Bediuzzaman’s Dagger
Before continuing with the story of Bediuzzaman’s life, it is appropriate to relate the following story of his dagger, which he gave at this time to Ghazi Ahmad Mukhtar Pasha. Having first been compelled to carry a dagger when attacked by fellow students jealous of his fame and success in scholarly debate in Siirt in 1309 Rumi/1891, Bediuzzaman had followed this local custom ever since. The writer and historian Ibrahim Hakki Konyali described to Necmeddin Sahiner how he came across the ivory-handled dagger:
“There are many mementos of great value, old and new, in the Military Museum, and among them I found an ivory-handled dagger while classifying the weapons. It had the name Said-i Kurdi engraved on it. I made enquiries as to how and when it had come to the Museum. Formerly known as Said-i Kurdi, Said Nursi had been appointed as a member of the Darü’l-Hikmeti’l-Islamiye in the years following the Great War. I knew him personally. He used to go around in the vicinity of _ehzadeba_i and wore a turban wound round a long cap and the local dress of eastern Anatolia with a dagger at his waist. According to what I learnt, the great scholar and historian and second founder and curator of the Military Museum, Ahmad Mukhtar Pasha, had got to know Said Nursi, and had acquired great respect for him because of his learning. Thus, he had taken his dagger for the Museum as a memento, and had numbered it and put it away.”[1. Sahiner, N. Said Nursi, 212-213; Konyali, Ibrahim Hakki, in Sahiner, N. Aydinlar Konusuyor, 316.]
Bediuzzaman Opposes an Autonomous Kurdistan
Bediuzzaman’s undergoing great inner changes at this time did not prevent him from combatting the British occupying forces in whatever ways he could. Described above are some of his activities concerning this in the Darü’l-Hikmet, the area of learning, and in various other fields. In addition to this, Bediuzzaman opposed the British openly in the press, above all warning against their intrigues in the field of politics and efforts to sow discord among the ‘ulama. Before looking at this more closely though, another subject of importance concerning the British and with which Bediuzzaman was also concerned should be mentioned, and this was the question of Kurdistan.
It will be remembered that when allotting the spoils of the Ottoman Empire, Britain – and also France – had laid claim to the geographical region of Kurdistan and the oil-fields of Mesopotamia. In order to further its interests in the area, British plans included the setting-up of an autonomous Kurdistan, and provision for this was contained in the Treaty of Sèvres. And so, following the war, the promise of autonomy was used by the British as a means of instigating the inhabitants of the area to rebel against Ottoman authority, and also, incidentally, to hamper the National Forces. A number of political societies with the same aim were founded at the same time, one of which was the Society for the Advancement of Kurdistan (Kürdistan Teali Cemiyeti).[2. See, Tunaya, T.Z. Türkiye’de Siyasal Partiler, ii, 186-229.] Bediuzzaman was again approached in the hope of gaining his support and access to his considerable influence, but as before and after, he refused absolutely and condemned any action which would damage unity with the Turks. One of those who approached him was Seyyid ‘Abd al-Qadir, the president of the above society. Bediuzzaman is reported to have given him this reply:
“Almighty God says in the Holy Qur'an: God shall produce a people whom He will love as they will love Him.[3. Qur'an, 5:54.] I pondered over this Divine declaration and I understood that this people is the Turkish nation, which for a thousand years acted as the standard-bearer of the Islamic world. I shall not follow a few brainless racialists rather than serving this heroic nation, in place of four hundred and fifty million true Muslim brothers.”[4. Sahiner, N. Said Nursi, 216, quoted from Mustafa Polat, Mülakat, 37.]
Necmeddin Sahiner also quotes another passage from the same work, which, since it includes a firsthand description of Bediuzzaman besides illustrating further the point in question, we give it in full. It is related by Konsolidçi Asaf Bey, a well-known writer:
“One day while sitting in the printing office a man entered. He was wearing a strange outfit and had some sort of long cap on his head. On seeing him, Mevlânzâde rose to his feet and pointed to me. He said:
“‘This is our leader-writer, Konsolidçi Asaf.’ Then addressing me, he said:
“‘This is Bediuzzaman Said Efendi, one of our greatest religious scholars.’ So from that point I started to have conversations with Bediuzzaman. And truly, I benefited enormously from his knowledgeable conversation. After this he used to come frequently to our press and we would talk. Sometimes we would even go out together and go round the town.
“I do not know how long it was after this, Said Nursi left Istanbul. I cannot remember now whether he went to his home region or some other place. Anyway, Germany and its allies had met with a crushing defeat. The country was divided up and they started to create new states in every corner of it. Armenia was one of these. One day, Mevlânzâde Rifat Bey said to me:
“‘They are setting up an Armenian state. So, since the Empire is falling apart, we ought to set up a Kurdish one.’
“When I looked at him in astonishment, he said to me:
“‘I am not a traitor. And it is not me who broke up the mighty Ottoman Empire. God curse those who did destroy it; they have all fled like thieves. For sure there are the National Forces, but they do not offer much hope. We are not living in the age of miracles. I’m going to write to Bediuzzaman about the matter, because he is very influential. He is thought a lot of, so I shall write to him and ask him to join us.’
“Mevlânzâde wrote and sent the letter. Then, about ten days or two weeks later we were sitting in the printing office with some guests. There was Cakali Hamdi Pasha, who was Minister of the Navy at the time, and also the Chief of the Military Court. We were talking of this and that when the postman came in, left a letter, and went. Rifat Bey’s face darkened as he read the letter, it was clear he was angry. After reading it through, he flung it at me, saying:
“‘Read this and see. Bediuzzaman rejects my proposal and says he does not support my idea.’
“It would have been rude to read the letter to myself, so I began to read it out loud. Cakali Hamdi Bey and Mustafa Pasha, the Chief of the Military Court, listened. Although I do not remember exactly how the letter went, Bediuzzaman rejected Mevlânzâde’s proposal to set up [an independent state of] Kurdistan, and said: ‘Rifat Bey, let’s not set up Kurdistan, let’s revive the Ottoman Empire. If you accept to do this, I am willing to sacrifice even my life for it.’
“After listening to this, Mustafa Pasha turned to Mevlânzâde and said:
“‘You are wrong, Rifat Bey, and Bediuzzaman is right. It is not Kurdistan that should be formed, but the Ottoman Empire that should be re-formed and revived.’”[5. Sahiner, N. Said Nursi, 214-216, quoted from Mustafa Polat, Mülakat, 31-34.]
Indeed, Bediuzzaman continued to support any attempts to strengthen unity between the Kurds and the rest of ‘the nation’. As before, this was particularly in the fundamental area of education. In 1919 a society was founded to this end of which he was one of the fifteen founder members. Called The Society for the Propagation of Education Among Kurds (Kürd Neshr-i Ma'arif Cemiyeti), it was non-political, independent, and concerned solely with education. It aimed initially to set up one primary school for Kurdish children in Istanbul, who, “of all the sons of the fatherland, were the ones most deprived of the bounty of education”, and later as funds permitted to found others in areas where Kurds formed the majority of the inhabitants.[6. Tunaya, T.Z. Türkiye’de Siyasal Partiler, ii, 188, 214-215.] Bediuzzaman was also going to be successful in securing further funds from the Ankara Government for the Medresetü’z-Zehra, his university-level ‘medrese’ in the East, as we shall see.
Bediuzzaman Combats the British
During this time, the Shaykhü’l-Islam’s Office was presented with a questionnaire on the religion of Islam by the Church of England authorities, and as a member of the Darü’l-Hikmet, Bediuzzaman was asked to prepare the answers. Outraged at this insolence on the part of the British, Bediuzzaman wrote a few succinct words which bore the meaning of insults rather than answers. His intention was to protect the honour of Islam. He later described the affair as follows:
“One time, when the British had destroyed the guns on the Bosphorus and had invaded Istanbul, the chief cleric of the Anglican Church, which is that country’s highest religious authority, asked the Shaykhü’l-Islam’s Office six questions about religion. I was a member of the Darü’l-Hikmeti’l-Islamiye at the time and they said to me: ‘You answer them!’ They wanted a six-hundred-word reply to the six questions. I said: ‘I shall answer not with six hundred words, nor with six words, and not even with one word, but with a mouthful of spit! Because, you can see, the moment they stepped ashore here, their chief cleric arrogantly started asking us questions. What has to be done in the face of this is to spit in his face. So spit in the face of that merciless tyrant!’”[7. Mektûbat, 390.] And in Rumuz, Signs, a work he published at the time, Bediuzzaman included the following piece entitled, Answer To a Scheming Cleric Who Wanted to Pour Scorn on Us:
“Someone has thrown you down into the mud and is killing you. Although he is pressing his foot on your throat, he asks mockingly what school of law you follow. The silencing answer to this is to feel the offence, be silent, and spit in his face. (Spit in that accursed shameless face!) So not to him, but in the name of the truth:
1) Q. What does the religion of Muhammad consist of?
A. The Qur'an.
2) Q. What has it given to life and thought?
A. Divine Unity and moderation.
3) Q. What is the remedy for man’s troubles?
A. The prohibition of interest and usury and the obligatory payment of zekat.
4) Q. What does it say concerning the present upheavals?
A. Man has nought save that which he strives.[8. Qur'an, 53:39.] And those who amass gold and silver and do not spend it in the way of God; announce to them a most grievous punishment.[9. Qur'an, 9:34.],[10. Rumuz, in Asar-i Bedi’iye, 85.]
Bediuzzaman’s most effective work at this time, however, was a short work called The Six Steps, in which he pointed out six ways in which the British, and the Greeks, sowed discord and dissension in the Muslim community. It has at its head the verse: And do not follow in the footsteps of Satan,[11. Qur'an, 2:168.] and Bediuzzaman later described it as having “turned the Istanbul ‘ulama’s opinions against the British and in favour of the national movement”,[12. Sualar, 385.] and as having “spoilt the fearsome plan of the commander of the British forces occupying Istanbul.” This plan was “to prepare the ground for the defeat of the National Forces and victory of Greeks through sowing strife among Muslims, and even deceiving the Shaykhü’l-Islam and some of the ‘ulama and inciting them against each other, and through making the supporters of the two main political groupings contend with each other [that is, those of the by then disbanded Committee of Union and Progress and those of the Freedom and Accord Party].”[13. Sualar, 379.]
To illuminate this further, it should be mentioned that the source of the conflict lay in the fact that, according to the official account, Sultan Vahideddin,[14. See Chapter 8, note 15.] the Istanbul Government, some of the ‘ulama, and others, opposed the national movement in Anatolia absolutely. They considered those involved in it to be either members of the Committee of Union and Progress or people of a like kind, that is to say, bandits, whom they held responsible for entering Turkey into the War, and for its defeat which had dealt the death-blow to the Empire. Although it never came to power, the old rivals of the CUP and now dominant political party, the Freedom and Accord Party, also considered those involved in the national movement to be the chief enemy rather than the foreign aggressors.[15. Tunaya, T.Z. Türkiye’de Siyasal Partiler, i, 29-30, 34-35.]
In addition, many Western-inclined intellectuals opposed the nationalists, and the distorted writings of these combined with the propaganda of the British aiming to widen and play on divisions, were a cause of confusion among the people, shaking their faith even, and weakening their resolve to withstand the enemy. Thus, in his writings, Bediuzzaman pointed out the distortions, and in The Six Steps in particular, showed with his usual clarity how the British were playing on their differences and answered their insidious suggestions so summarily and witheringly that it both illuminated its readers and heartened them.
Bediuzzaman also severely condemned those who disparaged their own nation and thought that “the interests and ambitions of the British nation were consistent with the interests and dignity of Islam” and accepted British protection.[16. – or, the idea of a British Protectorate. Hutuvat-i Sitte, in Asar-i Bedi’iye, 117-118.] When asked which society or grouping he belonged to and why he was severely critical of the opposition, that is, the Freedom and Accord Party, he replied:
“I belong to the society of martyrs. It is inauspicious to either deny or belittle a single saint. So it is the most inauspicious of all inauspiciousness to deny two million martyrs who are saints, and to consider their blood to have spilt in vain. Because the opposition say that we were wrong to enter the [First World] War, and that our enemies were right; that it was not a jihad. Thus, such a judgement is to deny the martyrdom of two million martyrs. In my opinion the prayer we should utter most is: O God, do not put harm amongst us!
“There is a fact before which the most uncivilized and even the most savage bow their heads in submission and respect, and that is, when confronted by an external enemy, two hostile clans of a tribe lay aside their own enmity instinctively. It is astonishing therefore that those who are considered to be civilized and enlightened are far inferior to those savages; when confronted by external hostility, they intensify internal enmity. If civilization and science are thus, then man’s happiness lies in savagery and ignorance!”[17. Ishârât, in Asar-i Bedi’iye, 96-7.]
The Six Steps was published shortly before the reoccupation of Istanbul by the British in March 1920, and as they came to realize Bediuzzaman’s effectiveness in opposing them, the British authorities determined to get rid of him. However, they were told that if they attempted to assassinate him, the inhabitants and tribes of eastern Anatolia would never forgive the British, and it would earn them their eternal enmity. There are various sources which corroborate the fact that the British wanted to do away with this vehement enemy who so persistently and successfully foiled their attempts to annihilate Islam and the Turkish nation through their plots and propaganda. One such incident was related by Bediuzzaman’s student, Molla Süleyman:
“... We set off in the direction of the Divanyolu, and Misirli Said Molla was there. He was the second president of The Friends of England Association. He had no religion, and whether he was a Mason or what he was, I do not know. This man used to inform on Bediuzzaman to the British; he used to tell them about his appearance, features, dress, and where he lived. This was because Bediuzzaman used to make dreadful attacks on them in the press. He used to publish articles in the Tanin and other newspapers which said things like: ‘Spit in the shameless face of the accursed British!’ And, ‘You dogs, who are more basely and utterly dog-like than any dog!’
“Then one day, soldiers of the occupying forces were waiting for Bediuzzaman in the square by Aya Sophia, they were going to seize him. I was terrified and he said to me: ‘You follow close behind me, Süleyman, and don’t fall behind.’ Then he recited the verse from Sura Ya. Sin.: And We have put a bar in front of them and a bar behind them, and further, We have covered them; so that they cannot see,[18. Qur'an, 36:9.] and they did not see us. We passed right by them and came to the house. I knocked on the door, and when it was slow in opening, I said to my friend inside: ‘Come on open it quickly; Bediuzzaman is with me!’ He opened it immediately and we went in. Bediuzzaman sat down on the divan, and I pulled off his boots. Then he asked me:
“‘What did you understand from all that?’
“‘I do not know’, I replied. So he said:
“‘They had received the order to shoot me, and I did as I did in order to save you. I pitied you because you had no weapon. Otherwise I would have lined up ten of them and taken my aim. I would have killed at least ten of them before being killed myself.’”[19. Sahiner, N. Said Nursi, 218-219.]
Another account of Bediuzzaman at this time has been given by Tevfik Demiroglu, who later served as the Deputy for Van for many years. He provides a number of details concerning Bediuzzaman’s life, and recalls particularly his own adventures with Abdurrahman when distributing The Six Steps secretly under the noses of the British. The work was printed secretly “through the efforts of Eshref Edip.”[20. Sualar, 379.] Tevfik Demiroglu also notes that Bediuzzaman was closely associated with Eshref Edip, and with Mehmet Akif and the magazine Sebilürreshad – as indeed he had been before the War, and that they used to meet for long conversations in the Yusuf Izzeddin Pasha Pavilion in Çamlica, where Bediuzzaman stayed for some time. He also describes his adventures in stealing breech-blocks from the arsenals so as to make the British heavy guns unusable, while others would steal rifles and other weapons.[21. Demiroglu, Tevfik, in Son Sahitler, i, 229-231.]
Bediuzzaman’s enemies were not restricted to the British. Some thirty years later he wrote in a letter that a fellow member of the Darü’l-Hikmet, Seyyid Sadeddin Pasha, had warned him of another plot to kill him. The Pasha had told him: “I have learnt via certain means that an aggressive atheistic organization [zindika komitesi] which is here but whose roots are abroad has read one of your works, and has declared that so long as its author remains in this world, they shall be unable to impose their ideas, that is, irreligion, on this nation, and that he shall have to be eliminated. So guard yourself well!” Bediuzzaman wrote that in reply he said to Sadeddin Pasha: “I place my trust in God! Death only comes once, and the time of its coming cannot be changed.”[22. Emirdag Lahikasi, i, 189-190.]
Ankara
In recognition in these services to the national cause, and particularly through The Six Steps, the national leaders in Ankara invited Bediuzzaman to join them there. However Bediuzzaman declined to “flee” from Istanbul.[23. Sualar, 379.] Mustafa Kemal Pasha himself, who had been elected as President of the Grand National Assembly, sent three messages in cipher summoning Bediuzzaman. These were repeated on numerous occasions by various people including Marshal Fevzi Çakmak; this is corroborated by ‘National Defence Imam’ and Regimental Mufti, Osman Nuri Efendi.[24. Teymuroglu, Mehmet Süleyman, ‘Muhterem Said Nursi’nin Doldurdugu Bosluk,’ Hilal Dergisi, No.13, Subat 1969; see, Sahiner, Said Nursi, 239-240.] But Bediuzzaman told them:
“I want to fight where it is dangerous; I do not like fighting behind trenches. I consider here to be more dangerous than Anatolia.”
On these insistent demands, Bediuzzaman sent three of his students, Tevfik Demiroglu, Molla Süleyman, and Major Refik Bey to offer their support to the National Government. He himself finally went on being invited by his old friend, the Deputy and former Governor of Van, Tahsin Bey.[25.Tarihçe, 124; Sahiner, N. Said Nursi, 239-40.]
Necmeddin Sahiner writes that he travelled by train, arriving a week before the ‘Id al-Adha, the Feast of the Sacrifices, known in Turkey as Kurban Bayrami, which that year, 1922, fell on 4 August, and relates a conversation between Bediuzzaman and the Deputy for Siverek, Captain Abdülgani Ansarî. On the eve of the festival Bediuzzaman told the Deputy that the following day his head would be cut off. The Deputy looked aghast, so Bediuzzaman explained; if the letter Sin is removed from the word Said, the word ‘Id remains, which means festival![26. Sahiner, N. Said Nursi, 240-1.]
The War of Independence was reaching its climax, and on 22 August there began what became known as the ‘Great Offensive’, which by 29 September had resulted in the Turkish victory and liberation of Anatolia. In October, the Mudanya Armistice was signed.[27. Shaw and Shaw, History, ii, 362-4.] These were also the last days of the Ottoman Empire. The Armistice had been signed with the Ankara Government, but the Sultan’s Government was still nominally functioning in Istanbul. And so to solve the problem, on 1 November 1922, at the prompting of Mustafa Kemal, the Grand National Assembly voted to abolish the Sultanate and retain only the Caliphate. The right to choose the Caliph would rest with the Assembly. The deposed Sultan Vahiddedin left the country on a British warship on 16 November, and his cousin Abdülmecid was appointed as Caliph by the Assembly.[28. Lewis, B. Emergence, 259.] The Caliphate was finally abolished on 3 March 1924 after being held for 407 years by the Ottoman House.[29. Danismend, iv, 470.]
With all these momentous events, it was not till 9 November, 1922, that Bediuzzaman was given an official ‘welcoming’ in the Assembly. The ceremony was recorded as follows in the minutes of that day:
“Welcome for the religious scholar Bediuzzaman Said Efendi Hazretleri.
“Speaker: The Deputy for Bitlis, Arif Bey, and his friends have a motion.
“We propose to the Illustrious Presidency that a welcome is given to Bediuzzaman Molla Said Efendi Hazretleri, one of the well-known ‘ulama of the Eastern Provinces, who has come here from Istanbul in order to visit the gazis of Anatolia and this Exalted Assembly and is at present in the Visitors’ Gallery.
Bitlis Bitlis Mus Mus Siirt Bitlis Ergani
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____
Arif Dervish Kasim (Ilyas Sami) Salih Resul Hakki
“(Applause)
“Rasih Efendi (Antalya): We request him to honour the platform and offer prayers.” [30. TBMM Zabit Ceridesi, Vol. XXIV, p. 457, as in Sahiner, N. Said Nursi, 241.]
Whereupon Bediuzzaman mounted the platform, then congratulated the veterans of the War of Independence and offered prayers.
Despite the warm reception he was given and the rejoicing at the triumph of Islam and the Turks over their enemies, Bediuzzaman was dismayed to find a lax and indifferent attitude towards Islam and their religious duties among many of the Deputies in the Assembly. His intention in coming to Ankara had been to encourage those in power to set up a form of government based on the Qur'an and the Shari’a. Through Divine assistance, the Turks had totally defeated those who had wanted to destroy Islam and themselves. It was the beginning of a new era and exactly the time to marshal their forces to make the new Republic the means for bringing about a renaissance of Islam and Islamic civilization, and make it a centre and source of support for the Islamic world.[31. Tarihçe, 129.] But rather than this, in addition to an indifference towards religion, he found that atheistic ideas were being propagated. He described it like this:
“When I went to Ankara in 1922, the morale of the people of belief was extremely high as a result of the victory of the army of Islam over the Greeks. But I saw that an abominable current of atheism was treacherously trying to subvert, poison, and destroy their minds. ‘Oh God!’, I said. ‘This monster is going to harm the pillars of belief.’”[32. Lem’alar, 170; English translation, Nature, Cause or Effect? Istanbul 1989, 13-14.]
That is to say, once the victory had been won, the old differences came to the fore once again. Up to the final victory it would have been considered traitorous of any Deputy in the Assembly to assume any position opposed to Islam, but once it was secured those who favoured Westernization and the abandoning of religion, began to show their true colours. Indeed, since its inception there had been various opposing groups in the National Assembly.
In the face of the laxity and “current of atheism” which he found, Bediuzzaman wrote a work in Arabic disproving atheism called Zeylü’l-Zeyl, and another called Hubab. He noted however that, “.... Alas, those who knew Arabic were few and those who considered it seriously were rare, also its argument was in an extremely concise and abbreviated form. As a result, the treatise did not have the effect it should have done, and sadly, the current of atheism both swelled and gained strength.”[33. Lem’alar, 170.] Bediuzzaman’s main concern in Ankara, however, was urging the Deputies to adhere to Islam and perform their religious duties at this crucial time. In regard to this he published a ten point circular which he had distributed to all the Deputies. It was read to Mustafa Kemal by Kazim Karabekir Pasha.[34. Tarihçe, 124.]
The circular, dated 19 January 1923, stresses in particular the necessity of performing the prescribed prayers and is of some length, so rather than giving the whole text, we shall include a translation of the last part. Firstly, Bediuzzaman is pointing out here the harm to the nation if their leaders and representatives do not perform their religious duties, and says that in truth such people are not fit to govern:
“What excuse can be found for the neglect and giving up of the religious obligations, which causes harm to matters of both religion and the world? How can patriotism permit it? Especially these mujahidin commanders and this Grand Assembly, for they are held as examples. The nation will either imitate their faults or criticize them, and both are harmful. That is to say, their religious duties concern the rights of all. True and serious work cannot be seen from those who, comprising the meaning of consensus and agreement, do not heed innumerable warnings and indications, and accept delusions arising from the sophistry of the soul and the whisperings of Satan. The foundation stones of this mighty revolution have to be firm...”
Bediuzzaman then states that due to the power invested in it by the nation, the Assembly now represents the Sultanate. It has also to represent the Caliphate, but to do this it has to both fulfil its religious obligations and see that they are fulfilled by the nation, and answer the nation’s religious needs. If it does not do these things, out of need, the nation will compel it to “give meaning” to the “name” of the Caliphate, which in effect it had undertaken as mentioned above, and will also invest the Assembly with the power to carry out the Caliphate’s functions. However, Bediuzzaman says, if due to its members’ negligence and laxity in performing their religious obligations the Assembly does not have the ability to do this, it will give rise to discord and disunion, which is contrary to the verse, And hold fast all together to the Rope of God.[35. Qur'an, 49:10.]
Bediuzzaman goes on to make a point which is fundamental to his ideas and that has been mentioned in several places in the present work so far. This is that the modern age is the ‘mass’ age or age of the community or social group. Communities give rise to ‘collective personalities’ or ‘spirits’. In the case of government or authority, in this complex modern age, they can only function adequately by means of ‘collective personalities’ of this sort. He mentions this here in regard to the Caliphate.
“The present is the time of community. The collective personality of a community, which is its spirit, is firmer and more capable of carrying out the ordinances of the Shari’a. The person of the Caliph can only undertake his duties through relying on [such a collective personality]. If a collective personality, the spirit of a community, is righteous, it is more brilliant and perfect [than that of an individual]. But if it is bad, it is exceedingly bad. Both the goodness and badness of an individual are limited, but those of a community are unlimited. Do not spoil the goodness you have gained in the face of external [enemies] through internal badness. You know that your perpetual enemies and opposites and foes are destroying the practices and marks of Islam. Therefore, your essential duty is to revive and preserve them. Otherwise, unconsciously you will be helping the conscious enemy. Contempt for the practices and marks of Islam shows weakness of nationhood, and as for weakness, it does not arrest the enemy, it encourages him.
“God is enough for us, and how excellent a Guardian is He.”[36. Qur'an, 3:173.], [37. Tarihçe, 125-7; Sahiner, N. Said Nursi, 242-8; Hubab, in Mesnevi-i Nuriye, 92-3.]
This exhortation of Bediuzzaman’s had a considerable effect; it added around sixty to the number of Deputies who performed the prayer regularly and the room used as a mosque had to be changed for larger one. However, it drew an unfavourable reaction from the President of the Assembly, Mustafa Kemal Pasha. One day in the presence of a large number of Deputies in the Assembly, he shouted angrily at Bediuzzaman:
“We are in need of heroic Hojas like you. We called you here in order to benefit from your elevated ideas, but you came here and immediately started writing things about the prayers, and have caused differences amongst us.” Bediuzzaman countered this with a few words, then himself in anger, he jabbed his fingers and said:
“Pasha! Pasha! After belief, the most elevated truth in Islam is the obligatory prayers. Those who do not perform the prayers are traitors, and the opinions of traitors are to be rejected.”[38. Tarihçe, 128.]
In saying these words to Mustafa Kemal, Bediuzzaman had, in his own words, “smashed an appalling idol”. Those present feared for him, certain that he would be made to suffer for his words. But Mustafa Kemal suppressed his anger and in effect apologized, for two days later he had a two hour meeting with Bediuzzaman in his office.
Just as with the Pashas in the court martial and Grand Duke Nicholas in Kosturma, Bediuzzaman did not bow before Mustafa Kemal. He took the opportunity to admonish him on the great harm to the nation, country, and Islamic world in attacking Islam and trying to eradicate its practices in the hope of gaining a reputation among their enemies. If a revolution had to be brought about, it had to be achieved through making the Qur'an the basis of it. He dwelt particularly on the great error of trying to find favour with the enemies of Islam and the Turks by attacking Islam in order to satisfy ambition and the desire for fame and position. Mustafa Kemal apparently took no offence at Bediuzzaman for these words which “wounded all his sensibilities and principles”,[39. Emirdag Lahikasi, i, 242.] on the contrary, he tried to placate him and win him over so as to take advantage of his influence. He offered Bediuzzaman Shaykh Sanusi’s post as ‘General Preacher’ in the Eastern Provinces with a salary of 300 liras, a deputyship in the Assembly, and a post equivalent to that he had held in the Darü’l-Hikmeti’l-Islamiye, together with various perks such as a residence.[40. Tarihçe, 131; Sualar, 301.] Bediuzzaman did not accept, and before examining the reasons, it may also be mentioned that Mustafa Kemal was also one of the 163 deputies who endorsed the allotting of 150,000 liras for Bediuzzaman’s Medresetü’z-Zehra.[41. Emirdag Lahikasi, ii, 196.]
Throughout the time Bediuzzaman was in Ankara, he pursued the matter of founding this university in the East. There were three points in particular that he impressed on the Deputies in regard to it, many of whom were of the belief that the religious sciences should be dispensed with and that general education should be in the Western style and concentrate on the modern sciences. Firstly was the geographical location of the Eastern Provinces; since they were like a centre of the Islamic world, it was essential to teach the religious sciences together with modern science. Secondly, the fact that most of the prophets had appeared in the East and most of the great philosophers in the West showed that the East would only be aroused by religion; progress was dependent on religion. And thirdly was the most important point that religion and the teaching of it was the only way to maintain unity. If religion was not taken as the basis, the non-Turkish Muslims of the region “would not feel true brotherhood for the Turks”, and the need for co-operation and solidarity at that time was great. Of two hundred Deputies addressed on this question, 163 endorsed the decision to set aside 150,000 liras for the project.[42. Tarihçe, 128.]
One reason Bediuzzaman gave for declining Mustafa Kemal’s offers was the change that had come about in himself. As he wrote: “Their conduct and the way they were going did not accord with my own feelings of old age.” And he quoted himself as telling them: “The New Said wants to work for the next world and cannot work with you, but he will not interfere with you either.”[43. Tarihçe, 195.]
In another place he wrote: “So I was compelled to leave those most important posts. And saying that nothing can be gained from working with or responding to this person, I abandoned the world and politics and social life, and spent all of my time on the way of saving belief.”[44. Sualar, 300-1.]
Bediuzzaman also understood that it would be followers of the Qur'an that would combat the opposing forces, and that they would be defeated not in the realm of politics, but with the “immaterial sword” of the Qur'an’s miraculousness. Thus, he refused to work together with the new leaders and left Ankara for Van, where he retired into a life of solitude.[45. Tarihçe, 131.]
When leaving, Bediuzzaman was escorted to the station by a number of Deputies and friends. Mustafa Kemal Pasha also, who at the time was living by the station, joined the group. It is recorded that they had a conversation about statues, and that on the Pasha asking Bediuzzaman his opinion on them, Bediuzzaman replied sharply: “The Qur'an’s attacks are all at statues and idols. The statues of Muslims are monuments like hospitals, schools, orphanages, mosques, and roads.”[46. Sahiner, N. Said Nursi, 250; Aktürk, Av. Hulusi Bitlisi, Defence Speech in Afyon Court, Müdâfaalar, 447.] The date on Bediuzzaman’s ticket – the ticket which took the Old Said to the New Said – shows that it was issued on 17/4/39; that is, 17 April 1923, which was the first day of Ramazan, 1341.
Before continuing with the story of Bediuzzaman’s life, it is appropriate to relate the following story of his dagger, which he gave at this time to Ghazi Ahmad Mukhtar Pasha. Having first been compelled to carry a dagger when attacked by fellow students jealous of his fame and success in scholarly debate in Siirt in 1309 Rumi/1891, Bediuzzaman had followed this local custom ever since. The writer and historian Ibrahim Hakki Konyali described to Necmeddin Sahiner how he came across the ivory-handled dagger:
“There are many mementos of great value, old and new, in the Military Museum, and among them I found an ivory-handled dagger while classifying the weapons. It had the name Said-i Kurdi engraved on it. I made enquiries as to how and when it had come to the Museum. Formerly known as Said-i Kurdi, Said Nursi had been appointed as a member of the Darü’l-Hikmeti’l-Islamiye in the years following the Great War. I knew him personally. He used to go around in the vicinity of _ehzadeba_i and wore a turban wound round a long cap and the local dress of eastern Anatolia with a dagger at his waist. According to what I learnt, the great scholar and historian and second founder and curator of the Military Museum, Ahmad Mukhtar Pasha, had got to know Said Nursi, and had acquired great respect for him because of his learning. Thus, he had taken his dagger for the Museum as a memento, and had numbered it and put it away.”[1. Sahiner, N. Said Nursi, 212-213; Konyali, Ibrahim Hakki, in Sahiner, N. Aydinlar Konusuyor, 316.]
Bediuzzaman Opposes an Autonomous Kurdistan
Bediuzzaman’s undergoing great inner changes at this time did not prevent him from combatting the British occupying forces in whatever ways he could. Described above are some of his activities concerning this in the Darü’l-Hikmet, the area of learning, and in various other fields. In addition to this, Bediuzzaman opposed the British openly in the press, above all warning against their intrigues in the field of politics and efforts to sow discord among the ‘ulama. Before looking at this more closely though, another subject of importance concerning the British and with which Bediuzzaman was also concerned should be mentioned, and this was the question of Kurdistan.
It will be remembered that when allotting the spoils of the Ottoman Empire, Britain – and also France – had laid claim to the geographical region of Kurdistan and the oil-fields of Mesopotamia. In order to further its interests in the area, British plans included the setting-up of an autonomous Kurdistan, and provision for this was contained in the Treaty of Sèvres. And so, following the war, the promise of autonomy was used by the British as a means of instigating the inhabitants of the area to rebel against Ottoman authority, and also, incidentally, to hamper the National Forces. A number of political societies with the same aim were founded at the same time, one of which was the Society for the Advancement of Kurdistan (Kürdistan Teali Cemiyeti).[2. See, Tunaya, T.Z. Türkiye’de Siyasal Partiler, ii, 186-229.] Bediuzzaman was again approached in the hope of gaining his support and access to his considerable influence, but as before and after, he refused absolutely and condemned any action which would damage unity with the Turks. One of those who approached him was Seyyid ‘Abd al-Qadir, the president of the above society. Bediuzzaman is reported to have given him this reply:
“Almighty God says in the Holy Qur'an: God shall produce a people whom He will love as they will love Him.[3. Qur'an, 5:54.] I pondered over this Divine declaration and I understood that this people is the Turkish nation, which for a thousand years acted as the standard-bearer of the Islamic world. I shall not follow a few brainless racialists rather than serving this heroic nation, in place of four hundred and fifty million true Muslim brothers.”[4. Sahiner, N. Said Nursi, 216, quoted from Mustafa Polat, Mülakat, 37.]
Necmeddin Sahiner also quotes another passage from the same work, which, since it includes a firsthand description of Bediuzzaman besides illustrating further the point in question, we give it in full. It is related by Konsolidçi Asaf Bey, a well-known writer:
“One day while sitting in the printing office a man entered. He was wearing a strange outfit and had some sort of long cap on his head. On seeing him, Mevlânzâde rose to his feet and pointed to me. He said:
“‘This is our leader-writer, Konsolidçi Asaf.’ Then addressing me, he said:
“‘This is Bediuzzaman Said Efendi, one of our greatest religious scholars.’ So from that point I started to have conversations with Bediuzzaman. And truly, I benefited enormously from his knowledgeable conversation. After this he used to come frequently to our press and we would talk. Sometimes we would even go out together and go round the town.
