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: