufism as being third in importance."
 
· More on the Risale-i Nur's Function and Bediuzzaman’s Advice to his
Students Concerning This
 
While explaining the Risale-i Nur's functions and duties in his letters to his students, Bediuzzaman frequently stresses that these are concerned with belief and the strengthening and saving of it, and advises them, in the particular conditions of that time, to concentrate all their attention on matters related to these and not to become involved in any degree with political, social, and worldly matters.
This included the Second World War, which although Turkey did not take part in it, was the cause of great dissension in the country. Various reasons for this emerge from the letters like the preservation of absolute sincerity and the harm to service to religion of political bias, and although not expressed, this attitude was demanded by the political conditions of the times and the despotic regime's persecution of those who worked openly for the cause of Islam. However, in mentioning some of these points, a further underlying reason emerges for Bediuzzaman's insistence on his students remaining aloof from politics and working solely for belief, and this was in connection with the Risale-i Nur's function as Renewer of Religion, which he saw in the long view of the future. It can be understood from Bediuzzaman's letters that during these years he was concerned with `the end of time', and related the War and dreadful events of this century to those foretold to occur at that time. He placed the Risale-i Nur and its mission within this perspective. This becomes clear particularly from his replies to questions put to him concerning the Mehdi, who is to appear at that time. The following letter makes this clearer. It was written by a number of Bediuzzaman's students to a hoca who had written to him on the subject:
"...Our Master says: Yes, at this time both belief and religion, and social life and the Seriat, and public law and Islamic politics, are all in need of a Renewer of great stature. But the duty of renewal in regard to saving the truths of belief is the most important, the most sacred, and the greatest. The spheres of the Seriat, social life, and politics take second, third, and fourth places in relation to it. Also, the greatest importance in the narrations of Hadith concerning the renewal of religion is in regard to renewal in the truths of belief But since in the view of public opinion and those caught up in this life Islamic social life and the politics of religion, which are attractive in that they are apparently far-reaching and predominant, appear to be of greater importance , they look from that point of view, through that lens; they give it that meaning.
"In addition, it does not appear to be possible for these three duties to be found together in perfect form in one person or community at this time, and for them not to damage one another. They can only be brought together at the end of time in the Mehdi and the collective personality of his community which represents the luminous community of the Prophet (PBUH) 's Family. Endless thanks be to Almighty God that in this century He has given the duty of renewal ;n the preservation of the truths of belief to the reality of the Risale-i Nur and to the collective personality of its students.... "
In stressing the paramount importance of belief and its strengthening Bediuzzaman writes in another letter that it is not possible to change all these matters together at this time, and so that even if the Mehdi was to come now, he would concentrate on the question of belief:
"At this time there are currents so overwhelming that they draw everything to their own account. So even if the true awaited person, who will come next century, were to come now, my conjecture is that he would forego the situation in the political world and change his goal so as not to let his movement be carried away on those currents.
"Also, there are three matters: one is life, another is the Seriat, and another is belief. In the view of reality, the most important and the greatest is the question of belief. But in the view of most people at this time, compelled b the world situation, the most important appear to be life and the Seriat. And so, even if he was to come now, since to change these three matters alto ether throughout the world is not in keeping with the Divine laws in for e in human kind, he would surely take the greatest matter as the basis, and not the others, so that the service of belief would not spoil its purity in the general view and so that he would not let that service be the tool for other aims in the minds of ordinary people, who are easily deceived..."
Thus, it is in this perspective that Bediuzzaman establishes the Risale-i Nur's primary function of renewing and strengthening belief, and it is with this view in mind that he guides his students in its service. For the sake of completeness, included at this point are examples of letters illustrating some of the main points Bediuzzaman made in advising his students in this service. Firstly are examples of those mentioned above, advising them to disregard political and worldly matters. These are followed by examples of some of those warning the students to be above all cautious and circumspect in the face of the plots and intrigues hatched against them by their many enemies. And finally are examples of letters guiding them towards developing complete sincerity (ihlas) in their service and selflessness before their fellow Risale-i Nur Students, so that the `collective personality' necessary to fulfill the Risale-i Nur's unique functions could emerge. This consciousness of a joint or corporate personality is one of the distinguishing marks of the Risale-i Nur and its Students, and Bediuzzaman himself offered the finest example in his total sincerity and selflessness, always putting this collective personality before himself.
 
· Aloofness from Political Life
 
Bediuzzaman saw the modern world as having captured man's soul and plunged him into the life of this world and pointed out that the way to be saved from this abyss was through following the teachings of the Risale-i Nur. One aspect of this was life and the living of it. Bediuzzaman wrote that this vein had become so wounded through the conditions of life becoming burdensome due to inessential needs, wastefulness and greed that it attracted and held all the attention of the misguided, so that the least significant worldly need took preference over the greatest matter of religion. As "the dispenser of the healing remedies of the Qur'an", the Risale-i Nur "was able to withstand this strange sickness of this strange age", and "its resolute, unshakeable, constant, sincere, loyal, and self-sacrificing Students were able to resist it." So also the modem world has infected people with a senseless curiosity about "the chess-games" of politics and diplomacy, the most harmful result of which was division in society along political lines.
"While before everything the truths of belief should be the foremost aim at this time and other things remain in second, third, and fourth place, and serving them through the Risale-i Nur should be the prime duty and point of curiosity and main aim, the state of the world has stimulated to a high degree the veins of worldly life, and especially of social life, and of political life in particular, and more than anything of partisanship in regard to the World War, which is a manifestation Divine Wrath in punishment for the vice and misguidance of civilization; this inauspicious age has injected those harmful, passing desires into the very centre of the heart, even to the degree of the diamonds of the truths of belief.." Bediuzzaman continues that this age has implanted these to such a degree that they are the cause of difference and disunity among even the religious. Some religious scholars, for example, give only secondary, or less, importance to matters of belief because of those political and social matters and love an enemy of religion who shares the same view, and at the same time nurture enmity for those following the Sufi path who oppose them. Thus, Bediuzzaman himself completely disregarded current events at that time "in the face of this fearsome danger of this age", and he urged his students not to allow the chess-games of tyrants to distract them from their sacred duty, nor let them taint their minds.
The prevailing note in many of these letters is one of encouragement, even cajoling. Bediuzzaman frequently points out the great profit and benefits that the Risale-i Nur had brought with the new and direct way it had opened up in gaining `certain belief, and urges his students to be steadfast and unwavering in their service of it. For the Risale-i Nur movement was still hardly established and the students met with considerable opposition from both the hocas and religious scholars, and from the Sufis and followers of the tarikats, who saw the movement in terms of rivalry, as well as from the enemies of religion. It is in this light that Bediuzzaman's frequently pointing out the special instances of Divine Favour associated with the Risale-i Nur should be seen. This hostility was on occasion fanned and exploited by the enemies of religion. Thus, Bediuzzaman always urged his students to act tolerantly and peaceably towards followers of other paths and to return any criticism or aggression with good will, above all not allowing political differences cause disunity and thus aid irreligion. Religion should be adhered to as the point of unity:
"Beware! Don't let worldly currents, and particularly political currents, and currents which look to outside the country sow discord among you. Don't let the parties of misguidance unified before you cast you into confusion. Don't let the satanic principle of `love for the sake of politics, enmity for the sake of politics' take the place of the principle of the Most Merciful , `Love for God's sake; enmity for God's sake'. Don't agree to the tyranny of displaying hatred for your brother and love and support for a satanic political colleague, and so in effect share in his crime."
Bediuzzaman often also insists that politics should be avoided since the truths of belief and the Qur'an can be made a tool for nothing:
"The three supreme matters in the worlds of humanity and Islam are belief, the Seriat, and life. Since the truths of belief are the greatest of these, the Risale-i Nur's select and loyal students avoid politics with abhorrence so that they should not be made the tool to other currents and subject to other forces, and those diamond-like Qur'anic truths not reduced to fragments of glass in the view of those who sell or exploit religion for the world, and so that they can carry out to the letter the duty of saving belief, the greatest duty."
And in regard to the Second World War, Bediuzzaman wrote that the feelings of partisanship that the War gave rise to were an important reason for his students not concerning themselves with it, because "just as consent to unbelief is unbelief, so too consent to tyranny is tyranny. In this duel, tyranny and destruction so ghastly are occurring that they make the heavens weep.... it has given rise to tyranny so fearsome that in its barbarism its likes never occurred in previous centuries..." It was inappropriate for those occupied with the truths of the Qur'an to follow those events unnecessarily as though applauding the destruction of those tyrants .
The War years in Turkey saw a worsening of economic conditions, which had in any case been severe throughout the 1930’s, and there were serious shortages in many basic essentials. Together with this there had been a decline in moral standards during the years of the Republic as the regime chipped away at the Islamic cement bonding society. These severe conditions are reflected in various contexts in Bediuzzaman's letters. On the one hand, they were exploited by the authorities to try to distance from religion those who were not well-off, like the majority of the Risale-i Nur Students, through their struggles to secure a livelihood, and on the other, to sow discord among the Students and so break their solidarity. He continually warned them to be vigilant, and not allow themselves to be shaken in the face of this often extreme hardship, and their unity harmed. He urged them to respond with the principles of "frugality and contentment."
In regard to the decline in moral standards, Bediuzzaman urged his students to adopt the Qur'anic concept of takva, fear of God or piety, as the basis of their actions in the face of the corruption and destruction of that time. In a letter marked "extremely important", he defined it as "the avoiding of sins and what is forbidden and acting within the sphere of the obligatory good works", and said that in those severe conditions a few good deeds became like many; those who fulfilled their obligations and did not commit serious sins would be saved. The Risale-i Nur was a "repairer" resisting the destruction. "With the shaking of the ramparts of the Qur'an,... a dark anarchy and irreligion more fearsome than Gog and Magog have begun to corrupt morality and life..." Righteous action even to a small degree on the part of the Risale-i Nur Students would have extremely positive results. Bediuzzaman concluded this letter by telling them that their greatest strength lay in each strengthening the takva of the others:
"...And so, after sincerity (ihlas), our greatest strength at such a time in the face of these fearsome events is, in accordance with the principle of `sharing the works of the hereafter', for each of us to write good deeds into `the righteous-act books' of the others with our pens, and with our tongues , to send reinforcements and assistance to the `forts' of the others' takva.."
 
· Sincerity and the Collective Personality of the Students of the Risale-i Nur
 
As mentioned in the above letter, Bediuzzaman considered their greatest strength to be sincerity. In another letter he described the way of the Risale-i Nur as being "based on the mystery of sincerity.” While in Barla and Isparta, Bediuzzaman had explained this principle in detail in two treatises, the Twentieth and twenty-first Flashes, and the points he makes in these letters are by way of reminders. Just as the acquisition of sincerity was essential so that they could form a `collective personality', so also was it necessary in order to prevent the enemies of religion taking advantage of differences among those following different paths and ways.
"... Since our way is based on the mystery of sincerity and is the truths of belief, we are compelled by reason of our way not to get involved in worldly and social life unless forced to, and to avoid situations which lead to rivalry, partisanship, and dispute. It is to be regretted a thousand times over that now while subject to the assaults of terrible serpents, unfortunate religious scholars and the people of religion make minor faults like mosquito bites the excuse, and assist in the destruction of serpents and atheistic dissemblers and kill themselves with their own hands.”
The secret of the Risale-i Nur's success in combatting the destruction of atheism lay in this sincerity:
"The Risale-i Nur's victorious resistance against so many fearsome and obdurate deniers arises from the mystery of sincerity, and being a tool for nothing, and looking directly to eternal happiness, and following no aim apart from the service of belief, and attaching no importance to the personal illuminations and wonder-working that some followers of the tarikats consider important, and in accordance with the mystery of the legacy of prophethood, only disseminating the lights of belief and saving the faith of the believers, like the Companions of the Prophet, who possessed supreme sainthood... And they do not interfere in things outside their own duties like being successful, which is God's duty, making the people accept or demand [their service], making it to prevail or receiving the fame, illuminations, or Divine favours they deserve. They work with pure, total sincerity, saying: `Our duty is to serve. That is sufficient. "' "The true students of the Risale-i Nur see the service of belief as superior to everything; should they be accorded the rank of spiritual pole even, out of sincerity, they would prefer that of service."
It was in order to develop a `collective personality', a characteristic of the modem age, that the Students of the Risale-i Nur had to renounce all the demands of the ego; to "transform the `I' into `We', that is, give up egotism, and work on account of the collective personality of the sphere of the Risale-i Nur..."
"This time is not the time for egotism and the personality for those who follow the path of reality (ehl-i hakikat); it is the time of the community (cemaat). A collective personality emerging from the community rules, and may persist. In order to have a large pool, the ego and personality, which are like blocks of ice, have to be cast into the pool and melted..."
While in the past, `the age of individuality', individuals of great stature like Abdülkadir Geylani, Imam-i Gazali, and Imam-ı Rabbani had been sent to guide the Muslim community in accordance with Divine wisdom, the unprecedented difficulties and conditions of the present time demanded a collective personality to undertake such duties.
 
· More Glimpses of Bediuzzaman’s Life in Kastamonu
 
Despite the harassment Bediuzzaman received at the hands of certain officials and his being under constant surveillance, he was held in great respect by the majority of the inhabitants of the town, and a number used to visit him as far as they were permitted. We learn from one of his students, Tahsin Aydin, that among these was the Head of the Town Council. He also tells of an occasion when Bediuzzaman refused the offer of money for his students, even though sent by one of the heroes of the War of Independence. Bediuzzaman never broke this fundamental rule of his life, that of never accepting money under any circumstance, even though his situation was so difficult at one point in Kastamonu that he was forced to sell his quilt to pay the rent.
Bediuzzaman also concerned himself with others in difficulties, and so also there were many drunkards and those who had fallen foul of the law that he saved. An example of the first of these was a family who had been sent into exile from eastern Anatolia after one of the disturbances, one member of which was a thirteen-year-old boy who used to run errands for Bediuzzaman. Necmeddin Sahiner has recorded his account of those days. Since he was a child, he could come and go unquestioned, and relates how besides performing such vital jobs as sending Bediuzzaman's letters, he would also "prepare the ground" for people wanting to visit Bediuzzaman by conducting them on roundabout routes to avoid being spotted from the police-station opposite Bediuzzaman's house. He also mentions that on Bediuzzaman's recommendation his family were able to move to a house which Bediuzzaman had originally been going to live in, but had not been able to because it was in a quiet and secluded spot. The house was still empty and they lived there for nine years without paying any rent. Bediuzzaman helped out this family in numerous ways. On one occasion an unjust complaint was lodged against them by a neighbour, a retired police superintendent called Süleyman. Complete strangers in the town, they were understandably very perturbed. The boy, Nadir, ran to Bediuzzaman to explain, and he sorted out the matter in no time. Since it illustrates the authority Bediuzzaman wielded, despite his position, as well as his concern for the downtrodden, a few lines are quoted in full:
". When I got there, Ustad met me at the door. On my explaining the situation to him, he said to me: `I understood that you were upset. Go and tell the headman of the quarter, Çarikçi Ihsan Efendi, to come here.' I went and told him and he said he would go immediately with pleasure. He went at once. Ustad told him: `Go and tell Süleyman not to bother these people!' So Ihsan Efendi went to Süleyman and repeated this. And from there he came to us and consoled us, saying: `Relax! No one is going to bother you. If you have any difficulties, I'm here!' And so the matter was solved."
Well-known in Kastamonu was the story of how Bediuzzaman saved Araçli Deli Mu'min. Deli Mu'min had not been aptly named and was one of the roughs and rowdies of the district notorious for his acts of banditry. Drink and gambling were his normal pursuits. He had even killed a few people. Then one day, Çayci Emin went in the darkness just before dawn to Bediuzzaman's house, to light his stove. Going to open the door, he made out a figure slumped on the doorstep. He drew closer and peered at it; it was Araçli Deli Mu'min. He said to him: "What do you want here? You're drunk again. Do you know whose doorstep you're on?" Deli Mu'min knew where he was. He started pleading: "I've repented! Pray for me! Accept me as your student!" Çayci Emin went up and told Bediuzzaman. And Bediuzzaman did not turn him away. He said: "Yes, my brother", and received the drunk bandit. But from then on Araçli Deli Mu'min was saved from drink, from banditry, from crime. Now he lived up to his name, he was a believer. And this is just one example of many.
 
· The Risale-i Nur becomes Established
 
During these years the Risale-i Nur became firmly rooted in Turkish society, and Bediuzzaman wrote that now it was certain to continue into the future. He was able to feel certain of this as women and children responded so enthusiastically to it, both in the region of Isparta, and in Kastamonu, and so too it began to have readers among schoolboys in Kastamonu. He mentions this in a number of letters, expressing his extreme pleasure at the large numbers of pieces of the Risale-i Nur written out by children, women, and the elderly. In one letter he writes:
"My Dear and Loyal Brothers!
"Copies written out by fifty to sixty of the Risale-i Nur's young and innocent students have been sent to us, and we have collected them into three volumes. And we have noted down some of them together with their names. For example, Ömer 15 years old, Bekir 9 years old, Hüseyin 11 years old.... We have included their names in a list. Their serious efforts at this time show that.... the Risale-i Nur provides a pleasure, joy, and eagerness that is greater than every sort of amusement and incentive they have created to encourage children to study in the new schools, so that the children do this. It also shows that the Risale-i Nur is taking root. God willing, nothing will be able to uproot it and it will continue in the coming generations."
In the same letter he writes that they had gathered together the forty or fifty pieces written by the illiterate elderly, who had learnt to write after the age of fifty. So too "harvesters, farmers, shepherds. and nomads" were all putting aside their own pursuits and working for the Risale-i Nur. He goes on to mention that the difficulties in correcting all these copies were compensated for by the fact that he was compelled to read them slowly and carefully, and by the pleasure he received from hearing the Risale-i Nur's lessons from "their sincere and innocent tongues."
In other letters, which encourage these Students of the Risale-i Nur so tactfully and kindly, Bediuzzaman mentions that they had made up five and seven volumes of these pieces, one of which included pieces written out by children which illustrated examples of the coinciding of letters (tevafukat). Women too, he said, had a close affinity with the Risale-i Nur and he had long expected them to respond warmly to it. He wrote:
"In fact, since the most important foundation in the way of the Risale-i Nur is compassion, and women are mines of compassion, I had long expected the true nature of the Risale-i Nur to be understood in the world of women. Thanks be to God, the women here are more active and work with greater enthusiasm than the men hereabouts... These two manifestations are a favourable sign at this time that [in the future] the Risale-i Nur will shine and make many conquests in those mines of compassion.”
Although it was while in the Darü’I-Hikmeti’l-Islamiye that Bediuzzaman had written the treatise on the wisdom in Islamic dress for women, which he renamed the twenty-fourth Flash while still in Barla, it was only during these years that he consented to receive women from time to time for the purpose of teaching them from the Risale-i Nur. It was also at this time that some of the pieces that were later to be made into the collection published under the name of A Guide For Women were written. These most probably formed the basis of his guidance to these visitors.
So also Bediuzzaman was concerned with the youth, as those most susceptible to the influences of the materialist ideologies being propagated with such fury by the authorities. In 1940 or 41, some high school boys started to visit Bediuzzaman, one of which was Abdullah Yegin, who from that time on was a devoted student of Bediuzzaman's and the Risale-i Nur, and in future years was one of his most active students. Some of the replies to the questions they asked became the basis of various parts of the Risale-i Nur, and it was due to them that Bediuzzaman made the collection of pieces finally published under the name of A Guide For Youth. It was also because of them that Bediuzzaman first gave permission for the Risale-i Nur to be written in the Latin alphabet, thus becoming immediately accessible to the younger generation. Some of the young schoolboy's impressions of Bediuzzaman are as follows:
"I was in the second class of the middle section of Kastamonu High School, in 1940-l. On hearing Ustad's landlord and some others who visited us speak praisingly of him, it awoke in me the desire to go and see him. What I heard about him was that he was an important person, did not accept presents, and did not receive everyone.
"One day during the break in school I broached the subject with my bench-mate, Rifat. When I told him there was a famous Hoca here worth seeing, he replied: `Yes, I know, his house is opposite ours. He's a very good person, let's go together. I sometimes visit him.
"We went together at a convenient time. We knocked at the door and it was opened. We went upstairs, and entered his room by the door on the right. First Rifat and then I kissed his hand and we sat down. He was seated on a high platform like a bed, with a quilt drawn up over his knees and leaning against the back. He was holding a book. His hair came down to his ears. Looking at us over his fine spectacles, he said to us: `Welcome!' He asked my friend about me, who introduced me as his school friend. He asked my name and was very kind. He spoke to us about Islam, the beauty of belief in God, death, and the hereafter. We sat for a while and then we left.
"One day when I went to visit him, I saw Ustad to be very profound and humble. Because of this humility of his, I wondered if he knew anything. Because he always came down to our level and spoke of things that we knew. I even asked Mehmet Feyzi Efendi one day if he knew Arabic. Of course Feyzi Efendi just laughed.
"Ustad's modesty and humility, and affection and interest in us bound us to him. From time to time I would take other friends to him. He always gave excellent answers to the questions we asked him. I only lost the negative ideas about religion I had acquired from some of the teachers at school when I visited Ustad.
"Another time I visited him, I asked: `Our teachers don't speak about God. Tell us about our Creator.' Ustad explained at great length about this subject. I can't exactly remember when the answer to our question was written down. When we went to him, Mehmed Feyzi Pamukçu used to read from The Supreme Sign or the Short Words and we would write them down in our notebooks in the new letters...
"One day at school, it was the geography lesson and the teacher asked the class: `Who's been to that reactionary hoca they call Bediuzzaman?' Six people raised their hands. He asked why we had gone, and said that Ustad was an enemy of the reforms and didn't like Ataturk. He sent us to the Disciplinary Council. They asked various questions. As a result, a friend called Suat and myself were banned from school for six days, and the others were given warnings. We said in the statements we gave that we had gone because we wanted to learn about our religion, no one had said anything against anyone, and that we were religious and liked performing our worship. A few days later the police raided the house where I stayed and went through it with a tooth-comb. My statement was taken by the police. I described what had happened to me. The Prosecutor asked: `There's the Mufti and lots of hocas. Why don't you go to them?' I said I didn't know the Mufti....
"I had first gone to Ustad because of this: he did not accept presents from anyone!
"I saw the way he lived; he was really and truly poor! In one of his rooms was a woven rug and a few cloth prayer-mats. And the other was completely bare. If the well-to-do people in the town brought him anything, he would most kindly and graciously refuse it. He did not want to offend anyone. He absolutely would not take anything or eat anything without giving something in return. He really lived what he wrote. What he spoke about was all the Risale-i Nur. The way he acted was like a repetition of what it teaches... "
Abdullah Yegin notes also another side of Bediuzzaman's character, his refusal to compromise his beliefs in any way in the face of threat or tyranny, which was a powerful source of strength and inspiration for others in those dark days:
"Like his speech, Ustad's manner was unique, and everyone used to look at him in amazement. For his dress, his manner, and his actions resembled no one else's... I'll never forget the way in that time of repression when the police and gendarmes were much feared, Ustad walking towards the Governor’s residence escorted by the police with firm and resolute steps in exactly the same dress he had always worn and the way the onlookers stared at him in wonder, a shiver passing over the crowd watching him..."
 
· Ports of the Risale-i Nur Written in Kastamonu
 
Between his arrival in Kastamonu in March 1936 and probably 1940 Bediuzzaman wrote from the Third to the Ninth Rays inclusive . Of these, the Seventh Ray, The Supreme Sign, was written in Ramazan of 1938 or 39. It was followed immediately by the Eighth Ray, and the summary of the Arabic twenty-ninth Flash, Hizbü'I-Ekber-i Nuri. Bediuzzaman sent numerous letters to his students in Isparta, and also while in Kastamonu, he did the final drafts of the First and Second Rays, which had been written in Eskisehir Prison. The second part of the Index, which included the parts of Lem'alar (The Flashes) subsequent to the Fifteenth Flash - the Fifteenth Flash forms the Index for all the Words, Letters, and the First to the Fourteenth Flashes - was also written at this time by some of Bediuzzaman's students in Isparta. There followed after 1940 a period of cessation as far as writing new works was concerned.
As the Risale-i Nur spread and became established Bediuzzaman had some of its parts gathered together in the form of collections, and some of these he had typed out in the new letters. This was in 1942 and 1943. One was a collection of four pieces for the High School boys . Abdullah Yegin mentions above their writing out pieces in the new, Latin, script. There were other collections for which he suggested various titles, including what was later published as A Guide For Youth, and another called The Ratifying Stamp of the Unseen.' Bediuzzaman also brought together other pieces on the resurrection of the dead to be included as addenda to the Tenth Word. So too in 1943 Tahiri Mutlu, from the village of Atabey near Isparta, had The Supreme Sign published in Istanbul. Although it was only during Bediuzzaman's Kastamonu years that he had come to know the Risale-i Nur, Tahiri Mutlu was to be one of its most important students. It was also through his enterprise that hand-written copies of the Hizbü'I-Kur'an and Hizbü'I-Nuri were printed photographically at this time. Also in 1943, the Fifth Ray concerning Hadiths about the signs of the end of the world and resurrection and the fearsome individuals or Antichrists who were to appear at the end of time, began to be sought after. The final draft of this treatise had been made in 1938 from a first draft made while Bediuzzaman was a member of the Darü’l-Hikmet from pieces some of which were taken from Muhakemat, published in I909. This Fifth Ray was to be the main cause of his, and a number of his students' arrest in August of 1943 and their second sojourn in prison.
 
· Increased Harassment and Arrest
 
Both Bediuzzaman and his students in Kastamonu, and the Risale-i Nur Students in the region of Isparta and other places were under constant pressure from the authorities. This increased as time passed, culminating in widespread arrests and the Denizli trials and imprisonment in 1943-4. On several occasions previous to this copies of the Risale-i Nur were seized after searches, students arrested and then subsequently acquitted and the copies of the Risale-i Nur returned. It was the Fifth Ray in particular that was being searched for. In 1940, thirty to forty were arrested then released. Towards the end of 1941, there was another incident in Isparta involving a Risale-i Nur student called Mehmet Zühtü Efendi, and this was followed by a third incident. The closeness of the surveillance under which Bediuzzaman was held, and the pressure on him, also increased. These incidents are reflected in Bediuzzaman's letters together with repeated warning to his students to observe the utmost caution and discretion and to guard against the plans and plots that were being hatched against them. These have been mentioned in part above; their principle aim was to break the solidarity of the Risale-i Nur Students by sowing conflict among them, and to distract, tempt, or scare them away from their service to the Risale-i Nur. It was a serious and planned attempt to stop the spread of the Risale-i Nur on the part of the forces within the Government working for the cause of irreligion.
These series of arrests occurred in Isparta and Bediuzzaman was not himself actually taken into custody as well. However, the authorities attempted to solve their problem by more dastardly means: they had him poisoned on several occasions. Çayci Emin stated that from time to time Bediuzzaman suffered severe bouts of illness as a result of being poisoned . He also described an occasion when Bediuzzaman was poisoned when alone in the mountains having bought some fruit on the way. Mehmed Feyzi also describes it, as it was he who received word from some unknown source and went up into the mountains and found Bediuzzaman in a semi-conscious state. Bediuzzaman had known the grocer he had bought the fruit from, since he very often got something from there on his way. The wretch had evidently been persuaded by the agents who followed Bediuzzaman wherever he went to give him pieces they had injected with poison. Mehmed Feyzi had taken the horse Bediuzzaman had been riding, which had made its own way back to the town when he was overcome by the effect of the poison, back up the mountain and brought Bediuzzaman back on it. Bediuzzaman was ill for some time following this, which occurred shortly before the final events before his arrest, and another attempt to poison him. This time it was certified by the doctor who attended him .
In early August, 1943, a Risale-i Nur Student who was active in the area of Denizli was arrested along with several others. He had been informed on by the local Mufti as a result of which extensive searches were carried out in the area and hand-written copies of the Risale-i Nur, including the Fifth Ray, were seized . As with the Eskisehir affair, the matter was taken up by Ankara and blown up out of all proportion. President Ismet Inönü, Prime Minister Sükrü Saraçoglu, and Education Minister Hasan Ali Yücel were directly concerned. Instructions were sent to Isparta and Kastamonu in particular, and the houses of numerous Risale-i Nur Students searched. Then the arrests started in Isparta.
 
· Bediuzzaman is Arrested
 
Meanwhile Bediuzzaman's house in Kastamonu was searched three times in succession. When after the first time they were unable to find what they were searching for, the Fifth Ray, they determined to do away with Bediuzzaman and succeeded in poisoning him a further time. This was verified by a doctor and when seriously ill with the effects of it and running a temperature of over 40o, his house was searched a second time. This coincided with the start of Ramazan, which in 1943 began on 2 September. This was followed by a third and most rigorous search directed by a number of high-ranking police and officials. On this occasion they found some parts of the Risale-i Nur hidden in a strong-box under the coal and fire-wood. They included the Fifth Ray, the collection called The Ratifying Stamp of the Unseen, the treatise on Islamic dress for women which had been the pretext of Bediuzzaman being convicted by Eskisehir Court, and another called Hücumat-i Sitte. Bediuzzaman was then arrested and held in Kastamonu police station for some two to three weeks.
In the spring of that year Bediuzzaman had had a premonition that he would not remain much longer in Kastamonu. He told this to the school boy Abdullah Yegin before he went away for the long summer holiday. And Abdullah Yegin returned to see Bediuzzaman being driven away by the police. He described it like this:
"It was in the spring of 1943. It was going to be the school holidays and we went to visit him again. I'll never forget these words he said to us after giving us lengthy instruction on matters to do with belief and morality:
" `My brothers! For a long time I've never stayed more than eight years in one place. It's now eight years since I came here, so this year I'll either die or go somewhere else. Perhaps we won't meet again. A time will come when there will be Risale-i Nur Students everywhere. Don't part from one another or from the Risâle-i Nur.'
"His speaking in this way affected me greatly and I was very upset. When he saw this, he said:
" `Don't worry. We'll meet again, God willing.'
"Three months later the holidays came to an end and we returned to Kastamonu from Araç. I wanted to go and visit him. Then he warned Çayci Emin Bey, `They are following me. Don't let anyone come.' For this reason we could not go to him.
"Then one day we were in the playground of Kastamonu High School for the break. They were taking him in a light open carriage along the street. He had a wicker-work basket, a tea-pot, ewer, and a few possessions with him. Then the carriage stopped and they got out. There were a gendarme sergeant and a few policemen with him. A crowd gathered. He was wearing a black turban and a long gown, also black. It was impossible to go out dressed in such clothes at that time, and above all with the police.
"In the school the others saw me watching him and called me `Bediuzzaman follower'. Then the bell rang and we went into class.
"However many days passed after this I don't know, one night around midnight our house started shaking. The earthquakes had started. The tremors continued in this way for about two weeks. The people said: `Hoca Efendi was a good man. They harassed him, treated him badly, and slandered him so there were earthquakes."
Nadir Baysal, some of whose reminiscences were given above, described the air of terror that descended on the town after Bediuzzaman was arrested. He says also that Bediuzzaman was not held in the prison but in his house:
It was Ramazan in 1943. I was going towards Ustad's house when in the Shoemakers' Market I saw them taking him, still with a turban on his head , in a phaeton to the Law Courts. Çayci Emin, Mehmet Feyzi and altogether twenty-two people remained for about two weeks in the prison. Ustad did not stay inside, but returned to his house under police supervision. Two weeks later they transferred them all to Denizli Court. Such an air of terror overwhelmed the town at that time that it was as though anyone who had met with Ustad had committed a crime. Some people did not dare to go out of their houses ....
"While Ustad was leaving Kastamonu, the leaves of the calendar showed 1943. A short while later the earthquakes started. A great stone rolled down from the citadel and seven people were killed in the house on which it fell. In the region of Tosya between six and seven hundred people died."
 
· Kastamonu - Ankara - Isparta
 
On the Night of Power, which in Turkey is generally considered to be 25 - 26 Ramazan, and was thus probably 27 September, Bediuzzaman was taken from the police station opposite his house in Kastamonu and put on the bus for Ankara, some 271 kilometers to the south. He is reported to have told the police there:
"Tell that Midhat [the Governor of Kastamonu) to send my defence speeches in both the new and old writing on after me!"
This, reported by Selahaddin Çelebi, referred to Bediuzzaman’s defence from Eskisehir Court which Bediuzzaman had given to the officials and police while they had been searching his house for the Fifth Ray and other treatises.
Also present in the bus was an official from Inebolu called Ziya Dilek, who was also·later arrested and sent to Denizli. His account of the journey was recorded by Necmeddin Sahiner:
"I had got on the bus to go to my and gendarmes at Olukbasi [where the police station was ] and space for three people cleared at the back. They put Bediuzzaman Hoca Efendi there. When the bus moved off Hoca Efendi felt unwell; he was seventy years old and ill. He said: "Since they consider me to be a political prisoner, I should be sent by a private taxi." Whereupon a soldier sitting next to me got up and offered his seat to the Hoca, and so they changed places. I was very scared and could not do anything to help him. When he sat down beside me he asked me my name. On my saying Ziya Dilek, he said. `Are you our Ziya? Did you come to see me off on behalf of the people of Kastamonu?’ Turning to the policeman Safvet behind him who had brought him, he said, Safvet Where in the Qur'an was I reading when you raided my house?' And asking for a piece of paper, got me to write down the verse, So bear in patience the command of your Sustainer for you are in Our sight, and offer praise and glory..... Then saying, `Wasn't I reading this verse?', he showed it to Safvet and the others. Then he said to me:
" `Ziya, tell your friends not to worry. We won't be convicted. They'll either make a truce or a reconciliation.' He was sending through me greetings and the good news to his friends who had been arrested. But I was not going there and I had not been arrested.
"Later he said: `Would you tell the driver to please stop the bus. There's no compulsion in religion. I have a few words of advice for the passengers.' So the driver stopped the bus and Hoca Efendi immediately started to address the passengers:
" `Tonight is most likely the Night of Power. When recited on other days each letter of the Qur'an yields ten rewards, in Ramazan, a thousand rewards, and on the Night of Power, thirty thousand rewards. If you were told you would be given five gold liras in return for doing something, wouldn't you want to obtain them?' The passengers replied that they would, so the Hoca continued: `You spend all your strength and energy to gain five gold liras for this transitory life, don't you want to prepare some provisions for your provisions-bag for eternal life?' Again the passengers replied in the affirmative. So Bediuzzaman said: `In that case, if each Muslim recites Sure el-Ihlas three times, Sure e1-Fatiha once, and Ayetü’-l-Kürsi once, he will have prepared some provisions for his bag for eternal life.'
"The driver, Rizeli Lütfü, and the passengers thanked Bediuzzaman, and soon after it was time to break the fast. He stopped the bus at a famous spring in the pine forests in the Ilgaz mountains for a break. There, Hoca Efendi gave me the food given to him by the Town Council and I gave him mine, and we broke the fast in that way. We performed the evening prayers together. In Ilgaz I left Hoca Efendi and went to work. But a while later they arrested me and sent me to Denizli. They still had not brought Hoca Efendi there when I arrived. When the fiends in the prison asked me anxiously if I had seen Ustad Hazretleri, I remembered the verse he had got me to write in the bus on the way to Ilgaz. I got it out and read it to them and related what had happened on the journey. They were greatly consoled and pleased."
Assigned to accompany Bediuzzaman from Kastamonu to Isparta was a non-commissioned gendarme officer called Ismail Tunçdogan. He noted that on reaching Ankara, he and Bediuzzaman put up at a hotel in the Samanpazari district. Soon after arriving, in a manner entirely outside the normal course of events, Bediuzzaman was summoned by the Govemor of Ankara, Nevzat Tandogan. There followed an incident which if it had not been for the appalling disrespect shown to Bediuzzaman, would have been quite simply ludicrous. This unhappy man, who was one of the notables of the Republican People's Party and for seventeen years was Govemor of Ankara, had summoned Bediuzzaman in order to force him to take off his turban and put on the `official' peaked cap. Needless to say, he was not successful. Bediuzzaman told him: "This turban only comes off with this head!" In addition to the gendarme officer, who noted that Bediuzzaman came out of the Governor’s office carrying a peaked cap, the incident was witnessed by Bediuzzaman's student from Inebolu, Selahaddin Çelebi, who had been arrested in Ankara some days previously, and was taken after Bediuzzaman to the Government Building. He described it like this:
"It was a hot day towards the end of Ramazan. I was at the door of Nevzat Bey's office. The officials brought Bediuzzaman and went into the Governor’s office together. Then the officials came out and the door was closed. The sound of angry voices came from inside. Then a bell rang and a servant went in and then came out again. At that point, Bediuzzaman said angrily to Tandogan: `I represent your forefathers. I live in seclusion. The dress laws may not be enforced against those living in isolation. I don't go out. You brought me out by force. I hope you pay for it!' The servant then returned carrying a twenty-five kurus peaked cap and went into the Governor's office."
According to one account the Govemor himself actually physically put this cap on Bediuzzaman's head, and according to another, he tried to, but could not. In any event, some three years later he came to a sorry end, by committing suicide by putting a bullet through his own head. Bediuzzaman was then taken to the station and put on the train for Isparta. Govemor Tandogan however did not give up at this point and went also to the station together with some police with the intention of `catching Bediuzzaman red-handed'. But the moment they were going to seize him, Bediuzzaman whipped off his turban and climbed into the train. They stopped in amazement, how had he known they were there and what they intended to do? Bediuzzaman later said they they had been defeated by a flea. For just as he was about to board the train, a flea alighted on his head, and he had taken off his turban to scratch it! Thus, they were able to do nothing. Bediuzzaman said it had been an instance not of his own but the Risale-i Nur's keramet.
According to the gendarme Ismail Tunçdogan, a large crowd had gathered to greet Bediuzzaman at Isparta. Also on the train had been one of his students from his days in Barla, Çaprazzade Abdullah. He had come and spoken with Bediuzzaman on the journey and as a result was held for questioning for two days in Isparta on arrival. Bediuzzaman was taken from the station to the prison, where the Risale-i Nur Students from a number of areas had already been brought. As in all his stays in prison, Bediuzzaman was put into solitary confinement. Then he and the other students were subject to intense questioning and interrogation. They were to remain less than a month in Isparta before being transferred to Denizli Prison for the trials. The Ministry of Justice in Ankara specified Denizli, since it was where the first arrests had taken place.
 
CHAPTER FIVE
 DENIZLI
 
 · Introduction
 
Bediuzzaman was still ill from the effects of the poison, and weak. It was now the end of Ramazan. And he was most grieved and saddened at this blow to the Risale-i Nur. Virtually a11 its leading Students had been arrested in addition to himself. As for the Students, they had been rounded up and taken from their homes and villages in the province of Isparta and elsewhere and their families left without support or protection. What the outcome would be was anything but certain. If conditions had been bad in Eskisehir Prison, in Denizli they were worse. Bediuzzaman said he suffered in one day in Denizli the distress he suffered in a month in Eskisehir. But again it resulted in a victory for right; the truth prevailed over falsehood and the Risale-i Nur over its enemies. While at first it seemed as though a crippling blow had been dealt to the Risale-i Nur and its dissemination, in the event the Denizli trials and imprisonment. like Eskisehir before and Afyon afterwards, served the cause of the Risale-i Nur in ways no one expected.
Firstly was the positive report by the committee of experts in Ankara and the acquittal. Then it was the cause of many officials and others reading The Supreme Sign and other parts of the Risale-i Nur with favourable results. Also the court case and imprisonment publicized the Risale-i Nur and aroused much sympathy towards Bediuzzaman and his students and interest in the Risale-i Nur, which counteracted the propaganda campaign against them orchestrated by members of the Government.
A factor that contributed to their acquittal was also the extraordinary change that came about in the majority of the other prisoners through the influence of Bediuzzaman and his students. The same had been true to an extent in Eskisehir, but in Denizli Prison the most hardened criminals even learned how to perform the prayers and recite the Qur'an. and some to assist Bediuzzaman’s students in writing out copies of the Risale-i Nur. Bediuzzaman was kept in solitary confinement under the most appalling conditions in a minute damp, dark cell. He was again poisoned on several occasions. Undoubtedly the intention was to do away with him, and anyway the most important of his students. Two in fact died during the nine months they were held, one of which was Hafiz Ali from the village of Islamköy near Isparta. It was widely believed he had been poisoned. Nevertheless, Bediuzzaman relentlessly continued his struggle. His students were forbidden to visit or speak with him, so he wrote them numerous notes and letters encouraging and consoling them , guiding them , and directing the writing-out and copying of these and the Risale-i Nur. Then he wrote the e y Fruits of Belief. And he wrote also his petitions and defence speeches. Since he and his students were charged with virtually the same `crimes as in Eskisehir and he offered the same defence in Afyon Court some four years later in 1948-9, it shall be described only briefly in this chapter.
 
· Life in Denizli Prison
 
The Students who had been gathered together in Isparta were transported to Denizli by train. Handcuffed in pairs, they were packed into windowless coal and straw wagons. Bediuzzaman was handcuffed to a ninety-year-old villager called Hasan Dayi from the village of Sav near Isparta who was so weak Bediuzzaman virtually had to carry him. Their handcuffs were not unfastened during the journey. Of the one hundred and twenty-six Risale-i Nur Students who were taken to Denizli from all over 'Turkey, in all seventy-three entered the prison and the remainder were released . Those from Kastamonu, Inebolu, and Istanbul were brought some two months later. They were then put in with the long-term and condemned prisoners.
The prison was new and outside the town, yet despite this it was more cramped and insalubrious than older buildings. Built of concrete, it was damp , dank and airless. With its tiny heavily barred and high up windows, the cells and dormitories were in perpetual gloom. The electricity was of a very low voltage and on only a few hours out of the twenty-four. It was also infested with lice and mosquitoes. At night bed-bugs and mosquitoes descended on the prisoners from the ceilings "like a fine rain". Bediuzzaman was put in a cell so small a bed could scarcely fit in it. According to Selahaddin Çelebi who was sent by the prison Govemor on one occasion to write out Bediuzzaman’s defence speech for him, it was airless and closed like a cave, and so damp the human body could scarcely withstand it. They had to work by the light of a candle. After one hour of writing down what Bediuzzaman dictated, he was completely exhausted. The cell had one small window which overlooked the long-term prisoner’s exercise yard. So since Bediuzzaman was in total isolation and his students and all the prisoners were forbidden to speak or communicate with him on pain of being beaten, he used to throw the notes, letters, and pieces he wrote out of this window to them. They were most often written on scraps of paper folded up inside matchboxes. When this was discovered by the prison authorities, they boarded up the window for a time. Bediuzzaman also sent them by means of a `go-between' called Arnavut Adem Aga. When they received them, the Students would start writing out copies. The cell was also next to the juveniles' ward, and the delinquents were encouraged by the prison authorities to disturb Bediuzzaman, who was extremely sensitive to noise, and to strike up a din particularly while he was praying or performing his worship.
When Selahaddin Çelebi, Mehmet Feyzi, and the other students from Kastamonu arrived, they were put in with the long-term and condemned prisoners. Among these was the prisoners' spokesman and leader, Süleyman Hünkâr, a person of considerable power and influence in the day to day affairs of the prison. Süleyman Efe as he was known both `reformed' and giving up his former bad ways, became a loyal student of Bediuzzaman's, and he struck up a close friendship with Tasköprülü Sadik Bey. Sadik Bey also had followed the fast life of a derebey till Bediuzzaman came to Kastamonu and he had become his student. Although all Bediuzzaman's students and some of the prisoners worked continuously in those appalling conditions for the cause of religion and the Risale-i Nur, it was really through these two that it was possible for Bediuzzaman to organize it.
Ibrahim Fakazli from Inebolu described how the prisoners started to reform and perform the prayers. It had happened soon after the others had arrived and before they had come. When Bediuzzaman had gone to take ablutions the prisoners had crowded at a window wanting him to speak to them. This happened three times and Bediuzzaman ignored them. Then the third time, he told them: "Go and wash!" So Süleyman Efe gathered together seventy to eighty of the prisoners and asking them, "Which of you is dirty?", harangued them and ordered them to take baths. Then the prisoners again asked Bediuzzaman to speak to them, so this time he told them to perform the prayers. On their saying they did not know how to, he said he would send his students to teach them. In this way the greater part of the prisoners began to give up their former ways and to perform the five daily prayers. Bediuzzaman's students also taught them the basic rules of religion and how to read and recite the Qur’an. Together with the Kastamonu prisoners were a number of well-known hocas from Istanbul, among whom was Gönenli Mehmed Efendi, one of Turkey's best known Qur'an hocas. He also taught the prisoners the Qur'an. One called Mehmed, who had murdered four people , learnt to read the whole Qur'an and memorized the last twenty-two suras thus earning the right to lead the others in prayer. Others were taken away to be hanged while reading the Qur'an or performing the prayers, having been saved from every kind of vice and evil-living. What a lesson for secular and humanist sociologists and reformers.
When the students from Kastamonu and Inebolu arrived at the prison. Sadik Bey immediately established good " who according to Süleyman Efe were all his men. Bold-spirited and generous, he won their respect and soon formed a 'team' to carry out the necessary jobs for continuing the work of the Risale-i Nur. Thus through them it was possible for Bediuzzaman's writings to be distributed round the prison, and be smuggled in and out of it. Süleyman Efe also secured a type-writer, and Sadik Bey and his `team' used to write out Bediuzzaman's defence speeches and others writings in the new letters and then have copies sent to various government departments in Ankara or wherever Bediuzzaman required. He won Bediuzzaman's admiration and gratitude with this unparalleled service, which was reflected in the notes and letters he wrote him, and in his accepting Sadik Bey's soup. Bediuzzaman. who would accept nothing from anyone without giving something in return, was happy to live on the soups Sadik Bey cooked him.' It has also been recorded that the Risale-i Nur was smuggled in and out of the prison by a gendarme stationed there who came from the village of Kuleonu near lsparta. He would take the pieces copied out in the village of Sav for Bediuzzaman to correct, and the presents his students sent him, such as the area’s famous rose oil.
Besides Bediuzzaman's letters and defence speeches, and indeed the students' own defences, which had to be composed and written out, it was mostly The Fruits of Belief that copies were made of in the prison. This, the Eleventh Ray, which Bediuzzaman described as "a fruit and memento of Denizli Prison and the product of two Fridays", consists of eleven pieces or `Topics', the last two of which were written in Emirdag after Bediuzzaman was released. Addressing in particular the prisoners, each Topic explains some matter of belief such as knowledge of God. resurrection and the hereafter, and particularly relevant to that situation, the question of death. It also forms a summary of the truths of the Risale-i Nur. The concluding part of the Eighth Topic was written during the Kurban Bayrami or 'Eid-i Adha, the Feast of the Sacrifices, which in 1943 began on 8 December. Numerous copies of this most important part of the Risale-i Nur were made by Bediuzzaman’s students and the other prisoners in Denizli, and it was the effect of this more than anything that led to the extraordinary reform of the prisoners. So much so that while at first it was written out and smuggled around the prison in the greatest secrecy, when this improvement in conduct was noted by the prison authorities, they permitted copies to be made without restriction. It was also sent to the Appeal Court and relevant departments in Ankara as a defence of the Risale-i Nur and was instrumental in securing their acquittal.
 
· Denizli Court
 
The same charges were made against Bediuzzaman and his students in Denizli Court as in Eskisehir. They included creating a new Sufi tarikat, forming a political society, opposing the refomrs, and exploiting religious feelings in a way that might disturb public security. The Fifth Ray on Hadiths concerning the end of time, the treatise that had led to the arrests, was the prosecution’s main evidence for their exploiting religion, on the grounds it identified Mustafa Kemal as the Deccal, or Antichrist. Thus, on Bediuzzaman and his students being transferred from Isparta to Denizli, they ware again questioned and the Denizli prosecutor set up a committee to study the Risale-i Nur and produce a report for the Court. Composed of two local school teachers entirely unqualified to undertake such a job, they produced the report the Prosecutor wished of them in a few days and the case was put before the Criminal Court. This report was superficial to a degree and contained the most shameful misrepresentations. Bediuzzaman objected to it vigorously, and setting out the errors and his corrections, presented them to the Court together with a request for a committee of qualified scholars to be set up in order to examine the Risale-i Nur. After some delay, this request was accepted and on 9 March, l944, all the material of the case was sent to the First Ankara Criminal Court. A committee of three established scholars was then appointed under the Chief Judge of the Court, Emin Böke, and it set about studying in detail The entire Risale-i Nur and all Bediuzzaman's and his students' letters.
In the meantime the court hearings continued in Denizli. Bediuzzaman offered his defence and answered all the charges. His students too presented their defences. Mehmet Feyzi noted that Bediuzzaman sent a petition to the Court seeking permission not to attend on the grounds of illness, but when he saw the positive altitude of The Chief Judge, Ali Riza Balaban, who had the courtroom arranged like an amphitheatre. he took it back. And the Judge did prove to be fair, both in the final outcome of the case, and in allowing Bediuzzaman to sit while the Court was in session despite the objections of the Prosecutor." They walked from the prison to the Court, a line of seventy handcuffed in pairs. It was the only time the Students from the various parts of the prison could meet. They handcuffed Bediuzzaman to a different person each time. Accompanied by more than thirty gendarmes with fixed bayonets, the people of Denizli lined their route and expressed their sorrow and sympathy.
 
· Extracts from Bediuzzaman's Defence
 
"In His Name, be He be glorified!
"Sirs!
"I tell you with certainty that apart from those here who have no connection or little connection with us and the Risale-i Nur, I have as many true brothers and loyal friends on the way of truth as you could wish. Through the certain discoveries of the Risale-i Nur, we know with the unshakeable certainty of twice two equalling four that through the mystery of the Qur'an for us death has been transformed from eternal extinction into a discharge from duties, and that for those who oppose us and follow misguidance certain death is either eternal extinction (if they do not have certain belief in the hereafter), or everlasting, dark solitary confinement (if they believe in the hereafter and go the way of vice and misguidance). Is there a greater or more important question for man in this world than this that it can be a tool for it? I ask you! Since there is not and cannot be, why do you strive against us? In the face of your greatest penalty we receive our discharge papers to go to the world of light, so we await it in complete steadfastness. But we know as clearly as seeing it, like we see you in this Court, that those who reject us and condemn us on behalf of misguidance will in a very short time be condemned to eternal extinction and solitary confinement and will suffer that awesome punishment, and through the vein of humanity we earnestly pity them. I am ready to prove this certain and important fact and also to silence the most stubborn of them. If I could not prove it as clearly as daylight, not to that unscholarly, prejudiced committee of scholars who knew nothing of spiritual and moral matters, but to the greatest scholars and philosophers. I should be content with any punishment!
"Just as an example, I offer the treatise. The Fruits of Belief, which was written for the prisoners on two Fridays, and explaining the principles and bases of the Risale-i Nur, is like a defence of it. We are working secretly under great difficulties to have this written out in the new letters so as to give it to the departments of government in Ankara. And so. read and study it carefully; if your heart (I cannot speak for your soul) does not affirm me, I shall remain silent in the face of whatever insults and torment you inflict on me in the solitary confinement in which I now am!
"In Short: either leave the Risale-i Nur completely free, or smash this powerful and irrefutable truth if you can! Up to now, I have not thought of you and your world. And I was not going to think of it, but you forced me, and perhaps even Divine Determining sent us on this way in order to warn you. As for us, we are resolved to take as our guide the sacred rule, `Whoever believes in Divine Determining is safe from grief' and to meet all our difficulties with patience.
"Prisoner
"Said Nursi"
 
 
 
 
"In His Name. be He glorified!
“Sirs!
"I have formed the certain opinion as a result of numerous indications that we have not been attacked for `disturbing public security by exploiting religious feelings' on behalf of the Government but, behind a tissue of lies, on behalf of atheism, because of our belief and our service to belief and public order. One proof of this out of many is that despite twenty thousand people reading and accepting the twenty thousand copies of the parts of the Risale-i Nur over twenty years, public order has not been disturbed by Students of the Risale-i Nur on any occasion whatsoever, and no such incident has been recorded by the Government, and neither the former nor the present courts have found such an incident. Whereas, such numerous and powerful propaganda should have shown itself within twenty days. That is to say, contrary to the principle of freedom of conscience, Article 163 of this ambiguous law, which embraces all who give religious counsel, is a bogus mask. Atheists deceive certain members of the Government, confuse the legal establishment. and want to crush us whatever happens.
"Since the reality of the matter is this, we say with all our strength: O wretches who sell religion for the world and have fallen into absolute unbelief! Do whatever you can! Your world will be the end of you! Let our heads also be sacrificed for a truth that hundreds of millions of heads have been sacrificed for! We are ready for any penalty and for our execution! In this situation. being outside prison is a hundred times worse than being inside it. Since there is no freedom at all - neither religious freedom, nor freedom of conscience, nor scholarly freedom - under the absolute despotism that confronts us, for those with honour, the people of religion, and supporters of freedom there is no solution apart from death or entering prison. We say, We belong to God and our return is to Him. and we trust in our Sustainer.
 
"Prisoner
"Said Nursi”
 
 
 
 
 
"In His Name, be He glorified!
“Sirs!
“...the Ankara committee of experts has confirmed our decisive reply to the accusation of forming a society insistently put forward by you as a pretext for our conviction, which you have decided upon [as may be deduced from) the course followed by the prosecution. While being amazed and astonished at your insisting on this point to this degree this meaning occurred to me: since friendship, fraternal communities, gathering together, sincere associations pertaining the hereafter and brotherhood arc each a foundation stone of social life, an essential need of human nature, the most necessary and strongest bond from family life to the life of tribe, nation, Islam, and humanity, and a point of support and means of consolation in the face of the assaults of the material and immaterial things which cause harm and alarm and which each person encounters in the universe and cannot combat on his own, and prevent him carrying out his human and Islamic duties; and since there are some who give the name of political society, although it has no political front, to the gathering together of the Students of the Risale-i Nur around the teachings of belief, which is most praiseworthy and is a sincere friendship [centred] on the teachings of belief and the Qur'an as the certain means to both happiness in this world and in religion and in the hereafter, and is a companionship on the way of truth, and cooperation and solidarity in the face of things harmful to the country and the nation, most certainly and without any doubt, they have either been deceived in some appalling manner, or they arc extremely vicious anarchists who are both barbarously inimical to humanity, and tyranically hostile to Islam , and harbour enmity towards social life in the utterly corrupt and depraved manner of anarchy, and strive obdurately and intractably as apostates against this country and nation. the sovereignty of Islam and sacred things of religion. Or they are satanic atheists who. working on behalf of foreigners to cut and destroy the life-giving arteries of this nation. are deceiving the Government and confusing the legal establishment in order to destroy or turn a against our brothers and our country the immaterial weapons which up t now we have used against them - those satans, pharaohs, and anarchists.
"Prisoner
"Said Nursi"
 
 
 
 
 
 
· The `Fifth Ray'
 
In regard to the Fifth Ray, since it played a prominent part in the Afyon trials in 1948-9, a more detailed discussion of it will be left to then, and here only one or two points will be mentioned briefly. Firstly, as noted above and Bediuzzaman told the Court, the original of this treatise. in which they alleged Hadiths were used to prove Mustafa Kemal was the Sufyan or Islamic Deccal, that is, the Antichrist who is to appear at the end of time, had been written when Bediuzzaman first came to Istanbul in 1907, long before Mustafa Kemal rose to prominence. And its rough draft had been made some twenty-five years earlier while Bediuzzaman was a member of the Darü’l Hikmeti’l-Islamiye, in order to "save from denial allegorical Hadiths and strengthen the belief of those whose belief was weak." Furthermore, Bediuzzaman had not allowed it to be published, and in the eight years he had been in Kastamonu only two copies had come into his hands, and these he had disposed of. The affair had started when some "rivals", that is, the Mufti and preacher who had informed on Atif Egemen in the province of Denizli in July 1943. had obtained a copy of it. At the same time, without Bediuzzaman's agreement, The Supreme Sign had been printed in Istanbul. The authorities, who had been informed of this, then confused this, the Seventh Ray with the Fifth Ray. The matter was then blown up out of all proportion by their enemies, and it resulted in the mass arrests and Denizli trials. In any event, it was cleared by the Court at Denizli along the rest of the Risale-i Nur if the committee of scholars set up in Ankara raised a number of objections concerning it, Bediuzzaman pointed out these to be in error along other points they raised. In fact, Bediuzzaman had wanted The Key to Belief Collection to be printed rather than The Supreme Sign, but he wrote in a Ietter than he was "profoundly happy" at the student who had had it printed, Tahiri Mutlu's, other great service to the Risale-i Nur, and "expected from Divine Mercy" chat the attention drawn to The Supreme Sign in this way would in the future result in the victories it deserved.
 
· The True Nature of the Case
 
These months of The trial in Denizli Prison were truly a testing for Bediuzzaman and his students. In addition to the physical distress and hardship, it was clear certain forces within the Government were working for Bediuzzaman's execution and that of a number of his leading students. Their situation was one of extreme uncertainty. Besides the severe criticism of the first committee set up to examine the Risale-i Nur, Bediuzzaman mentions the attacks made on them by the Education Minister and his publishing a manifesto against them. This Minister, Hasan Ali Yiicel, was a wellknown communist. The Prime Minister, Sukru Saraçoglu, who was also directly concerned with the case, also worked in league with communist organizations. Furthermore, since it was really the Risale-i Nur that was on trial, both Bediuzzaman's defence and those of his students were defences of the Risale-i Nur. And so, while for the most part Bediuzzaman's tone in his defence was mild and reasoning, when it came to exposing the plots against the Risale-i Nur, which were the cause of the trial, his words were anything but mild, despite the precariousness of their own position.
It was this external pressure brought to bear on the case and the fact that the law was clearly being used as a shield and a means of suppressing religion by forces whose aim it was to establish communism in 'Turkey that led Bediuzzaman to inform his students in a letter that "the real cause of the widespread and significant assault and aggression" against them was not the Fifth Ray, but The Key to Belief and Hüccetü’l-Baliga (The Eloquent Proof ) and Hizbü’l-Nuri. These works with their convincing proofs of the truths of belief had defeated irreligion. Thus, "because the atheists had been unable to protect their way of absolute unbelief against the blows of these two keen diamond swords", they had shown the Fifth Ray as an apparent reason and deceived the Government into moving against them.
Bediuzzaman's response to these covert moves to subvert the course of justice show what a brilliant tactician he was, and also his extraordinary grasp of the situation, although he had been for several months in total isolation in the prison. He took them by storm. He had sent to seven departments of government copies of The Fruits of Belief and the defence speeches in the new letters, and all the parts of the Risale-i Nur to the Ministry of Justice. And then, when the Education Minister launched his attack at them, Bediuzzaman sensed that this was out of fear and had sent to that Ministry four boxes of various parts of the Risale-i Nur. In another letter, urging his students to contain themselves in patience during these long drawn out proceedings, he pointed out what an event it was, the Risale-i Nur being read by those who most fervently supported the Ataturk regime, at that time when
"love for that fearsome dead man was being inculcated into the people, in all schools and departments", which would have had grim consequences for the Islamic world. At the very least, the Risale-i Nur would moderate their absolute unbelief and so lessen the attacks on them
 
· The Acquittal
 
Then, when the situation of Bediuzzaman and his students seemed most grim and they were expecting Ankara to act most severely towards them, Bediuzzaman's move proved successful and a relatively soft and even conciliatory position was taken. And on 22 April, 1944, the committee set up to examine the Risale-i Nur presented their unanimous report to the Ankara Criminal Court. Their findings were positive to a degree far exceeding all expectations. They were forwarded to Denizli and a copy of the report reached Bediuzzaman.
The report stated that 90% of the Risale-i Nur was formed of scholarly explanations of the truths of belief, and that these parts "did not part at all from the way of scholarship and principles of religion." There was nothing in these to suggest religion being exploited, a society being formed, or that there was a movement that would disturb public order. Bediuzzaman wrote in a letter to his students:
"It is a manifestation of Dominical favour and instance of Divine succour and preservation that as I have heard, the committee of experts in Ankara has been defeated in the face of the truths of the Risale-i Nur, and that while there were numerous reasons for their severe criticisms and objections they have quite simply given the decision for its acquittal."
Almost as though to placate those in high places opposing the Risale-i Nur, the committee stated that the treatises marked as confidential, which they described as being "unscholarly", had in part been written when Bediuzzaman was in a state of "mental excitement, ecstasy or spiritual turmoil", and that he should not therefore be held responsible for them. They wrote also that "there was a possibility he suffered from hallucinations in regard to hearing and sight." As Bediuzzaman pointed out in the letter he described these to his students, the rest of the Risale-i Nur was sufficient to refute such allegations. They showed as evidence for this titles like The Thirty-three Windows ('The Thirty-Third Letter), the fact that Bediuzzaman heard his cat reciting the Divine Name, "Most Compassionate One!", and that in another treatise he saw himself as a gravestone!!
In addition, the committee put forward fifteen objections on scholarly grounds. These Bediuzzaman answered and showed to be errors on the part of The committee. The final and longest answers and corrections he presented to the Court on 31 May, 1944, the day the Prosecutor made his final observations and summing-up, and put forward his requests for the sentences.
On 16 June, 1944, the Court reached its decision, Number 199-136. Largely on the strength of the committee's report, it announced its unanimous decision for the acquittal of all the prisoners and their immediate release. The Prosecutor insisted on the sentences he was demanding, and so The case was sent to the Appeal Court in Ankara. The request was denied and on 30 December, 1944. it confirmed the verdict of the Denizli Court.
 
· The Sehir Hotel
 
When Bediuzzaman and his students emerged from the Court, the people of Denizli greeted them with cheers and cries of "Long live justice!", and accompanied them to the prison where they collected their belongings. Outside the prison was like a festival. A string of phaetons came from the town to collect them. They were the guests of Denizli. The people look them into their houses in small groups and offered them the best of whatever they had. A merchant called Haci Mustafa Kocayaka. chosen by the people, had a large sum of money to distribute among Bediuzzaman’s students, but none ; was accepted. And when they went to the station, he and many of the town’s notables came to assist them and see them off onto their trains. Bediuzzaman and the Risale-i Nur had conquered the town.
On leaving the prison, Bediuzzaman moved to a room with fine views on the top floor of the Sehir Hotel in the town, where he was to remain for one and a half months. within one or two days, all his students had dispersed, returning to their home towns and villages. As soon as he was settled, vast numbers of people came to visit him, live hundred or so daily to start with. Then a number continued their visits. Ankara was notified of these. One was a teacher from Erzurum, called Nureddin Topçu, who had drawn the wrath of the notorious Education Minister, Hasan Ali Yücel, on himself with some writings, and had been posted to Denizli by way of a punishment. Part of his interesting account of his visits to Bediuzzaman in the Sehir Hotel is as follows:
"His name was to be heard everywhere in the town; everyone was talking about him... After the acquittal, he settled in a room on the top floor of the Sehir Hotel and was staying there. He was under very close surveillance. Those who visited him were followed in the same way and their names taken. They could only slay with him a very short time. and came out immediately." Nureddin Topçu used to visit him during the time of the evening meal when there was no one about and he could stay half an hour or so. He also knew the two teachers who had been appointed to produce the first `experts' report for Denizli Court. Evidently they were completely without religion and most undesirable characters. He was impressed by Bediuzzaman's forgiving them, and offering to call them to religion:
"Bediuzzaman was a truly great person; he said that he forgave them. It was a great virtue to be able to forgive those who had worked against him in a way that would have lead to his execution.
"He was a man of action, enterprising. He used to talk to everybody. He would explain his cause. He wasn't one for diffidence or hanging back...
"They brought the evening meal; it was a lavish spread. He returned it to the waiter who brought it and told him to give it to the poor. He had some olives with him, and ate bread and olives. He said: `One loaf lasts me two weeks.' He had a samovar with which he used to make tea, and he used to offer me some. He had just been released from prison. There was nothing in his room by way of belongings, only his works, both hand-written and in the form of proofs. Thousands of his hand-written books were being passed around from hand to hand. They were being written everywhere, in the villages and towns; everywhere copies of the Risale-i Nur were being written out. That was a heartening time; like the time the sun rises.
"Around that time I went to the village of Giiveçli near Denizli... His works were being written out in every house, in all the villages around... tens of thousands of pages... such was the eagerness and zeal...
"He had a very manly and bold manner. His courage and excellence were immense. Then the things his brilliant mind discovered were extraordinary. He met disasters with patience and resignation. He had given himself to Allah. As a matter of a fact, those works of his were all the product of these things. All Denizli was filled with an eagerness and enthusiasm. Friend and foe alike were struck with admiration for him. Denizli's night had turned into day. He had conquered it..."
Nevertheless Bediuzzaman himself felt keenly his being parted from his students and brothers. Above all Hafiz Ali's death in prison had caused him great sorrow. The first thing did on being released was to visit his grave. Selahaddin Çelebi was also present and he recalled how after the Qur'an being recited and Bediuzzaman offering a sad prayer, Bediuzzaman raised his hand and said: "This martyr was a star." Involuntarily all those present raised their heads and in the sky a single star was shining.
Bediuzzaman described his state of mind as follows in the Tenth Topic of The Fruits of Belief:
"After our release from Denizli Prison, I was staying on the top floor of the famous Sehir Hotel. The most subtle and graceful dancing of the leaves, branches and trunks of the many poplar trees in the fine gardens opposite me, each with a rapturous and ecstatic motion like a circle of dervishes at the touching of the breeze, pained my heart, sorrowful and melancholy at being parted from my brothers and remaining alone. Suddenly the seasons of autumn and winter came to mind and a heedlessness overcame me. I so pitied those graceful poplars and living creatures swaying with perfect joyousness that my eyes filled with tears. With this reminder of the separations and non-being beneath the ornamented veil of the universe, the grief at a world-full of deaths and separations pressed down on me. Then suddenly, the light the Muhammedan (PBUH) truth had brought came to my assistance and transformed that grief and sorrow into joy... Just when they had turned the world into a sort of hell and the reason into an instrument of torture, the light Muhammed (Peace and blessings be upon him) had brought as a gift for mankind raised the veil; it showed in place of extinction, non-being, nothingness, purposeless, futility, and separations, meanings and instances of wisdom to the number of the leaves of the poplars, and as is proved in the Risale-i Nur, results and duties which may be divided into three sorts..."
CHAPTER SIX
 EMIRDAG
 
 · Emirdag
 Bediuzzaman had been a month a half in the Sehir Hotel in Denizli when the order came from Ankara that he was to reside in the province of Afyon, still in western Anatolia, to the north-east of Denizli. A letter written by the Denizli businessman, Hafiz Mustafa Kocayaka to Sadik Demirelli, who had sent Bediuzzaman some Kastamonu rice, dated 31 July, 1944, states that Bediuzzaman had left that day in the company of a police inspector. He was in good health and content at the prospect of the move. The Government had ordered that he be given the generous travelling allowance of four hundred liras. Bediuzzaman was put up in the Ankara Hotel in Afyon for two to three weeks and then ordered to settle in Emirdag. Thus, Bediuzzaman arrived in this small provincial town set in high rolling hills towards the end of August 1944. It was to be his place of residence for the next seven years, till October 1951, with the break of twenty months in Afyon Prison from January 1948 to September 1949. Since it was in the month of Saban that he arrived in Emirdag, it was before the 21 August, on which the month of Ramazan began that year.
 