“I do not know how long it was after this, Said Nursi left Istanbul. I cannot remember now whether he went to his home region or some other place. Anyway, Germany and its allies had met with a crushing defeat. The country was divided up and they started to create new states in every corner of it. Armenia was one of these. One day, Mevlânzâde Rifat Bey said to me:
“‘They are setting up an Armenian state. So, since the Empire is falling apart, we ought to set up a Kurdish one.’
“When I looked at him in astonishment, he said to me:
“‘I am not a traitor. And it is not me who broke up the mighty Ottoman Empire. God curse those who did destroy it; they have all fled like thieves. For sure there are the National Forces, but they do not offer much hope. We are not living in the age of miracles. I’m going to write to Bediuzzaman about the matter, because he is very influential. He is thought a lot of, so I shall write to him and ask him to join us.’
“Mevlânzâde wrote and sent the letter. Then, about ten days or two weeks later we were sitting in the printing office with some guests. There was Cakali Hamdi Pasha, who was Minister of the Navy at the time, and also the Chief of the Military Court. We were talking of this and that when the postman came in, left a letter, and went. Rifat Bey’s face darkened as he read the letter, it was clear he was angry. After reading it through, he flung it at me, saying:
“‘Read this and see. Bediuzzaman rejects my proposal and says he does not support my idea.’
“It would have been rude to read the letter to myself, so I began to read it out loud. Cakali Hamdi Bey and Mustafa Pasha, the Chief of the Military Court, listened. Although I do not remember exactly how the letter went, Bediuzzaman rejected Mevlânzâde’s proposal to set up [an independent state of] Kurdistan, and said: ‘Rifat Bey, let’s not set up Kurdistan, let’s revive the Ottoman Empire. If you accept to do this, I am willing to sacrifice even my life for it.’
“After listening to this, Mustafa Pasha turned to Mevlânzâde and said:
“‘You are wrong, Rifat Bey, and Bediuzzaman is right. It is not Kurdistan that should be formed, but the Ottoman Empire that should be re-formed and revived.’”[5. Sahiner, N. Said Nursi, 214-216, quoted from Mustafa Polat, Mülakat, 31-34.]
Indeed, Bediuzzaman continued to support any attempts to strengthen unity between the Kurds and the rest of ‘the nation’. As before, this was particularly in the fundamental area of education. In 1919 a society was founded to this end of which he was one of the fifteen founder members. Called The Society for the Propagation of Education Among Kurds (Kürd Neshr-i Ma'arif Cemiyeti), it was non-political, independent, and concerned solely with education. It aimed initially to set up one primary school for Kurdish children in Istanbul, who, “of all the sons of the fatherland, were the ones most deprived of the bounty of education”, and later as funds permitted to found others in areas where Kurds formed the majority of the inhabitants.[6. Tunaya, T.Z. Türkiye’de Siyasal Partiler, ii, 188, 214-215.] Bediuzzaman was also going to be successful in securing further funds from the Ankara Government for the Medresetü’z-Zehra, his university-level ‘medrese’ in the East, as we shall see.
Bediuzzaman Combats the British
During this time, the Shaykhü’l-Islam’s Office was presented with a questionnaire on the religion of Islam by the Church of England authorities, and as a member of the Darü’l-Hikmet, Bediuzzaman was asked to prepare the answers. Outraged at this insolence on the part of the British, Bediuzzaman wrote a few succinct words which bore the meaning of insults rather than answers. His intention was to protect the honour of Islam. He later described the affair as follows:
“One time, when the British had destroyed the guns on the Bosphorus and had invaded Istanbul, the chief cleric of the Anglican Church, which is that country’s highest religious authority, asked the Shaykhü’l-Islam’s Office six questions about religion. I was a member of the Darü’l-Hikmeti’l-Islamiye at the time and they said to me: ‘You answer them!’ They wanted a six-hundred-word reply to the six questions. I said: ‘I shall answer not with six hundred words, nor with six words, and not even with one word, but with a mouthful of spit! Because, you can see, the moment they stepped ashore here, their chief cleric arrogantly started asking us questions. What has to be done in the face of this is to spit in his face. So spit in the face of that merciless tyrant!’”[7. Mektûbat, 390.] And in Rumuz, Signs, a work he published at the time, Bediuzzaman included the following piece entitled, Answer To a Scheming Cleric Who Wanted to Pour Scorn on Us:
“Someone has thrown you down into the mud and is killing you. Although he is pressing his foot on your throat, he asks mockingly what school of law you follow. The silencing answer to this is to feel the offence, be silent, and spit in his face. (Spit in that accursed shameless face!) So not to him, but in the name of the truth:
1) Q. What does the religion of Muhammad consist of?
A. The Qur'an.
2) Q. What has it given to life and thought?
A. Divine Unity and moderation.
3) Q. What is the remedy for man’s troubles?
A. The prohibition of interest and usury and the obligatory payment of zekat.
4) Q. What does it say concerning the present upheavals?
A. Man has nought save that which he strives.[8. Qur'an, 53:39.] And those who amass gold and silver and do not spend it in the way of God; announce to them a most grievous punishment.[9. Qur'an, 9:34.],[10. Rumuz, in Asar-i Bedi’iye, 85.]
Bediuzzaman’s most effective work at this time, however, was a short work called The Six Steps, in which he pointed out six ways in which the British, and the Greeks, sowed discord and dissension in the Muslim community. It has at its head the verse: And do not follow in the footsteps of Satan,[11. Qur'an, 2:168.] and Bediuzzaman later described it as having “turned the Istanbul ‘ulama’s opinions against the British and in favour of the national movement”,[12. Sualar, 385.] and as having “spoilt the fearsome plan of the commander of the British forces occupying Istanbul.” This plan was “to prepare the ground for the defeat of the National Forces and victory of Greeks through sowing strife among Muslims, and even deceiving the Shaykhü’l-Islam and some of the ‘ulama and inciting them against each other, and through making the supporters of the two main political groupings contend with each other [that is, those of the by then disbanded Committee of Union and Progress and those of the Freedom and Accord Party].”[13. Sualar, 379.]
To illuminate this further, it should be mentioned that the source of the conflict lay in the fact that, according to the official account, Sultan Vahideddin,[14. See Chapter 8, note 15.] the Istanbul Government, some of the ‘ulama, and others, opposed the national movement in Anatolia absolutely. They considered those involved in it to be either members of the Committee of Union and Progress or people of a like kind, that is to say, bandits, whom they held responsible for entering Turkey into the War, and for its defeat which had dealt the death-blow to the Empire. Although it never came to power, the old rivals of the CUP and now dominant political party, the Freedom and Accord Party, also considered those involved in the national movement to be the chief enemy rather than the foreign aggressors.[15. Tunaya, T.Z. Türkiye’de Siyasal Partiler, i, 29-30, 34-35.]
In addition, many Western-inclined intellectuals opposed the nationalists, and the distorted writings of these combined with the propaganda of the British aiming to widen and play on divisions, were a cause of confusion among the people, shaking their faith even, and weakening their resolve to withstand the enemy. Thus, in his writings, Bediuzzaman pointed out the distortions, and in The Six Steps in particular, showed with his usual clarity how the British were playing on their differences and answered their insidious suggestions so summarily and witheringly that it both illuminated its readers and heartened them.
Bediuzzaman also severely condemned those who disparaged their own nation and thought that “the interests and ambitions of the British nation were consistent with the interests and dignity of Islam” and accepted British protection.[16. – or, the idea of a British Protectorate. Hutuvat-i Sitte, in Asar-i Bedi’iye, 117-118.] When asked which society or grouping he belonged to and why he was severely critical of the opposition, that is, the Freedom and Accord Party, he replied:
“I belong to the society of martyrs. It is inauspicious to either deny or belittle a single saint. So it is the most inauspicious of all inauspiciousness to deny two million martyrs who are saints, and to consider their blood to have spilt in vain. Because the opposition say that we were wrong to enter the [First World] War, and that our enemies were right; that it was not a jihad. Thus, such a judgement is to deny the martyrdom of two million martyrs. In my opinion the prayer we should utter most is: O God, do not put harm amongst us!
“There is a fact before which the most uncivilized and even the most savage bow their heads in submission and respect, and that is, when confronted by an external enemy, two hostile clans of a tribe lay aside their own enmity instinctively. It is astonishing therefore that those who are considered to be civilized and enlightened are far inferior to those savages; when confronted by external hostility, they intensify internal enmity. If civilization and science are thus, then man’s happiness lies in savagery and ignorance!”[17. Ishârât, in Asar-i Bedi’iye, 96-7.]
The Six Steps was published shortly before the reoccupation of Istanbul by the British in March 1920, and as they came to realize Bediuzzaman’s effectiveness in opposing them, the British authorities determined to get rid of him. However, they were told that if they attempted to assassinate him, the inhabitants and tribes of eastern Anatolia would never forgive the British, and it would earn them their eternal enmity. There are various sources which corroborate the fact that the British wanted to do away with this vehement enemy who so persistently and successfully foiled their attempts to annihilate Islam and the Turkish nation through their plots and propaganda. One such incident was related by Bediuzzaman’s student, Molla Süleyman:
“... We set off in the direction of the Divanyolu, and Misirli Said Molla was there. He was the second president of The Friends of England Association. He had no religion, and whether he was a Mason or what he was, I do not know. This man used to inform on Bediuzzaman to the British; he used to tell them about his appearance, features, dress, and where he lived. This was because Bediuzzaman used to make dreadful attacks on them in the press. He used to publish articles in the Tanin and other newspapers which said things like: ‘Spit in the shameless face of the accursed British!’ And, ‘You dogs, who are more basely and utterly dog-like than any dog!’
“Then one day, soldiers of the occupying forces were waiting for Bediuzzaman in the square by Aya Sophia, they were going to seize him. I was terrified and he said to me: ‘You follow close behind me, Süleyman, and don’t fall behind.’ Then he recited the verse from Sura Ya. Sin.: And We have put a bar in front of them and a bar behind them, and further, We have covered them; so that they cannot see,[18. Qur'an, 36:9.] and they did not see us. We passed right by them and came to the house. I knocked on the door, and when it was slow in opening, I said to my friend inside: ‘Come on open it quickly; Bediuzzaman is with me!’ He opened it immediately and we went in. Bediuzzaman sat down on the divan, and I pulled off his boots. Then he asked me:
“‘What did you understand from all that?’
“‘I do not know’, I replied. So he said:
“‘They had received the order to shoot me, and I did as I did in order to save you. I pitied you because you had no weapon. Otherwise I would have lined up ten of them and taken my aim. I would have killed at least ten of them before being killed myself.’”[19. Sahiner, N. Said Nursi, 218-219.]
Another account of Bediuzzaman at this time has been given by Tevfik Demiroglu, who later served as the Deputy for Van for many years. He provides a number of details concerning Bediuzzaman’s life, and recalls particularly his own adventures with Abdurrahman when distributing The Six Steps secretly under the noses of the British. The work was printed secretly “through the efforts of Eshref Edip.”[20. Sualar, 379.] Tevfik Demiroglu also notes that Bediuzzaman was closely associated with Eshref Edip, and with Mehmet Akif and the magazine Sebilürreshad – as indeed he had been before the War, and that they used to meet for long conversations in the Yusuf Izzeddin Pasha Pavilion in Çamlica, where Bediuzzaman stayed for some time. He also describes his adventures in stealing breech-blocks from the arsenals so as to make the British heavy guns unusable, while others would steal rifles and other weapons.[21. Demiroglu, Tevfik, in Son Sahitler, i, 229-231.]
