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