· Introduction
 
The first three and a half years of Bediuzzaman's stay in Emirdag saw an intensification of his struggle with the forces of irreligion, which up to this time had felt themselves to be in an unassailable position in Turkey. The acquittal in Denizli had taken them entirely by surprise, in the words of one writer, exploding like a bomb-shell so that they did not know what had hit them. It was a clear victory for the Risale-i Nur and religion, and a forerunner of its future victories. The fruits of Bediuzzaman's twenty years of silent struggle with the forces of irneligion were starting to show.
Quite contrary to the intentions of those who had instigated the case, the widespread publicity of the Denizli trials and imprisonment of Bediuzzaman and the Risale-i Nur Students led directly to a considerable expansion in activities connected with the Risale-i Nur. While up to this time, activity had been mainly concentrated in two or three areas, now many thousands of people in different areas of Turkey became its students and began to serve it and the cause of the Qur'an in various ways. In addition to this, in 1946 or '47 two of the first duplicating machines to come to Turkey were bought by Students and one set up in Isparta and the other in Inebolu, with the result that copies of the Risale-i Nur were now available on a far wider scale then previously. This greatly increased spread of the Risale-i Nur following on after the acquittals further infuriated the enemies of religion and drove them to embark on a series of plots and plans in their attempts to stop it. The basic aim of these was to make both the local government and Ankara feel sufficiently apprehensive about Bediuzzaman and the Risale-i Nur movement to act against them once a again. One result of this was that all the attention was focused on Bediuzzaman himself and constraints on him increased. Thus, despite the fact that he had been acquitted by Denizli Court and the Risale-i Nur had been cleared, the surveillance under which he was held was even stricter than previously, and the illegal harassment and ill-treatment more severe. However Bediuzzaman wrote to his students that he accepted this "with pride" as it meant it was his person that was concentrated on and harassed rather than the Risale-i Nur or its other students; it allowed them to continue their service of it relatively unmolested.
 
A further reason of this intensification of the ideological battle between belief and unbelief at this time, culminating in Bediuzzaman's and a number of his students's arrest and detention in Afyon Prison, was related to the changing conditions in Turkey, and may be attributed to the fact that, with increased American influence after the end of the Second World War and moves towards democracy and more religious freedom, those working for the cause of irreligion increased their attacks somewhat in desperation as they felt the ground slipping away from under their feet, which up to that time had felt so firm.
Thus, on the one hand, the struggle with irreligion was pursued with greatly increased publication and dissemination of the Risale-i Nur, and in addition, Bediuzzaman followed up the advantage he had gained by the Denizli acquittals, also benefiting from the favourable impressions made in official circles by the copies of the Risale-i Nur sent from Denizli, by sending ‘petitions’ to various high officials and members of the Government informing them of the real nature of this struggle and the vital role the Risale-i Nur had to play in saving the country from the anarchy into which it was being pushed by forces working for the causes of communism, freemasonry and Zionism, and also informing them of the illegal treatment he was suffering at the hands of some officials.
 
· Arrival in Emirdag
Bediuzzaman arrived in Emirdag on a hot August evening, shortly before sunset. A small group of people were sitting drinking tea in front of the Government Building when a bus arrived in a cloud of dust from the direction of Afyon. Among them was the Government Doctor, who also acted as District Settlement Officer, Dr. Tahir Barçin. He saw the unusual sight of someone wearing turban and gown alight, escorted by two gendarmes. And even stranger, this elderly person in his seventies set about looking for a suitable spot, and on learning the direction of the kible, spread out the prayer-mat he was carrying, and performed the afternoon prayers, something unheard of at that time of religious persecution. It was a happy moment for the doctor, who as a young medrese student in Istanbul in 1922, had seen Bediuzzaman in Fatih Mosque, for he became a close student of Bediuzzaman's in Emirdag, and when posted to Bitlis in eastern Turkey in 1945 for a year, played an important role in introducing the Risale-i Nur to Bediuzzaman's native region, where many people thought he had not survived his exile.
 
As in each place he was sent, Bediuzzaman attracted students who served him loyally, unhesitatingly sacrificing themselves and their property and position for him and the Risale-i Nur. In Emirdag it was the Çali?kan family who took it on themselves to see to his needs and assist him. One of these six brothers, Hasan, was Bediuzzaman's first visitor in Emirdag. Thereafter, they and their families attended to all his personal needs, such as sending his food, for which he always paid, as well as doing everything necessary for the work of the Risale-i Nur to continue. In 1945, Bediuzzaman adopted as his `spiritual son', Ceylan, the exceptionally intelligent twelve-year-old son of Mehmed Çaliskan. He remained with Bediuzzaman, and in future years became one of the leading students of the Risale-i Nur.
 
The house that was found for Bediuzzaman was in the centre of the town, in a busy street near the police station and Municipal Buildings. With the guards posted permanently at his door and windows, it was extremely difficult to visit him. At one point when even the boy Ceylan was forbidden to assist him, the Çaliskan's made a hole into Bediuzzaman's house from the neighbouring shop, in order to reach him. One of the immediate reasons for the renewed vigour of the repressive measures taken against him, was that he refused the offers of a pension that the Government now made him. On the acquittals, initially they had planned to follow a new line in order to silence Bediuzzaman; they planned to buy him off by offering him a regular pension, to build him a house according to his own specifications and also sent him the travelling allowance mentioned above. After due consideration, Bediuzzaman wrote by way of consulting his students, that in order not to break his life-long rule, and also to preserve sincerity, he had refused these offers. The authorities were annoyed at his, and stepped up their harassment as a result. Life became so hard for him that he also wrote that he suffered in one day in Emirdag what he had suffered in a month a Denizli Prison.
As far as he was able, Ceylan attended to Bediuzzaman's needs in the house, such as making his tea and writing out his letters. As ever Bediuzzaman like to spend as much time as possible in the countryside, particularly in the spring and summer, and would walk out into the open stone-wall country around Emirdag taking copies of the Risale-i Nur to be corrected with him. He was always followed and watched by a number of gendarmes. Later when the burden of work became too heavy, the Çaliskan's eventually found a light horse-drawn carriage for him, called a phaeton, which Bediuzzaman then travelled in, usually taking just one student with him as driver. It became a familiar sight in the area. Despite his preoccupation and the efforts to isolate him, Bediuzzaman always concerned himself with all those he encountered. The children of Emirdag and surrounding villages would flock round him and run after the phaeton whenever they saw it, shouting: "Hoca Dede!" "Grandpa Hoca!" Bediuzzaman always acted very kindly towards them, saying that they were the Risale-i Nur Students of the future. And just as he captivated them, so too he drew the people from every class that he met while driving round the country. He would tell the shepherds, workers, farmers, or whomever he met: "This work you do is of great service to others; so long as you perform the prescribed prayers five times a day, all of it will be like worship and benefit you in the hereafter."
The guidance and close concern Bediuzzaman offered these people had considerable effect, for large numbers of those children did become Students of the Risale-i Nur in the future and serve the cause of religion and the Qur'an, and so also in addition to the people in the countryside who benefited, in Emirdag itself the honesty and uprightness of the shopkeepers, traders, and craftsmen became well-known. A plainclothes policeman sent to spy on Bediuzzaman in 1947, even, remarked on this, when, while buying some butter, he saw the shopkeeper weigh the paper separately. In his words, "It was Bediuzzaman that made Emirdag like this!"
 
 
· The Risale-i Nur
· !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
If Hafiz Mustafa had written to Sadik Bey from Denizli that Bediuzzaman had left in good health, Bediuzzaman described himself as being extremely ill, weak and wretched when a short time later he was settled in his house in Emirdag in the month of Ramazan. It was poison that caused him to write to his students in Isparta, which he so loved his first letter from Emirdag, that it was only their prayers that had saved him from "the severe illness" he had suffered. Notwithstanding his wretched state - indeed perhaps because of it, since many parts of the Risale-i Nur were written when Bediuzzaman was suffering severe illness or distress - Bediuzzaman wrote the `Tenth Matter' of the Fruits of Belief, the first nine of which had been written in Denizli Prison. "An extremely powerful reply to objections raised about repetition in the Qur'an", he wrote that he reckoned he had been inspired to write it because of "dissemblers, who, like silly children trying to extinguish the sun of the Qur'an by blowing at it", were attempting to have the Qur'an translated in order to discredit it, having "taken lessons" from "a most dreadful and obdurate atheist", by which he probably meant Mustafa Kemal. Bediuzzaman wrote also in the above-mentioned letter that he was sending them this '1 cnth Matter.
When writing tohis students in Isparta at the end of March the following year, Bediuzzaman told them that he was sending them "a further part of `The Fruit' concerning the Angels." This was the Eleventh and final part of the the Ela,enth Ray, the Fruits of Belief.ii The Risale-i Nur was approaching its completion at this time. With the exception of Elhüccetü'z-Zehra written in Afyon Prison, The Fruits of Belief was the last main piece to be written, and subsequent to this the Risale-i Nur was largely published in the form of collections.
At this time, the battle against atheism and unbelief was for the main part carried out with two collections, the Staff of Moses (Asd-yi MAsa) and Zülfikar. The first part of the Staff of Moses consisted of the eleven parts of the Fruits of Belief, and second, of eleven pieces from various parts of the Risale-i Nur, including the First Station of the Supreme Sign and the Treatise on Nature. Zülfikar consisted of the Nineteenth Letter, the Miracles of Muhammed, and the Twenty-Fifth Word, the Miraculousness of the Qur'an. Also, printed in 1947 in Eskisehir was A Guide for Youth, the collection mentioned in a previous chapter made up largely of pieces written originally for the schoolboys who became Bediuzzaman's students in Kastamonu.
 
The case of Bediuzzaman and his students at Denizli had been sent to the Appeal Court in Ankara on the Prosecutor's demanding the acquittals be quashed. The Appeal Court however had upheld the just decision of the Denizli judges, reaching their unanimous decision on 30 December,1944. This decision was arinounced on 15 February,1945. Thus, with all these legal delays it was not till 29 June,1945, that the Denizli lawyer acting for Bediuzzaman, Ziya Stinmez, was able to collect Bediuzzaman's books and copies of the R isale-i Nur. Hafiz Mustafa then brought them to Emirdag to hand over to Bediuzzaman.i2
Legally there was no obstacle now for the publication and free distribution of the Risale-i Nur. In addition, since the Denizli trials, the demand for it had greatly increased. All over Turkey people were seeking the Risale-i Nur. It was at this point while Students in the Isparta and Kastamonu areas, Denizli and other places were working llat out writing out by hand copies of the Staff of Moses and Zülfikar, and other parts of the Risale-i Nur, that in 1946 or '47 the Çelebi's and other Risale-i Nur Students in İnebolu bought one of the first duplicating machines to come to 'Ibrkey. When it was seen that this was successful, Tahiri Mutlu came from Isparta to see it and then returned there via Istanbul, where he bought a second one. These two machines gready facilitated the spread of the Risale-i Nur. The machines were bought and run by the Students, who with considerable sacrifice, pooled their resources, and were later finaneed from the sale of the books produced. They were used for the one a half to two years till the arrests preceding the Afyon trials and imprisoriment at the start of 1948.
The main parts of the Risale-i Nur to be duplicated on these machines by the Students were, The Staff of Moses, Zülfikar, The Illuminating Lamp, The Ratifying Stamp of the Unseen, A Guide for Youth, and The Short Words. In addition to these collections were thousands of copies of other parts of the Risale-i Nur and the numerous letters Bediuzzaman wrote his students at this time directing these activities and on various subjects. At the same time, the writing out by hand both of these collections. others parts of the Risale-i Nur and Bediuzzaman's letters continued at full pace. Certain collections, mainly A Guide for Youth and The Staff of Moses were now reproduced for the first time in the new Latin alphabet in order to make them immediately available to the younger generation. However, "Since an important function of the Risale-i Nur" was "the preservation of the Arabic script, that of the vast majority of the Islamic world",'3 for the greater part it continued to be reproduced in that alphabet.
 
This much expanded activity was to have far-reaching results, for at this time, the Risale-i Nur found new students among the younger generation
 
who were to be important igures in the Nur movement in later years. That the Risale-i Nur answers in particular the needs of those whose ideas have been iritluenced by materialist philosophy was proved by the fact that it now began to draw people from among university students and teachers, and from among those who had been through the educational system of the Republic. Among these was the teacher in a Village Institute, Mustafa Sungur, who became one of Bediuzzaman's closest and most important students, and his
"spiritual son". Also was Mustafa Ramazanoglu, a university student, and Zübeyir Gündüzalp, who was a Post Office official and frst visited Bediuzzaman in 1946. Although Bediuzzaman appointed no successor, since, as he said, the true `üstad' of thi· Risale-i Nur movement was its `collective personality', Zübeyir Gündüzalp was to emerge as one of its leaders after 1960.
In addition, at this time the Risale-i Nur began slowly to spread to the Islamic world. This was assisted when after 1947 it became possible to go on the Hajj. Copies of some of the collections were sent to el-Ezher in Egypt, to Damascus, and Medina,l4 and some were given to a Kashmiri religious scholar who agreed to convey them to the Indian ulema.is
So also Salahaddin Çelebi in İnebolu - Bediuzzaman called him Abdurrahman Salahaddin - struck up relations witti some American missionaries and over a period of months read them The Staff of Moses and Zülfikar Collections, and gave them copies.'6
In connection with this, in the face of the growing threat of communism described in the following section, with his extraordinarily clear-sighted view of the future, in accordance with certain Hadith, Bediuzzaman advocated co-operation between truly religious Christians against this threat. He wrote: "In connection with Selahaddin giving the American The Staff of Moses, we say this:
"It is essential that missionaries and Christian clergy as well as Nurcus are extremely careful, for certainly, with the idea of defending itself against the attacks of the religions of Islam and Christianity, the current from the North will try to destroy the accord of Islam and the missionaries..."1·is
 
· Conditions
The writing of the Risale-i Nur, then, was virtually complete within a few months of Bediuzzaman's coming to Emirdag, and a large part of his time here was spent in correcting the copies sent to him of the Risale-i Nur, both handwritten and duplicated - this work even sometimes taking part of the time he set apart each day for worship and contemplation. In many of his letters directing his students' activities, together with encouraging them and insisting on the eontinued importance of the handwritten copies, he urged them to pay attention to writing out the pieces accurately, so as to assist him in this laborious and time-consuming task. So too he constantly urged caution on them, and to act circumspectly, aware that their enemies were always seeking ways of halting their work.
Bediuzzaman's three and a years in Emirdag were truly tortuous for him. This is also clear from his letters. So also the people of Emirdag and his students testified to the entirely unlawful and vindictive treatment and harassment he received. He was approaching seventy years of age when he arrived and suffered perpetual ill-health, largely due to his periods in prison, the frequent times he had been poisoned, and his long years of exile and deprivation.
The aim on the one hand was to keep him under a cloud of suspicion and guilt so as to destroy his influence over the people. The isolation in which he was held and constant and oppressive surveillance were to this end, in addition to numerous incidents intended to belittle him in the eyes of the people. Arid when after Bediuzzaman had been in Emirdag a short time, he started to draw the people to him like in Denizli - in his words: "With the same situation starting here as in Denizli where on account of the Risale-i Nur, the people showed me regard far greater than was my due"i9 - they increased the pressure on him and used official influence to conduct a propaganda campaign against him, so as to frighten the people off and keep them away from him.
 
Secondly, "the dissemblers" employed various plans and stratagems in order to provoke "an incident", so that Bediuzzaman could be accused nf
"causing a disturtiance and harming public order" and the aulhorities could be made to come down on him with excessive force. The constant pressure under which he was held. the assaults on his person, in particular on the pretext of his dress, and the raids on his house were to this end. In essence, these methods were no different to previously, just they again failed, what was different in Emirdag was their frequency and severity.
 
The underlying reasons for the intensifcation of Bediuzzaman's stniggle against irreligion and the increase in the attempts to silence him and halt the
 
spread of the Risale-i Nur may be found again in Bediuzzaman's letters, and from looking at his life.
In 1945, probably after the acquittals had been ratified and the confiscated copies of the Risale-i Nur returned, and before the duplicating machines were obtained, efforts were made to have printed, like The Supreme Sign, further parts of the Risale-i Nur. The debate was now over the alphabet to be used, the old or the new. In consultation with his students in Isparta, Bediuzzaman decided to send Tahiri Mutlu to Istanbul, to have printed in the new letters, the Staff of Moses, and in the old, Zülfikar.2o However, their enemies got wind of this important step and prompted various authorities to move against them and seize copies of the Risale-i Nur. For this reason, these two collections were not printed at that time. In a further letter, Bediuzzaman explained "an important reason" for their decision to print part of the Risale-i Nur in the new letters, although, contrary to their intention, to do so "as though put the Risale-i Nur in an offensive position."
Bediuzzaman wrote that the time had come or would shortly come to print the Risale-i Nur, that is, publish it on a large scale, "in order to repulse two fearsome calamities which were threatening the eountry, of which it was "a sort of saviour".
One of these calamities was communism, against the racing tide of which the Risale-i Nur "could perfomi the function of a Qur'anic barrier", while the second was "the severe objections" levelled at the Turkish people by the Islamic world, from which since the founding of the Republic, it had drawn away; The Risale-i Nur was "a miracle of the Qur'an" that could be the means of restoring former love and brotherhood.2i
Bediuzzaman considered the threat to the 'Itirkish nation of these "calamities" to be so real that not only did he consider that rather than trying to suppress the Risale-i Nur, "patriotic politicians" should have it published of ficially in order to counter the threat, but also, unlike the previous twenty yeas of his exile and captivity, he wrote letters and petitions to high government offcials describing their nature and severity, and possible dire consequences, and urging them to counter them by returning to Islam and publishing the Risale-i Nur.
In essence this was a continuation of the same struggle he had been pursuing since his youth, for Islam and the Qur'an to be accepted by the country's rulers as the source of true progress and civilization, rather than the West and its philosophy. On coming to power after the War of Independence, Ataturk had adopted the path of Westemization, which had already been followed to some degree for over a century. Only, his aim was total
 
Westemization, and demanded the eradication of Islam, as we have seen. What emerged was a battle between belief and unbelief. Up to this time during his years of exile, Bediuzzaman's role in this battle had been `defensive'; he had written numbers of treatises explaining and proving the basic truths of belief which were then subject to fierce attacks in the name of science, philosophy, and atheism. He had sought to defend Islam and belief against these orchestrated onslaughts which had been conducted on many fronts: the press, and publications of all sorts, education in schools, adult education programmes. and so on. In a very low key and unobtrusive manner, Bediuzzaman's treatises, the Risale-i Nur, had been passed from hand to hand among the ordinary people, had been copied out by hand, and by degrees, had spread till by 1945 he and the Risale-i Nur had many thousands of followers all over Turkey.
Now, in 1945, as a consequence of the path that had been taken by Ataturk, Bediuzzaman saw that the 'Iirkish nation was in great danger: having been broken off from its natural support of the Islamic world in addition to being divorced and alienated from its own true identity of Islâii, it would be unable to withstand and counter the devious plans of the forces of unbelief, which step by step were being put into practice and would finally destroy it. The Turkish nation could only withstand these designs on it through the strength of the Qur'an. Thus, it was at this point that Bediuzzaman took on a role that could be interpreted as "offensive", by attempting to pub?ish the Risale-i Nur in the new alphabet and on a large scale.
At the same time Bediuzzaman was not working against the Govemment and established order. On the contrary. it was stability and social order that he was aiming to preserve in the face of the two outside currents or "calamities" mentioned above and those working for them within the country that were seeking to destroy public order, destabilize the country and create anarchy. And he wrote a number of `open letters' and petitions to various members of the Govemment and govemment departments in order to alert them to the dangers.
Onc such letter was to Hilmi Uran, Interior Minister until October,1946, then General Secretary of the Republican People's Party. In it Bediuzzaman described the two currents, pointing out the inseparable nature of Islam and the Turkish nation and the grave error in trying to replace Islam by "civilization", that is, uprooting religion and imposing philosophy and irreligion. One of these currents was composed of the forces seeking to split up and divide the Islamic world. Through what Bediuzzaman described as "atheistic committees", (zindika komitesi), "secret organizations", and "the forces of corruption", it was seeking to establish "absolute unbelief' in order to create enmity towards the 'Iirkish nation, "the heroic brother and commander of the Islamic world", and for relations to be cut between them. Bediuzzaman
 
told Hilmi Uran that "if in place of the propaganda of civilization to the detriment of religion, you do not work to spread directly the truths of belief and the Qur'an", the 'Iyirkish nation would fall prey to the anarchy underlying that absolute unbelief; it would fall apart and disintegrate, and would be
"overwhelmed by the fearsome monster that has emerged in the North." Communism, the other current, formed a real threat at that time. Having ovemin all eastem Europe, its overwhelming presence to the North and aggressive stance towards 'Iirkey pushed 'Ibrkey to join the West. So too within Turkey, since the establishment of the Republic, Moscow and its agents and sympathizers had been working for its spread. This other "destructive" current of unbelief was also trying to create anarchy. Bediuzzaman pointed out in the above letter that it would only be halted by the Qur'an and the 'Iirkish nation which was "fused with Islam and was one with it."2
It was with these covert forces working on behalf of the first cuirent above, "the secret committees" and "atheistic organization whose roots are abroad", that Bediuzzaman had been struggling with since before the setting up of the Republic, even since the days of the Constitutional Revolution. Seeing Bediuzzaman as their greatest obstacle to spreading irreligion in Turkey and degenerating its people, they had employed every device and stratagem to have him silenced. Some of these had resulted in the trials and imprisonment. Others were the attempts to poison him. Now in Emirdag, their plans lricluded mobilizing govemment intluence against Bediuzzaman by means of certain officials.23
With regard to communism, in addition to the extemal threat, it had gained considerable strength within the country since İnönif came to power on Ataturk's death in 1938. The policies he followed favoured its spread, and through such means as the setting up in 1940 of `village institutes' for the training of teachers, foresaw its eventual establishment. He had ties with Soviet Russia and in addition appointed communist sympathiers to high of fice, such as ?ükril Saraçoglu, Prime Minister from 9 July,1943 to 5 August, 1946, and Hasan Ali Yücel, the Education Minister. These two were personally involved in Bediuzzaman's and his students' arrest prior to the Denizli trials. The Kaymakam, Abdülkadir Uraz, especially appointed to Emirda by the Interior Minister in 1945 in order to exert pressure on Bediuzzaman was a socialist. When forced by the threat of Russian aggression to tum to the West, İnönü was obliged to take the path of democracy, liberalization, leading to greater religious freedom; this also drove those secretly working for this cause to increase their efforts to silence Bediuzzaman and halt the spread of the Risale-i Nur.
 
Together with the problems and moral decline these two currents had already caused in 'Ilirkey, Bediuzzaman saw the real dangers to lie in the future. Just as twenty years previously his foreseeing the present situation had made him withdraw entirely from politics in order to find a solution to this
"calamity" that he saw would occur. He described this in a letter to "the Minister of Justice and Judges of the Courts concemed with the Risale-i Nur", urging them "to protect the Risale-i Nur and its Students" instead of striving against them, as the solution lay there. He pointed out to them that just as the results of "the libertarians" of some thirty years previously advocating a loosening of the constraints of religion and its morality were now apparent, so too that present situation would result in fifty years' time in a fearful moral degeneration and dissolution of society. For, "Muslims do not resemble others; a Muslim who abandons religion and departs from the high moral character of Islam falls into absolute unbelief, becomes an anarchist and can no longer be govemed."
Bediuzzaman argued that the "moral and spiritual" (mâneviJ destruction of these forces could only be halted and countered by the truths of the Qur'an and belief. Issuing from the Qur'an, the Risale-i Nur was "a repairer of the strength of an atom bomb" and "a Qui'anic barrier" before those forces. The law and processes of justice could not arrest them with their "material" penalties. Neither could politics or diplomacy. Thus, in his letters both to his students and departments of govemment, Bediuzzaman stressed the importance of "politicians and patriots embracing the Risale-i Nur." Similarly, he frequently pointed out that it was these forces, who were themselves attempting to destroy order and create anarchy and thus were conspiring against the country, that continuously endeavoured to create incidents and have Bediuzzaman and his students accused of the same thing. Whereas as had been established by courts of law, the Risale-i Nur and its Students protected the bases of public order, preserved security and prevented subversion and sedition.26 And he wrote to the Afyon Police Headquarters: "In the near future, this country and its Government will have intense need of works like the Risale-i Nur."7
 
· Increased Harossment and Prelude to Afyon
The swift spread of the Risale-i Nur over the three and a half years from 1944 to the beginning of 1948 and Bediuzzaman intensifying his struggle against the forces of unbelief by putting the case of the Risale-i Nur directly to the authorities and urging them to consider the seriousness of the situation
 
RSI
 
I alhad this `the ile-i i of that IvoPART TWO - CHAPTER SIX 303
 
drove the enemies of religion to increase their pressure on him and the other Risale-i Nur Students as pait of a wider plan to halt their activities. This culminated in the third and worst imprisonment on a large scale of Bediuzzaman and his students.
Sometime towards the end of 1947, the President, tsmet Inönü, visited Af yon and gave a speech, following which the pressure and harassment on Bediuzzaman were increased.s During his visit, he was reported to have said that "it is reckoned a disturliance connected with religion will break out in this province." Bediuzzaman wrote in a letter that this pointed to the large scale of the corispiracy against them, and that - as previously - the aim of the harassment inflicted on him was "to provoke an incident and disturbance.'n9
Following this, the police moved against Risale-i Nur Students in the provinces of Isparta, Kastamonu, Konya, and many other places. Houses were searched, enquiries were made.3o
At the same time, Bediuzzaman was subjected to a series of entirely unlawful raids, assaults, and harassment. It is clear by this "making numerous mountains out of one molehill" that it was leading up to further arrests. On the orders of the Interior Minister, the Govemor of Afyon and Chief of Police came to Emirdag at night with the intention of searching Bediuzzaman's house. On the Public Prosecutor not agreeing, they waited till the moming then appointed two men to break the lock on the door and made a forceable entrance.31 These two officials, that is, the Governor and Police Chief came five times over a period of ten days. On searching Bediuzzaman's house they found nothing, but took his Qur'an and some sheets written in the Arabic script. Two gendaimes were ordered to take Bediuzzaman to the police station. Having failed to anger him by raiding his house, they now tried again to provoke an incident by attempting to make a spectacle of Bediuzzaman by trying forceably to remove his turban and make him wear a hat in public when taking him to give his statement. They again failed. Bediuzzaman wrote:
"Endless thanks be to Almighty God for He bestowed on me a state of mind by which I would have sacrificed my self respect and dignity a thousand times for the unfortunate people of this country, and repulsed calamities from them; I decided to endure what they did and the insults and abuse they intended. I am ready to sacrifice my life and dignity a thousand times over for the security of this nation, and the worldly tranquillity and happiness in the next life of particularly innocent children, respected elderly, and the unfortunate ill and poor..."
 
28. Bilal, Mustafa, in Son ahiiler, iv, 20. 29. Emirdag Lahikasi, i,156. 30. Tarihçe, 473-4. 31. Emirdag Lahikasi, i, 2?0.
 
That day and the following day when Bediuzzaman went out in his phaeton into the country suirounding Emirdag, he was followed by fve aircraft.32 It may be imagined how all this intimidated the people of the town.
Now, at the beginning of 1948, Bediuzzaman was repeatedly summoned to the police station and Govemment Building to give statements and in such a way as to insult and degrade him. On one occasion, although ill and over seventy years old, he was kept standing for four hours while being asked facile and meaningless questions. As during the Denizli episode, that night were four severe earth tremors, the epicentre of which was Emirdag.33,3a
As part of the build-up of this plan of the authorities to halt the spread of the Risale-i Nur, three plainclothes police were sent to Emirdag from Afyon to watch Bediuzzaman, establish who his students were, and leam their activities.3s The senior policeman of the group, Abdurrahman Akgül, related his experiences in some detail to Necmeddin ?ahiner. A summary is as follows:
The three were briefed carefully, given false identities, and were to go entirely incognito with not even their families knowing where they were. Abdurrahman was wamed by the Police Chief not to annoy Bediuzzaman, for if he did, he would meet with trouble. The three arrived in Emirdag on 13 December,1947. ONy the Gendamie Chief there and Kaymakam knew who they were.
Having been shown where Bediuzzaman's house was, the three sat down in a cafe opposite and started to watch it. A short while later Bediuzzaman appeared at the door and some of his students came out. Abdurrahman commented on their youth. The students then came towards the cafe, spoke with the proprietor, and approached them. They told the three:
"Ustad sends you his greetings and wants to meet you."
The three police were dumbfounded, and trying to cover it up, pretended ignorance. Eventually Abdurrahman sent one of the other two, Hasan, with them. A while later, he retumed and related his experiences.
Bediuzzaman first asked him his name. Hasan replied:
"Ahmed."
To which Bediuzzaman said: "Look here, Ahmed. Promise me you'll tell the truth."
 
zn ii,:i noan· T .:i".e aNi
 
"I promise." Bediuzzaman continued:
"I received news that three police are being sent in order to investigate me. I have many students and friends. If you are those three police, say so, and I'll wam them so no harm comes to you."
Hasan remonstrated, insisting that they were not police.
The following day, the same thing happened. Only this time, Abdurrahman sent both the others. Bediuzzaman spoke to them conceming belief and the Qur'an. Then offered them some lokum, 'Iyirkish Delight, and gave them handwritten copies of The Staff of Moses and A Guide for Youth.
Abdurrahman related how the third policeman, Salih, had written out a memo stating that "Said Nursi got one of his students to buy some liquor from the grocer", but could get no one to sign it 36 Salih received his deserts for this: that night he himself drank too much, got into a fight and was beaten up. He was found unconscious lying in the gutter, with his revolver stolen. As a punishment, his superiors fined him three times the cost of the revolver, demoted him, and sent him elsewhere.
When it came to Bediuzzaman and his students being arrested, Abdurrahman described it like this:
"Whenever Bediuzzaman went out in Emirdag, all the people used to wait for him along his way, and he would greet them smiling. While we were there, the Govemor and Public Prosecutor came to Emirdag five or six times, and carried out searches. Finally one evening they gathered up ten people from their homes, and the [fve] others from their places of work. They collected Bediuzzaman the following moming, then took them altogether in the police bus to Afyon. And Buralar bozuk cikmis disketteki bozukluktan dolayi. Tekrar yazilmasi gerekiyor. nothing that was harmful at all."3
Although Abduirahman Akgül states above that Bediuzzaman and his studcnts remained three days in the hotel, since it was the 23 January when they were officially arrested and enten:d Afyon Prison, it was a week that the fifteen or so of them stayed there. During this time Students were rounded up in Isparta, Denizli, Afyon, Kastamonu and oLher places and brought to Afyon, making a total of fifty-four who underwent the preliminary questioning. This coincided with a spell of cold weather rarely experienced even in Afyon,3s which has its own micro-climate and where the temperature frequently drops lower than in other places.
CHAPTER SEVEN
AFYON
· Afyon Prison
Thus, Bediuzzaman and the Students of the Risale-i Nur entered their third School of Joseph (Medrese-i Yusufiye). And as previously they did transform it into a `school' through persisting in writing out copies of the Risale-i Nur and the long piece Bediuzzaman wrote, Elhüccetü'z-Zehra, and themselves studying and instructing other prisoners, despite the conditions, which in their harshness, far exceeded what they had experienced in Eskisehir and Denizli.
The years of despotic Republican People's Party rule were drawing to an end, already in 1946 the Democrat Party had been founded. As though to have a final strike at religion and Islam, to which they were now having to make concessions, they inflicted on Bediuzzaman, who virtually alone of all the leading religious figures in Turkey had not only persistently defied them but also with the Risale-i Nur had defeated them, twenty months of the most terrible imprisonment. That he survived the inhuman conditions as well as further attempts to poison him is a further indication that he was under Divine protection.
It is clear that Bediuzzaman and his students' imprisonment and conviction were a foregone conclusion. After the acquittals of the just court at Denizli, their enemies determined to have them convicted come what may, although this meant "being disrespectful to three major courts, slighting their honour and justice, and even insulting them."' For the charges were the same. There are a number of things which point to this. Firstly, as is pointed out in one description of life in Afyon Prison, it was stated "by a Prime Minister" in the Grand National Assembly during the debates on changes to the "elastic" Article 163 of the Criminal Code with a view to making it more comprehensive and carrying heavier penalties. that this would be applied directly against Said Nursi and his students.
Secondly, the following account of the Govemor of Afyon Prison, Mehmet Kayihan, shows that it was a foregone conclusion that Bediuzzaman would be imprisoned:
"...Since it had been established by the Government that Said Nursi was making `religious propaganda', a policeman called Sabri Banazli and some others were sent to Emirdag in civil clothes. One day Banazli came to the prison and said to me, `We'll be bringing you someone called Bediuzzaman soon.' Then some time after this they brought Said Nursi to the prison."
That is, he was informing the Govemor that Bediuzzaman was going to be sent to the prison before there having been any court proceedings or other formalities.
Then once inside the prison; Bediuzzaman was kept in strict isolation. Rules benefiting prisoners were not applied to him. He was allowed no visitors. He was denied assistance with and information about the court proceedings, and to hinder his defence, the Public Prosecutor held up giving Bediuzzaman the Ankara Experts' report for six or seven months, on which his own forty-six-page indictment was in part based .
In addition, the Prosecutor abused his office in various ways in efforts to indict Bediuzzaman and his students, and drag out the proceedings. For instance, it is said he was involved in the creating of disturbances within the , prison by means of various prisoners in the hope of implicating the Risale-i Nur Students. And there was a revolt while they were there, but none of the Students was involved. And he repeatedly delayed the proceedings, like, for example, holding up the sending of all the documents of the case to the Appeal Court for three months.
After the preliminary proceedings, the hearings of the case began some four months after their arrest and continued for six and a half months. Thirty of the Students were tried not under arrest, and a fluctuating number, nineteen at one point including Bediuzzaman were inside the prison. The decision reached by the Court finding Bediuzzaman guilty on some of the charges in the face of all the evidence showed clearly its purpose. Just as, although the previous `committee of experts' had declared the Risale-i Nur clear of anything legally reprehensible, this time the committee set up the Directorate of Religious Affairs contained certain negative points, also probably due to external pressure, which the prosecution in Afyon was able to utilize against Bediuzzaman and his students.
 