Bediuzzaman’s enemies were not restricted to the British. Some thirty years later he wrote in a letter that a fellow member of the Darü’l-Hikmet, Seyyid Sadeddin Pasha, had warned him of another plot to kill him. The Pasha had told him: “I have learnt via certain means that an aggressive atheistic organization [zindika komitesi] which is here but whose roots are abroad has read one of your works, and has declared that so long as its author remains in this world, they shall be unable to impose their ideas, that is, irreligion, on this nation, and that he shall have to be eliminated. So guard yourself well!” Bediuzzaman wrote that in reply he said to Sadeddin Pasha: “I place my trust in God! Death only comes once, and the time of its coming cannot be changed.”[22. Emirdag Lahikasi, i, 189-190.]
Ankara
In recognition in these services to the national cause, and particularly through The Six Steps, the national leaders in Ankara invited Bediuzzaman to join them there. However Bediuzzaman declined to “flee” from Istanbul.[23. Sualar, 379.] Mustafa Kemal Pasha himself, who had been elected as President of the Grand National Assembly, sent three messages in cipher summoning Bediuzzaman. These were repeated on numerous occasions by various people including Marshal Fevzi Çakmak; this is corroborated by ‘National Defence Imam’ and Regimental Mufti, Osman Nuri Efendi.[24. Teymuroglu, Mehmet Süleyman, ‘Muhterem Said Nursi’nin Doldurdugu Bosluk,’ Hilal Dergisi, No.13, Subat 1969; see, Sahiner, Said Nursi, 239-240.] But Bediuzzaman told them:
“I want to fight where it is dangerous; I do not like fighting behind trenches. I consider here to be more dangerous than Anatolia.”
On these insistent demands, Bediuzzaman sent three of his students, Tevfik Demiroglu, Molla Süleyman, and Major Refik Bey to offer their support to the National Government. He himself finally went on being invited by his old friend, the Deputy and former Governor of Van, Tahsin Bey.[25.Tarihçe, 124; Sahiner, N. Said Nursi, 239-40.]
Necmeddin Sahiner writes that he travelled by train, arriving a week before the ‘Id al-Adha, the Feast of the Sacrifices, known in Turkey as Kurban Bayrami, which that year, 1922, fell on 4 August, and relates a conversation between Bediuzzaman and the Deputy for Siverek, Captain Abdülgani Ansarî. On the eve of the festival Bediuzzaman told the Deputy that the following day his head would be cut off. The Deputy looked aghast, so Bediuzzaman explained; if the letter Sin is removed from the word Said, the word ‘Id remains, which means festival![26. Sahiner, N. Said Nursi, 240-1.]
The War of Independence was reaching its climax, and on 22 August there began what became known as the ‘Great Offensive’, which by 29 September had resulted in the Turkish victory and liberation of Anatolia. In October, the Mudanya Armistice was signed.[27. Shaw and Shaw, History, ii, 362-4.] These were also the last days of the Ottoman Empire. The Armistice had been signed with the Ankara Government, but the Sultan’s Government was still nominally functioning in Istanbul. And so to solve the problem, on 1 November 1922, at the prompting of Mustafa Kemal, the Grand National Assembly voted to abolish the Sultanate and retain only the Caliphate. The right to choose the Caliph would rest with the Assembly. The deposed Sultan Vahiddedin left the country on a British warship on 16 November, and his cousin Abdülmecid was appointed as Caliph by the Assembly.[28. Lewis, B. Emergence, 259.] The Caliphate was finally abolished on 3 March 1924 after being held for 407 years by the Ottoman House.[29. Danismend, iv, 470.]
With all these momentous events, it was not till 9 November, 1922, that Bediuzzaman was given an official ‘welcoming’ in the Assembly. The ceremony was recorded as follows in the minutes of that day:
“Welcome for the religious scholar Bediuzzaman Said Efendi Hazretleri.
“Speaker: The Deputy for Bitlis, Arif Bey, and his friends have a motion.
“We propose to the Illustrious Presidency that a welcome is given to Bediuzzaman Molla Said Efendi Hazretleri, one of the well-known ‘ulama of the Eastern Provinces, who has come here from Istanbul in order to visit the gazis of Anatolia and this Exalted Assembly and is at present in the Visitors’ Gallery.
Bitlis Bitlis Mus Mus Siirt Bitlis Ergani
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____
Arif Dervish Kasim (Ilyas Sami) Salih Resul Hakki
“(Applause)
“Rasih Efendi (Antalya): We request him to honour the platform and offer prayers.” [30. TBMM Zabit Ceridesi, Vol. XXIV, p. 457, as in Sahiner, N. Said Nursi, 241.]
Whereupon Bediuzzaman mounted the platform, then congratulated the veterans of the War of Independence and offered prayers.
Despite the warm reception he was given and the rejoicing at the triumph of Islam and the Turks over their enemies, Bediuzzaman was dismayed to find a lax and indifferent attitude towards Islam and their religious duties among many of the Deputies in the Assembly. His intention in coming to Ankara had been to encourage those in power to set up a form of government based on the Qur'an and the Shari’a. Through Divine assistance, the Turks had totally defeated those who had wanted to destroy Islam and themselves. It was the beginning of a new era and exactly the time to marshal their forces to make the new Republic the means for bringing about a renaissance of Islam and Islamic civilization, and make it a centre and source of support for the Islamic world.[31. Tarihçe, 129.] But rather than this, in addition to an indifference towards religion, he found that atheistic ideas were being propagated. He described it like this:
“When I went to Ankara in 1922, the morale of the people of belief was extremely high as a result of the victory of the army of Islam over the Greeks. But I saw that an abominable current of atheism was treacherously trying to subvert, poison, and destroy their minds. ‘Oh God!’, I said. ‘This monster is going to harm the pillars of belief.’”[32. Lem’alar, 170; English translation, Nature, Cause or Effect? Istanbul 1989, 13-14.]
That is to say, once the victory had been won, the old differences came to the fore once again. Up to the final victory it would have been considered traitorous of any Deputy in the Assembly to assume any position opposed to Islam, but once it was secured those who favoured Westernization and the abandoning of religion, began to show their true colours. Indeed, since its inception there had been various opposing groups in the National Assembly.
In the face of the laxity and “current of atheism” which he found, Bediuzzaman wrote a work in Arabic disproving atheism called Zeylü’l-Zeyl, and another called Hubab. He noted however that, “.... Alas, those who knew Arabic were few and those who considered it seriously were rare, also its argument was in an extremely concise and abbreviated form. As a result, the treatise did not have the effect it should have done, and sadly, the current of atheism both swelled and gained strength.”[33. Lem’alar, 170.] Bediuzzaman’s main concern in Ankara, however, was urging the Deputies to adhere to Islam and perform their religious duties at this crucial time. In regard to this he published a ten point circular which he had distributed to all the Deputies. It was read to Mustafa Kemal by Kazim Karabekir Pasha.[34. Tarihçe, 124.]
The circular, dated 19 January 1923, stresses in particular the necessity of performing the prescribed prayers and is of some length, so rather than giving the whole text, we shall include a translation of the last part. Firstly, Bediuzzaman is pointing out here the harm to the nation if their leaders and representatives do not perform their religious duties, and says that in truth such people are not fit to govern:
“What excuse can be found for the neglect and giving up of the religious obligations, which causes harm to matters of both religion and the world? How can patriotism permit it? Especially these mujahidin commanders and this Grand Assembly, for they are held as examples. The nation will either imitate their faults or criticize them, and both are harmful. That is to say, their religious duties concern the rights of all. True and serious work cannot be seen from those who, comprising the meaning of consensus and agreement, do not heed innumerable warnings and indications, and accept delusions arising from the sophistry of the soul and the whisperings of Satan. The foundation stones of this mighty revolution have to be firm...”
Bediuzzaman then states that due to the power invested in it by the nation, the Assembly now represents the Sultanate. It has also to represent the Caliphate, but to do this it has to both fulfil its religious obligations and see that they are fulfilled by the nation, and answer the nation’s religious needs. If it does not do these things, out of need, the nation will compel it to “give meaning” to the “name” of the Caliphate, which in effect it had undertaken as mentioned above, and will also invest the Assembly with the power to carry out the Caliphate’s functions. However, Bediuzzaman says, if due to its members’ negligence and laxity in performing their religious obligations the Assembly does not have the ability to do this, it will give rise to discord and disunion, which is contrary to the verse, And hold fast all together to the Rope of God.[35. Qur'an, 49:10.]
Bediuzzaman goes on to make a point which is fundamental to his ideas and that has been mentioned in several places in the present work so far. This is that the modern age is the ‘mass’ age or age of the community or social group. Communities give rise to ‘collective personalities’ or ‘spirits’. In the case of government or authority, in this complex modern age, they can only function adequately by means of ‘collective personalities’ of this sort. He mentions this here in regard to the Caliphate.
“The present is the time of community. The collective personality of a community, which is its spirit, is firmer and more capable of carrying out the ordinances of the Shari’a. The person of the Caliph can only undertake his duties through relying on [such a collective personality]. If a collective personality, the spirit of a community, is righteous, it is more brilliant and perfect [than that of an individual]. But if it is bad, it is exceedingly bad. Both the goodness and badness of an individual are limited, but those of a community are unlimited. Do not spoil the goodness you have gained in the face of external [enemies] through internal badness. You know that your perpetual enemies and opposites and foes are destroying the practices and marks of Islam. Therefore, your essential duty is to revive and preserve them. Otherwise, unconsciously you will be helping the conscious enemy. Contempt for the practices and marks of Islam shows weakness of nationhood, and as for weakness, it does not arrest the enemy, it encourages him.
“God is enough for us, and how excellent a Guardian is He.”[36. Qur'an, 3:173.], [37. Tarihçe, 125-7; Sahiner, N. Said Nursi, 242-8; Hubab, in Mesnevi-i Nuriye, 92-3.]
This exhortation of Bediuzzaman’s had a considerable effect; it added around sixty to the number of Deputies who performed the prayer regularly and the room used as a mosque had to be changed for larger one. However, it drew an unfavourable reaction from the President of the Assembly, Mustafa Kemal Pasha. One day in the presence of a large number of Deputies in the Assembly, he shouted angrily at Bediuzzaman:
“We are in need of heroic Hojas like you. We called you here in order to benefit from your elevated ideas, but you came here and immediately started writing things about the prayers, and have caused differences amongst us.” Bediuzzaman countered this with a few words, then himself in anger, he jabbed his fingers and said:
“Pasha! Pasha! After belief, the most elevated truth in Islam is the obligatory prayers. Those who do not perform the prayers are traitors, and the opinions of traitors are to be rejected.”[38. Tarihçe, 128.]
In saying these words to Mustafa Kemal, Bediuzzaman had, in his own words, “smashed an appalling idol”. Those present feared for him, certain that he would be made to suffer for his words. But Mustafa Kemal suppressed his anger and in effect apologized, for two days later he had a two hour meeting with Bediuzzaman in his office.
Just as with the Pashas in the court martial and Grand Duke Nicholas in Kosturma, Bediuzzaman did not bow before Mustafa Kemal. He took the opportunity to admonish him on the great harm to the nation, country, and Islamic world in attacking Islam and trying to eradicate its practices in the hope of gaining a reputation among their enemies. If a revolution had to be brought about, it had to be achieved through making the Qur'an the basis of it. He dwelt particularly on the great error of trying to find favour with the enemies of Islam and the Turks by attacking Islam in order to satisfy ambition and the desire for fame and position. Mustafa Kemal apparently took no offence at Bediuzzaman for these words which “wounded all his sensibilities and principles”,[39. Emirdag Lahikasi, i, 242.] on the contrary, he tried to placate him and win him over so as to take advantage of his influence. He offered Bediuzzaman Shaykh Sanusi’s post as ‘General Preacher’ in the Eastern Provinces with a salary of 300 liras, a deputyship in the Assembly, and a post equivalent to that he had held in the Darü’l-Hikmeti’l-Islamiye, together with various perks such as a residence.[40. Tarihçe, 131; Sualar, 301.] Bediuzzaman did not accept, and before examining the reasons, it may also be mentioned that Mustafa Kemal was also one of the 163 deputies who endorsed the allotting of 150,000 liras for Bediuzzaman’s Medresetü’z-Zehra.[41. Emirdag Lahikasi, ii, 196.]
