confronting me. As for the Government, either it is uninformed of this, or it permits it. Could it possibly be a crime not to love a man who has turned Aya Sophia into a house of idols, which is an eternal source of pride for an heroic nation, and a shining decoration in the world showing its service of the Qur’an and jihad, and a vast and precious souvenir of their swords, and has turned too the Shaykh al-Islam’s Office into a girls’ high school?”

***

[The piece the court reckoned was the most likely to have Said convicted. It attached entirely the wrong meaning to these words, which Said had used in Denizli Court against his covert enemies; and altering it to refer to the Government, put it forward as a reason for his conviction.]

He called “some of the new laws of the State, which has carried out the reforms, ‘arbitrary compulsion on account of disbelief;’ the Republic, ‘absolute despotism;’ the regime, ‘absolute apostasy and communism;’ and civilization, ‘absolute dissipation.’”

***

[A piece included with astonishment and appreciation in the court’s decision.]

Writing out the Risale-i Nur yields numerous benefits, both in this world and in the next. These are:

1. To strive morally against the people of misguidance.

2. To assist Üstad Bediuzzaman in disseminating the truth.

3. To serve Muslims in respect of belief.

4. To acquire knowledge through the pen.

5. To practise worship in the form of reflective thought, one hour of which may on occasion be the equivalent of a year’s worship.

6. To enter the grave in a state of belief.

It also yields five sorts of worldly benefits: