and confused them, and have also thrown into confusion man’s achievements.(12)

(12) O my brothers! It may be thought from this lesson of the Old Said that he was excessively concerned with politics and the social mat-ters of Islam. But be careful, do not suppose he had taken the way of making religion a tool or means of politics. God forbid! With all his strength, he was making politics the tool of religion. He used to say: "I prefer one truth of religion to a thousand matters of poli-tics. Indeed, he perceived at that time forty to fifty years ago that certain two-faced atheists were attempting to make politics the tool of irreligion, and in response to those aims and ideas of theirs, he tried to make politics a servant and tool of Islam and its truths.

However, twenty years later he saw that, in response to those clandestine double-dealing atheists’ efforts to make politics the tool of irreligion, which they were doing under the pretext of westerni-zation, a number of religious politicians were trying to make relig-ion the tool of Islamic politics. But the sun of Islam cannot follow and be the tool of lights on the ground. And to make Islam a tool is to reduce its value and is a great crime. The Old Said even saw a pious scholar who, as a result of that sort of partisan politics, was enthusiastically praising a dissembler who agreed with his own po-litical leanings, while criticizing and declaring to be deviant an up-right teacher who opposed them. The Old Said said to him: "Should a devil support your political ideas, you would interpret it as mercy, and if an angel were to oppose them, you would curse him." As a result of this, the Old Said declared: "I seek refuge with God from Satan and politics," and for thirty-five years has given up politics.13

Signed: Said Nursi

(13) Since the New Said gave up politics completely and did not follow them at all, the Turkish translation of the Damascus Sermon, a les-son of the Old Said which touches on politics, has been printed and made available.14

(14) Furthermore, although the twenty-seven years of the New Said’s life together with the hundred and thirty sections of his writings and letters have been minutely examined by three courts (now one thousand courts) and by government officials; and although he was compelled to oppose the evil-doing apostates and double-dealers