Throughout the time Bediuzzaman was in Ankara, he pursued the matter of founding this university in the East. There were three points in particular that he impressed on the Deputies in regard to it, many of whom were of the belief that the religious sciences should be dispensed with and that general education should be in the Western style and concentrate on the modern sciences. Firstly was the geographical location of the Eastern Provinces; since they were like a centre of the Islamic world, it was essential to teach the religious sciences together with modern science. Secondly, the fact that most of the prophets had appeared in the East and most of the great philosophers in the West showed that the East would only be aroused by religion; progress was dependent on religion. And thirdly was the most important point that religion and the teaching of it was the only way to maintain unity. If religion was not taken as the basis, the non-Turkish Muslims of the region “would not feel true brotherhood for the Turks”, and the need for co-operation and solidarity at that time was great. Of two hundred Deputies addressed on this question, 163 endorsed the decision to set aside 150,000 liras for the project.[42. Tarihçe, 128.]
One reason Bediuzzaman gave for declining Mustafa Kemal’s offers was the change that had come about in himself. As he wrote: “Their conduct and the way they were going did not accord with my own feelings of old age.” And he quoted himself as telling them: “The New Said wants to work for the next world and cannot work with you, but he will not interfere with you either.”[43. Tarihçe, 195.]
In another place he wrote: “So I was compelled to leave those most important posts. And saying that nothing can be gained from working with or responding to this person, I abandoned the world and politics and social life, and spent all of my time on the way of saving belief.”[44. Sualar, 300-1.]
Bediuzzaman also understood that it would be followers of the Qur'an that would combat the opposing forces, and that they would be defeated not in the realm of politics, but with the “immaterial sword” of the Qur'an’s miraculousness. Thus, he refused to work together with the new leaders and left Ankara for Van, where he retired into a life of solitude.[45. Tarihçe, 131.]
When leaving, Bediuzzaman was escorted to the station by a number of Deputies and friends. Mustafa Kemal Pasha also, who at the time was living by the station, joined the group. It is recorded that they had a conversation about statues, and that on the Pasha asking Bediuzzaman his opinion on them, Bediuzzaman replied sharply: “The Qur'an’s attacks are all at statues and idols. The statues of Muslims are monuments like hospitals, schools, orphanages, mosques, and roads.”[46. Sahiner, N. Said Nursi, 250; Aktürk, Av. Hulusi Bitlisi, Defence Speech in Afyon Court, Müdâfaalar, 447.] The date on Bediuzzaman’s ticket – the ticket which took the Old Said to the New Said – shows that it was issued on 17/4/39; that is, 17 April 1923, which was the first day of Ramazan, 1341.
Bab Sepuluh: Oposisi ke Inggris dan Pindah ke Ankara
Bediuzzaman dari dagger
Sebelum melanjutkan dengan cerita Bediuzzaman kehidupan, adalah tepat untuk berhubungan berikut cerita nya mata, yang dia berikan saat ini ke Ghazi Ahmad Mukhtar Pasha. Setelah pertama yang harus membawa ketegangan ketika diserang oleh sesama siswa cemburu orang terkenal dan sukses dalam perdebatan ilmiah di Siirt di 1309 Rumi/1891, Bediuzzaman ini telah diikuti sejak itu adat lokal. Penulis dan sejarawan Ibrahim Hakki Konyali dijelaskan ke Necmeddin Sahiner bagaimana dia datang di seluruh gading-menangani dagger:
"Ada banyak mementos dari nilai besar, lama dan baru, di Museum Militer, dan di antara mereka saya menemukan sebuah gading-mata menangani sementara mengklasifikasi senjata. Ia nama Said-i Kurdî berukir di atasnya. Saya membuat pertanyaan tentang bagaimana dan kapan ia datang ke Museum. Sebelumnya dikenal sebagai Said-i Kurdî, Said Nursi telah ditunjuk sebagai anggota dari Darü'l-Hikmeti'l-Islamiye di tahun-tahun berikut Great War. Saya tahu dia secara pribadi. Ia digunakan untuk pergi berkeliling di sekitar _ehzadeba_i dan memakai serban yang luka sepanjang panjang topi dan pakaian lokal dari timur Anatolia dengan ketegangan di pinggang. Sesuai dengan apa yang saya pelajari, sarjana yang besar, dan sejarawan dan kedua pendiri dan kurator di Museum Militer, Ahmad Mukhtar Pasha, telah mendapat tahu Said Nursi, dan telah diperoleh besar terhadap dia karena ia belajar. Oleh karena itu, dia telah diambil-Nya untuk dagger Museum sebagai kenang-kenangan, dan memiliki nomor dan menaruhnya pergi. "[1. Sahiner, N. Said Nursi, 212-213; Konyali, Ibrahim Hakki, di Sahiner, N. Aydinlar Konusuyor, 316.]
Bediuzzaman yang menentang Otonomi Kurdistan
Bediuzzaman inti dari proses perubahan besar saat ini tidak mencegah dia dari combatting British menempati memaksa dalam cara apapun yang dia dapat. Dijelaskan di atas adalah beberapa orang tentang kegiatan ini di Darü'l-Hikmet, area belajar, dan dalam berbagai bidang lainnya. Selain ini, Bediuzzaman bertentangan British terbuka di tekan, di atas semua peringatan terhadap mereka intrigues di bidang politik dan upaya untuk menyebarkan perpecahan di antara para 'ulama. Sebelum melihat lebih dekat meskipun ini, subyek lain tentang pentingnya British Bediuzzaman dan yang bersangkutan juga harus disebutkan, dan ini merupakan pertanyaan Kurdistan.
Ia akan selalu diingat bahwa ketika allotting yang rampasan dari Kekaisaran Ottoman, Inggris - dan juga Perancis - telah meletakkan klaim kepada geografis wilayah Kurdistan dan minyak-bidang Mesopotamia. Untuk lebih lanjut dengan kepentingan di daerah, termasuk Inggris rencana pengaturan-up yang otonom Kurdistan, dan ketentuan ini adalah dalam Treaty of Sèvres. Dan sebagainya, mengikuti perang, janji otonomi digunakan oleh British sebagai alat instigating penduduk kawasan untuk memberontak terhadap kekuasaan Usmani, dan juga, sekali-sekali, untuk menghambat Nasional Forces. Sejumlah politik masyarakat dengan tujuan yang sama didirikan pada saat yang sama, salah satu yang merupakan Masyarakat untuk kemajuan dari Kurdistan (Kurdistan Teali Cemiyeti). [2. Lihat, Tunaya, T.Z. Türkiye'de Siyasal Partiler, ii, 186-229.] Bediuzzaman telah mendekati lagi dengan harapan yang ia mendapatkan dukungan dan akses kepada banyak pengaruh, tetapi karena sebelum dan setelah ia benar-benar menolak dan mengutuk tindakan apapun yang akan merusak kesatuan dengan Turks. Salah satu dari mereka yang mendekati itu Seyyid 'Abd al-Qadir, presiden di atas masyarakat. Bediuzzaman dilaporkan telah diberikan ini dia menjawab:
"Tuhan Yang Maha Kuasa mengatakan dalam Alquran: Allah akan menghasilkan orang-orang yang dikehendaki-Nya karena mereka akan cinta kasih-Nya. [3. Qur'an, 5:54.] I pondered Divine atas pernyataan ini dan saya memahami bahwa bangsa ini adalah bangsa Turki, yang selama seribu tahun bertindak sebagai pembawa-standar di dunia Islam. Aku tidak akan mengikuti beberapa racialists bodoh daripada melayani pahlawan bangsa ini, di tempat empat ratus lima puluh juta saudara-saudara Muslim benar. "[4. Sahiner, N. Said Nursi, 216, dikutip dari Mustafa Polat, Mülakat, 37.]
Necmeddin Sahiner tanda kutip juga petikan lain dari pekerjaan yang sama, yang, karena berisi keterangan pertama Bediuzzaman selain menggambarkan lebih titik tersebut, kita berikan secara penuh. Hal ini terkait Konsolidçi oleh Asaf Bey, yang dikenal writer:
"Suatu hari, sambil duduk di kantor percetakan seorang masukkan. Dia memakai pakaian yang aneh dan memiliki beberapa jenis topi panjang di kepalanya. Di dia melihat, Mevlânzâde naik ke kaki dan yang ke saya. Ia berkata:
"" Ini adalah pemimpin-writer, Konsolidçi Asaf. 'Kemudian menangani saya, beliau berkata:
"" Ini adalah Bediuzzaman Said Efendi, salah satu ulama besar keagamaan. 'Maka dari itu saya mulai ada percakapan dengan Bediuzzaman. Dan benar-benar, saya secara sangat besar manfaat dari luas percakapan. Setelah itu ia sering digunakan untuk datang ke kita tekan dan kita akan berbicara. Bahkan kadang-kadang kita pergi bersama-sama dan putar kota.
"Saya tidak tahu berapa lama setelah itu, Said Nursi kiri Istanbul. Saya tidak ingat apakah sekarang dia pergi ke rumahnya wilayah atau beberapa tempat lainnya. Anyway, Jerman dan sekutunya telah bertemu dengan penghancuran kekalahan. Negara ini dibagi atas dan mereka mulai untuk membuat negara baru di setiap sudut itu. Armenia adalah salah satu. Suatu hari, Mevlânzâde Rifat Bey berkata kepada saya:
"Mereka menyiapkan sebuah negara Armenia. Jadi, karena selain Empire adalah jatuh, kita patut untuk membuat sebuah Kurdish satu '.
"Ketika saya melihat dia heran, ia berkata kepada saya:
"Saya bukan pengkhianat. Dan tidak saya yang broke up the mighty Kekaisaran Ottoman. Allah mengutuk orang-orang yang telah memusnahkannya, mereka semua telah melarikan diri seperti pencuri. Pasti ada Nasional Angkatan Darat, tetapi tidak menawarkan banyak harapan. Kita tidak hidup dalam usia keajaiban. I'm going to Bediuzzaman untuk menulis tentang hal ini, karena ia sangat berpengaruh. Ia adalah pemikiran yang banyak, jadi saya akan menulis kepadanya dan meminta dia untuk bergabung dengan kami.
"Mevlânzâde menulis dan mengirim surat. Setelah itu, sekitar sepuluh hari atau dua minggu kemudian kami duduk di kantor dengan pencetakan beberapa tamu. Terjadi Cakali Hamdi Pasha, yang juga Menteri Navy yang pada saat itu, dan juga Ketua Pengadilan Militer. Kami berbicara tentang ini dan itu ketika pos datang, kiri surat, dan pergi. Rifat Bey muka gelap sebagai ia membaca surat, ia jelas dia marah. Setelah melalui membaca, dia sekali di saya, dan berkata:
"Baca ini dan melihat. Bediuzzaman menolak proposal saya dan mengatakan ia tidak mendukung gagasan saya.