· Life in Afyon Prison
 
Bediuzzaman was in Afyon Prison for twenty months, and his students for periods varying from a few days to eighteen months; the majority were there six months, one group before the court passed sentence, and others after it. Although summer months intervened in this time, many of the accounts speak of the intense cold, associated with this latest assault on Bediuzzaman and the Risale-i Nur.
As is Emirdag, so now in the trial and in the prison, it was Bediuzzaman’s person that was focused on and made the object of attack. And again unwittingly Bediuzzaman's enemies engineered their own defeat. For Bediuzzaman's sincerity and qualities were such that he willingly endured the extreme conditions and appalling distress he suffered for the sake of the Risale-i Nur and its Students. He not only survived the conditions, he conquered them. Over seventy years of age, petrified from cold, weakened from lack of food, on several occasions on the point of death from poison, alone, untended, suffering distress it is difficult to imagine, Bediuzzaman continued to write for the guidance of his students and the other prisoners, spend his nights in prayer and contemplation, and compose not only his own defence, but direct `a publicizing campaign' of his and his students' defences, in order to make known the reality of the case and defend the Risale-i Nur against this latest attack. With his indomitable spirit, he defeated his enemies utterly.
The prison consisted of six wards or dormitories. On arrival Bediuzzaman was put in solitary confinement in a seventy-person ward on an upper floor which was in an advanced state of decay. It had forty small windows of which only fifteen had intact glass. I’ll with fever, he was left entirely alone in this huge, draught room in sub-zero temperatures with no stove or heating. Later, if he was given a stove, we learn from one of his defence speeches that after three and a half months in total isolation, the Public Prosecutor had still not permitted his books to be given to him.
It was the Prosecutor and the Govemor of the prison, whom Selahaddin Çelebi described a Gestapo chief, that prohibited Bediuzzaman's students visiting him,s even penalizing warders that were slack. Nevertheless, his students found ways of circumventing them and would go and assist Bediuzzaman. If caught they were beaten or bastinadoed mercilessly.
Bediuzzaman's students too willingly endured the appalling primitive conditions in the crowded wards in the way of serving the cause of the Qur'an and belief through the Risale-i Nur, facing also with equanimity the abuse and ill-treatment they frequently received. Their Üstad was a perpetual source of strength and consolation for them. Some tell of how the sound of his supplications at night would console them. They all tell of his kindness, even, tenderness towards them in prison. They would see him watching them from his ward on the upper floor when out for their exercise in the yard. He would drop down notes to them to cheer them up and enquire if anything appeared to be wrong.
During this twenty months, Bediuzzaman also wrote numerous letters, mostly short, to his students in the prison, in addition to notes such as those mentioned above. These are about various matters concerning their life in the prison, like his letters in Denizli Prison. Most importantly they urge the students to look on their imprisonment in positive terms in the light of Divine wisdom, as a trial and test. which presented new possibilities for service to the Qur'an through the Risale-i Nur. Especially when the trial dragged on and they were held for months in those conditions, Bediuzzaman frequently pointed out the benefits in this, since it "expanded the field of the Risale-i Nur", and urged patience on them. Some of the letters concern the trial and direct the writing out of copies of the defence speeches and their being sent to various government offices and departments, and other aspects of the Students' "service". Others warn them of informers and spies, and efforts to sow discord between the Students in order to break their solidarity. Also Bediuzzaman saw an important aspect of their "service" in prison to be the reform of the other prisoners, and a number of his letters address them. Again these showed their effect, for many of the prisoners did reform. These included hardened murderers like the famous `Butcher Tahir’.
As for the Students, they constantly sought ways of visiting Bediuzzaman, and they found various means of exchanging letters. The Students were dispersed Through a number of wards. Each group formed it own `medrese' to study together the Risale-i Nur and give instruction to any of the other prisoners who wished. The Students continuously wrote out various parts of the Risale-i Nur. A Student called Mustafa Acet is a good example of someone who benefited from this Medrese-i Yusufiye. A relative of the Çaliskan’s from Emirdag, his arrest had been a case of mistaken identity. He was arrested in place of someone called Terzi Mustafa. But during the eleven months this entirely innocent person spent in Afyon Prison, he learnt from the Risale-i Nur Students not only how to write the Qur'anic script, so that in subsequent years he was employed as a calligrapher by the Department of Religious Affairs, but also how to recite it, so that for ten years subsequent to being released from the prison he acted as imam in a mosque in Emirdag!
On the ground floor, the stone-floored wards measured twenty to twenty-five metres by eight to ten metres, with three lavatories opening onto the ward. If anyone wanted a bath, they had to find a can of water and take it in these latrines. There were usually seventy to eighty prisoners in any one of these wards. Some food was distributed by the prison, but this had to be paid for. Since the great majority of prisoners were local, they had their food sent and laundry done by relatives outside. But since the Risale-i Nur Students were from other areas and mostly had little money, they subsisted on the very meagrest of rations. Ibrahim Fakazli describes the tarhana (dried yogurt) soup that he subsisted on. The prisoners used to cook this soup on little braziers made of old tin cans. It was made with oil of such low quality that it was inedible if not first scalded. The tarhana was then added to this. He described how the stench of the scalded oil together that of the latrines was so powerful, it almost knocked him unconscious when he first arrived. He grew accustomed to it after two or three days. Part of the time, Bediuzzaman’s food was prepared by his students, and sent from the Sixth Ward, where Mehmet Feyzi, Hüsrev, Ceylan, and others were. Bediuzzaman would not eat the bread provided by the prison. Nevertheless he was poisoned on at least three occasions in the prison. There are heart-rending descriptions of him on these occasions. And also his own description in letters, one of which is as follows. It is taken from one of two personal notebooks which Zübeyir Gündüzalp kept in prison:
"My brother!
"My life is in danger, the torments and most severe oppression with which they are torturing me on account of freemasonry and communism in a way which is beyond my endurance and entirely outside the law and contrary to prison regulations, compels us to transfer our case to another court. With all your strength you must inform both the lawyers here, and by telegraph our fiends in Istanbul, and Hulûsi in Ankara that my life is in danger. I can no longer endure it, due to being poisoned as part of a conspiracy, and illness, and old age, and solitary confinement, and even [being forbidden] to look and speak with whoever brings my food to the hatch. And now for the third time was yesterday's incident, a plot. On visiting day, Ceylan is to inform Zübeyir of this and my pitiful condition, and let him do whatever is possible. In my opinion those two men are trying on account of the Masons to force me into making a muddle of things. It is essential in the name of the law to attempt to make the Appeal Court deliver us, in the name of the country and nation, from their extreme oppression and injustice.”
In his account of Afyon, Ibrahim Fakazli mentions Bediuzzaman's pitiful condition either on this or a similar occasion and goes on to describe the extreme cold, and how the prison authorities finally moved Bediuzzaman temporarily to another, crowded, ward:
"If we didn't see Ustad at the window, we would be very worried and wonder the reason. Whatever the price, we would find an opportunity to go up to him and see. One bitterly cold winter’s day, I slipped up to him [secretly] without being seen. Ustad was very ill. He stretched out his hand to me and told me to take it. I took it and kissed it. It was burning and he could not stand the heat of my hand. He said: `Ibrahim, I am extremely ill. I'm about to die. But I feel comforted since you're here.' At that point Ceylan came. He repeated the same things to him. We wept in bewilderment. Ustad was weeping as well. We were completely at a loss what to do. He embraced both of us and bade us farewell, then he recited a lot of prayers for us and sent us away. On returning to the ward, we explained the situation to the brothers, and we recited a lot of prayers and read Ceylan. Later we realized that Ustad had been poisoned.
"It was winter. Everywhere in Afyon was frozen and communications were cut with its surroundings. The railway was closed. For fifteen to twenty days no food or fuel could reach the town, and there was no running water. It was not possible to heat Bediuzzaman's ward with its broken windows and gaping floor-boards. That day, I saw Hazret-i Ustad under two blankets double-folded with an oil-can in front of him in which was a little bit of charcoal and a kettle and tea-pot..."
While the innocent, elderly, and ill Bediuzzaman was freezing to death in his empty ward virtually open to the elements, the ward opposite was in a good state of repair, with cast-iron stove and hot water. Its inmates were a young man serving a life-sentence for communism, a doctor convicted of rape, and a political prisoner. They received every sort of privilege, the communist even being allowed out into the town·in the company of a guard.
The Risale-i Nur Students sent petitions to the prison authorities for coal and a proper stove for Bediuzzaman, but as a consequence they forceably moved him to the Fifth Ward, the ward for pickpockets, thieves, and vagrants. It was as though they had taken pity on him, but alas, more in keeping with them, they knew he could not abide the crowded, filthy conditions and the noise, and that it would be even greater torment for him. However, the prisoners turned out to be more sympathetic: they divided off a portion of the ward with blankets, set up a stove in it, placed Bediuzzaman in it, and themselves did not make a sound outside It became the warmest place in the prison, and it was here that Bediuzzaman wrote Elhüccetü’z-Zehra .16
The seriously ill and extremely weak Bediuzzaman wrote that it occurred to him there that since there were Risale-i Nur Students in all the other wards, it was only in this Fifth Ward that the inmates were deprived of the lessons of the Risale-i Nur, so saying "Bismillah" he began to teach the youths there in particular, explaining eleven brief proofs of the Divine existence and unity.'' As for the prisoners, they began to compete with each other as to who could do the most to assist Bediuzzaman and many of them began to perform the five daily prayers.
Bediuzzaman was at first distressed at being forceably moved to the crowd and din of the Fifth Ward, although "it later turned into a Mercy", and said by way of a warning to the prison authorities that they would suffer for it and that the cold would become even more intense. One of the prisoners who did much to assist him in the prison, who a bookbinder by profession, has described how following this the temperature plummeted even further so that all the drains also became completely frozen. And the people in the town said that "they must have done something to the Hoca again." At that point he and some others set up a stove in Bediuzzaman's old ward and made it more inhabitable, and Bediuzzaman moved back there. A while later, a warm wind began to blow and the temperature rose and the ice began to thaw, whereupon the drain pipes began to split and burst and the whole town, including the prison, was flooded by filth and water from the drains. It took days to clean everywhere and rid it of the stench. In this way, Bediuzzaman's prediction was fulfilled.
Bediuzzaman then wrote the Second Station of Elhüccetü'z-Zehra, and this same prisoner, Kemal Bayrakli, describes how he would convey the parts of it as they were written to Husrev. He and the other Risale-i Nur Students would then immediately write out copies. When complete, these would be returned to Kemal Bayrakli, who being allowed his professional tools in the prison, would bind them into book form.s This was all carried out in the greatest secrecy. Thus, the work of the Risale-i Nur was continued even in the conditions of Afyon Prison.
A final point that may be mentioned in connection with this is a strange event also described by the same prisoner, and associated with the torments suffered by Bediuzzaman. It was also recalled by Necati Müftüoglu, who acted as Chief Clerk in Afyon Court in 1948. Kemal Bayrakli said: "One strange day that strange winter, it was as though there was a growl in the sky. Everybody heard it. When it came to morning, there were waves of stains [on the snow] in the yard. They were blood-coloured. On watching the snow, we saw that it snowed like that all morning, covering up the stains and then the stains appearing again."
 
· Bediuzzaman is Seen Outside the Prison
 
As while in Eskisehir and Denizli Prisons, on several occasions while in Afyon, Bediuzzaman was seen outside the prison in a number of mosques. As was usual with his extraordinary powers and miracles, for want of a better word, Bediuzzaman always virtually discounted them in regard to himself, concealing his own powers, and rather attributed them to the Risale-i Nur. There are two accounts of his being seen in mosques in the town, one by a prison warder. Hasan Degirmenci, and one by a local inhabitant. The warder said:
"...Although Bediuzzaman was inside the prison, rumors started up that he was being seen in the mosques and in the market-place. I did an ignorant thing at that time, I thoroughly cleaned and polished his shoes to see if they would get dirty or dusty. If they had got dusty, I would have proved that he had really gone. That's youth and ignorance for you!..."
Hilmi Pancaroglu. who lived in Afyon and visited Bediuzzaman when he was staying in the town after being released from the prison, gave this account:
"While in the prison, Bediuzzaman asked permission to attend the Friday Prayers, but they would not give it to him. Then, when the warders looked into his ward. they could not see him. In a panic, they started to search the mosques. Police went to various mosques. and different groups of them saw him performing the prayers simultaneously in the Imarat, Otpazari. and Misirli Mosques. Only, when everyone came out after the prayer’s, they could in no way find him. Then, on returning to the prison, what did they see, but Ustad in his ward. Most of the people in Afyon know of this event.”
Evidently in reply to a question on this matter, Bediuzzaman confirmed that it had occurred, but as was mentioned above. considered it to be unimportant and wanted attention to be directed away from himself towards the Risale-i Nur. He wrote:
"..One time a famous scholar was seen on numerous fronts in the War by those who had gone to the cihad. They said to him... And he replied: `Certain saints are doing this in my place in order to gain reward for me and allow the people of belief to benefit from my teaching.' In exactly the same way, in Denizli it was even made known officially that I had been seen in mosques there, and the Govemor and warders were informed. Some of them became alarmed, saying, `Who opened the prison gates for him?' And exactly the same thing happened here. But rather than attributing a very minor wonder to my own very faulty and unimportant self, The Ratifying Stamp of the Unseen Collection, which proves and demonstrates the Risale-i Nur's wonders, wins confidence in the Risale a hundred or rather a thousand times more, and ratifies its acceptance. And the heroic students of the Risale-i Nur in particular ratify it with their pens and states, which are truly wonders."
 
· The Flag Incident
 
One `Republic Day', that is, 29 October, while Bediuzzaman was in Afyon Prison, perhaps hoping `to provoke an incident', the Govemor had the national flag, the famous star and crescent, hung on Bediuzzaman's ward, obviously believing that Bediuzzaman would be displeased or discomforted by this, and maybe try to have it removed. How little these officials understood Bediuzzaman! Bediuzzaman, who had been "a religious republican" since an early age, and had spent his entire life striving for the good and salvation of the Turkish nation and country, both on the battlefield and with his pen. So Bediuzzaman wrote the Govemor a letter. It went like this:
"Sir!
"I thank you for having the flag of the Independence Holiday hung on my ward. During the National Action in Istanbul, Ankara knew that I had performed the service of maybe a military division through publishing and distributing my work The Six Steps against the British and Greeks, for twice Mustafa Kemal notified me in cypher wanting me to go to Ankara. He even said: `We have to have this heroic hoca here!' That is to say, it is my right to hang this flag this holiday.
"Said Nursi"
 
· Afyon Court
 
Just as in the prison Bediuzzaman and his students were being abused and ill-treated in ways that were entirely unlawful, so too in the trial, the law was subverted and exploited in the clear purpose of the Court to convict Bediuzzaman whatever the reality of the case. As the tide was turning against them, the trial and imprisonment was a last, futile attempt on the part of `the forces of irreligion' to silence Bediuzzaman and stem the flood turning to the Qur'an and Islam due to the teachings of the Risale-i Nur. Their desperation was demonstrated by the fact that the same charges that had been cleared by previous courts, on which Bediuzzaman and his students had been declared innocent, were again put forward - Bediuzzaman described them as "collecting water from a thousand streams": "exploiting religious feelings in a way that might disturb public order", "founding a secret society for political ends", "forming a new Sufi tarikat ", "criticizing Mustafa Kemal and his reforms", "spreading ideas opposed to the regime", and again Bediuzzaman was accused of being "a Kurdish nationalist"; a charge so far from the truth that more than anything it shows the lengths the authorities were prepared to go to in order to discredit him.
Two points the Prosecution made much of in regard to "inciting the people in ways that might disturb the peace" concerned firstly the Fifth Ray , which explains a number of Hadiths alluding to the Sufyan and Deccal and events at the end of time, and which the authorities again interpreted as referring to Mustafa Kemal. It unfortunately received support for this from the Experts' Report. Related to this was the `hat' question. And secondly, the brief passages in the twenty-fifth Word explaining Qur'anic verses on Islamic dress and inheritance were considered to be inflammatory, as in Eskisehir Court. But once again the plans of the enemies of religion backfired on them, for rather than arousing hostility towards Bediuzzaman, the Risale-i Nur and religion, the widely publicized trial and imprisonment aroused sympathy. In fact, public indignation was such at the heartless, inhuman, and unlawful treatment suffered by the entirely innocent Bediuzzaman and his students that it has been suggested that it contributed to the defeat of RAP in the 1950 elections.
Since the charges were the same as in Eskisehir and Denizli Courts. Bediuzzaman was able to reuse a part of his former defence merely changing some of the wording. Once again he clearly disproved the charges and demonstrated that neither the Risale-i Nur nor the activities of himself and his students had contravened the law in any way. The following are some extracts from his defence speeches. Firstly from those refuting the political society and public order charges:
"The one hundred and thirty parts of the Risale-i Nur are there for all to see. Understanding that they contained no worldly goal and no aim other than the truths of belief, Eskisehir Court did not object to them with the exception of one or two of the parts, and Denizli Court objected to none at all, and despite being under constant surveillance for eight years the large Kastamonu police force could find no one to accuse apart from my two assistants and three others on pretexts. This is a decisive proof that the Students of the Risale-i Nur are in no way a political society. If what is intended by "society" in the indictment is a community concerned with belief and the hereafter, we say this in reply:
"If the name community is given to university students and tradesmen, it may also be applied to us. But if you call us a community that is going to disturb public order by exploiting religious feelings, in response we say:
"The fact that in no place over a period of twenty years in these stormy times Risale-i Nur Students have infringed or disturbed public order, and the fact that no such incident has been recorded by either the Government or any court, refutes this accusation. If the name community is given meaning it might harm public security in the future through strengthening religious feelings, we say this:
"Firstly, foremost the Directorate of Religious Affairs and all preachers perform the same service.
"Secondly, it is not disturbing peace and security, the Students of the Risale-i Nur protect the nation from anarchy with all their strength and conviction, and secure public order and security...
"Yes, we are a community, and our aim and programme is to save firstly ourselves and then our nation from eternal extinction and everlasting solitary confinement in the intermediate realm; and to protect our compatriots from anarchy and lawlessness, and to protect ourselves with the firm truths of the Risale-i Nur against atheism, which is the means to destroying our lives in this world and in the next."
Bediuzzaman frequently stressed in his defence speeches that the nature of their service to the Qur'an prohibited them from participating in politics; it was those opposed to the positive and constructive social results of this service who repeatedly accused them of political involvement:
"We Students of the Risale-i Nur do not make the Risale-i Nur a tool for worldly [political] currents, not even for the whole universe. Furthermore, the Qur'an severely prohibits us from politics. Indeed, the Risale-i Nur's duty is to serve the Qur'an through the truths of belief and through extremely powerful and decisive proofs, which in the face of absolute unbelief which destroys eternal life and also transforms the life of this world into a ghastly poison, bring even the most obdurate atheist philosophers to belief. Therefore we may not make the Risale-i Nur a tool for anything.
"Firstly: It is not to reduce to pieces of glass the diamond-like truths of the Qur'an in the view of the heedless by inducing the false idea of political propaganda.
"Secondly: Compassion, truth and right, and conscience, the fundamental way of the Risale-i Nur, prohibit us severely from politics and interfering with government For dependent on one or two irreligious people fallen into absolute unbelief and deserving of slaps and calamities are seven or eight innocents - children, the sick and the elderly. If slaps and calamities are visited on the one or two, those unfortunates suffer also. Therefore, since the result is doubtful, we have been severely prohibited from interfering by way of politics in social life to the harm of government and public order.
"Thirdly: Five principles are necessary and essential at this strange time in order to save the social life of this country and nation from anarchy: respect, compassion, refraining from what is prohibited (haram), security. the giving up of Iawlessness and being obedient (to authority). The evidence that when the Risale-i Nur looks to social life it establishes and strengthens these five principles in a powerful and sacred fashion and preserves the foundation-stone of public order, is that over the last twenty years the Risale-i Nur has made one hundred thousand people into harmless, beneficial members of this nation and country. The provinces of Isparta and Kastamonu bear witness to this. This means that knowingly or unknowingly the great majority of those who object to the parts of the Risale-i Nur arc betraying the country and nation and dominance of Islam on account of anarchy..."'
In response to the repeated charge of forming a tarikat, Bediuzzaman said:
"The basis and aim of the Risale-i Nur is certain belief and the essential reality of the Qur'an. For this reason, three courts of law have acquitted it in regard to being a tarikat. Furthermore, not one person has said during these twenty years: `Said has given me tarikat [instruction].' Also, a way to which for a thousand years most of this nation's forefathers have been bound may not made something for which [the members of the nation] are answerable. Also, those who combat successfully those secret dissemblers who attach the name of tarikat to the reality of Islam and attack this nation's religion , may not themselves be accused of being a tarikat...
Of all the trumped-up charges, the most obviously false was that of Kurdish nationalism. Bediuzzaman, who as the Old Said had striven to maintain and strengthen the unity of the Ottomans, and as the New Said in his years of exile had again sacrificed himself for the salvation of the Turkish nation. In spite of this, the Court found Bediuzzaman guilty on this charge - "the blood of Kurdish nationalism is still boiling in his veins", and in this clear contempt of justice in the name of the law. the Court condemned itself.
"Can any court in the world accuse me of such a thing? .....although Said left his native country and relations and sacrificed his spirit and life for the religious Turks and this Muslim nation... (can such a thing be said) of someone who, in the face of twenty-eight years of torment and torture has not been shaken on iota in his sincere brotherhood with the Turks... and whom no court in the world can accuse of this ... and who, since racialism has no true reality and is harmful to Islamic brotherhood, has for fifty years said: `Islamic nationhood is equal to everything', and has supported that nationhood... and who has said: `Give up racialism and take up Islamic nationhood, which gains for you four hundred million brothers... and who has always taught this?"
A further matter the Court unjustly found Bediuzzaman guilty of concerned his explanations of certain Islamic laws concerning women. In his defence to the Appeal Court, he wrote defending these:
"One reason they showed for punishing me was my commentary on the Qur'an's extremely explicit verses about veiling, inheritance, recitation of the Divine Names, and polygamy, written to silence those who object to them (in the name of) civilization.
"..... I say this that if there is any justice on the face of the earth, [the Appeal Court] will quash this decision which convicts someone who expounded (Qur'anic verses) which in each century for one thousand three hundred and fifty years have been sacred and true Divine principles in the social life of three hundred and fifty million Muslims, and expounded them relying on the consensus and affirmation of three hundred and fifty thousand Qur'anic commentaries and following [what have been] the beliefs of our forefathers for one thousand three hundred years. Is it not denial of Islam and betrayal of our millions of religious and heroic forefathers to convict, because he expounded those verses, someone who according to reason and learning does not accept certain European laws applied temporarily due to certain requirements of the times and who has given up politics and withdrawn from social life, and is it not to insult millions of Qur'anic commentaries?
 
· The Experts' Report
 
While the preliminary questioning was being carried out by the Public Prosecutor and Examining Magistrate after the arrests of Bediuzzaman and his students, the collections of the Risale-i Nur, such as Zülfikar, The Staff of Moses, The Illuminating Lamp (Sirac-ün-Nur), and A Guide for Youth, as well as letters and other documents were all sent to the Directorate of Religious Affairs in Ankara to be scrutinized by another `committee of experts'. Although these produced their report in a short time, presenting it to Afyon Court on 16 March , 1948, due to the Prosecutor s interference, it was not for several months that Bediuzzaman was able to obtain a copy of it. This committee bowed to pressure from the Government, and put forward two main points that the Prosecution was able to use against Bediuzzaman , although only three years before the previous `experts' had cleared the Risale-i Nur. Nevertheless, importantly, they rejected the charges of forming a tarikat, organizing a society, and disturbing public security, and concentrated their objections, which Bediuzzaman described as, unfair, incorrect, and unjustifiable", on the Fifth Ray. The second point they raised, also entirely unfair and mistaken but one which, out of fear, Bediuzzaman's enemies frequently levelled at him, was being "conceited and vain-glorious", by which was meant building up by means of his students' good will towards him, a position of personal prestige and power.
Bediuzzaman answered these objections the committee raised in a "Thank-you Letter", in which he firstly expressed his gratitude to them for exonerating him of the main charges. He then pointed out in scholarly and reasoned fashion the errors in their objections to the Hadiths in the Fifth Ray and his interpretation of them. Since together with the few lines on inheritance and Islamic dress this was the one part of the Risale-i Nur that was made the pretext for this court case and numerous subsequent cases - since the authorities interpreted it as attacking Ataturk, it is worth mentioning here the history of this extraordinary treatise ,which illustrates one reason how Bediuzzaman earned his name, `The Wonder of the Age', and also, unfortunately, how this frequently resulted in rivalry and jealousy on the part of other religious scholars.
The Fifth Ray had originated over forty years previously, from when Bediuzzaman came to Istanbul before the Constitutional Revolution in 1907. At that time, when that "prodigy from the East" had put a notice on his door saying "Here all questions are answered, but none are asked", the Istanbul ulema put some questions to him about some allegorical Hadith referring to the end of time, which had been asked them by the visiting Japanese Commander-in-Chief. Then, when a member of the Darü’l-Hikmeti’I-Islamiye after the First World War, in reply to some further questions on the same subject, Bediuzzaman arranged these replies roughly in the form of a treatise, the purpose of which was to save believers from doubts about the allegorical Hadiths, which superficially appeared to be unconformable with reason. Then, in 1922 he was invited to Ankara by Mustafa Kemal, and as is described in the relevant chapter above, Bediuzzaman saw part of what these Hadiths foretold "in someone there", and for that reason felt compelled to refuse the offers made to him by Mustafa Kemal of various important posts, and withdrew from politics and the world to eastern Anatolia in order to work "solely on the way of saving belief." And again on being asked questions on these allegorical Hadiths foretelling events at the end of time when in exile in Kastamonu in 1938, Bediuzzaman arranged this treatise in its final form and it was incorporated into the Risale-i Nur as the Fifth Ray. That is to say, as time unfolded, the interpretations of some of these Hadiths which Bediuzzaman had given as far back as 1907 became realized; what they prophesied became realized in fact.
For example, one of these Hadiths says: "A fearsome individual at the end of time will rise in the morning and on his forehead will be written: `This is a kafir '." In 1907, the meaning Bediuzzaman had given this was: "This extraordinary individual will come to lead this nation. He will rise in the morning and put on a hat, and he will make others wear hats." ..."That Sufyan will put on a European hat, and make others wear (similar hats). But because this will be by compulsion and force of law, the hat will made to prostrate [before God] and God willing will be rightly-guided, and by wearing it - unwillingly - everyone will not become kafirs."
It was for this reason, because this was so plain, that Bediuzzaman had suppressed the treatise and not permitted it to be circulated. It was only after the entire Risale-i Nur, including the Fifth Ray, had been declared legally innocuous by the previous Committee of Experts and Denizli Court that he had allowed it to be duplicated.
Now, the present `committee of experts' levelled criticism at the Fifth Ray which Bediuzzaman described as "unfair, mistaken, and unjustifiable.” These centred on the nature of the Hadiths, which they said were either "unsound" or "weak", and on his interpretation of them. In his "Thank-you Letter", Bediuzzaman answered these criticisms with little difficulty. Besides this, Bediuzzaman also described these criticisms as resulting from jealousy and "a vein of Vahhabism", which points to the reasons for their second point of objection, which was equally mistaken. They criticized the eulogies written to Bediuzzaman and the Risale-i Nur by some of his students.
So Bediuzzaman pointed out it was a long-standing custom among scholars and literary people to write such eulogies about one another's work, and for these to be included at the ends of the works when they first appeared. If such eulogies had been directed towards himself, Bediuzzaman had changed them to refer to the Risale-i Nur. In any event time was proving what was written about the Risale-i Nur to be true. And even if what they wrote had been excessively exaggerated or even wrong, it would still only have been a scholarly error, and everyone was entitled to his own opinion. Bediuzzaman went on to gently put three questions to the `experts' from the Directorate of Religious Affairs, suggesting that they were busying themselves with trifles while religion and the Qur'an were suffering the fearsome attacks of that time, or even assisting them .
Nevertheless, despite the unfair criticisms in this report and their consequences. Bediuzzaman maintained a positive attitude towards the Directorate of Religious Affairs, marked by the "Thank-you Letter" above and the fact that in addition to other government departments, he arranged for copies of the defence speeches to be sent also to them. In fact, previous to their arrests. and subsequently. he sent students to them to seek their co-operation.
 
· The Trial Continues
 
Another fact supporting the claim that the trial was an officially-backed conspiracy against Bediuzzaman and the Risale-i Nur movement was that he was denied all sorts of legal rights in the trial. In addition to being denied access to such important documents as the report, he was even frequently denied the right to speak in the Court itself. His being totally isolated for the first eleven months of his imprisonment, during the trial, was clearly both to prevent him receiving information and assisting with his students. Thus, he was also often not allowed anyone to assist him with the writing out of his defence. Of course. Bediuzzaman never learnt The Latin alphabet, so he was dependent on his students or others for the reading of all official documents, and also the writing of any document or letter that had to be presented to the Court or authorities. As with his dress, he refused to compromise. Since the Ottoman script was now illegal and invalid, when his signature was necessary on official papers. they used either his finger-print or a rubber-stamp with his name on it in the new letters.
Nevertheless, Bediuzzaman and his students were not in any way intimidated by the wrongs and injustices they suffered. A gendarme who served both in Emirdag and Afyon Court, called lbrahim Mengüverli, described how on one occasion Bediuzzaman rose to speak in Court, and continued for two hours. Then. when the Judge told him that was enough.. "Bediuzzaman grew exceedingly angry, traced a circle in the air with his hand and jabbed his forefinger at the Judge, saying:
" `I have the right to speak for eight hours. I'll speak for as long; as I want.' "
There were three lawyers who acted as defence lawyers: for Bediuzzaman and his students at Afyon. One of these, Ahmet Hikmet Gönen, also a student of Bediuzzaman's, has described the defence speeches of the Risale-i Nur Students. They all gave their own defences in the Court, in addition to writing petitions. Two were particularly noteworthy, Zübeyir Gündüzalp's and Ahmet Feyzi Kul's. The latter's, which continued for a full eight and a half hours, earned him the name of `The Risale-i Nur Lawyer' from Bediuzzaman.
Bediuzzaman also insisted on his right to perform the prayers at the appropriate times when the Court was in session. Several witnesses have described such occasions in their accounts. One was the above lawyer. Another was Mustafa Acet from Emirdag. He described how during one hearing, the time for the prayers was passing, so presumably not having been allowed to leave the Court earlier for five minutes. Bediuzzaman said angrily to the Prosecutor:
"We're here in order to protect the rights of the prayers. We are not guilty of anything else!" And he immediately got and walked out .The usher hurried out after him, and he performed the prayers in the Secretary's Office.
The trials aroused great interest country-wide, and numbers of people flocked to Afyon from all over. One of Bediuzzaman's students tells of one occasion when Bediuzzaman emerged from the Court, a great mass of people moved forward to kiss his hand... "then in turn they started to kiss it. At that point the Public Prosecutor came out, and unable to stomach such a situation, roared at the police and gendarmes: `Why are you permitting this?' Bediuzzaman was exceedingly angry at this, and said in a loud voice:
" `What's this? What's this? I'll meet with my brothers if I want!' And he grew so excited his turban fell off. We picked it up off the ground and put it back on his head. Scared out of his wits, the Prosecutor made off without looking behind him. But in order to provoke an incident, kicked somebody's leg. This brother felt no pain. But we looked at his leg later, and it was all purple and bruised.”
At the same time Bediuzzaman was not content to allow the injustices of the trial to pass unnoticed. As in Denizli, he arranged through his students for copies of his defence speeches, and also those of his students and copies of his table of the ninety errors in the indictment and his answers, to departments of government in Ankara, in order to make known the reality of the case. Only here in Afyon, he endeavored to organize it on a larger scale, sending, copies also to Isparta - for his students there to duplicate, to be shown to the Public Prosecutor, and also to Denizli and Istanbul. These were also made into book form and distributed. He also instructed them to send copies to the Directorate of Religious Affairs in Ankara .
This operation had to be organized in secrecy and under the most difficult conditions o1' the prison. The copies which Bediuzzaman wanted produced in the new letters had to be typed out on type-writers, which unlike Denizli, they were not permitted. Their lawyer, Ahmed Bey, assisted them with this - Bediuzzaman stressing in his letters the need for accuracy. A soldier stationed in Afyon called Nihad Bozkurt, who used to visit a friend in the prison twice a week, also typed out the defence speeches for them .
At one point even, the Court had reproduced parts of the indictment "which they imagined were against" Bediuzzaman and his students. In response to this propaganda campaign, which was undoubtedly an abuse of the Court's powers and was aimed at turning public opinion against Bediuzzaman, Bediuzzaman had duplicated copies of his table of the errors in the indictment:, which were little more than slander, in order to have them distributed, and also further copies of their defences so as to inform people of the truth of the matter.
 
· The Court's Verdict
 
With all the delays and hold-ups, the Court finally announced its verdict on 6 December ,1948. Disregarding all the evidence it found Bediuzzaman guilty under Article 163 of Criminal Code of in various respects, "exploiting religious feelings and inciting the people against the Government." That a court of law should have allowed itself to be used in this blatant miscarriage of justice was a denigration of the law itself and a disgraceful episode in Turkish legal history . It sentenced Bediuzzaman to two years' "penal servitude", which was reduced to twenty months due to his age. Ahmed Feyzi Kul, who had made the long defence, was sentenced to eighteen months, and twenty others of Bediuzzaman's students to six months each. Some of these had already been inside the prison for eleven months, others for less. Those who had served their terms were released, while others who had been tried not under arrest, were arrested and put inside.
Then began a long drawn-out legal wrangle that did not reach a final conclusion until 1956. On the Court's passing sentence, the case was immediately sent to the Appeal Court in Ankara, but as mentioned earlier, the Prosecutor delayed the sending of the documents, only sending them on the intervention of the three lawyers . In the prison also the injustices against Bediuzzaman continued, or were even increased, for it was at this time that the weather became so cold and he was forceably moved to another ward. Both he and his students wrote further defences and pieces to be sent also to the Appeal Court. The lawyers gave the defence in the Appeal Court, which gave its decision on 4 June ,1949: since Said Nursi had been acquitted on the same charges by Denizli Court, and this decision had been confirmed by the Appeal Court, it quashed the decision of Afyon Court.
Although Bediuzzaman and his students should have been released at this point, Afyon Court reassembled on the case being referred back to it. They were asked what they wanted. On their replying that they wanted the Appeal Court's decision to be applied, the Court withdrew for prolonged consideration. Finally, it had no choice but to agree. But then, on 31 August ,1949, the decision was taken to retry the case, and hearings began once again. In this way, with continual postponements and delays, in an entirely unlawful manner, Bediuzzaman was made to serve the full twenty months the Court had originally sentenced him to. Only when he had completed this term did they release him. His students also were released on completing their sentences. In this way, the tyrannical and obdurate Prosecutor perpetrated what was no less than a crime on these innocent people right up to the very last moment he was able. And when it came to releasing Bediuzzaman, they did not permit to leave the prison at the normal hour, but just before dawn.
The story of Afyon Court does not finish here; the hearings continued with the accused in absentia, until the general amnesty announced after the victory of the Democrat Party in the 1950 general elections. But even then the Prosecutor would not let the matter rest; he insisted on the works in question - the Risale-i Nur - being separated from the criminal proceedings, and the continuation of the case. Thus, the trial of the Risale-i Nur continued.
The Court finally reached a decision that copies of the Risale-i Nur should be confiscated. The case was sent to the Appeal Court. The Appeal Court again quashed Afyon Court's decision. Afyon Court had no choice now but to comply with the Appeal Court's judgement and acquit the Risale-i Nur. But the Prosecutor would not accept this, and he sent this decision before the Appeal Court. This time, the Appeal Court quashed Afyon Court's latest decision due to some technicalities. The case continued. Then Afyon Court ruled that the Risale-i Nur should be acquitted and copies returned to their owners. Whereupon the Prosecutor again sent the case to the Appeal Court.
This time the Appeal Court decided that the entire Risale-i Nur should be rescrutinized by a committee of experts and the Directorate of Religious Affairs was directed to set one up. A new committee produced a report. And finally, relying on this report, in June, 1956, Afyon Court cleared the Risale-i Nur and ruled that all the confiscated copies should be returned to their owners. This time the Prosecutor admitted his defeat, and the decision was made final.
THE THIRD SAID
 
 · Introduction
 
We come now to the last ten years of Bediuzzaman's life and the last of its three main stages, in Bediuzzaman's own words, that of the Third Said. The Third Said is generally defined in terms of changes Bediuzzaman made in the way he had patterned his life over many years and also in his involving himself more closely with social and political developments.
The emergence of the Third Said roughly coincided with the defeat of the Republican People's Party in the general elections of May, 1950, and coming to power of the Democrat Party under Adnan Menderes, although while still in Afyon Prison Bediuzzaman wrote that he "surmised" that "a Third Said" would emerge. With the end of tyrannical RPP rule, the restrictions on Bediuzzaman's movements were lifted and he spent these years largely in Emirdag and Isparta, with visits to Istanbul, Ankara and other places as was required by either the ever-expanding activities connected with the Risale-i Nur, or to make court appearances. For despite the new Government, the bureaucracy and governing structure of the country was still largely in the hands of supporters of the former regime. Thus, copies of the Risale-i Nur continued to be seized, Bediuzzaman and his students continued to suffer repression, the court cases continued; there was no halt in the struggle against unbelief and the forces working for communism and irreligion.
In the early fifties, in numerous villages and towns in many regions of Turkey Risale-i Nur Students continued to write out copies by hand and distribute and read them, while in Isparta and Inebolu it was reproduced on the duplicating machines and distributed in the form of collections. Then, in 1956, on Afyon Court reaching a final decision and lifting all legal restrictions on the Risale-i Nur, in four places but primarily Istanbul and Ankara, a new generation of young Students set about printing and publishing the entire Risale-i Nur Collection on modem presses in the new letters. This further expanded the number of its readers and students, so that they now ran into many hundreds of thousands.
Together with these developments the Risale-i Nur movement itself became established as a cohesive movement during these years and some of the changes in Bediuzzaman's life can be seen to be directed towards training the new generation of Students who would lead it after he himself would be no longer there to do so. Of these, a number had visited Bediuzzaman and become involved with the work of the Risale-i Nur in the 1940's and as a consequence had served terms in Afyon Prison along with Bediuzzaman. Following this, which served as a crucible refining this new generation for their work in the cause of the Qur'an, such students as Zübeyir Gündüzalp, Mustafa Sungur and Ceylan Caliskan devoted themselves entirely to the Risale-i Nur, and, among others, it was for them that Bediuzzaman changed a number of his habitual practices. For example, after 1953. he had them living in the same house as himself, whereas previously he had lived alone allowing no one into his presence from the time of the evening prayers to the following morning.
Afyon served the cause of the Risale-i Nur in other ways, too, as had Eskisehir and Denizli before it, one of which was that it was a means of unifying the Risale-i Nur movement. For on the days of the court hearings, Risale-i Nur Students from all over Turkey flocked to Afyon to observe the proceedings and give moral support to their fellows being tried, and in this way they both got to know each other and establish firm relations, and also become better informed about Bediuzzaman and the Risale-i Nur and its method of service. Afyon thus formed an important step in consolidating the movement.
The main apparent change in Bediuzzaman. due to which this period of his life is known as that of the Third Said. was a closer involvement with social and political life. This aspect of The Third Said was directly connected with the coming to power of the Democrat Party in 1950. However, his involvement took the form of support and guidance for the Democrats, which he described as "the lesser of two evils", and supported in order to prevent the RPP, within which was a strong current of communism, returning to power as throughout his life, it was in no way active involvement. He also did not permit his students to engage in active or power politics in the name of the Risale-i Nur movement. If any wished, they did so in their own names.
As has been described, while in Emirdag before being sent to Afyon in 1948, Bediuzzaman had written letters to members of the Government of the time explaining the nature and seriousness of the dangers facing the country from communism and freemasonry and urging them to restore the Qur'an and truths of belief as the ideological basis of the state in place of the imposed philosophy and irreligion, as the sole means of saving it from these threats. Now, with the coming to power of the Democrat Party, Turkey had a Government that was to take a firm stand against communism and was sympathetic towards Islam and religion; it intended to reflect the will of the nation and redress the wrongs of the twenty-five years of RPP rule. Thus Bediuzzaman concerned himself to a greater degree with political developments; he offered guidance to the new Government primarily by means of letters, his students, and some personal relations with Democrat Deputies, pointing out where the dangers lay and how, by adopting policies based on Islamic principles, they could overcome them, and encouraging them in any moves in this direction. He gave them his moral support and urged his students to support them, giving them his vote in the elections of 1957, so that the support of the Risale-i Nur movement was of no mean importance for the Democrats, especially as their popularity waned. For Bediuzzaman saw the Democrats as "assisting" the Risale-i Nur Students in their struggle against communism and irreligion, in forming a barrier against these threats and righting the "moral and spiritual damage" they had caused, and so in saving the country from the destruction which they brought about.
Thus, when Bediuzzaman considered political matters, he did so with the eye of making them serve religion. He wrote to the new President, Celâl Bayar: "In the face of those who have ill-treated us making politics the tool of irreligion in fanatical manner, we work for the happiness of this country and nation by making politics the tool and friend of religion."
To introduce policies favouring Islam and the strengthening of religion would also heal the breach which had been made between Turkey and the rest of the Islamic world. Bediuzzaman impressed on the Government the need to re-establish relations. for this "would gain [for the country] a reserve force within the sphere of Islamic Unity of three hundred and fifty million through the brotherhood of Islam." He also supported the signing of the Baghdad Pact and setting-up of CENTO in 1955 as an important step in establishing peace in the area and among Muslim countries. In connection with this Bediuzzaman strongly urged the Government to give a religious base to the Eastern University that was being planned, which he saw as potentially playing the central and conciliatory role in the area of his Medresetü'z-Zehra that he had striven to have founded in eastern Turkey for so many years. That is, he was urging the Democrats to strengthen feelings of "Islamic nationhood" in place of the divisive and harmful racialist nationalism of the former regime.
Bediuzzaman's altitude towards the West also changed following the Second World War, for such countries as Britain, France, and America were no longer opposed to Islamic Unity, rather, in the face of the anarchy arising from communism and atheism, they were now in need of it. Particularly America, which he saw as working for religion in a serious manner, he regarded in friendly terms. With a number of Islamic countries gaining their independence from the colonial powers in the late 1940's and during the 50's, and new Islamic states being formed, together with other indications, Bediuzzaman once again starts to speak at this time of the forthcoming ascendancy of the Qur'an and Islam, which he had foretold in the early years of the century. He even foresees the Islamic countries as a federation, "the United Islamic States".'
On occasion Bediuzzaman called the Democrats, Ahrarlar, sometimes translated as `liberals', but by which he meant supporters of `hürriyet-i Seri'ye', the `Freedom in accordance with the Seriat' the establishment of which he had worked for during the Constitutional Period in the early decades of the century, and which path he hoped they would take. That is to say, Bediuzzaman supported gradual change and the gradual achievement of what he believed was the inevitable future supremacy of Islam and the Qur'an. He saw `democracy' as a licit means of achieving this, and attached the greatest importance to the maintenance of the status quo and public order and security. As he frequently pointed out, despite all the provocation and attempts to implicate and involve Risale-i Nur Students in disturbances by those who made it their business to disrupt order, none had been recorded. The way of the Risale-i Nur and its Students was service to belief and the Qur'an by peaceful means and "positive action". It was peaceful struggle or `cihad of the word' (cihad-i mânevi) in the face of the moral and spiritual depredations of atheism and unbelief, to instill certain belief in hearts and minds. While in many Muslim countries violent change had been brought about by revolution in which thousands of innocents were killed, the way of the Risale-i Nur was "the positive service of belief which results in the preservation of public order and stability." The destruction caused by atheism and unbelief was of a moral, spiritual or non-material nature (manevi), so internal cihad against it had to be of the same nature; it was to work for the spread and strengthening of belief with sincerity and "not to interfere in God's business" that is, not to be precipitate and expect immediate results; leave the results to Almighty God.
 
· Emirdag
 
On being released from Afyon Prison in the early morning of 20 September ,1949, Bediuzzaman was escorted by two police officers to a house in the town which had been rented by some of his students, released earlier than himself. Among these were Hüsrev and Zübeyir Gündüzalp. Again under close surveillance, with two or three policemen permanently posted at the house who took down the names of all visitors, Bediuzzaman remained here around two months before moving back to his former house in Emirdag.
Back in Emirdag among his many students there, Bediuzzaman took up where he had left off two years earlier when he had been arrested and sent to Afyon. In one of his first letters to his students in Isparta, he asks for one of them to go to Ankara to the Directorate of Religious Affairs to inform the Director, Ahmed Hamdi Akseki, that despite illness from poisoning, Bediuzzaman was struggling to correct the entire set of the Risale-i Nur they had requested two years before and would present it when completed. In return he requested the Director to do all he could for the Risale-i Nur's free circulation, and also to print photographically the 'miraculous' Qur'an Hüsrev had written showing the 'coincidings' (tevafukat) in the word, Allah, and other Divine Names.o Thus, despite the harm caused to Bediuzzaman and the Risale-i Nur by the negative report of the Committee of `Experts' set up by them for Afyon Court, Bediuzzaman overlooked this and the first thing he did on being released was to continue to try to persuade them - and through them the Muftis and Hocas - of the extreme value of the Risale-i Nur as a commentary on the Qur'an, to use their influence to get the legal restrictions lifted, and even to publish it officially themselves. Although Ahmed Hamdi agreed in principle to publish the Risale-i Nur, this never came to fruition. And in 1956 after the Risale-i Nur had been cleared by Afyon Court, the new Director, Eyüp Sabri Hayirlioglu, was again approached on the subject, this time on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, Menderes, but the attempt again came to nothing.
In Emirdag Bediuzzaman continued his life as before, only, some of those who knew him noted certain changes. For instance, Mehmet Caliskan remarked how following Afyon, Bediuzzaman's food was prepared by his students who accompanied him, rather than the Caliskan family, and that he now had read to him two or three newspapers daily. Mehmet Caliskan describes also how they would collect the papers from the newsagent, then slipping them into an inner pocket take them to Bediuzzaman, read him the appropriate parts, and later return them to the newspaper seller. With the coming to power of the Democrat Party some six months after Bediuzzaman returned to Emirdag, the restrictions on his movements were theoretically lifted and that year, in addition to sharing the joy of the whole country on the ban on the Arabic call to prayer being lifted, so too he was able to join the congregation in the Carsi Mosque for the teravih prayers each of the thirty nights of Ramazan.
On the Democrats winning the elections on 14 May ,1950, Bediuzzaman sent the following telegram to the new President, Celâl Bayar:
 
"To: Celâl Bayar, President of the Republic.
"We offer our congratulations. May Almighty God afford you every success in the service of Islam, and the country and nation.
"In the name of the Students of the Risale-i Nur, and one of them,
"Said Nursi"
 
To which he received this reply:
 
"To: Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, Emirdag.
"I was exceedingly touched at your cordial congratulations and offer my thanks.
"Celâl Bayar"
 
While Bediuzzaman had since his days in Kastamonu attached the greatest importance to guiding the young and the numbers of Risale-i Nur Students in their youth and early youth had steadily grown, in the early nineteen fifties there was a striking increase in their numbers - and in the importance of the role they played in the work of the Risale-i Nur. In fact, in many respects these last ten year’s of Bediuzzaman's life may be seen as directing and training these young Students and preparing some of them to lead the Risale-i Nur movement in later years. And also it may perhaps be seen as symbolic that while Bediuzzaman had written to his leading students of the older generation in Isparta wanting one of them to go to Ankara to the Directorate of Religious Affairs as described above, in the event it was the young Mustafa Sungur who deputized for Bediuzzaman, both on this occasion and many subsequent occasions.
In Istanbul and Ankara in particular, young. enterprising, and devoted Risale-i Nur Students, many of whom were university students, performed great services for the Risale-i Nur and the cause of religion. In Ankara they were active among the Deputies in the National Assembly, writing letters and circulars putting forward Bediuzzaman's views and the case of the Risale-i Nur, meeting with Deputies, and particularly one's known to be sympathetic towards to Islam, and also pointing out and warning about various stratagems and plots of the Republican People's Party (RPP) supporters and enemies of religion who had infiltrated the Democrat Party.
One case concerned the destruction of one hundred and seventy copies of the large collections, The Staff of Moses and Zülfikar, seized by the authorities in Isparta. This was despite their having been cleared by the Justice Minister of the Democrat Government and was evidently part of a plan of RPP supporters to arouse antagonism among the Risale-i Nur Students towards the Democrats, for whom they formed an important body of support.
This fanatical partisanship, which Bediuzzaman alluded to in a letter he wrote to the new President and also warned against on other occasions, was an additional element in the harassment and oppression which Bediuzzaman and his students continued to receive from certain sections of officialdom. These officials were supporters of the RPP, some representing the Mason and communist currents within it, and they continuously hatched plots by which to divide the forces working for religion and prevent them uniting. Thus, since the governing structure of the country was still largely in the hands of supporters of the RPP, the repression of Bediuzzaman and the Risale-i Nur Students continued throughout this ten years, as did the court cases. Besides the Afyon Court decision to confiscate copies of the Risale-i Nur, on other occasions copies were seized illegally. On numerous occasions Bediuzzaman was harassed and Threatened on account of his dress, even being sent before the court in Emirdag in the summer of 1951 for refusing to wear a European-style hat. In early 1952, a case was brought against Bediuzzaman and a young Risale-i Nur Student who had had A Guide for Youth published in Istanbul; it resulted in acquittals. And the following year a case was opened in Samsun on the Black Sea, which Bediuzzaman could not attend due to ill health, but Mustafa Sungur stood trial; it also ended in acquittals. And in 1956. a case was brought against Bediuzzaman and eighty-nine Risale-i Nur Students in Isparta for "forming a secret society", which was dismissed as not being proven. Then in Ankara, Isparta , and many other places were further cases against Risale-i Nur Students, all of which ended in acquittals. In the face of the confiscations and the Afyon Court proceedings in the early 1950's, Bediuzzaman wrote a number of petitions to the President and other Ministers, and for the Appeal Court and to be distributed by his students among "religious deputies" of the National Assembly, pointing out the realities of the case.
 
· Korea
 
In addition to continuing the struggle against communism and irreligion within Turkey, Bediuzzaman supported the decision to send 'Turkish troops to Korea to fight the communist invasion from the north, and was delighted when his close student Bayram Yüksel was to be sent there in 1951 during his military service, saying; "I wanted to send a Risale-i Nur Student to Korea, and was thinking of either you or Ceylan. It is necessary to go to Korea to fight against atheism there." Bediuzzaman also supported Turkey joining NATO. He gave Bayram Yüksel his own Cevsenü’l-Kebir prayer book and some parts of the Risale-i Nur to give to the Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese army whom he knew from when he first came to Istanbul in 1907. Bayram Yüksel went to Korea with Bediuzzaman's blessing, and fighting in some of the fiercest battles of the war, came out unscathed. He also visited Japan, and gave the parts of the Risale-i Nur to the National Library in Tokyo, since the Commander-in-Chief had departed this life some years previously.
 
· Eskisehir and Isparta
 
After years of being confined to the place he had been exiled, very often not even being allowed to attend the mosque or walk out to take exercise, Bediuzzaman was now free to move about as he wished. In October of 1951 he went to Eskisehir, where he stayed in the Yildiz Hotel. He met there with many of his students, of all classes, and the young in particular also members of the armed forces visited him, with airmen being in the majority. After a month or so, Bediuzzaman moved on to Isparta, where he stayed for some two months, until summoned to Istanbul where a court case had been opened against him due to a student of his at Istanbul University, Muhsin Alev, having had printed A Guide for Youth.
While in Isparta and Istanbul Bediuzzaman wrote a number of letters which he subsequently brought together and published as a small book under the title, A Key to the World of the Risale-i Nur. Before going on to describe the Guide For Youth court case in Istanbul, it is worth mentioning briefly these letters, since the small collection they form was the last piece to be added to the Risale-i Nur, and illustrate further one of the most important aspects of the Risale-i Nur its relating science to the truths of belief as described in a previous chapter, and its showing that rather than their conflicting in any way, if considered in the light of the Qur'an, science may broaden and strengthen belief. One of the pieces included in this collection, Bediuzzaman was inspired to write by the radio. The radio, which Bediuzzaman listened to from time to time, inspired him to write a brilliant exposition of the element air and its "duties" which so decisively proves Divine Unity and disproves that `nature' or `chance' could have had any hand in its creation that he reckoned that the objections to A Guide for Youth, in which it was first included, stemmed from this. Indeed, explanations of Divine Unity and the other truths of belief related to science and technology in this way, Bediuzzaman was most concerned to convey to the young and his students among university and school students. To mention these letters here also redresses the balance somewhat, for while Bediuzzaman concerned himself to a greater degree the last ten years of his life with social and political matters, the essence and basis of his endeavour and its main purpose and aim was the service of the Qur'an and belief through the publication and spreading of the Risale-i Nur.
 
· The ‘Guide for Youth’ Trial -1952
 
In January, 1952, Bediuzzaman went to Istanbul his first visit since he had stayed there on his way to exile twenty-seven years earlier. The previous year a number of his students at Istanbul University had had printed two thousand copies of A Guide for Youth in the new letters, as a result of which the Public Prosecutor had opened a case against Bediuzzaman. The summons came for him to attend Istanbul First Criminal Court in January ,1952. The charges, under the `elastic' Article 163 of the Criminal Code, were that A Guide for Youth was "religious propaganda, which, contrary to the principle of secularism, had been written for the purpose of adapting the state system to religious principles."
Coming from Isparta, Bediuzzaman was in court for the first hearing on 22 January ,1952. It took place on an upper floor of the Court House, which now serves as the Main Post Office. For the two months or so he was in Istanbul, Bediuzzaman stayed first in the Aksehir Palas Hotel, close to the court in Sirkeci, then he moved to the Resadiye Hotel in the Fatih district During his stay he was visited by a constant flood of visitors; hundreds of old friends and acquaintances, Risale-i Nur Students, some well-known figures, and many others, including large numbers of young people. The three court hearings -and particularly the second and third - attracted literally thousands. Once again the trial served to publicize Bediuzzaman and the Risale-i Nur movement in a way those who had instigated it can scarcely have wished.
The courtroom and corridors were filled to overflowing for the first hearing. The indictment and `experts" report were read, then Bediuzzaman was questioned. The matters with which Bediuzzaman was accused by the report in regard to A Guide for Youth demanded a prison sentence of five years and included matters additional to exploiting religion for political purposes, such as, "supporting religious education", "supporting Islamic dress and conduct for women", and "attempting to secure personal prestige and influence." Three Istanbul lawyers undertook Bediuzzaman's defence for the trial. Following Bediuzzaman's reply, the Court was adjourned till 19 February at 2 o'clock.
In addition to this trial, Bediuzzaman was further questioned for a part of A Guide for Youth which appeared in the magazine Volkan, but since the work had been acquitted by Denizli Court in 1943, in this case the decision was taken that retrial was not permissible.
The news had got around by 19 February and from an early hour hundreds of well-wishers and Bediuzzaman's students started to fill the Court Building in order to see Bediuzzaman and follow the proceedings. By the time Bediuzzaman and the lawyers and judges arrived the crowd was so dense inside the court that in the courtroom itself, the spectators had occupied even the space round the judges' bench, while outside the building the buses could not pass for the throng, and were re-routed. In the Court the police seemed incapable of doing anything, neither was any attention paid to the judge, who ordered the crowd out. It was not till at the judge s request, Bediuzzaman turned and made a sign that the crowd moved back out of the room and the trial could begin.
The statements of the printer who had printed A Guide for Youth and the police were heard, then Bediuzzaman's objections to the `Experts' Report. The defence lawyers criticized it in severe terms and at length. Then, on Bediuzzaman requesting permission to perform the afternoon prayers as the time was growing short, the Court was adjourned till 5 March. Bediuzzaman left amid cheers and applause and was driven to the Sultan Ahmed Mosque.
When it came to 5 March the police were out in force to prevent crowds forming in the Court Building. Nevertheless the Court was packed to hear first Muhsin Alev, the student who had had the work printed, then the defence speeches of first Bediuzzaman, then his three lawyers.
Once again Bediuzzaman pointed out that what he was and had been accused of principally was "opposing the regime", but on condition public order was not disturbed in any way, to do so could not be considered a crime. On the contrary, to oppose wrong, oppression, and unlawfulness was licit and a genuine element of justice. Secondly was the charge of disturbing public security, but six courts and in six provinces having been unable to produce any evidence for this proved that Nurcu's - Risale-i Nur Students - were preservers of the peace. As for exploiting religion for political ends, again the courts had cleared him of this and to accuse someone of over eighty years of age who was "at the door of the grave" and owned nothing in the world was entirely unjust and wrong. Bediuzzaman concluded his speech by saying:
"And so, respected judges, for twenty-eight years they have oppressed and wronged me and my students in this way. And the prosecutors in the courts did not hold back from insulting us. We met it all with patience and continued on the way of serving belief and the Qur'an. And we forgave the officials of the former regime for that tyranny and oppression of their's, for they met the end they deserved, while we gained our rights and our freedom. We thank Almighty God for giving us this opportunity to speak these words before just and believing judges like yourselves..."
Bediuzzaman’s three lawyers then presented their defences and the judges withdrew to deliberate. Their unanimous decision was announced; once again, acquittal. The announcement met with resounding applause from Bediuzzaman's students and the spectators. In later years the chief judge of the case said of that day:
"He was an intelligent person. He foresaw the result of the trial from the way it was going. He did not display the slightest trace of anxiety or excitement, and was relaxed and at ease as though speaking with his friends in his house. He spoke with an Eastern accent.”
 
· Aksehir Palas and Resadiye Hotels
 
There are numerous accounts of visits to Bediuzzaman in the Aksehir Palas and Resadiye Hotels from among the many different people who visited him during his brief stay of two to three months. Also there are descriptions by a number of his close students, who remained with him and attended to his needs. One of these is Muhsin Alev, Bediuzzaman's fellow-accused in the trial. He wrote that "when Ustad came to Istanbul, it was as though its entire populace poured into the Aksehir Palas Hotel. Every day hundreds of people visited him. Among them were many well-known people." Muhsin Alev goes on to describe visits by first the famous poet and writer and producer of Büyük Dogu magazine, Necip Fazil Kisakürek, and then, in the Resadiye Hotel, Osman Yüksel Serdengecti, who wrote for and published Serdengecti magazine. In fact, it was articles appearing in these and other publications of the `Islamic' press such as Esref Edip's Sebilürresad that had contributed to informing particularly the young educated classes about Bediuzzaman and the Risale-i Nur, and continued to do so. Muhsin Alev himself had been active in this field. One of the most descriptive of these accounts is by one of three youths, then students at Galatasaray Lycée, who had benefited from these publications. The student in question, Mehmet Sevket Eygi, himself went on to bring out various newspapers and publications in subsequent years. These three friends, who secretly read handwritten duplicated copies of the Risale-i Nur in school, decided to visit him. His description shows the modest conditions Bediuzzaman chose, even when staying in a hotel, together with the interest he showed these boys.
"We entered the small room in which Bediuzzaman was staying on the top floor of the hotel. It had a low ceiling and small windows. Ustad was sitting cross-legged on the bed, and was wearing something like a scarf of coloured material as a turban. There was a small radio made of baccalite on a shelf on the wall. There weren't any other things. We sat on the floor.
"Ustad spoke 'Turkish with an Eastern accent... He was pleased we were Galatasaray students, and spoke to us giving us advice. He dwelt particularly on the dangers of bolshevism. Communism was not all that widespread in Turkey at that time.... and it was truly great far-sightedness his perceiving that it would be such a problem for Turkey in the future...."
Just as visits such as this led directly to increased coverage and support of Bediuzzaman and the Risale-i Nur movement in the `Islamic' press, so too at this time Bediuzzaman's Istanbul visit afforded the opportunity for a number of young Risale-i Nur Students to visit Bediuzzaman for the first time who subsequently became close students of his and among the most active members of the Risale-i Nur movement.
In his account, Muhsin Alev also describes Bediuzzaman's trips around the city of Istanbul visiting places he had frequented in earlier days, such as the old War Ministry which now houses Istanbul University, where he faced the wrathful pasas in the Court Martial set up after the 3l st March Incident in 1909. Another student who went to visit Bediuzzaman in the Resadiye Hotel describes the sprightly way Bediuzzaman walked, stepping lightly up onto the pavement opposite the hotel "like a youth of twenty", and how , when he emerged from the great Fatih Mosque after attending the prayers, he was mobbed by such a large and enthusiastic crowd, all wanting to kiss his hand, that he could only be saved by jumping into a taxi.
Nevertheless, as ever, Bediuzzaman's enemies were not idle and a further attempt to poison him was made while staying at the Aksehir Palas Hotel in Sirkeci. The incident was described by Ibrahim Fakazli, one of Bediuzzaman's students from Inebolu, who had taken over the night in question from Muhsin, Zübeyir, and Ziya Arun. Poison was thrown in Bediuzzaman's food, which he had left outside the window to cool. When he understood what had happened, he raised the Hotel staff, and it was learnt that among the occupants of the adjacent room was an Armenian `Tasnak' militant. He was caught and confessed to Bediuzzaman that he had come that day from Edirne with the intention of carrying out the cowardly crime. Ibrahim Fakazli witnessed this.
 
· Emirdag
 
Bediuzzaman returned to Emirdag soon after the acquittals in March of 1952, writing in a letter that much as he wanted to meet with his many friends who wished to visit him, due to his age, ill health and weakness from poison, so long as it was not essential, he no longer had the strength and could not speak much. "However", he wrote,
"I tell you certainly that each part of the Risale-i Nur is a Said. Whichever part you look at you will benefit ten times more than meeting me in the person, and also you will have met with me in true fashion."
Again on his return to Emirdag Bediuzzaman was subject to unlawful harassment, which led to a further court case. This time it was at the hands of some gendarmes and concerned his dress. One day in the month of Ramazan. which in 1952 began towards the end of May, Bediuzzaman went out of the town into the sorrounding country to take some exercise. Though alone, he was followed by three gendarmes and a sergeant, who, when he was sitting alone in the hills, approached him and told him to remove his turban and put on a hat. They then forceably took him back to Emirdag to the police station.
As a result of this entirely arbitrary infringement of his liberty, Bediuzzaman wrote a petition to the Justice and Interior Ministries in Ankara by way of a complaint, wanting his students in Ankara to give copies also to sympathetic Deputies. One of his students there sent a copy also to a newspaper printed in Samsun called Büyük Cihad. On the newspaper printing the petition, the Samsun Public Prosecutor opened proceedings against Bediuzzaman, and a summons arrived in Emirdag ordering him to appear in Samsun Criminal Court. Bediuzzaman wrote a reply referring them to his extensive and unrefuted defences of five previous cases since they were repeating the same old charges. He also obtained medical reports stating he was unfit to travel. In the meantime, on 22 November ,1952, the `Malatya Incident' occurred, in which an attempt was made on the life of a well-known journalist, Ahmet Emin Yalman. It was blown up out of all proportion by the leftist press, and finally the Government bowed to pressure and closed down Islamic newspapers and arrested many supporters of religion. Among these were the Büyük Cihad and its owner, and also Bediuzzaman's close student Mustafa Sungur, who was in Samsun and had also had an article published in the paper. Mustafa Sungur was held in Samsun Prison and first convicted and sentenced to one and a half years, much to Bediuzzaman's wrath, but the Appeal Court subsequently reversed the decision, and on the Court reconvening, was acquitted.
Samsun Public Prosecutor insisted on Bediuzzaman's attending the Court to answer the charges against him, so finally the seventy-five-year-old Bediuzzaman decided to make the Journey. He reached Istanbul, but here was taken ill and obtaining further medical reports requested to be permitted to give his defence in Istanbul Criminal Court. Once again the case resulted in acquittal. However, it served as a cause to bring Bediuzzaman to Istanbul a second lime, and on this occasion he stayed three months.
 
