need of human nature, and a most necessary bond of great strength between people, from the life of the family to that of tribe, nation, Islam, and humanity, and a point of support and means of consolation in the face of the assaults of the material and immaterial things which cause harm and alarm and which each person encounters in the universe and cannot combat on his own, and which prevent him carrying out his human and Islamic duties; and since there are some who give the name of ‘political society,’ although it has no political front, to the gathering together of the students of the Risale-i Nur around the teachings of belief, which is most praiseworthy and is sincere friendship centred on the teachings of belief and the Qur’an and certainly leads to happiness in this world and in religion and in the hereafter, and is a companionship on the way of truth, and co-operation; most certainly and without any doubt, they have either been deceived in some appalling manner, or they are extremely vicious anarchists who are both barbarously inimical to humanity, and tyrannically hostile to Islam, and harbour enmity towards society in the utterly corrupt and depraved manner of anarchy, and strive obdurately and intractably as apostates against this country and nation, the sovereignty of Islam and sacred things of religion, or they are satanic atheists who, working on behalf of foreigners to cut and destroy the life-giving arteries of this nation, are deceiving the Government and confusing the legal establishment in order to destroy or turn against our brothers and our country the immaterial weapons which up to now we have used against them — those satans, pharaohs, and anarchists.
Prisoner
* * *
Sirs!
With your permission I shall address a few words, in your presence and apparently to you, but in fact to the secret revolutionary committee bent on corruption, which has taken on many forms, and with the idea of depraving this nation in the name of disbelief and atheism and on account of foreigners, has for thirty or forty years employed every means to attack the Qur’an and truths of belief; and to the inhuman, thoughtless officials whom they have made a screen to themselves in this matter; and their propagandists in the guise of Muslims who have confused this court.
(The decision to acquit us on the second day made this fiery speech superfluous.)
S a i d N u r s i ,
in total isolation and solitary confinement