"It would rude telah membaca surat untuk diri sendiri, jadi saya mulai membacanya out loud. Cakali Hamdi Bey dan Mustafa Pasha, maka Ketua Pengadilan Militer, mendengarkan. Walaupun saya tidak ingat persis bagaimana surat itu, Bediuzzaman menolak usulan dari Mevlânzâde mengatur [yang independen dari negara] Kurdistan, dan berkata: "Rifat Bey, mari kita tidak menyiapkan Kurdistan, mari kita kembali Kekaisaran Ottoman . Jika Anda menerima untuk melakukan ini, aku bahkan rela berkorban untuk hidup saya untuk itu. "
"Setelah mendengarkan ini, Mustafa Pasha berpaling ke Mevlânzâde dan berkata:
"Anda salah, Rifat Bey, dan Bediuzzaman adalah kanan. Ianya bukan Kurdistan yang harus dibentuk, tetapi Usmani Empire yang harus dibentuk kembali dan kembali. ' "[5. Sahiner, N. Said Nursi, 214-216, dikutip dari Mustafa Polat, Mülakat, 31-34.]
Memang, Bediuzzaman terus mendukung semua upaya untuk memperkuat kesatuan antara Kurds dan sisanya dari 'bangsa'. Seperti sebelumnya, ini terutama dalam bidang pendidikan dasar. Masyarakat pada tahun 1919 didirikan untuk tujuan ini di mana dia merupakan salah satu dari lima belas anggota pendiri. Masyarakat yang dipanggil untuk perambatan Pendidikan Diantara Kurds (orang Kurd Neshr-i Ma'arif Cemiyeti), itu bukan politik, independen, dan hanya peduli dengan pendidikan. Ini pada awalnya ditujukan untuk membuat satu sekolah dasar untuk anak-anak Kurdi di Istanbul, yang, "semua anak-anak di tanah air, adalah salah satu yang paling deprived of karunia pendidikan", dan kemudian sebagai dana diijinkan untuk ditemukan di tempat lain Kurds membentuk mayoritas penduduk. [6. Tunaya, T.Z. Türkiye'de Siyasal Partiler, ii, 188, 214-215.] Bediuzzaman juga akan lebih berhasil dalam pengamanan dana dari pemerintah Ankara untuk Medresetü'z-Zehra, maka universitas-tingkat 'medrese' di Timur, sebagai yang akan kita lihat.
Bediuzzaman Combats British
Selama ini, yang Shaykhü'l Islam Kantor telah disajikan dengan pertanyaan tentang agama Islam oleh Gereja Inggris otoritas, dan sebagai anggota dari Darü'l-Hikmet, Bediuzzaman diminta untuk menyiapkan jawaban. Outraged ini penghinaan pada bagian dari Inggris, Bediuzzaman wrote ikhtisariah beberapa kata yang membosankan makna insults daripada jawaban. Niat nya adalah untuk melindungi kehormatan Islam. Dia kemudian menggambarkan urusan sebagai berikut:
"Satu kali, ketika Inggris telah menghancurkan senjata di Bosphorus dan telah menyerang Istanbul, pemimpin pendeta dari Gereja Anglikan, yang merupakan negara yang tertinggi otoritas agama, meminta Shaykhü'l Islam Kantor enam pertanyaan tentang agama. Saya adalah seorang anggota dari Darü'l-Hikmeti'l-Islamiye pada waktu dan mereka berkata kepada saya: 'Anda menjawabnya! "Mereka yang ingin enam ratus-kata membalas enam pertanyaan. Saya berkata: "Aku tidak akan terbaik dengan enam ratus kata, maupun dengan enam kata-kata, dan bahkan tidak dengan satu kata, tetapi dengan suap dari meludah! Karena, Anda bisa lihat, saat mereka bertambah darat di sini, mereka mulai kepala pastur dgn tinggi hati kami meminta pertanyaan. Apa yang harus dilakukan di muka ini adalah untuk meludah di wajahnya. Jadi meludah di muka yang merajalela ampun! ' "[7. Mektûbat, 390.] Dan Rumuz, tanda-tanda, ia menerbitkan sebuah pekerjaan pada saat itu, termasuk Bediuzzaman berikut piece berhak, Jawab Untuk yang licik pastur Siapa yang diinginkan ke Pour Scorn pada Kami:
"Seseorang yang telah dilemparkan ke bawah ke dalam lumpur dan membunuh Anda. Walaupun ia adalah menekan kaki-Nya pada tenggorokan, dia meminta secara mengejek apa sekolah hukum Anda ikuti. Silencing yang terbaik untuk ini adalah untuk merasakan sakit hati, jangan diam, dan meludah di wajahnya. (Spit di wajah keparat tak tahu malu!) Jadi bukan dia, tetapi atas nama kebenaran:
1) T. Apa agama yang terdiri dari Muhammad?
A. Alquran.
2) T. Apa itu diberikan kepada jiwa dan pikiran?
A. Divine Kesatuan dan moderasi.
3) T. Apa yang dimaksud dengan obat untuk manusia dari masalah?
A. larangan bunga dan riba dan kewajiban pembayaran zekat.
4) T. Apakah yang hadir berkata mengenai upheavals?
A. Manusia telah gagal menyimpan apa yang ia berusaha. [8. Qur'an, 53:39.] Dan orang-orang yang amass emas dan perak dan tidak menghabiskan uang itu di jalan Allah; umumkan kepada mereka yang paling menyedihkan hukuman. [9. Qur'an, 9:34.], [10. Rumuz, dalam Asar-i Bedi'iye, 85.]
Bediuzzaman paling efektif bekerja saat ini, bagaimanapun, merupakan kerja singkat Enam Langkah-langkah yang disebut, di mana dia mengatakan enam cara yang Inggris, dan Yunani, sowed perbantahan dan pertikaian di komunitas Muslim. Telah di atas kepala dengan ayat: Dan janganlah kamu mengikuti jejak di Iblis, [11. Qur'an, 2:168.] Bediuzzaman dan kemudian dijelaskan sebagai memiliki "Istanbul yang menjadi 'terhadap pendapat ulama dari Inggris dan demi gerakan nasional", [12. Sualar, 385.] Dan memiliki "rencana busuk yang ngeri dari komandan pasukan Inggris yang menduduki Istanbul." Rencana ini adalah "untuk menyiapkan tanah untuk kekalahan dari Nasional Angkatan dan kemenangan dari Yunani melalui penanaman perselisihan di antara umat Islam, dan bahkan deceiving yang Shaykhü'l-Islam dan sebagian 'ulama dan inciting mereka terhadap satu sama lain, dan melalui membuat pendukung utama dari kedua kelompok politik berdebat satu sama lain [yaitu, mereka yang kemudian dibubarkan oleh Komite dan Uni kemajuan dan orang-orang dari Partai Kebebasan dan Accord]. "[13. Sualar, 379.]
Untuk menerangkan ini lebih lanjut, harus menyebutkan bahwa sumber konflik menyimpan fakta bahwa, menurut rekening resmi, Sultan Vahideddin, [14. Lihat Bab 8, catatan 15.] Di Istanbul Pemerintah, sebagian 'ulama, dan lain-lain, bertentangan dengan gerakan nasional di Anatolia mutlak. Mereka menganggap mereka yang terlibat di dalamnya menjadi salah satu anggota dari Komite Uni dan Kemajuan atau orang yang menyukai jenis, yakni, bandits, mereka yang bertanggung jawab untuk memasukkan Turki ke dalam perang, dan akan mengalahkan yang berurusan dengan kematian-meniup ke Empire. Walaupun tidak pernah datang ke kuasa, yang lama saingan dari CUP dan sekarang dominan partai politik, maka Partai Kebebasan dan Accord, juga dianggap orang-orang yang terlibat dalam gerakan nasional untuk menjadi musuh utama daripada di luar batas. [15. Tunaya, T.Z. Türkiye'de Siyasal Partiler, i, 29-30, 34-35.]
Selain itu, banyak kaum cendekiawan Barat cenderung bertentangan dengan nationalists, dan tulisan-tulisan piuh ini dikombinasikan dengan propaganda dari Inggris yang bertujuan untuk memperluas dan bermain di divisi, yang telah menyebabkan kebingungan di kalangan masyarakat, bahkan getaran iman mereka, dan mereka melemah tersebut untuk melawan musuh. Oleh karena itu, dalam tulisannya, Bediuzzaman mengingatkan pada distorsi, dan di Enam Langkah khususnya, menunjukkan dengan biasa kejelasan bagaimana British telah bermain pada perbedaan mereka dan menjawab mereka dan membahayakan saran agar cepat dan witheringly bahwa kedua illuminated para pembaca dan heartened mereka.
Bediuzzaman juga sangat mengutuk orang-orang yang disparaged bangsa mereka sendiri dan berpikir bahwa "kepentingan dan ambisi-ambisi dari British bangsa yang konsisten dengan kepentingan dan martabat Islam" dan diterima British perlindungan. [16. - Atau, ide dari protektorat Inggris. Hutuvat-i Sitte, dalam Asar-i Bedi'iye, 117-118.] Ketika ditanyakan atau kelompok masyarakat yang milik dia dan mengapa dia sangat penting dari oposisi, yaitu Partai Merdeka dan Accord, ia berkata:
"Saya milik masyarakat yang martir. Hal ini tak baik untuk menolak atau mengabaikan satu saint. Jadi, adalah yang paling sial dari semua inauspiciousness untuk menolak dua juta martir yang kudus, dan darah mereka untuk mempertimbangkan untuk memiliki spilt dengan sembarangan. Karena oposisi mengatakan bahwa kami salah memasukkan [Pertama Dunia] Perang, dan bahwa kami musuh yang tepat, agar ia bukan jihad. Oleh itu, adalah suatu keputusan untuk menolak kesyahidan dari dua juta martir. Menurut pendapat saya doa kita harus mengucapkan paling adalah: Ya Allah, tidak membahayakan meletakkan di antara kami!
"Ada satu fakta yang paling sebelum yang tak beradab dan bahkan yang paling ganas tundukan kepala mereka dalam pengabdian dan hormati, dan yang, ketika menghadapi musuh oleh eksternal, dua berseteru marga dari suku menyisihkan permusuhan naluri mereka sendiri. Hal ini mengherankan karena itu bahwa orang-orang yang dianggap sopan dan mendapat penerangan-penerangan jauh rendah kepada mereka savages; ketika menghadapi eksternal oleh permusuhan, permusuhan mereka mengintensifkan internal. Jika peradaban ilmu dan dengan itu, maka kebahagiaan manusia terletak pada kekejaman dan kejahilan! "[17. Ishârât, dalam Asar-i Bedi'iye, 96-7.]