· The Pakistan Deputy Education Minister's Visit
 
Before describing Bediuzzaman's stay in Istanbul, there are one or two events which occurred previously and should not go unmentioned. One of these was the unofficial visit to Bediuzzaman of the Deputy Education Minister in the Pakistan Government, Seyyid Ali Ekber Sah, who was on an official visit to Turkey. This visit was made at the suggestion of the 'Turkish Education Minister, Tevfik Ileri, and occurred according to Bediuzzaman’s student who accompanied him, in 1952. Bediuzzaman describes the visit in a letter congratulating those he was writing to on the occasion of the Prophet (PBUH)'s birthday, which that year fell on 28 November.
In Salih Özcan's description of the visit, Bediuzzaman requested him to act as interpreter, since their common language was Arabic.
Bediuzzaman explained the Risale-i Nur and its method of service to his visitor, but when the discussion became more complex, Salih Özcan had difficulty in interpreting. "Whereupon", he writes, "Bediuzzaman straightened himself up onto his knees [on the bed on which he sat] and began to speak in the most eloquent Arabic. I had never before heard spoken such fluent and eloquent Arabic."
The Deputy Minister was exceedingly pleased at the visit and spoke his appreciation in the most fulsome terms on returning to the hotel they had put up at in Emirdag, wanting to visit Bediuzzaman again in the morning before leaving. Bediuzzaman did not consent to the second visit. However, as the bus they were to take to Ankara was about to leave, Bediuzzaman appeared to see the Minister off, and travelled in the bus some seven or eight kilometers sitting next to the minister before alighting. Ali Ekber Sah was most happy at this. In Ankara, he addressed a gathering of university students on the subject of Bediuzzaman and the Risale-i Nur, and on returning to Pakistan did much to make them known. He had in fact invited Bediuzzaman to Pakistan offering him access to all the media, but Bediuzzaman replied that "the front" was in Turkey, since the fundamental sickness had started there Seyyid Ali Ekber Sah was subsequently appointed Rector of Sind University and together with corresponding with the Risale-i Nur Students in Turkey, continued to serve the cause of the Risale-i Nur.
During the 1950's the Risale-i Nur found numerous new Students and readers in many different parts of the world, including Pakistan. The last section of Bediuzzaman's `official' biography, first published during his lifetime in 1958, is devoted to these developments and includes letters from Risale-i Nur students from as far afield as Finland and Washington, as well as various Islamic countries. Articles began to appear in such countries as Iraq and Pakistan. Also some of Bediuzzaman's students travelled to foreign countries for the purpose of making known the Risale-i Nur and establishing relations, for example, to the Hicaz Syria, and Iran. In 1954 Bediuzzaman sent his close student Muhsin Alev to Germany, to have printed there the `miraculous' Qur'an, since repeated attempts to have it printed in Turkey had come to nothing. He remained in Berlin, actively serving the cause of the Risale-i Nur. Bediuzzaman previously had sent to Germany the collection, Zülfikar, and other parts of the Risale-i Nur, which met with a good reception . Bediuzzaman also received visits from religious scholars and figures from the Islamic world. Links were reforged as one of his ultimate aims began to be realized: the renewal and strengthening of relations between Muslims in Turkey and in other parts of the world by means of the Risale-i Nur. In fact it was Selahaddin Celebi from Inebolu who, with Bediuzzaman's permission, in 1950 sent Zülfikar to the Imam of Berlin Mosque. He also sent copies to el-Ezher in Egypt, the Pakistani ambassador, and to the Pope in Rome. In response to this last, Bediuzzaman received a letter of thanks from the Vatican dated 22 February ,1951. As has been pointed out previously, although Bediuzzaman always upheld and struggled for the independence of the Islamic world against the West and the maintenance of its cultural integrity, he foresaw the co-operation of Islam and sincere Christians in the face of aggressive atheism. It is in this light also that Bediuzzaman's visit to the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Istanbul, Patriarch Athenagoras, should be seen, which he made during his visit to Istanbul in the spring and summer of 1953.
 
· Istanbul
 
Bediuzzaman came to Istanbul from Emirdag, probably between the 20th and 25th April ,1953, on his way to Samsun. He stayed first in the Marmara Palas Hotel in Bayezit, then stayed one night in Camlica on the Asian side of the Bosphorus, after which he moved to Üsküdar, where he stayed three nights. Finally, on the invitation of one of his young students in Istanbul, Mehmet Firinci, Bediuzzaman moved to his house in the Draman district, close to Fatih. The family moved to another house next to their bakery, and being unable to complete his Journey, Bediuzzaman stayed three months in their modest, but pleasant, old wooden house. It was exactly what he had been looking for.
Beside obtaining medical reports and then making his defence in Istanbul Criminal Court, Bediuzzaman attended the celebrations marking the five hundredth anniversary of the conquest of Istanbul by Fatih Sultan Mehmet in 1453 during his stay, received many visitors, and was able to make excursions by bus around Istanbul. He also wrote a number of important letters, one of which on the radio was included in A Key to the World of the Risale-i Nur. Another letter, described as a fruit of Bediuzzaman's trips in and around Istanbul, reflects his attitude towards modem life and its encouragement of wastefulness, extravagance, and idleness. Part of it is included here:
".... Since modem Western civilization acts contrary to the fundamental a laws of the revealed religions, its evils have come to outweigh its good aspects, its errors and harmful aspects its benefits; and general tranquillity and a happy worldly life, the true aims of civilization, have been destroyed. And since wastefulness and extravagance have taken the place of frugality and contentment, and laziness and the desire for ease have overcome endeavor and the sense of service, it has made unfortunate mankind both extremely poor and extremely lazy. In explaining the fundamental law of the revealed Qur'an: Eat and drink, but waste not in excess, and, Man possesses naught save that which he strives, the Risale-i Nur says: Man's happiness in this life lies in frugality and endeavor, and it is through them that the rich and poor will be reconciled. I shall here make one or two brief points in accordance with this explanation.
"The First: In the nomadic stage, man needed only three or four things , and it was only two out of ten who could not obtain them. But now, through wastefulness, misuse, stimulating the appetites, and such things as custom and addiction, present-day civilization has made inessential needs seem essential, and in place of the four things of which he used to be in need, modem civilized man is now in need of twenty. And it is only two out of twenty who can satisfy those needs in a totally licit way. Eighteen remain in need in some way....
"Second Point: Since the wonders of modem civilization are each a Dominical bounty, they require real thanks and to be utilized for the benefit of mankind. But now we see that since they have encouraged a significant number of people to be lazy and indulge in vice, and have given them the wish to heed their desires in ease and comfort, they have destroyed these people's eagerness for effort and endeavour. And by way of dissatisfaction and extravagance, they have driven them to dissipation, wastefulness, tyranny, and what is unlawful.
"For example, as it says in A Key to the World of the Risale-i Nur, although the radio is a great bounty and demands thanks in the form of being used for the good of mankind, since four fifths of it are used on stimulating desires and unnecessary, meaningless trivia, it has encouraged idleness and depravity, and destroyed the eagerness for work...
"In Short: Since modem Western civilization has not truly heeded the revealed religions, it has both impoverished man and increased his needs. It has destroyed the principle of frugality and contentment, and increased wastefulness, greed, and covetousness. It has opened the way to tyranny and what is unlawful. And through encouraging people to take advantage of the means of dissipation, it has cast those needy unfortunates into total laziness. It has destroyed the desire for effort and work. It has encouraged depravity and dissipation, and wasted their lives on useless things. Furthermore, it has made those needy and lazy people ill. Through abuse and prodigality, it has been the means of spreading a hundred sorts of diseases."
During Bediuzzaman's stay in Istanbul, an English orientalist came to Istanbul University for the purpose of giving a series of lectures. Muhsin Alev, who was about to graduate from the Philosophy Department, and Ziya Arun, attended the first of them. The visiting orientalist proceeded to deny the Qur'anic verses stating there are "seven heavens", saying that today astronomy had made great advances and no seven "layers" have been found in the skies or in space; the verse was therefore contrary to science. Muhsin Alev and Ziya Arun went to Bediuzzaman and told him of this, whereat he compiled a letter on the subject, from pieces taken from the Risale-i Nur, and the following day they went to the university and distributed copies of it before the lecture. It was read to the orientalist. who as a result cut short his lecture that day and abandoned his remaining one's.
That year there were tremendous celebrations for the five hundredth anniversary of the conquest of Istanbul. These reached their climax on 29 May, with the Mehter bands, the traditional military bands of the Ottoman Armies, marching in traditional dress and playing original instruments from Topkapi at the city walls to Fatih. The population of Istanbul turned out to watch and follow them. The culmination was a ceremony at the great mosque in Fatih where Fatih Sultan Mehmet's tomb is situated. Here a platform had been erected outside the mosque and tiers of benches for the spectators. When Bediuzzaman arrived he was given a seat on the platform next to the Govemor of Istanbul, from where he followed the proceedings with real pleasure, particularly the Mehter bands.
Although Bediuzzaman was now theoretically free now to go where he pleased, he was still constantly watched and followed by the police. Mehmet Firinci describes how they were alarmed at losing his traces when he first arrived in Istanbul. After Bediuzzaman moved to the house in Draman. there was a policeman permanently posted in front of the house. They told Mehmet Firinci, who was questioned at length at Bediuzzaman's staying in his house, "We are responsible for him and have to protect him." One of Bediuzzaman's visitors there, the chairman of the local branch of the Millet Party, Hüseyin Cahid Payazaga, relates how a chief inspector had been as signed the job of watching the house and noting down all who visited it. Bediuzzaman was followed by police even when going to the mosque, or when making his excursions. Payazaga also writes that they were frightened of Bediuzzaman's going to Aya Sophia at the time of the Conquest celebrations, for there were rumours that he was going to walk there from Fatih. In fact, as the writer Münir Capanoglu wrote, the reason the authorities perpetually drove Bediuzzaman from exile to exile and prison to prison was that they were frightened of him. "They were frightened of Said Nursi... of his person, of his ideology, of the fact he would raise to life the Islamic cause... from the time of the Constitutional Revolution and ever after..."
Of the many recollections of Bediuzzaman at this time, the following two may also be mentioned. Hüseyin Payazaga recalls how in Draman was a non-Muslim Greek grocer and it was there Bediuzzaman used to do his shopping. Dimitrios as he was called used to show Bediuzzaman great respect. He told Payazaga: "You do not know who this person is. If he was in Greece, they would make him a house out of gold." Muhsin Alev also relates how one day they went to Bakirköy to what was then open countryside to take some air, and there a Christian from Beyrut called Suleyman hurried up to Bediuzzaman. Bediuzzaman did not turn the man away, but talked with him for a while, even accepting the coffee he gave him.
It was the month of Ramazan while Bediuzzaman was in Istanbul, and Mehmet Firinci notes that Bediuzzaman did not sleep for the whole month, spending the nights in worship and prayer while continuing his usual daily activities of reading the Risale-i Nur and teaching his students, correcting proofs, receiving visitors, and so on. At night the local people would gather in the house opposite to watch Bediuzzaman, as he continued his worship in bright electric light till the morning. On their finally closing the windows, the people objected saying, "Why have you closed them, we too were reciting our prayers and supplications along the Hocaefendi ?’’
· Isparta
 
Bediuzzaman returned to Emirdag towards the end of July, and after one week moved to the Yildiz Hotel in Eskisehir. Then in August, again towards the end of the month, travelled to Isparta. Here, after staying one week in the hotel of one of his students, Nuri Benli, he moved to the rented house which, although he continued to return to Emirdag and Eskisehir for visits, now became his base. Indeed, he loved Isparta above all places and wanted to spend his last years there among his numerous students. The house he took had garden on two sides and was also spacious, with sufficient rooms for both himself and those of his students who now stayed permanently with him.
Bediuzzaman's now having four or five of his closest students living with him was an important change in the way he had ordered his life over many years. It had also been his unchanging rule to admit no one into his room from sunset, the time of the evening prayers, till the following morning, and had had his door locked on both the outside and the inside. Now his students, most usually Zübeyir Gündüzalp, Tahiri Mutlu, Mustafa Sungur, Bayram Yüksel, and Ceylan Caliskan saw to his personal needs, and were allowed to enter his room if the need arose. Nevertheless, it was still Bediuzzaman's practice to be constantly occupied, and their room and activities remained separate. Thus, on the one hand they saw to all his needs, for Bediuzzaman was now approaching eighty years of age, and on the other, he was training these students in the way of the Risale-i Nur for their important future roles in the movement.
It was at this time that Bediuzzaman starting holding readings and study of the Risale-i Nur (ders) as a group. This practice was followed by Risale-i Nur Students all over the country and became the hallmark and central feature of the Risale-i Nur movement. Bediuzzaman and his students held these readings after the morning prayers and very often they would continue for as much as five or six hours. All present would read out loud in turn from one of the books of the Risale-i Nur, and Bediuzzaman would explain and illustrate it. Bayram Yüksel, who has provided the most details of these years, writes that Bediuzzaman "had the energy and youth of someone of twenty, growing younger the more he read", while his young students did not have the endurance to keep going for that length of time.
In his account, Bayram Yüksel gives many personal details about Bediuzzaman, about his food, his dress and his cleanliness, the awe-inspiring manner in which he performed the five daily prayers - always just as the time for each had been entered, how he was never idle, the importance he attached to the prompt and efficient carrying out of any matter in hand, and to the correction of proofs and hand-written copies of the Risale-i Nur. He describes his extreme frugality, and also his kindness to animals. In connection with this last he writes that when going for excursions in the countryside, Bediuzzaman would study `the Great Book of the Universe', and urge them to study it. He had affection for all creatures and extraordinary compassion for them. This interest and compassion extended to all the creatures they encountered from dogs to ants. He also tells of how in the house in Isparta, which was a traditional house made of wood, the mice used to eat all the books and papers they put in the loft for safekeeping except copies of the Risale-i Nur. Bediuzzaman used to say that the mice would not harm them, and indeed they did not. Bayram Yüksel goes on to say that he witnessed many things of this nature, but that he did not record them as Bediuzzaman did not wish attention to be drawn to kerametler, or his powers of this sort.
In 1954, Bediuzzaman returned to Barla, his first visit since he had left there twenty years earlier, and wept with emotion as he entered his first `Risale-i Nur Medrese',where he had lived for eight years, and saw the mighty plane tree which stands outside it, for it was here and in the gardens and mountains of Barla that the greater part of the Risale-i Nur had been written.
With Bediuzzaman's increasing years these trips became difficult for him, and every day he felt the need to go out into the countryside to take the fresh air. So finally in 1955 his leading students from Isparta, Inebolu, and Emirdag clubbed together and bought first a jeep, and then, when it was seen this was too uncomfortable for Bediuzzaman on the rough roads of that time, they exchanged it for a 1953 Chevrolet. This he then used for his remaining years.
 
· The Publishing of the Risale-i Nur and Other Activities
 
Prior to the final Afyon Court decision in 1956 to return all the confiscated copies of the Risale-i Nur, hand-written copies continued to be reproduced on duplicating machines in Isparta and Inebolu. These were still for the most part in the Ottoman script. In Ankara and other places young Risale-i Nur Students also reproduced copies, some of which were in the new letters, but this was on a small scale. An important part of the work now was also reproduction of the Bediuzzaman's letters - the Lahika or Additional Letters. Up to 1953 these were copied out onto waxed paper by Hüsrev in Isparta, and then taken to the village of Sav, where they were duplicated and then distributed countrywide. The large collections, also duplicated there, were sent to Istanbul to be bound, then returned in book form. The Risale-i Nur Students, and particularly Hüsrev, were constantly watched by the police. They still had to act with extreme circumspection, always on the alert against possible raids and harassment of other sorts.
Following Bediuzzaman's visit to Istanbul in 1953, young Risale-i Nur Students including Mehmet Firinci in whose house Bediuzzaman had stayed, formed themselves into a group and by degrees undertook similar activities for the publishing and distribution of the Risale-i Nur as far as their limited means allowed. Finally they were given the use of a house near the Süleymaniye Mosque where they were able to install duplicating machines, all in the greatest secrecy. This house became the first `Risale-i Nur Study Centre' (dershane) in Istanbul, and these students also formed the nucleus of Risale-i Nur Students in Istanbul, holding the communal readings of the Risale-i Nur in many places throughout the city and with groups of people from all walks of life.
Bediuzzaman attached the greatest importance to these activities. particularly to the publication. He himself correcting copies, and after they were printed, the proofs. Those in the new letters, he would correct together with one of his students. It often happened that when out in the country he would suddenly decide to return, and he and his students would find one of the Istanbul or Ankara students awaiting him with proofs to be corrected. Bediuzzaman would immediately correct them and do nothing else till they were completed. Bediuzzaman also gave much importance to these young students, most of whom were well-educated, reading to them and teaching them from the Risale-i Nur and encouraging them to study it.
Bediuzzaman was seeing now the fruition of the labours of thirty years of exile, imprisonment, and torment. Especially after the Risale-i Nur began to be printed on modem presses in the new letters in 1957 in Ankara and Istanbul. he declared: "Now is the time of the Risale-i Nur's festival. My duty is finished. This is the time I have long waited for. Now I can go." He was so filled with joy, he could not stop in one place, wanting to all the time make excursions to Egridir and its lake, to Barla. and to all the many places of beauty around Isparta, whether by horse, donkey, or car.
Firstly, Bediuzzaman had wanted the Prime Minister, Menderes, to print the Risale-i Nur officially, and one of the Isparta Deputies, Dr. Tahsin Tola, had approached him on the matter. Menderes had great respect for Bediuzzaman and had met the suggestion favourably, telling Dr. Tola to organise it through the Directorate of Religious Affairs. The attempt did not get further than that, however, and it was at that point that Bediuzzaman instructed his students to have it printed. Dr. Tola was able to secure the paper through the Democrat Government, at a time of shortage, and first of all they had printed Sözler, The Words. Taking advantage of his parliamentary immunity, Tahsin Tola then supervised the sending of it to Istanbul to be bound. The Risale-i Nur Students still worked under constant fear of police intervention. Following this, the other main collections of The Flashes (Lem’alar), and Letters (Mektubat) were printed. At the same time, the Students in Istanbul started printing, with ten thousand copies of The Short Words, two thousand five hundred of which they immediately posted to various places in Anatolia. Also printed were five thousand A Letter to Women.
In 1958 a number of Bediuzzaman's close students, primarily Mustafa Sungur and Zübeyir, prepared Bediuzzaman's `official' biography. Wanting attention to be focused on the Risale-i Nur, Bediuzzaman cut out most of the sections describing his personal life and exploits. On its being printed, after discussions as to whether or not there should be photographs, none were included, but on Bediuzzaman's indication a number were later added.
Bediuzzaman gave importance to translations during these years. both from Turkish into Arabic - to further spread the Risale-i Nur in the Islamic world, and of the Arabic parts of it into Turkish. While he himself translated the Damascus Sermon into Turkish in 1951, his younger brother Abdülmecid, who was then Mufti of Ürgüp near Kayseri, translated The Staff of Moses Collection into Arabic at Bediuzzaman's suggestion. Bediuzzaman wanted to interest many quarters in this work. Later, in 1955 Abdülmecid translated Bediuzzaman's Qur'anic commentary written during the First World War, Signs of Miraculousness (Isarat’ul-I’caz), and his Mesnevî-i Nuriye, from Arabic into Turkish. The Turkish translation of Isârâtü’I-I’caz was then printed in Ankara in the new letters, that is, the Latin alphabet.
 
· The Risale-i Nur's `Positive' Method of Service and Relations with the Democrat Government
 
Even if still under threat of police action, the legal and open printing of the Risale-i Nur was a tremendous victory for Bediuzzaman and his students over those who for thirty years had employed every means to eliminate and silence them, and vindicated the method of service they had followed and adhered to. The Risale-i Nur and its way of `positive action', the patient and silent struggle to save and strengthen belief in God and the other truths of religion by peaceful means - primarily that of the written word - and non-involvement in politics had prevailed over the forces seeking to eradicate Islam and extinguish belief, and by creating anarchy in society, to destroy it and subjugate the Turkish nation to communism and irreligion. The unique function of the Risale-i Nur in the renewal of belief and revitalisation of Islam demanded this method, which had few counterparts in the Islamic world, where attempts to serve Islam were often by `direct', violent, or political methods.
As described in the Introduction to the present chapter, the way of the Risale-i Nur was peaceful cihad or `cihad of the word' (mânevî cihad) in the struggle against aggressive atheism and irreligion. By working solely for the spread and strengthening of belief, it was to work also for the preservation of internal order and peace and stability in society in the face of the moral and spiritual destruction of communism and the forces of irreligion which aimed to destabilise society and create anarchy, and to form "a barrier' against them. Since the Democrat Party also understood the dangers which these posed and took a positive stand against them, and furthermore took steps to strengthen Islam, Bediuzzaman described the Democrats as "assisting" the Risale-i Nur Students in their struggle and offered them their support. And he himself gave them advice and guidance on these matters from time to time.
Thus, since, unlike many groups and individuals who mistakenly aimed to further the cause of Islam by `negative' means the Risale-i Nur Students followed this `positive' method, the Democrat Government took a lenient attitude towards them, permitting the open publication of the Risale-i Nur after it had been cleared by Afyon Court in 1956 and not attempting to repress the movement. In view of these facts, Bediuzzaman continued to support the Democrats, and in particular the Prime Minister, Menderes, throughout the ten years they were in power, and in the face of the opposition Menderes faced from all quarters including some Islamic and religious quarters also urged his students to support them. Indeed, Menderes and the Government had to sustain opposition of the most vengeful and ruthless kind from the ousted Republican People's Party and particularly its leader, Ismet Inönü. This support was despite Bediuzzaman and the Risale-i Nur Students continuing to be subject to various sorts of harassment at the hands of certain officials - mostly supporters of the RPP - and to be called up before the law, and also despite the fact that the Democrats were, in Bediuzzaman's words, "the lesser of two evils" and that among them were individuals who could not be considered sympathetic towards religion. For Menderes and others of his Government who were sincere Muslims performed great services for the cause of Islam and did much to reverse the harm of the quarter century of RPP rule, so that despite the army coup which overthrew him two months after Bediuzzaman's death in 1960, and subsequent coups, the religious freedoms he returned to the Turkish people were not subsequently lost and made possible the future blossoming of Islam, in which the Risale-i Nur played such an important part. They also afforded 'Turkish society sufficient strength and solidity to withstand the current of anarchy which grew and gained strength through out the nineteen sixties and seventies following the overthrow. In fact, Bediuzzaman told Giyaseddin Emre, elected as Independent Deputy for Mus to the National Assembly in 1954, who visited Bediuzzaman on numerous occasions:
"Adnan Menderes is a champion of religion; he has performed great services for religion and will perform (more). But he won't see the fruits of this that he wishes. I too have performed services for religion, I can't conceal it, and like Adnan Bey, I also won't see the results. The fruits of both will become apparent in the future."
 
· Bediuzzaman's Support for the Baghdad Pact and CENTO
 
It is in the light of this `positive' attitude towards the Democrats of Bediuzzaman and the Risale-i Nur movement, and in those often difficult and hostile conditions their always aiming to draw them with advice and guidance towards further, more far-reaching measures favouring Islam and religion that Bediuzzaman's letter of support for the Baghdad Pact should be seen. Indeed, this method of service enabled the movement to emerge as a significant force within the country, although the Risale-i Nur Students themselves did not participate in politics. Also Bediuzzaman's support for the Pact shows his support of Turkey and the Islamic countries joining the Western alliance against the threat of communism, as is mentioned the Introduction to this chapter.
The Baghdad Pact was firstly signed in February, 1955, between Turkey and Iraq, and was subsequently joined by Pakistan, Iran, and Britain. In connection with this agreement Bediuzzaman wrote a letter of congratulationsı to Menderes and the President, Celâl Bayar, applauding the move as a necessary first step towards securing peace in the area, and as someone who had studied its problems for some fifty- five years, he pointed out the two solutions he had found.
Bediuzzaman supported Turkey's agreement with Iraq and the other Muslim countries in the Baghdad Pact primarily because it realigned her with the Islamic world and was a step towards re-establishing close relations between 'Turkey and the Arab world, which had been virtually non-existent since the collapse of the Ottoman Empire after the First World War. Islamic Unity of a non-political nature was a source of strength for Turkey, particularly against communism and irreligion, which he encouraged Menderes and the Democrats to work for and benefit from in a number of letters.
In the letter he wrote concerning the Pact, Bediuzzaman explained that the greatest danger for the area lay in racialism. Just as it had caused great harm to the Muslim peoples in the past, so again at that time there were signs that it was being exploited by "covert atheists" in order to destroy Islamic brotherhood and prevent the Muslim nations uniting. Whereas the true nationality or nationhood of both Turks and Arabs was Islam; their Arabness and Arab nationality and Turkishness had fused with Islam. The new alliance would repulse the danger of racialism, and besides gaining for the Turkish nation "four hundred million brothers", it would also gain for them the "friendship of eight hundred million Christians." That is to say, Bediuzzaman saw it as an important step towards general peace and reconciliation, of which all were in such need.
The two solutions Bediuzzaman had found on learning of the explicit threats to the Qur'an, Islam, and the Islamic world some sixty years previously had been the Risale-i Nur and his Eastern University, the Medresetu’z-Zehra. Both were effective and important means of establishing Islamic Unity. The Risale-i Nur served to develop "the brotherhood of belief' through the unparalleled way it served to strengthen belief; it was already demonstrating this throughout the Islamic world and beyond. So too it had defeated atheistic philosophy and other means of corruption. Thus, Bediuzzaman called on the President and Prime Minister to use the means at their disposal to make the Risale-i Nur, "this manifestation of the Qur'an's miraculousness", better known to the Islamic world.
As for the Medresetü'z-Zehra, Bediuzzaman intended for it to play the central and unifying role in Asia that el-Ezher performs in Africa. Besides combating racialism and nationalism by acting as a centre of learning and attracting students from "Arabia, India, Iran, Caucasia, Turkistan, and Kurdistan" and thus contributing to the development of a sense of "Islamic nationhood", this large Islamic university would also "reconcile the sciences of philosophy and those of religion, and make peace between European civilisation and the truths of Islam." And thus unifying secular and religious education, would be both a modem secular school and a religious school. As has been described in previous chapters, Bediuzzaman received money at various times for its construction, but due to the vicissitudes of the times, the project could not be realised.
Doubtless the main reason for Bediuzzaman’s mentioning the Medresetü'z-Zehra in his letter was that the new President, Celal Bayar, had announced in a speech in Van in 1951 that the Democrat Government planned to build a university there in Eastern Turkey. Bediuzzaman had met the announcement with great gratification, equating it with his Medresetü'z-Zehra , and writing to inform his students of it under the heading "Some Important Good News for Risale-i Nur Students". And again in the present letter, he applauded the President's move, both for Turkey as a whole, and the east of the country, and as "a foundation stone of general peace in the Middle East." Only Bediuzzaman stressed that for it to perform this vital finction, the sciences of religion should be taken as the basis of the university. For "the destruction" was caused by external forces and was not of a physical nature, but was "moral and spiritual" (manevi). What would counter and reverse the destruction also had to be of a moral and spiritual nature, "of the strength of an atom bomb". As a specialist on these matters of some fifty-five years' standing, Bediuzzaman had the right to speak concerning them.
It may be added that although the Government completed the project and the Eastern University was opened in November,1958, it was built in Erzurum, not Van, and given the name, Ataturk University. The campaign the RPP and some newspapers conducted against the Government protesting that it was "building Said Nursi's Medrese" may have had some bearing on this.
In connection with the Baghdad Pact, it might also be mentioned that Bediuzzaman's students who were with him at the time of the revolution in Iraq, 14 July 1958, have recorded his extreme distress at the events there. This was not only at the brutal killings, many of the victims of which were descendents of the Prophet (PBUH), but also because the revolution "put a bomb to the auspicious developments" of the Pact and the moves towards Islamic Unity and co-operation. However it is apparent from a statement Bediuzzaman made on the fourth day after the revolution that he expected unity on a broader scale to result from such actions on the behalf of communism and unbelief, for he said:
"I was expecting Germany, Japan, India, Pakistan, America, and the Islamic world to strike together against absolute unbelief. It means the time has not yet come.”
 
· Other Matters on which the Third Said Addressed the Democrats
 
It was because from time to time Bediuzzaman concerned himself with matters such as the Baghdad Pact that these last ten years of his life are known as the period of the Third Said. The favourable attitude towards Islam of Menderes and a number of Democrats prompted Bediuzzaman to put forward to them certain key principles which would counter the destructive moves made by "those who exploited politics for the cause of irreligion" and establish unity and harmony in society and solidarity with the Islamic world. In order to understand better this endeavour on the part of Bediuzzaman, and also the opposition he continued to receive from the RPP and the enemies of religion, which demonstrated their fear of him and his penetrating analyses of the situation, it is worth recalling briefly the nature of the struggle.
The basis of the argument that had now been continuing in Turkey for over a century and a half had been over what was necessary firstly to save the Ottoman Empire, and then when the Empire collapsed, to set Turkey on the road to progress and prosperity. Simply, on the one hand, there had been those who had favoured Westernization and adopting `man-made' philosophy of some sort as the ideological basis of the State and society. While on the other, there were those who believed that religion, Islam, was the source of true civilisation. Among these some, like Bediuzzaman, stated that it was necessary to take science and technology from the West but nothing else. Thus, in this struggle between `philosophy' and `religion', Westernization and Islam. which had turned into a battle between belief and unbelief and had been so bitter in Turkey, Bediuzzaman had dedicated his life to proving that Islam and religion were superior to Western philosophy and civilisation, and that mankind's happiness and salvation were to be found only in them. In numerous places in the Risale-i Nur, Bediuzzaman proves and demonstrates this in the context of belief. Now to returned to the Third Said, primarily by means of letters to Menderes and the Democrats, Bediuzzaman diagnosed some of the ills in the socio-political situation of that time, pointed out both their source and origin in philosophy, and their possible dire consequences, and at the same time, the remedies, which were in the form of basic principles taken from the Qur'an or Hadiths. The following is a brief example.
The "fundamental law", as Bediuzzaman called these basic Islamic principles, that he most often put forward was the Qur'anic verse: No bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another, which he used in its meaning of "No one is answerable for another’s faults or errors." He frequently used this principle in different contexts as the solution for various ills in society resulting from the adoption of Western principles.
In one letter, Bediuzzaman wrote that the reason he had altogether given up politics for nearly forty years was that contrary to the basic principle of the above-mentioned verse, one of the most basic principles of "human politics", that is, politics and diplomacy based on principles taken from "philosophy" of some sort rather than divinely revealed religion, was, "Individuals may be sacrificed for the good of the nation and society. Everything may be sacrificed for the sake of the country." This "fundamental human law had resulted in appalling crimes throughout history, including the two World Wars this century, which had "overturned a thousand years of human progress", and had given the licence for the annihilation of ninety innocents on account of ten criminals. Whereas the verse taught the principle that no one was responsible for another's crimes. And no innocent person could be sacrificed without his consent, even for the whole of humanity. It establishes true justice for man.
The main context in which Bediuzzaman advises the adoption of the "fundamental law", No bearer of burdens can bear the burdens of another , is in connection with the extreme partisanship among supporters of the various political parties which was then being "implanted" in Turkish life. He describes the dire social consequences of this partisanship as firstly completely destroying love and brotherhood, the foundations of unity and consensus. Moreover, through clashing, the three or four opposing forces or parties loose their power, so that the power that remains is insufficient to secure what is beneficial to the country and maintain internal order and security. This partisanship could even therefore allow the seeds of revolution to become established. So too the resulting weakness prepares the ground for foreign intervention. The above-mentioned Qur'anic principle with its meaning, "No one is responsible for the mistakes of another. Even if it is his brother , or tribe, or group, or party, one cannot be considered guilty because of another's crime. Even if he gives it his moral support, he will only be answerable in the hereafter, not in this world", prevents extreme partisanship. It should be taken as the rule of conduct along with other "basic principles" , such as lndeed, the believers are brothers, and, Hold firm to God's rope , all together, and be not divided among yourselves.
Bediuzzaman also examined this same question in connection with "the accusation of [political] reaction (irtica')", which ever since the 3l st March Incident in 1909 had been a favourite means of attacking religion by "those who make politics the tool of irreligion." It was continually used against Menderes and the Democrats throughout their ten years in power, by the RPP and Inönü in particular. It will be recalled how an outcry of "reaction" was raised against Bediuzzaman and his students by the RPP in 1934 before the Eskisehir trials. The newspapers were the usual means of these campaigns being carried out. And the imaginary `bogey' of political reaction was even given as the reason for Menderes' shameful and inexcusable execution in 1961. In connection with the matter in question, Bediuzzaman points out that the truth had been turned on its head, for those who attack religion in the name of civilisation by making accusations of political reaction are in reality the reactionaries. Because, for example, the `human' principle which allows individuals to be sacrificed for the good of society, permits minor wrongs when it comes to the good of the state, and has led to whole villages being wiped out on account of one criminal, and so on. And in the First World War, thirty million unfortunates perished on account of the criminal political mistakes of three thousand. Those who supported a barbaric principle which thus destroys the well-being, justice, and peace of mankind are retrogressing to a barbarism of former times. Yet, these true reactionaries pose as patriots and accuse of political reaction those who work to secure unity and brotherhood through Qur'anic principles such as those mentioned above, which are the means to true justice and progress.
Another "fundamental Islamic law" which Bediuzzaman advised Menderes and the Democrats to adopt was taken from the Hadith, "A nation's ruler is its servant." Because, Bediuzzaman wrote, "At this time, due to the lack of Islamic training and weakness in worship, egotism has been strengthened, and tin-pot dictators have multiplied." That is to say, under the former regime, which aimed to substitute Western civilisation for Islam, as a bribe to its supporters, positions in government and the administration ceased being service and became a means of domination and despotism. Everyone's rights were trampled on and justice was completely destroyed. As early as 1952, Bediuzzaman warned Menderes that these discountenanced officials, many of whom remained in their positions after 1950 but were compelled by the Democrats to serve the nation rather than oppressing and exploiting it, formed a current of opposition ready to attack the Democrats. A second current was the racialist nationalists . In fact, both played an important role in the Democrats' overthrow.
 
· Further Victories and the Struggle Continues
 
The struggle between these various forces continued. Rather, it grew fiercer and more intense. On the one hand, the struggle between Inönü and the RPP against Menderes grew fiercer the longer the Democrat Party remained in power and introduced measures favouring Islam, and so too in the face of the spread and successes of the Risale-i Nur, supporters of the former regime, still powerful in the police, judiciary, and administrative structure, used their positions to increase pressure on the Risale-i Nur Students. There were further court cases, a campaign of vilification in the press against Bediuzzaman and his students, and Bediuzzaman himself was held under closer surveillance.
Following the general elections of October, 1957, which the Democrats again won though with a decreased majority, the opposition increased their campaign against the Government, which by I959 had degenerated into the open incitement of disturbances throughout the country. In order to prevent the RPP returning to power in the face of the difficulties the Democrats were facing, Bediuzzaman openly gave the Democrats his vote in the elections, and urged all the Risale-i Nur Students to do likewise. Thus, the RPP, who had expected to win the elections, held Bediuzzaman responsible for their defeat. Inönü is even reported to have declared that it was the Nurcu's (Risale-i Nur Students) who defeated him. This was an added element in the pressure RPP supporters now endeavoured to bring to bear on the Risale-i Nur Students.
At the same time, with the publication of the Risale-i Nur having been left free officially, as well as the freedoms that had been gained with the Democrat Government, the Risale-i Nur movement had been greatly strengthened and expanded. `Risale-i Nur study-centres' (dershane) were opened in every part of the country. It was the custom to bring the key of each as it was newly opened to Bediuzzaman, who would offer prayers for its success. In eastern Turkey also, through the endeavours of Bediuzzaman's old students such as Hulûsi Bey and Cayci Emin, the Risale-i Nur spread greatly during this time, so that from one letter we learn that there were around two hundred dershanes in Diyarbakir and the east, including four or five specifically for women in Diyarbakir itself. On occasion in Diyarbakir as many as a thousand people would attend the derses, the readings of the Risale-i Nur. In Ankara, Istanbul, Eskisehir, and all the main centres in Anatolia, the Risale-i Nur and its associated activities flourished.
The corollary of these successes was increased pressure and harassment from the enemies of religion. Bediuzzaman told Hulûsi Bey when he visited him in Emirdag in 1957 that he now had to take further precautions to protect himself in the face of the threats to himself. For a further attempt had been made on his life, when an unknown person had entered his house by way of the roof and thrown poison in his water jug. Then in April ,1958, RPP supporters in Nazilli in western Anatolia set up a plot against the local Risale-i Nur Students, two of whom were arrested. In concert with them, the newspapers started a furore describing the Nurcus as "enemies of the reforms". In response the Risale-i Nur Students in Ankara wrote and published a letter answering their misrepresentations and lies, whereupon eleven of the leading Students were arrested and held in Ankara Prison. This was the first case the lawyer Bekir Berk undertook for the Risale-i Nur Students, who were all acquitted. Bekir Berk, subsequently famous as "the Muslims' lawyer" was also appointed by Bediuzzaman as his attorney. In Konya too, where the Risale-i Nur Students were active, there were arrests and court cases, and in many other centres. At the same time the country-wide press campaign against Bediuzzaman and the Risale-i Nur movement continued, with blatant misreporting and misrepresentations. Bediuzzaman and his students did not let these attacks remain unanswered and published replies, a number of which are included in the second volume of Emirdag Lahikasi. This wide press coverage of all Bediuzzaman's movements and activities continued right up to the time of his death. It was particularly so during December, 1959, and January ,1960, when Bediuzzaman made a number of journeys to Konya. Ankara, and Istanbul. Just as the criminal charges made against the Risale-i Nur Students were mostly under Article 163 and involved infringing the principle of secularism and exploiting religion for political ends in some respect, so too the supporters of the RPP, the press, and Bediuzzaman's enemies still persisted in accusing Bediuzzaman of pursuing political ends. That is to say, although Bediuzzaman and his students had been acquitted by courts of law on such charges on numerous occasions, in this continuing and bitter struggle, their enemies could find no other weapon with which to attack them.
 
· Sincerity and Bediuzzaman's Health and State of Mind
 
As we approach the end of Bediuzzaman's life, just how baseless and far from the truth such accusations were may be further illustrated by descriptions of Bediuzzaman's health and state of mind during these last years, both by himself and his students who were constantly with him. As has been mentioned in other contexts, the basis of the Risale-i Nur's way is sincerity (ihlas), which was the secret of its successes and victories. That is, to follow no aim other than God's pleasure in the service of belief and the Qur'an. and to make such service the tool of nothing. The preservation of this sincerity precluded participation in politics or the following of personal benefits of any kind. Bediuzzaman embodied sincerity in all its aspects to the highest degree. The letters and statements describing Bediuzzaman's health at this time point out how, just as throughout his life he had inclined towards and chosen solitude and especially for the last thirty or so years, had avoided inessential social intercourse and conversation, and how a second rule of his had been never to accept unreciprocated gifts, alms or charity and he had always practised absolute self sufficiency, now that Bediuzzaman was over eighty years of age and in need of others and their assistance two illness had been visited on him so that he could preserve his total sincerity.
The first of these illnesses was that he was very often unable to speak; after speaking for two or three minutes, he would be overcome by a terrific thirst. He wrote in a letter that at a time when enemies even were being transformed into friends, by preventing unnecessary conversation, this helped maintain maximum sincerity. And the second illness was that now gifts, both material and immaterial, caused him to become ill. So much as a mouthful of food, if it was an unreciprocated gift, and even if it was from one of his closest students, would make him ill. So too, Bediuzzaman defined the visits paid to him by the thousands wanting to see and speak with him as "immaterial gifts" which he was unable to repay. Then at that time when the Risale-i Nur was spreading so rapidly and finding so many new readers, he had been given a state of mind, like an illness, whereby he was severely discomforted by the often excessive respect and veneration shown him and by conversing and shaking hands with his visitors, again so that he could preserve the maximum sincerity.
Thus, Bediuzzaman was able to receive only a very few of all those who came from all over Turkey and beyond to visit him. He published letters explaining this: due to these illnesses, it was his wish to meet only those concerned with the publication of the Risale-i Nur, indeed he generally did not speak of other matters even with his students who accompanied him and attended to his needs. In a letter written by these students explaining this state of mind of Bediuzzaman's to those who came to visit him and had to return without seeing him, they wrote:
"...On numerous occasions we have understood that to shake hands and have his hand kissed is as distressing for Ustad's spirit as receiving a blow. Also he is severely distressed at being looked at and being studied. Even we may not look at him, although we attend to his needs, unless it is essential. We have understood the meaning and wisdom of this to be as follows:
"Since the fundamental way of the Risale-i Nur is true sincerity, the occurrences of the present time - speaking with people and being shown excessive respect - affect him adversely and severely, because in this age of egotism they are signs of self-worship, hypocrisy, and artificiality. For he says, if those who want to meet with him, want to do so for the Risale-i Nur and for the hereafter, the Risale-i Nur leaves no need for him; each of its millions of copies is as beneficial as ten Said's. If they want to meet with him in respect of this world and worldly matters, then since he has earnestly given up the world, he suffers serious discomfort, because things concerning it are trivial and a waste of time. And if it is concerning the service and publication of the Risale-i Nur, it is sufficient for them to meet with his true, self-sacrificing students who serve him, his spiritual sons and brothers, in his place. He says that no need remains for him..."
In a letter Bediuzzaman himself wrote, even, he interprets his thirty years or so of exile, imprisonment and oppression as continual Divine warnings not to make his service to religion the means to personal benefits of any kind, and so preserve this absolute sincerity. The oppression and tyranny he suffered due to the entirely false and unjust accusations of "exploiting religion for political ends" acted as a sort of "obstacle" preventing him from succumbing to "the great danger in the service of belief in this egotistical age" , which was to make that service the means to his own progress and advancement, and to salvation from Hell and earning Paradise. Bediuzzaman had been aware that something had prevented him and it was only now that he understood the real cause. For although to work for these things was perfectly licit, at the present time in the face of the `collective personality' of misguidance and irreligion, the truths of the Qur'an and belief had to be taught in an effective and convincing way in order to refute and smash unbelief. And that was through such teaching being the tool of nothing. "So that those needy for belief would understand that it is only the truth and reality which speaks, and the doubts of the soul and wiles of Satan would be silenced."
Bediuzzaman wrote that the secret of the Risale-i Nur's success in halting and defeating absolute unbelief in those difficult conditions in Turkey at that time where others had failed lay in this fact. And he himself was perfectly resigned at all the torments and oppression he had suffered, forgiving those who had perpetrated them. If he had not sacrificed everything, this extraordinary power of the Risale-i Nur's would have been lost whereby the belief of some people had been saved by only a single of its pages.
It was through this sincerity that the collective personality of the Risale-i Nur was formed, which Bediuzzaman described as a sort of Renewer or Regenerator of Religion (müceddid). For just as a Renewer was sent each century who would serve religion and belief in exactly the required way, in the present age of the assaults of secret societies and the collective personality of misguidance, the Renewer of Religion has to be in the form of a collective personality. Just such a collective personality was that of the Risale-i Nur, formed through the self-sacrificing sincerity of Bediuzzaman and its students. Indeed, Bediuzzaman described his life, himself, as a seed, out of which in His Mercy, Almighty God had created the valuable, fruit-bearing tree of the Risale-i Nur. "I was a seed; I rotted away and disappeared. All the value pertains to the Risale-i Nur, which is a true and faithful commentary on the Qur'an, and is its meaning.”’
 
· Bediuzzaman's Will and His Wish for an Unknown Grave
 
It was for the same reason, to preserve this `maximum sincerity' wherein lay the Risale-Nur's power and the secret of its success, that on numerous occasions Bediuzzaman stated that he wanted the location of his grave to remain secret, known only by one or two of his closest students. He also had this written in his will..
Bediuzzaman made his will on a number of occasions, the first being in Emirdag before being sent to Afyon in January, 1948. Pointing out that it was a Sunna of the Prophet (PBUH) to make a will since the appointed hour was unknown, in this will he named a committee of his students to which he wished his personal effects and finest volumes of the Risale-i Nur to be left." In his later wills, he stipulates two points, one is the question of his grave being secret and the other, the payment of allowances to those of the Risale-i Nur Students who worked solely for the Risale-i Nur and had no other means of subsistence.
Bediuzzaman stated that those who wished to visit his grave should do so only in the spirit and recite the Fatiha for his soul from afar. For, "Like in olden times, out of the desire for fame and renown, the Pharaohs turned the attention of people to themselves by means of of statues, pictures and mummies, so too in this fearsome age, through the heedlessness it produces, egotism directs all attention to this world by means of statues, portraits, and newspapers, and the worldly attach more importance to the worldly fame and renown of the deceased through the worldly future they imagine has thus been obtained for them. They visit the deceased in this way, rather than visiting them for God's pleasure alone and their future in the hereafter. In order not to spoil the maximum sincerity of the Risale-i Nur and through the mystery of that sincerity, I enjoin that my grave is not made known..." Just as for this reason he had not wished to receive visitors in this world, so too he did not wish his grave to be visited.
Although at various times Bediuzzaman stated where he wished to be buried, for instance, in one letter saying that he would prefer the graveyard in the village of Sav near Isparta to Barla ,and in one of his wills that if he died in Emirdag, his students should bury him in the `upper graveyard', and if in Isparta ,in the ‘ middle graveyard’ , he also said he would like to die in and Urfa in south-eastern 'Turkey, where the Prophet Abraham is buried ,and which is where in fact he did die. He told this to Salih Özcan, who recounted it like this:
"It was in 1954. In Emirdag, Mustafa Acet, Sadik and myself went up into the hills with Ustad. When we came to a tree, Ustad stopped at it for half an hour, deep in contemplation. Then he called us to him and said:
" `Keceli! Keceli! No one will know my grave. You won't know it either. I want to die in your home region [Urfa]. I want to die near the Friend of the Most Merciful [Abraham)."'
In 1950 Bediuzzaman had sent some of personal belongings to Urfa with one of his students saying that he himself would be going there. These included Mevlana Halid-i Bagdadî’s gown, given to him in Kastamonu . The student later handed them over to Abdullah Yegin, Bediuzzman’s close student since his schooldays, who stayed some eight years in Urfa. He opened a dershane there which became an important centre of Risale-i Nur activities. Bediuzzaman was unable to visit it until the time of his death.
Bediuzzaman also wrote three additional wills directing his closest students to continue his practice of paying an allowance to those Risale-i Nur Students who had dedicated themselves to its service and who could not otherwise provide for themselves. These were probably written in 1959. It had been the Old Said's practice to provide for his students. He describes how through "the abundance resulting from frugality and contentment", he had been able to provide for the needs of twenty, thirty, and sometimes sixty students without breaking his principle of self-sufficiency. Now, the Risale-i Nur had begun to produce sufficient profit to do likewise. One fifth of the money obtained from selling copies of it was sufficient to pay an allowance to fifty to sixty students.
Bediuzzaman wrote that he was making plain these wishes of his in a will because, "...Personally I no longer have the strength to carry out the duties connected with the Risale-i Nur. And perhaps no need remains for me to do so. It is as though, due to being poisoned many times and because of extreme old age and illness, I do not have the endurance to continue living. Even if death. which I so long for, does not come to me, it is as though I have died outwardly..." "Since I am no longer needed at all in regard to the Risale-i Nur, to go to the Intermediate Realm [beyond the grave] is a source of joy for me. As for you, do not be sad. Congratulate me, rather, for I am going from hardship and difficulties to Mercy."
 
· Bediuzzaman's Trips to Ankara, Istanbul, and Konya
 
In December,1959, and January,1960, Bediuzzaman embarked on a series of trips to Ankara, Konya, and Istanbul, which in the light of the above descriptions of his health and state of mind show more than anything his extraordinary perseverance and self-sacrifice in continuing his struggle against unbelief and service to belief and the Qur'an through the Risale-i Nur. To visit his students and the `Risale-i Nur study centres' (dershane), which was his immediate reason for the trips, when not only meeting with people and being held in esteem was such torment for him, but also his health was so poor, was truly a feat of endurance which only someone of the will and determination of Bediuzzaman could have achieved.
Bediuzzaman was now receiving repeated and insistent invitations from his students all over Turkey for him to visit them, and his trips were in response to these. At the same time they had the character of farewell visits. Ankara and Istanbul were the main centres of publication, and Konya was both an important centre of activity and where Bediuzzaman's brother, Abdülmecid, now lived, whom he had seen only once in forty years. Bediuzzaman visited Istanbul once during this two months, Konya, three times, and Ankara, four times. His trips to Ankara had a further important purpose; he wanted to warn Menderes and the Democrats of the dangers looming before them and to suggest certain ways of averting them.
The clouds of disaster and revolution were gathering in Turkey. A coup attempt had already been uncovered and forestalled in 1958. Unable to abide the liberalism, religious freedoms, and resurgence of Islam which were the fruits of Democrat rule, supporters of the former regime, now represented by Inönü and the RPP, were preparing to regain power by force. For they could not do so by the vote or legal means. Mentioned above was Bediuzzaman's warning to Menderes in 1952 of "the possible attack" of the two currents within the opposition whose interests were most harmed by Democrat policies. Now the danger was imminent and he was anxious above everything to warn them of this. For it was not only a question of saving the Democrats, it was a question of saving the country from the consequences of once again coming under the rule of forces hostile to Islam and favourable to irreligion. However, this was only one reason for the journeys, which as a citizen Bediuzzaman had a perfect right to make, just as he had the right to offer advice to politicians. Nevertheless, Inönü and the RPP seized on them as a means of further attacking and weakening the Government; besides Inönü making a series of inflammatory statements, they prompted the press to create a sensation and furore over the journeys, which resulted in overreaction by the police and their taking extraordinary measures against Bediuzzaman wherever he visited.
Bediuzzaman's urgent advice to Menderes and the Democrat Deputies who visited him in Ankara was to re-open Aya Sophia as a place of worship and to make an official announcement stating that the Risale-i Nur was not subject to any restrictions. That is to say, Bediuzzaman saw that the only way the Democrats could now save themselves, having fallen into a position of weakness and disadvantage before Inönü and the RPP, was to stand up and make bold statements concerning the principles in which they believed, and in the service to which their former successes and popularity lay. However, for whatever reasons, Menderes did not have the will or courage to respond to these urgent suggestions of Bediuzzaman's, and within less than six months was overthrown by the coup Bediuzzaman had foreseen, and the country was back in the hands of its former rulers. As for Bediuzzaman, when he saw that his advice evoked no response from Menderes, he complied with the wish of the authorities and remained in Emirdag, then Isparta, making his final journey to Urfa some two months later in March.
All Bediuzzaman's journeys were in the Chevrolet his students had bought for his use. His first trip was to Ankara on 2 December,1959. Accompanied by Zübeyir, he stayed one night in the Beyrut Palas Hotel, then returned to Emirdag the following day. He continued to Isparta, where he remained two weeks, then returned to Emirdag. On 19 December he went to Konya on the invitation of his brother, Abdülmecid. It should also be mentioned that due to his various indispositions, Bediuzzaman could not remain in one place, but felt the continual need for a change of air and scene.
On this occasion, in addition to Zübeyir, Bediuzzaman was accompanied by two of his most active Ankara students, Atif Ural and Said Özdemir. The latter described the visit. On Bediuzzaman's ear stopping in the middle of Konya, it was surrounded by a large crowd. Abdülmecid arrived and spoke with this elder brother through the open window of the car. Then the police arrived on the scene and started to break up the growing crowd by force, upon which Bediuzzaman stated he wished to perform the prayers, then visit the tomb of Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi. The Director of the Museum opened the tomb specially for Bediuzzaman since it was closed that day. Taking off his shoes, he entered the tomb and offered some prayers; he was weeping. He was surrounded by people and police even in the tomb. On emerging, he told the police:
"Thank you! It is torment for me to have my hands kissed, and you prevented it. For twenty-eight years I have served this country's peace and security together with imprisonment, torment, detention, and oppression. You serve its order and security physically, while I serve it in a non-material way. We have served it as much as a thousand public prosecutors and police chiefs, so look upon us as fellow-officials, not in any other way. And tell your fellow police." Bediuzzaman then returned to Emirdag, or more likely, Isparta.
That night Bediuzzaman set out again for Konya, and arriving at four o'clock in the morning was able to visit his brother's house. After speaking with Abdülmecid for a while, who was then a teacher in Konya Imam Hatip School, they performed the morning prayers together, then Bediuzzaman left for Emirdag.
On the morning of 30 December Bediuzzaman arrived in Ankara for a second time, and again stayed in the Beyrut Palas Hotel. His visit was greeted with sensational headlines in the newspapers: "The Said Nursi Event has started to grow" (Cumhuriyet) "Said Nursi has again come to Ankara...." (Milliyet) "Said Nursi's eventful visit to Konya...Thousands of Nurcus poured onto the streets to greet him: the police were compelled to break up the crowd..." Bediuzzaman received numerous visitors in the hotel: politicians and officials, including three Democrat Deputies, Risale-i Nur Students and ordinary people. The police again over-reacted and the hotel was both held in a cordon of police and gendarmes, and the inside was filled with them. That evening, Bediuzzaman gave a `farewell ders', which among various subjects, impresses once again on the Risale-i Nur Students that the way of the Risale-i Nur is that of "positive action" and the maintenance of public order and security.
Previously to Bediuzzaman's coming to Ankara, the police had seized copies of The Ratifying Stamp of the Unseen Collection in the press while Said Özdemir and others were having it printed. In connection with this, Bediuzzaman received a request from Bekir Berk in Istanbul for a signature. At the same time he was receiving invitations from his students there. The following day he set off in his car for Istanbul.
It was the first day of January, 1960. The newspapers had got wind of his visit and b the time he and his students reached the Piyer Loti Hotel where he was to stay, there was such a thronging crowd, it was only with the greatest difficulty that they could mount the steps to enter it. Bediuzzaman had to be shielded against the barrage of flashing cameras with an umbrella. Police had taken over the inside of the hotel, and the press had set up a headquarters there. Nevertheless, that evening, with astonishing energy, Bediuzzaman gave a long ders to his students gathered in Istanbul. He was to have stayed several days but the following day, 2 January, a newspaper repoerter climbed onto the back balcony of his room and phtographed him performing the midday prayers. Bediuzzaman was exceedingly angry at this and decided to cut short his visit and retum to Ankara. On this occasion he stayed three days, and not in the hotel but in a rented house in Bahcelievler. However, the police still did not leave him in peace.
Bediuzzaman again received visitors during this stay. Three Democrat Deputies have given accounts of visits although it is not absolutely clear during which of Bediuzzaman’s stays they occurred. Said Köker, the Deputy for Bingöl, says he paid Bediuzzaman three visits, and that Bediuzzaman told him and the Deputies with him explicitly of the 27 May military coup, which he said would occur shortly. Bediuzzaman said also he had no connection with political parties and that ‘he only liked Menderes’. Other accounts are by Giyaseddin Emre, the Deputy for Mus, and Dr. Tahsin Tola, forrner Isparta Deputy. Dr. Tola, who had contributed so much to the publication of the Risale-i Nur, was in constant touch with Bediuzzaman in Ankara. He describes Bediuzzaman's anxiety at the forthcoming calamity, and how he related Bediuzzaman's urgent message to the Govemment concerning Aya Sophia and the Risale-i Nur. Bediuzzaman himself also stated in a letter that’an importent reason’ for his going to Ankara was to urge Menderes and the Government to clean up Aya Sophia and make it once more into a place of worship. It may also have been during this stay of Bediuzzaman's that he gave his `last ders' to his students in Ankara.
Bediuzzaman left Ankara on 6 January and went once again to Konya. On 5 January Bediuzzaman had given a long statement to the London Times correspondent, who had wanted to accompan y Bediuzzaman on the journey, but Bediuzzaman had not consented, since the trip to Konya was a ‘personal trip’. Yet despite this being the case - Bediuzzaman went to his brother’s house, then again visited the tomb of Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi - he was met by a huge police presence and followed by police cars wherever he went. He stayed only two hours then returned to Emirdag.
On 1 January, Bediuzzaman set out once again for Ankara. But now the Government had bowed to the pressure of the opposition and he was not permitted to enter the city. His car was stopped by police outside it and he was told of the cabinet decision "advising" him "to rest" in Emirdag. That is, henceforth Emirdag was his place of compulsory residence. Bediuzzaman had already heard the decision, which had been broadcast over the radio, and complied with the request on the car being stopped by the police barricades. He returned to Emirdag.
Bediuzzaman later wrote a statement to the newspapers saying that firstly, because of his illnesses and the fact he very often could not speak, it was a Divine Mercy his being requested by the Government to remain in Emirdag. He hoped his students would not be offended at his not being able to respond to their invitations. Secondly, a proof that his journeys were nothing to do with politics was that among other things due to the rule of the Risale-i Nur taken from the Qur'an, No bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another, meaning, "to disturb public order is to wrong ninety innocents on account of five criminals", their service was extremely beneficial for the country and public security. For that reason Bediuzzaman forgave the police who had caused him difficulties. And thirdly, because the Risale-i Nur had spread everywhere and was so sought after, he had received invitations from twenty provinces, of which he had only been able to visit three. Now he was happy to be in Emirdag, but wanted to go to Isparta.
 
· Bediuzzaman's Last Days
 
On returning to Emirdag, Bediuzzaman apparently no longer concerned himself with the plight of Menderes and the Government. He had done whatever he could to warn them, and now, through their own intervention, he was able to do no more. In fact, his student Said Özdemir reported Bediuzzaman as saying at this this point: "Menderes did not understand me. I shall depart soon. And they too will go - overtumed, head over heels." The Government had indeed lost its credibility by then in the face of Inönü’s attacks and the continual incidents provoked throughout the country, and its grip on the country's affairs continued to decline from this time onwards. Inönü was visited in his house by leading members of the military. The plans were set for the coup. Menderes survived only two months after Bediuzzaman’s death. The increased surveillance under which Bediuzzaman was now held continued right up to the time of his death.
Bediuzzaman remained in Emirdag for some eight days then, in accordance with the wish he had stated to the press, on 20 January he went to Isparta. Here he stayed in his rented house till 17 March, when he returned to Emirdag for two days. The month of Ramazan began that year on 26 February. Thus it was 19 Ramazan 1379 when Bediuzzaman set off for Emirdag in his car together with Zübeyir, Mustafa Sungur, and Hüsnü Bayram, who acted as driver. His health had deteriorated considerably. Until 15 Ramazan, he had even been able to perform the teravih prayers, then he had started to fail. The following day in Emirdag, Bediuzzaman’s students called the doctor, Tahir Barcin. himself long one of Bediuzzaman’s students, for Bediuzzaman was now seriously ill.
According to Dr. Barcin. who answered their call immediately, Bediuzzaman’s temperature was 38o and his condition was serious: he had caught double pneumonia. He gave him an injection of penicillin, then Bediuzzaman dozed off. A short while later, Bediuzzaman smiled, opened his eyes and said to those present:
"My brothers! The Risale-i Nur now prevails over this country. It has broken the backs of the Masons and communists. You will suffer some difficulties, but the end will be truly good.”
In the morning his condition was easier, and he announced that they were returning to Isparta. The preparations were made and unlike previous occasions when Bediuzzaman had Ieft for somewhere else, this time he bade a sorrowful farewell to the faithful Caliskan’s and all his students in Emirdag. Still, the doctor wrote, it did not occur to them that Bediuzzaman was going to die. It was only when they later heard the news from Urfa that they realized that Bediuzzaman had been bidding them farewell for the last time.
Later in the afternoon of 19 March, Bediuzzaman arrived back in Isparta. His students Tahiri Mutlu and Bayram Yüksel were waiting for him. An hour previously the police had come searching for him saying that they had left Emirdag. The account is now Bayram Yüksel’s. He states that it was with great difficulty that they got Bediuzzaman out of the back seat of the car, where he lay, and up the stairs to the house. He was running a high temperature and could not be left. That right at around two o’clock Bayram and Zübeyir were with him when Bediuzzaman suddenly said: "We’re going!" On their asking where, he replied: "Urfa... Diyarbakir." They thought he was feverish. Bediuzzaman kept on repeating, "Urfa. We're going to Urfa." The car tyres needed repairing. But Bediuzzaman insisted, even if it means hiring another car, they would go. Finally, the repairs were done, the back of the car was made up as a bed for Bediuzzaman and at exactly 9 o'clock on 20 March, they were ready for the road. Two police were watching the house. Tahiri Agabey was to remain to watch the house, he was not to open the door to the police. Bediuzzaman said good-bye to the landlady, Fitnat Hanim, she also would say nothing to the police of their destination; and they set off.
It was raining. The rain grew harder and they were not seen as they passed through Egridir. Before Sarkîkaraagac they daubed the number-plate in mud, and after it, Bediuzzaman recovered a little, got out of the car and renewed his ablutions at a spring by the side of the road and performed the prayers on a that rock. Later his condition again worsened and he could not speak. On entering Konya they stopped and bought cheese and olives with which to break the Ramazan fast. They had all been reciting Ayetü’l-Kürsi since leaving Isparta against the evil intentions of the Govemor of Konya, whose vow that he would "rip up the Nurcu's by the roots" had been made the headlines in all the newspapers. Through Divine grace, they passed unspotted through Konya, skirting the mosque of Mevlana Celaleddin.
They continued. Karapinar. Eregli. Now Bediuzzaman could not get out of the car to pray. At sunset they were at Ulukisla. It grew very cold. Bediuzzaman could eat nothing. They passed through Adana in the dark, and reached Ceyhan, where they performed the evening prayers and Hüsnü, the driver, slept for an hour. At the time to eat sahur, they were at Osmaniye. Here they filled up the lank with petrol. Bediuzzaman again ate nothing. At around 7.30 on the morning of 21 March, they reached Gaziantep. They continued. The road was now very rough, churned up with a mixture of snow and mud, but they passed along it without mishap. Finally they reached Urfa at exactly 11 o’clock that morning, which was Monday.
 
· Urfa
 
On arriving in Urfa ,the first place they went was the Kadioglu Mosque, where Abdullah Yegin stayed. Bediuzzaman’s student since a schoolboy in Kastamonu, he had spent nearly ten years in Urfa, helping to build it up as an important centre of Risale-i Nur activity. They learnt the best hotel, the Ipek Palas, and together took Bediuzzman there. He was now in a very poor state. His students had to virtually carry him up to the room they took, Number 27 on the third floor. There then followed the most extraordinary tussle between the police and Government representatives on the one hand, who on the orders of the Interior Minister in Ankara, tried to compel Bediuzzaman to return to Isparta, and Bediuzzaman's students, the people of Urfa and some officials on the other, who categorically refused to allow the extremely ill and weak Bediuzzaman to be moved anywhere.
Bediuzzaman had a joyous reception from the people of Urfa, who began to gather outside the hotel and visit him in an unending stream. Bayram Yüksel writes that he had to hold Bediuzzaman's hands for the people to kiss. Yet despite his extreme weakness and contrary to his previous practice, Bediuzzaman received all who came. And all did come: tradesmen, army officers, soldiers, police, officials, ordinary people; they came in their hundreds. Bediuzzaman explained to Abdullah Yegin the importance of Urfa, speaking of the service to Islam of its people, who, being 'Turkish, Arab, and Kurdish, would be a means to unity and Islamic brotherhood. Bediuzzaman managed to keep going and receive all the people who kept coming.
Suddenly two plain-clothes police arrived and told Bediuzzaman's students that they had to get ready to leave and return to Isparta. These were joined by eleven or so others. They informed Bediuzzaman, who declared:
"How strange! I came here to die, and perhaps I will die. You can see my condition, you defend me!"
They replied that they had their orders and brought Hüsnü together with the car round to the front of the hotel. The hotel manager began protesting at this guest being treated in this way. The crowd became excited, and started shouting and protesting. The situation became very tense. The police could no longer enter the hotel. Then the car disappeared and the crowd calmed down a little. The people continued to visit Bediuzzaman.
The police insisted, saying the order came directly from the Interior Minister in Ankara, Namik Gedik; and was final. Bediuzzaman would be sent by ambulance if they did not take him by car. Bediuzzaman's students said it simply was not possible, and in any event, it was not up to them to relay police orders to him. The heated exchanges continued in this vein. Telegrams were sent to Menderes. Hundreds of telegrams passed between Ankara and Urfa that day. The people declared they would not let Bediuzzaman go.
The news spread that Bediuzzaman was going to be expelled from Urfa. The President of the Urfa branch of the Democrat Party heard, and going straight to the Police Headquarters, told the Police Chief in the strongest terms that Bediuzzaman was their honoured guest and that there was no question of his being treated in this way. The argument continued and the Democrat Party President banged his revolver down on the Police Chief's desk, making it plain that if they were to resort to force, the police would have to dispose of him first.
Meanwhile a crowd of five or six thousand gathered outside the hotel. The Democrat Party President brought the Government Doctor, who examined Bediuzzaman. He had a temperature of 40o. The doctor pronounced him unfit to travel, and said a general report would be made out the following day.
It was now Tuesday evening. Bediuzzaman's students were taking it in turns to remain with him. They were all exhausted. Bayram slept for two hours, then Zübeyir woke him up; he could not keep going any longer. Then Hüsnü went and joined Zübeyir and Abdullah Yegin. Only Bayram was left. He stayed with Bediuzzaman. The door was locked against any possible intrusion. Bediuzzaman was running a high temperature and was feverish. He could no longer speak. He had wanted some ice during the day, but they had been unable to find any. Later they found some, but he had not wanted it. His lips were parched. Bayram wiped them with a damp handkerchief. This degree of fever was new. At two thirty in the morning Bayram kept pulling up the covers, which Bediuzzaman kept throwing off. He draped a cloth over the light to reduce its brightness. Then suddenly Bediuzzaman reached up with his hand and touched Bayram's neck; he was massaging Bediuzzaman's arms. Bediuzzaman put his hands on his chest and slept. Or so Bayram thought. But Bediuzzaman had not fallen asleep, he had departed this life and his spirit had flown to the eternal realm. It was three o'clock in the morning of Wednesday, 23 March ,1960; 25 Ramazan, 1379.
 
