pawn in the hands of secret atheists, and the ‘semi-hoja’ who favours the innovations, were trying to strike us as hard as they could was reduced twentyfold. God willing, they will cause us not even one wound, and what they think and intend and their plans to scare us away from each other and from the Risale-i Nur will come to nothing. It is absolutely essential that out of respect for these blessed months, trusting that they are gaining abundant reward for us, we steadfastly offer thanks in patience, and relying on God, submit to the rule ‘He who believes in Divine Determining is saved from unhappiness.’

S a i d N u r s i

***

To the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Justice, and Ministry of Home Affairs75

All members of the Government who saw the Proclamation of the Constitution, the First World War, the Armistice Period, the setting up of the Nationalist Government, and the Republic know me well. Nevertheless, with your permission, we shall take a look at my life as though on a film.

I was born in the village of Nurs in the province of Bitlis. As a student, I debated with the scholars I encountered, and through Divine favour, defeating in scholarly debate all who opposed me, I came as far as Istanbul. In Istanbul, winning calamitous fame, a victim of my rivals’ trouble-making, I was dragged to the lunatic asylum on the orders of Sultan ‘Abdulhamid. On the Proclamation of the Constitution, I attracted the attention of the government of the Committee of Union and Progress with my activities during the Thirty-First of March Incident. I confronted them with the proposal