• ‘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