of Indeed, the believers are brothers,18 they hasten with their supplications and spiritual gains to assist one another. Yes, we are members of that holy and vast society. And our particular duty is to convey in confirmatory form to the people of belief the Qur’anic truths of faith, and save them and ourselves from eternal annihilation and perpetual solitary confinement in the Intermediate Realm. We have absolutely no connection with any worldly, political, plotting society, political or revolutionary, as has been imputed to us; we do not condescend to any such meaningless, purposeless secret society. In any event, four courts of law have investigated this down to the finest details, and then acquitted us concerning it.

S a i d N u r s i

***

My written objections, which form a supplement and addition to my defence, and were sent to six departments of government in Ankara, and presented to Afyon Criminal Court

I say this to Afyon Court: Enough now! My patience is exhausted! It is a cruel and unprecedented wrong that in addition to having harassed me for twenty-two years without reason by holding me under constant surveillance in exile in total isolation and solitary confinement, to have illegally imprisoned the Risale-i Nur students three times and caused us loss of hundreds of thousands of liras because of unfounded suspicions and utilizing ‘possibilities’ instead of facts. And this, in spite of the fact that other than two or three matters six courts have been unable to find anything contrary to the law in the hundred parts of the Risale-i Nur. The future and its generations will curse the tyrants who have been responsible for it. Up to now I have found consolation since it is my conviction that they will condemn them and cast them down to the depths of Hell at the Last Judgement, and holding my silence I have endured it.