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