· Bediuzzaman is Buried in the Halilürrahman Dergah
 
Bayram lit the stove so that Bediuzzaman would not get cold, for he thought Bediuzzaman was sleeping. A while later Zübeyir and the others came. Bediuzzaman's body was hot, but no sound came from him. It was not till they sent for Vaiz Ömer Efendi, a well-known religious figure who was visiting Urfa, who as soon as he entered the room, uttered the words, To God do we belong, and to Him we shall return, that they could accept that Bediuzzaman had died.
The news spread instantly around Urfa. Zübeyir, Hüsnü, and Abdullah went to telephone and telegraph Risale-i Nur Students in Emirdag, Isparta, Istanbul, and all over Turkey. The hotel owner came to the door, and started wailing when he saw what had happened. He met the Police Chief on the stairs and told him the news. The Police Chief had come to the hotel together with a troop of gendarmes to take Bediuzzaman by force back to Isparta; they returned to the police headquarters. The police sent a doctor to make out a report. But the doctor felt doubtful and only later wrote his report, for the body was so hot; it did not resemble the normal state of death. He did not want Bediuzzaman to be buried immediately.
Then the estate lawyer came; he noted down Bediuzzaman's personal effects and fixed their value. According to the report in the newspaper, Aksam, this was 551 liras 50 Kurus. That is to say, apart from his watch, gown, prayer-mat, tea-pot and glasses, and a few odds and ends. Bediuzzaman owned nothing in the world. On the request of his students, Bediuzzaman's only surviving brother, Abdülmecid, was made the sole heir to these.
As the news spread, thousands of people started to pour into Urfa. It was decided that Bediuzzaman's body would be washed and buried in the Dergah, where the Prophet Abraham lies. He was taken there after the midday prayers. The people of Urfa closed all the shops and filled the streets. While the body was washed and wrapped in its shroud on the Wednesday afternoon thousands of while-winged pigeons and birds other sorts flocked and flew in the air above the Dergah. It was raining gently. Bediuzzaman's body was washed by Molla Abdulhamid Efendi. Also present were Zübeyir, Bayram, Hüsnü, and Abdullah, and also the Risale-i Nur's "first student", Hulûsi Bey. Bediuzzaman's body was then taken to the Ulu Mosque, where it was to rest till it was buried. The Qur'an was read continuously, and prayers were recited. The mosque was filled.
The burial was to have taken place on the Friday, but the numbers of people crowding into Urfa from all over Turkey and beyond became so great, the Governor called Bediuzzaman’s students and said that he would have to be buried on the Thursday following the afternoon prayers. They had no option but to agree. It was announced over loudspeakers.
The funeral prayers were performed in the courtyard of the Ulu Mosque, then the bier holding the body was raised up and carried on the hands of the crowd. The Governor of Urfa, The Mayor, the local Garrison Commander, the people of Urfa. those of the Risale-i Nur Students who had been able to reach Urfa in time for the burial, thousands of people crowded in and around the mosque then moved in a thronging mass to carry the body the short distance to the Dergah. Everyone wanted to touch the bier, and it was passed from hand to hand as is the custom; after close on two hours it was only with the assistance of soldiers and police, who opened up the way, that it was brought finally to the Dergah and buried.
It was still raining. That night the recitations of the Qur'an continued unccasingly over the grave. Bediuzzaman was now resting near the Patriarch Abraham, the Friend of the Most Merciful. The tomb in which he had been laid had been built in 1954 by a local Seyh called Seyh Muslim, while repairs were being made to the Dergah. He three times had a dream in which he was told that the tomb belonged to another, as a result of which he ordered that on his death he be buried in the general graveyard. And so they buried Bediuzzaman in the tomb, but it was to be only a temporary resting-place for him.
 
· The Military Junta Orders the Removal of Bediuzzaman's, Remains to on Unknown Spot
 
The military coup Bediuzzaman had foretold occurred on 27 May ,1960. Foremost Menderes and leading members of his Government, and Democrat Deputies, officials, and sympathizers were all rounded up and placed in various camps and prisons. A campaign against the Risale-i Nur Students and movement was embarked on. Once again the searches, confiscations, arrests, imprisonment, and court cases began. Hundreds of Risale-i Nur Students were subject to this new wave of vengeful repression. The country was now governed by the so-called `National Unity Committee', and the decision was taken to move Bediuzzaman's remains to an unknown spot. They could not Ieave him in peace in his grave even, just as they had hounded and harassed him up to his last moments in this world. Bediuzzaman's brother writes:
"It was in early July and three and a half months since my elder brother's death. I had performed the midday prayers on time in the house I rented near Mevlana’s tomb in Konya when the Special Branch Chief, whose name I learnt was Ibrahim Yüksel, came. He told me that the Govemor wanted me. Together we went to the Governor’s office. On our entering, there were three generals. One was Cemal Tural, and one was Refik Tulga. Refik Tulga was at that time the Second Army Commander and temporary Governor of Konya.
"Cemal Tural said to me: `The people in the east and from beyond our southern borders arc coming and visiting your brother’s grave illegally. The times arc sensitive. With your co-operation, we're going to move his grave to inner Anatolia. Please sign this paper.'
"He handed me a petition written as though by myself. I read it and said: `I have no such wish. Al least leave him in peace in his grave.' But they told me:
" `You have to sign it. Don't put us in a difficult position.'
"We climbed into the vehicle that was to take us to the airfield after signing the petition.... Finally we boarded the acroplane. My family and children knew nothing of this. Of course they were all anxious and frightened.
"We reached Diyarbakir. After a brief rest we boarded a different plane and took of for Urfa. They took me in a military vehicle to an army building.They offered me some food, but I didn’t want it; I was exhausted. We had landed at Urfa in the afternoon. After nightfall they took me in a jeep together with a Captain and some soldiers to the Halilürrahan Dergah. There were two coffins in the courtyard of the mosque.There were a number of soldiers wanderingabout.’’
From other accounts we learn that this was the night of 12 July, 1960. The town had been taken over by the army. There was a strict curfew and no one was allowed on the streets. Tanks and armoured vehicles had been positioned at all key points in the town. The Dergah was surrounded by a tight cordon of soldiers. Acting on the orders they had received, soldiers entered the twin-domed building containing Bediuzzaman's tomb, not by the door, but by breaking the iron grill on the windows. They then began to smash the marble slabs of the tomb with hammers.
Abdülmecid continues: "A doctor came up to me and said: `Don't be too anxious and upset. We're moving Ustad to Anatolia. That's why they have brought you here.' I completely broke down on hearing these words of the doctor's and I started to weep.
"The doctor told the soldiers: `Open that coffin and take Ustad out of it and put him in this one.' But the soldiers held back and were frightened, `We can't do it. We'll be struck down', they said. But the doctor told them: `My brothers, we have our orders. We have to do it.' We opened the coffin altogether. I was saying to myself, `Seyda's bones will be all mixed up together.' But on touching the shroud with with my hand, it felt as though he had only just died. Only, the shroud had discoloured slightly round its opening. And on the outside was a stain like from a drop of water. The doctor opened the shroud. I looked at his face; he was smiling. Again altogether we embraced the great and wronged Ustad and placed him in the large, extremely heavy coffin the soldiers had brought. They filled the empty space in the coffin with grasses and herbs. When everything was completed, we climbed into an army truck and went straight to the airfield. The streets were all being patrolled by soldiers with bayonets fixed.
"The coffin would not fit in the first plane. (Hours later] a second plane arrived. We put the coffin in it, and I sat beside it. I was utterly sorrowful and my eyes full of tears."
And to continue from another account of Abdülmecid's which is more detailed:
"I reckon the journey was six to seven hours. We landed at Afyon near mid-afternoon. Of course, it was they who said it was Afyon. After landing, they unloaded the coffin and placed it in an army lorry. I again sat in the driver's cab. Behind us were two jeeps and small trucks. We set off. It was a mountainous region. I don't know where we went and in what direction, and I didn't ask. I was as though dazed by the situation.
"We travelled slowly for I reckon about seven hours, in the late hours of the night we arrived somewhere and stopped. There were several soldiers and non-commissioned officers. They had dug a grave and were awaiting us. They immediately and hastily unloaded the coffin, put it in the waiting grave, and covered it with earth. While they were doing this, I looked around, and although I could not see very well, the place resembled a mountain-side. There was a wall about a metre in height. I climbed onto it and looked around; there was not a light to be seen. Everywhere was in complete darkness.
"They buried the coffin. The work was finished. An N.C.O. said to me: `Do you want to stay here tonight, Hoca, or do you want to return home?' I thought, what shall I do if I stay here... A short time later a black car arrived. The driver was a soldier. I got in and it set off. After travelling for about one and a half hours we approached a town with lights. I asked the driver where the lights were, what town. He replied, `Egridir.' We continued on our way and I returned to my house in Konya at eight or nine o'clock."
Thus. due to this barbaric act, Bediuzzaman found his final resting-place in his beloved Isparta in accordance with his wishes, and so too, with the exception of two or three of his closest students, and a small number of offcials bound to secrecy by oath, the location of his grave remains unknown.
Finally, in some couplets entitled Eddai (The Supplicant), included in the introduction to Leme'at, a sizeable collection of pieces written in `semiverse' and first published in 1921, Bediuzzaman foretold both the year of his death and that his grave would be demolished. A literal translation is as follows:
My demolished grave in which is heaped up*
Seventy-nine dead Said's** with his sins and sorrows.
The eightieth is a gravestone to a grave;
Altogether they weep*** at Islam's decline.
Together with my gravestone and moaning grave of dead Said's
I go forward to the field of tomorrow's future.
I am certain that the skies of the future and Asia
Will together surrender to Islam's clean, shining hand.
For it promises the prosperity of belief;
It affords peace and security to mankind.
Bediuzzaman's footnotes are as follows; the second and third he added in the 1950's:
* This line is his signature.
** Since the body is renewed twice every year, it means that (each year) two Said’s have died . Also ,this year Said is in his seventy-ninth year .It means one Said has died every year , so that he will live to this date. (Bediuzzaman died in 1379 according to the Hicri calendar ,and his grave was demolished and moved in 1380.)
*** With a premonition of the future ,he perceived its present state ,twenty years later .
Conclusion
 
Bediuzzaman Said Nursi emerges from these pages as a unique figure whose service to the Qur'an and belief this century is without equal. The child prodigy from silenced in debate all the ulema of the area and from an even earlier age displayed an instinctive dissatisfaction with the existing Nurs who at the age of fourteen educational system went on in his maturity as the New Said to open up a new. way of relating the Qur'anic truths which would be the means of reinvigorating the belief of millions of Muslims within the framework of Sunni Islam.
Bediuzzaman was born at a time when the fortunes of the Islamic world were at their lowest ebb, yet it was his unwavering conviction that the Qur'an and Islamic civilization would dominate the future and be the means of mankind's salvation, as the lines quoted above foretelling the year of his death illustrate. Forgoing every sort of comfort and personal benefit and undertaking every difficulty, he sacrificed himself to this end, chiefly serving it through his learning, but also as the Old Said through energetic participation in social and political life and in the wars and movements of that time. Realizing at an early age that science also would dominate the future, contrary to other religious scholars, and indeed he received opposition because of it, Bediuzzaman studied and mastered most of the modern physical and mathematical sciences. He also took up the study of philosophy in the belief that it could be made to serve Islam. And while his wide knowledge of both these was reflected in his Qur'anic commentary and "fruit" of his life, the Risale-i Nur, it was his inner struggle to free himself from philosophy which made way for the emergence of the New Said, who took the Holy Qur'an as his"sole guide."
Bediuzzaman's study of science and involvement with philosophy should be seen in the context of the increasing Western influence in the Ottoman Empire at the end of the l9th and early 20th centuries and the attacks which were being made on the Qur'an and Islam in the name of science and materialism, and Positivist philosophy in particular; it was in order to answer these attacks. When the leadership of Turkey came into the hands of Ataturk and his supporters on the founding of the Republic, the drive for Westernization received a strong impetus, and philosophy was progressively inculcated into the Turkish people at the expense of Islam. In keeping with the extraordinary perspicacity and farsightedness that he displayed at every stage of his life, Bediuzzaman had perceived these designs of the new regime at the outset and understanding that it was not to be combatted in the realm of politics, had withdrawn from social and political life. Within a short time he was proved right, both concerning the secular republic they set up, and in how it was to be combatted. For as he himself later wrote, in modern states, where freedom of conscience is accepted as a fundamental principle, internal cihad has to be on the level of ideas and learning. Struggle with weapons and the sword in the way of religion has made way for "religious striving of an immaterial nature with the sword of true and certain belief." Thus, when he was sent into exile in western Anatolia by the new leaders, with his learning in both science and philosophy as well as the religious sciences he was uniquely well-fitted to counter their inauspicious plans.
In his exile which was little better than captivity, Bediuzzaman started writing treatises which demonstrate all the truths of belief by means of powerful proofs. Using logical proofs and reasoned argument and frequently comparing Qur'anic teaching and civilization with those of philosophy, they specifically answer the questions and doubts raised by philosophy and the scepticism it causes. This method, which shows clearly and simply these truths in an unprecedented way, as well as solving and explaining with convincing proofs many `mysteries' of religion, indeed resulted in large numbers of people attaining `certain' belief, and had unparalleled success in the repressive conditions of those times, spreading throughout Turkey. Furthermore, since Westernization is a universal phenomenon and Western materialist philosophy has permeated the Islamic world, the success of these writings, the Risale-i Nur, in saving and strengthening belief has continued to grow, and is now to be witnessed throughout the Islamic world.
Other aspects of the Risale-i Nur have been described, so suffice it to say here that through the inspiration of the Qur'an, with the Risale-i Nur, Bediuzzaman opened up a "direct way to the truth" whereby firm belief in the truths of religion may be gained in a short period of time. The essential teachings of theology and a knowledge of God that formerly took many years to master and acquire are presented to "the fast-traveling sons of this age" in a manner appropriate to their mentality and which answers their their needs.
Bediuzzaman saw this century and its events and the rise of materialism and communism in the context of the end of time and insisted above all else that what took precedence in the struggle against these was the saving and strengthening of belief. It is also in this context that Bediuzzaman's insistence on the way of `positive action' and `peaceful cihad' or `cihad of the word' (mânevî cihad) for the Risale-i Nur Students should be seen. Another of the unique features of the Risale-i Nur movement, it may be seen as an important factor in both its survival and growth during the twenty-five years of Republican People's Party rule, and continued growth ever since.
Bediuzzaman stated that the aim of those working to impose materialist philosophy, the atheists who were trying to uproot Islam, was destruction of a moral, immaterial nature. Thus, the prime duty of the Risale-i Nur Students was "the service to belief which resulted in the preservation of public order and security." Their service had to be of a constructive nature, repairing the damage, and acting as a barrier against it. It was in the cause of this `positive action' that Bediuzzaman, who had bowed before no one as the Old Said, as the New Said bore with patience all the insults, injustice, and torments meted out to him. Moreover, despite the fact that they were utilized against him, he accepted the law and state institutions rather than challenging them; his battle was with the small number who, concealing their true faces, were the moving force behind the `destruction' that was being wrought. It was a covert battle, and it was due to Bediuzzaman and his students responding positively to the provocation, subversion of the law, and other illegal attempts of this "5%" to silence and eliminate them, that they prevailed over them. Although the RPP fell from power, the struggle between those working to establish materialist philosophy of some form under the guise of Westernization or modernization and those striving in the way of Islam and religion continued in essentially the same form. Thus, the last time Bediuzzaman addressed his students before his death, the point he stressed above all others was this question of `positive action' and `peaceful cihad.' And this is the way the movement had adhered to.
Due to the policies of Ataturk, Turkey had been virtually broken off from the Islamic world during the years of RPP rule. On the Democrats gaining power in 1950, one of Bediuzzaman's endeavours was to have the Risale-i Nur translated into Arabic, so that it could show the effectiveness in the strengthening and renewal of belief it had demonstrated in Turkey on a much wider scale. As many Islamic countries were gaining their independence at that time, Bediuzzaman saw this as the means to Islamic Unity; unity based on the "brotherhood of belief ' from which would spring co-operation in many fields. Indeed, it was at this time that he translated (from Arabic into Turkish) the text of his Damascus Sermon of 1911, and had it published with alterations, which deals with this question, and foresees the supremacy of Islam that Bediuzzaman once again started to speak of at this time.
Also connected with the Islamic world was Bediuzzaman's Eastern University, the Medresetü'z-Zehra, concerning which he addressed the President and Prime Minister in 1955 in connection with the setting up of the Baghdad Pact. He saw an educational establishment which combined the religious and modem sciences and was of sufficient stature to attract students from the eastern Islamic world to be both the means to unity among the Muslims of those countries, and, besides being a means to unity and reconciliation in that troubled part of Turkey, to be also the way to combat communist influence and its depradations. The forces whose aim it was to divide the Islamic world, and the moral decay, dissension, and disunity they caused had to be combatted through the `positive' means of learning, knowledge and religion. Such a university, he stated, would be "the foundation-stone and chief citadel" of peace in that area and the Middle East.
As time passes. Bediuzzaman's statements and predictions concerning the future become realized, his judgements as to which course of action should be taken are proved correct, and his greatness and importance become clearer. At a time the Islamic world was apparently crushed beneath the heel of Europe, he foretold its rise and saw the Qur'an holding sway over the future, the age of science and reason. While the part he played through the Risale-i Nur in this rise is now indisputable, in the future it will undoubtedly be universally accepted. For in his refuting Naturalism and the other materialist philosophies which are the mainstays of atheism and unbelief and chief means of attacking religion in modern times, and in demonstrating in pure form in the Risale-i Nur the Qur'anic message in a way that addresses modern man's mentality, that is, in expounding and explaining the face of the Qur'an that looks to this age, Bediuzzaman performed a service to Islam which is without equal. Just as the Risale-i Nur continues to save and strengthen the belief of increasing numbers of Muslims throughout the Islamic world, so too is it the means of increasing numbers of non-Muslims entering Islam. That he and the Risale-i Nur are the Regenerators of Religion promised each century in the Hadiths of the Prophet (Blessings and peace be upon him) cannot be doubted. Indeed, in this age of tumult and upheaval when the darkness has threatened to engulf mankind, the Light which Muhammed (Blessings and peace be upon him) brought, the Light of Divine Revelation and true knowledge, has found a worthy vessel in the Risale-i Nur, through which it is reflected into the hearts and minds of millions of believers, and through which, God willing, it will illuminate the future.
Conclusion
 
Bediuzzaman Said Nursi emerges from these pages as a unique figure whose service to the Qur'an and belief this century is without equal. The child prodigy from silenced in debate all the ulema of the area and from an even earlier age displayed an instinctive dissatisfaction with the existing Nurs who at the age of fourteen educational system went on in his maturity as the New Said to open up a new. way of relating the Qur'anic truths which would be the means of reinvigorating the belief of millions of Muslims within the framework of Sunni Islam.
Bediuzzaman was born at a time when the fortunes of the Islamic world were at their lowest ebb, yet it was his unwavering conviction that the Qur'an and Islamic civilization would dominate the future and be the means of mankind's salvation, as the lines quoted above foretelling the year of his death illustrate. Forgoing every sort of comfort and personal benefit and undertaking every difficulty, he sacrificed himself to this end, chiefly serving it through his learning, but also as the Old Said through energetic participation in social and political life and in the wars and movements of that time. Realizing at an early age that science also would dominate the future, contrary to other religious scholars, and indeed he received opposition because of it, Bediuzzaman studied and mastered most of the modern physical and mathematical sciences. He also took up the study of philosophy in the belief that it could be made to serve Islam. And while his wide knowledge of both these was reflected in his Qur'anic commentary and "fruit" of his life, the Risale-i Nur, it was his inner struggle to free himself from philosophy which made way for the emergence of the New Said, who took the Holy Qur'an as his"sole guide."
Bediuzzaman's study of science and involvement with philosophy should be seen in the context of the increasing Western influence in the Ottoman Empire at the end of the l9th and early 20th centuries and the attacks which were being made on the Qur'an and Islam in the name of science and materialism, and Positivist philosophy in particular; it was in order to answer these attacks. When the leadership of Turkey came into the hands of Ataturk and his supporters on the founding of the Republic, the drive for Westernization received a strong impetus, and philosophy was progressively inculcated into the Turkish people at the expense of Islam. In keeping with the extraordinary perspicacity and farsightedness that he displayed at every stage of his life, Bediuzzaman had perceived these designs of the new regime at the outset and understanding that it was not to be combatted in the realm of politics, had withdrawn from social and political life. Within a short time he was proved right, both concerning the secular republic they set up, and in how it was to be combatted. For as he himself later wrote, in modern states, where freedom of conscience is accepted as a fundamental principle, internal cihad has to be on the level of ideas and learning. Struggle with weapons and the sword in the way of religion has made way for "religious striving of an immaterial nature with the sword of true and certain belief." Thus, when he was sent into exile in western Anatolia by the new leaders, with his learning in both science and philosophy as well as the religious sciences he was uniquely well-fitted to counter their inauspicious plans.
In his exile which was little better than captivity, Bediuzzaman started writing treatises which demonstrate all the truths of belief by means of powerful proofs. Using logical proofs and reasoned argument and frequently comparing Qur'anic teaching and civilization with those of philosophy, they specifically answer the questions and doubts raised by philosophy and the scepticism it causes. This method, which shows clearly and simply these truths in an unprecedented way, as well as solving and explaining with convincing proofs many `mysteries' of religion, indeed resulted in large numbers of people attaining `certain' belief, and had unparalleled success in the repressive conditions of those times, spreading throughout Turkey. Furthermore, since Westernization is a universal phenomenon and Western materialist philosophy has permeated the Islamic world, the success of these writings, the Risale-i Nur, in saving and strengthening belief has continued to grow, and is now to be witnessed throughout the Islamic world.
Other aspects of the Risale-i Nur have been described, so suffice it to say here that through the inspiration of the Qur'an, with the Risale-i Nur, Bediuzzaman opened up a "direct way to the truth" whereby firm belief in the truths of religion may be gained in a short period of time. The essential teachings of theology and a knowledge of God that formerly took many years to master and acquire are presented to "the fast-traveling sons of this age" in a manner appropriate to their mentality and which answers their their needs.
Bediuzzaman saw this century and its events and the rise of materialism and communism in the context of the end of time and insisted above all else that what took precedence in the struggle against these was the saving and strengthening of belief. It is also in this context that Bediuzzaman's insistence on the way of `positive action' and `peaceful cihad' or `cihad of the word' (mânevî cihad) for the Risale-i Nur Students should be seen. Another of the unique features of the Risale-i Nur movement, it may be seen as an important factor in both its survival and growth during the twenty-five years of Republican People's Party rule, and continued growth ever since.
Bediuzzaman stated that the aim of those working to impose materialist philosophy, the atheists who were trying to uproot Islam, was destruction of a moral, immaterial nature. Thus, the prime duty of the Risale-i Nur Students was "the service to belief which resulted in the preservation of public order and security." Their service had to be of a constructive nature, repairing the damage, and acting as a barrier against it. It was in the cause of this `positive action' that Bediuzzaman, who had bowed before no one as the Old Said, as the New Said bore with patience all the insults, injustice, and torments meted out to him. Moreover, despite the fact that they were utilized against him, he accepted the law and state institutions rather than challenging them; his battle was with the small number who, concealing their true faces, were the moving force behind the `destruction' that was being wrought. It was a covert battle, and it was due to Bediuzzaman and his students responding positively to the provocation, subversion of the law, and other illegal attempts of this "5%" to silence and eliminate them, that they prevailed over them. Although the RPP fell from power, the struggle between those working to establish materialist philosophy of some form under the guise of Westernization or modernization and those striving in the way of Islam and religion continued in essentially the same form. Thus, the last time Bediuzzaman addressed his students before his death, the point he stressed above all others was this question of `positive action' and `peaceful cihad.' And this is the way the movement had adhered to.
Due to the policies of Ataturk, Turkey had been virtually broken off from the Islamic world during the years of RPP rule. On the Democrats gaining power in 1950, one of Bediuzzaman's endeavours was to have the Risale-i Nur translated into Arabic, so that it could show the effectiveness in the strengthening and renewal of belief it had demonstrated in Turkey on a much wider scale. As many Islamic countries were gaining their independence at that time, Bediuzzaman saw this as the means to Islamic Unity; unity based on the "brotherhood of belief ' from which would spring co-operation in many fields. Indeed, it was at this time that he translated (from Arabic into Turkish) the text of his Damascus Sermon of 1911, and had it published with alterations, which deals with this question, and foresees the supremacy of Islam that Bediuzzaman once again started to speak of at this time.
Also connected with the Islamic world was Bediuzzaman's Eastern University, the Medresetü'z-Zehra, concerning which he addressed the President and Prime Minister in 1955 in connection with the setting up of the Baghdad Pact. He saw an educational establishment which combined the religious and modem sciences and was of sufficient stature to attract students from the eastern Islamic world to be both the means to unity among the Muslims of those countries, and, besides being a means to unity and reconciliation in that troubled part of Turkey, to be also the way to combat communist influence and its depradations. The forces whose aim it was to divide the Islamic world, and the moral decay, dissension, and disunity they caused had to be combatted through the `positive' means of learning, knowledge and religion. Such a university, he stated, would be "the foundation-stone and chief citadel" of peace in that area and the Middle East.
As time passes. Bediuzzaman's statements and predictions concerning the future become realized, his judgements as to which course of action should be taken are proved correct, and his greatness and importance become clearer. At a time the Islamic world was apparently crushed beneath the heel of Europe, he foretold its rise and saw the Qur'an holding sway over the future, the age of science and reason. While the part he played through the Risale-i Nur in this rise is now indisputable, in the future it will undoubtedly be universally accepted. For in his refuting Naturalism and the other materialist philosophies which are the mainstays of atheism and unbelief and chief means of attacking religion in modern times, and in demonstrating in pure form in the Risale-i Nur the Qur'anic message in a way that addresses modern man's mentality, that is, in expounding and explaining the face of the Qur'an that looks to this age, Bediuzzaman performed a service to Islam which is without equal. Just as the Risale-i Nur continues to save and strengthen the belief of increasing numbers of Muslims throughout the Islamic world, so too is it the means of increasing numbers of non-Muslims entering Islam. That he and the Risale-i Nur are the Regenerators of Religion promised each century in the Hadiths of the Prophet (Blessings and peace be upon him) cannot be doubted. Indeed, in this age of tumult and upheaval when the darkness has threatened to engulf mankind, the Light which Muhammed (Blessings and peace be upon him) brought, the Light of Divine Revelation and true knowledge, has found a worthy vessel in the Risale-i Nur, through which it is reflected into the hearts and minds of millions of believers, and through which, God willing, it will illuminate the future.


What is the Risale-i Nur?
    The Risale-i Nur collection is a six-thousand-page commentary on the Quran written by Bediuzzaman Said Nursi in accordance with the mentality of the age. Since in our age faith and Islam have been the objects of the attacks launched in the name of so called science and logic, Bediuzaman Said Nursi therefore concentrated in the Risale-i Nur on proving the truths of faith in conformity with modern science through rational proofs and evidence, and by decribing the miraculous aspects of the Quran that relate primarily to our century. This collection now has millions of readers both in and outside of Turkey. Thanks to the Risale-i Nur, the Turks managed to maintain their religion despite the most despotic regimes of the past decades. Although its author faced unbearable persecution, imprisonment, and exile, while no effort was spared to put an end to his service to faith, he was able to complete his writings compromising the Risale-i Nur and raise a vast group of believers who courageously opposed the oppression and preserved the dominance of Islam in the country.
    Bediuzzaman understood an essential cause of the decline of the Islamic world to be weakening of the very foundations of belief. This weakening, together with the unprecedented attacks on those foundations in the 19th and 20th centuries carried out by materialists, atheists and others in the name of science and progress, led him to realize that the urgent and over-riding need was to strengthen, and even to save, belief. What was needed was to expend all efforts to reconstruct the edifice of Islam from its foundations, belief, and to answer at that level those attacks with a 'manevi jihad' or 'jihad of the of the word.'
    Thus, in exile, Bediuzzaman wrote a body of work, the Risale-i Nur, that would explain and expound the basic tenets of belief, the truths of the Quran, to modern man. His method was to analyse both belief and unbelief and to demonstrate through clearly reasoned arguments that not only is it possible, by following the method of the Quran, to prove rationally all the truths are the only rational explanation of existance, man and the universe.
    Bediuzzaman thus demonstrated in the form of easily understood stories, comparisons, explanations, and reasoned proofs that, rather than the truth of religion being incompatible with the findings of modern science, the materialist interpretation of those findings is irrational and absurd. Indeed, Bediuzzaman proved in the Risale-i Nur that science's breathtaking discoveries of the universe's functioning corroborate and reinforce the truths of religion.
    The imortance of the Risale-i Nur cannot be overestimated, for through it Bediuzzaman Said Nursi played a major role in preserving and revitalizing the Islamic faith in Turkey in the very darkest days of her history. And indeed its role has continued to increase in importance to the present day. But further to this, the Risale-i Nur is uniquely fitted to address not only all Muslims but indeed all mankind for several reasons. First it is written in accordance with modern man's mentality, a mentality that, whether Muslim or not, has been deeply inbued by materialist philosophy: it specifically answers all the questions, doubts and confusions that this causes. It answers too all the 'why's' that mark the questioning mind of modern man.
    Also, it explains the most profound matters of belief, which formerly only advanced scholars studied in detail, in such a way that everyone, even those to whom the subject is new, may understand and gain something without it causing any difficulties or harm.
    A further reason is that in explaning the true nature and purposes of man and the universe, the Risale-i Nur shows that true happiness is only to be found in belief and knowledge of God, both in this world and the Hereafter. And it also points out the grevious pain and unhappiness that unbelief causes man's spirit and conscience, which generally the misguided attempt to block out through heedlessness and escapism, so that anyone with any sense may take refuge in belief.
    To conclude
    The Holy Quran addresses the intellect as well as man's other inner faculties. It directs man to consider the universe and functioning in order to learn its true nature and purposes as the creation and thus to learn the attributes of its Single Creator and his own duties as a creature. This, then, is the method that Bediuzzaman employed in the Risale-i Nur. He explained the true nature of the universe as signs of its Creator and demonstrated through clear arguments that when it is read as such all the fundamentals of beliefs may be proved rationally.
    When this method is followed, a person attains a true belief that will be sound and firm enough to be withstand any doubts that may arise in the face of the subtle attacks of Materialism, Naturalism and atheism, or the materialist approach to scientific advances. For all scientific and technological advances are merely the uncovering of the workings of the cosmos. When the cosmos is seen to be a vast and infinately complex and meaningful unified book describing its Single Author, rather that causing doubt and bewilderment, all these discoveries and advances reinforce belief, they deepen and expand it.
    Man's most fundamental need is the need for religion, the need to recognize and worship Almighty God with all His Most Beautiful Names and attributes, and to obey His laws; those manifest in the universe and those revealed through his prophets. In explaining the message of the Quran, Almighty God's final Revealed Book, brought and perfectly expounded by His final Prophet, Muhammad (PBUH), and Islam, the complete and perfected religion for mankind, Bediuzzaman Said Nursi demonstrated in the Risale-i Nur that there is no contradiction or dichotomy between science and religion; rather, true progress and happiness for mankind can, and will, only be achieved in this way, the way of the Quran.