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