Enam Langkah-langkah yang telah diterbitkan dalam waktu dekat sebelum reoccupation dari Istanbul oleh British pada bulan Maret 1920, dan karena mereka datang untuk mewujudkan Bediuzzaman efektifitas dalam menentang mereka, British otoritas bertekad untuk menyingkirkan dia. Namun, mereka berkata bahwa jika mereka berusaha untuk assassinate dia, penduduk dan suku dari timur Anatolia tidak akan pernah mengampuni British, dan mereka yang akan mereka kekal permusuhan. Ada berbagai sumber yang membenarkan fakta bahwa British ingin menghilangkan ini dengan berapi-api musuh yang berhasil jadi persistently dan foiled mereka mencoba untuk menghapuskan Islam dan bangsa Turki melalui plots dan propaganda. Salah satu insiden yang terkait oleh Bediuzzaman dari pelajar, Molla Süleyman:
"... Kami berangkat ke arah Divanyolu, dan Misirli Said Molla ada. Dia adalah presiden kedua dari The Friends of England Asosiasi. Dia tidak memiliki agama, dan apakah dia adalah seorang Mason atau apa dia, saya tidak tahu. Manusia ini digunakan untuk memberitahukan pada Bediuzzaman ke Inggris, ia digunakan untuk memberitahukan kepada mereka tentang tampilan, fitur, pakaian, dan di mana dia tinggal. Ini adalah kerana Bediuzzaman digunakan untuk membuat ngeri serangan mereka di tekan. Ia digunakan untuk menerbitkan artikel di koran Tanin dan lainnya yang mengatakan hal-hal seperti: "Spit di muka tak tahu malu yang terkutuk Inggris" Dan, "Kamu anjing, yang lebih keji dan sama sekali seperti anjing-anjing daripada '
"Kemudian satu hari, prajurit dari pasukan yang menempati Bediuzzaman menunggu di alun-alun oleh Aya Sophia, mereka akan merampas dia. Saya ketakutan dan dia berkata kepada saya: 'Anda mengikuti dekat di belakang saya, Süleyman, dan tidak tertinggal. "Kemudian dia dengan ayat dari Al Qur'an Sura Ya. Berdosa. Dan Kami adakan bar di depan mereka dan sebuah bar di belakang mereka, dan lebih lanjut, Kami tutup mereka, sehingga mereka tidak dapat melihat, [18. Qur'an, 36:9.] Dan mereka tidak melihat kami. Kami lulus dan kanan oleh mereka yang datang ke rumah. I knocked di pintu, dan ketika ia lambat dalam membuka, saya berkata kepada teman saya di dalam: "Come on membukanya dengan cepat; Bediuzzaman adalah dengan me! 'Dia segera dibuka dan kami pergi in Bediuzzaman duduk di amben, diambil dan saya off his boots. Kemudian dia bertanya saya:
"Apa yang Anda mengerti dari semua itu?"
"Saya tidak tahu ', saya menjawab. Maka ia berkata:
"Mereka telah menerima pesanan untuk menembak saya, dan saya lakukan seperti yang saya lakukan untuk menyelamatkan Anda. Aku pitied Anda karena Anda tidak memiliki senjata. Jika saya akan berkerut sepuluh atas diambil dari mereka dan tujuan saya. Saya telah membunuh sedikitnya sepuluh dari mereka sebelum membunuh diri ". [19. Sahiner, N. Said Nursi, 218-219.]
Bediuzzaman account lain yang saat ini telah diberikan oleh Tevfik Demiroglu, yang kemudian menjabat sebagai Wakil untuk Van selama bertahun-tahun. Dia memberikan sejumlah Bediuzzaman rincian tentang kehidupan, dan terutama recalls sendiri petualangan dengan Abdurrahman ketika mendistribusikan Enam Langkah-langkah yang secara diam-diam di bawah hidung dari Inggris. Pekerjaan yang telah dicetak secara diam-diam "melalui upaya Eshref Edip." [20. Sualar, 379.] Tevfik Demiroglu juga mencatat bahwa Bediuzzaman itu terkait erat dengan Eshref Edip, dan dengan Mehmet Akif dan majalah Sebilürreshad - karena memang dia telah sebelum Perang, dan bahwa mereka digunakan untuk memenuhi untuk percakapan panjang di Yusuf Izzeddin Pasha pavillion di Çamlica, Bediuzzaman tempat tinggal untuk beberapa waktu. Dia juga menjelaskan kepada petualangan di bagian belakang mencuri-blok dari arsenals sehingga membuat British unusable senjata berat, sementara yang lain akan mencuri senjata pasukan penembak dan lainnya. [21. Demiroglu, Tevfik, dalam Anak Sahitler, i, 229-231.]
Bediuzzaman dari musuh yang tidak dibatasi untuk British. Beberapa tiga puluh tahun kemudian ia menulis dalam surat yang sesama anggota dari Darü'l-Hikmet, Seyyid Sadeddin Pasha, dia telah memperingatkan orang lain komplot untuk membunuh dia. Pasha yang telah diberitahu kepadanya: "Saya telah belajar melalui tertentu berarti yang agresif atheistic organisasi [zindika komitesi] yang ada di sini, tetapi di luar negeri adalah akar yang telah membaca salah satu karya, dan telah menyatakan bahwa begitu lama sebagai penulis tetap di dunia ini , mereka tidak bisa memaksakan ide-ide mereka, yaitu irreligion, di negara ini, dan bahwa ia harus dihapuskan. Jadi menjaga diri sendiri dengan baik! "Bediuzzaman menulis bahwa di balas katanya Sadeddin ke Pasha:" Saya tempat saya percaya pada Tuhan! Kematian hanya datang satu kali, dan waktu yang datang tidak dapat diubah. "[22. Emirdag Lahikasi, i, 189-190.]
Ankara
Dalam pengakuan di layanan ini dengan menyebabkan nasional, dan khususnya melalui The Enam Langkah, pemimpin nasional di Ankara Bediuzzaman diundang untuk bergabung dengan mereka di sana. Namun Bediuzzaman menolak untuk "melarikan diri" dari Istanbul. [23. Sualar, 379.] Mustafa Kemal Pasha dirinya, yang telah dipilih sebagai Presiden Grand Majelis Nasional, yang dikirim dalam tiga pesan cipher summoning Bediuzzaman. Ini yang diulang di berbagai kesempatan oleh berbagai orang termasuk Marshal Fevzi Çakmak; ini Corroborated oleh 'Pertahanan Nasional Imam' dan resimen mufti, Osman Nuri Efendi. [24. Teymuroglu, Mehmet Süleyman, 'Muhterem Said Nursi'nin Doldurdugu Bosluk,' Hilal Dergisi, No.13, Subat 1969; lihat, Sahiner, Said Nursi, 239-240.] Bediuzzaman Tetapi kepada mereka:
"Saya ingin berjuang di tempat yang berbahaya, saya tidak suka berkelahi di belakang trenches. Saya coba di sini untuk lebih berbahaya daripada Anatolia. "
Berkeras pada tuntutan, Bediuzzaman dikirim tiga orang siswa, Tevfik Demiroglu, Molla Süleyman, dan Mayor Refik Bey menawarkan dukungan kepada mereka Nasional Pemerintah. Ia sendiri pada akhirnya pergi yang diundang oleh para teman lama, dan mantan Wakil Gubernur Van, Tahsin Bey. [25.Tarihçe, 124; Sahiner, N. Said Nursi, 239-40.]
Necmeddin Sahiner menulis bahwa dia melakukan perjalanan dengan kereta api, tiba seminggu sebelum 'Id al-Adha, Hari Raya dari korban, yang dikenal di Turki sebagai Kurban Bayrami, yang tahun itu, 1922, jatuh pada tanggal 4 Agustus, dan terkait percakapan antara Bediuzzaman dan Wakil untuk Siverek, Captain Abdülgani Ansarî. Pada malam di festival Bediuzzaman Wakil diberitahu bahwa keesokan harinya kepalanya akan dilenyapkan. Wakil memandang aghast, jadi Bediuzzaman dijelaskan, jika huruf Dosa akan dihapus dari kata Said, kata 'Id tetap, yang berarti festival [26. Sahiner, N. Said Nursi, 240-1.]
The War of Independence-nya telah mencapai klimaks, dan pada tanggal 22 Agustus di sana menjadi apa yang mulai dikenal sebagai 'Great menyinggung', yang oleh 29 September telah mengakibatkan Turki kemenangan dan kemerdekaan dari Anatolia. Pada bulan Oktober, Mudanya gencatan senjata yang telah ditandatangani. [27. Shaw dan Shaw, Sejarah, ii, 362-4.] Ini juga hari terakhir dari Kekaisaran Ottoman. Gencatan senjata yang telah ditandatangani dengan Pemerintah Ankara, tetapi Sultan Pemerintah masih berfungsi nominal di Istanbul. Dan sebagainya untuk memecahkan masalah, pada 1 November 1922, di dorongan dari Mustafa Kemal, Grand National Assembly voted untuk meniadakannya di Kesultanan dan mempertahankan hanya kalifat. Hak untuk memilih Khalifah akan beristirahat dengan Majelis. The Sultan Vahiddedin memecat meninggalkan negara di kapal perang Inggris pada 16 November, dan sepupu Abdülmecid diangkat sebagai Khalifah oleh Majelis. [28. Lewis, B. Emergence, 259.] The kalifat itu akhirnya dihapuskan pada 3 Maret 1924 setelah berlangsung selama 407 tahun oleh Usmani House. [29. Danismend, iv, 470.]
Dengan semua peristiwa ini sangat penting, tidak sampai 9 November, 1922, yang telah diberikan Bediuzzaman pejabat 'menyambut' di Majelis. Upacara telah dicatat sebagai berikut pada hari itu hari:
"Selamat Datang untuk sarjana agama Bediuzzaman Said Efendi Hazretleri.
"Pembicara: Wakil untuk Bitlis, Bey Arif, dan teman-temannya ada mosi.
"Kami mengusulkan kepada terkemuka Kepresidenan pesan yang diberikan kepada Bediuzzaman Molla Said Efendi Hazretleri, salah satu yang dikenal 'ulama dari Provinsi Timur, yang telah datang dari Istanbul di sini untuk mengunjungi gazis dari Anatolia dan Maha Majelis dan saat ini dalam Pengunjung 'Galeri.
Bitlis Bitlis Mus Mus Siirt Bitlis Ergani
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____
Arif darwis Kasim (Ilyas Sami) Saleh Resul Hakki
"(Teriakan)
"Rasih Efendi (Antalya):" Kami meminta dia untuk menghormati dan menawarkan platform doa. "[30. TBMM Zabit Ceridesi, Vol. XXIV, hal 457, seperti di Sahiner, N. Said Nursi, 241.]
Dimana Bediuzzaman platform yang terpasang, yang kemudian congratulated veteran dari Perang Kemerdekaan yang ditawarkan dan doa.
Meskipun penerimaan hangat dia diberikan dan sukacita di kejayaan Islam dan Turki atas musuh-musuh mereka, Bediuzzaman was dismayed mencari longgar dan sikap acuh tak acuh terhadap agama Islam dan kewajiban di antara mereka banyak Deputies di Majelis. Niat nya di datang ke Ankara telah mendorong orang-orang yang berkuasa untuk membuat sebuah bentuk pemerintahan berdasarkan Al Qur'an dan syariah. Melalui bantuan ilahi, yang telah Turks totally dikalahkan mereka yang ingin menghancurkan Islam dan sendiri. Itu adalah awal dari sebuah era baru dan tepat waktu untuk menyusun kekuatan mereka untuk membuat Republik cara baru untuk membawa kembali tentang Islam dan peradaban Islam, dan menjadikannya sebuah pusat sumber dan dukungan bagi dunia Islam. [31 . Tarihçe, 129.] Tetapi bukan ini, selain sebuah kelalaian terhadap agama, ia menemukan bahwa ide atheistic sedang propagated. Dia digambarkan seperti ini:
"Ketika saya pergi ke Ankara pada 1922, dengan semangat orang-orang kepercayaan yang sangat tinggi sebagai akibat dari kemenangan dari tentara Islam atas Yunani. Tapi saya melihat bahwa saat ini dari abominable ateisme treacherously telah mencoba merusak, racun, dan menghancurkan pikiran mereka. 'Oh Tuhan', saya berkata. "Ini rakasa akan membahayakan pilar kepercayaan". [32. Lem'alar, 170; Bahasa Inggris, Alam, Cause atau Effect? Istanbul 1989, 13-14.]
Yang mengatakan, setelah kemenangan telah memenangkan, perbedaan yang lama datang ke kedepan sekali lagi. Hingga akhir kemenangan itu telah dianggap cedera apapun di Majelis Wakil ke menganggap posisi apapun bertentangan dengan Islam, tetapi setelah orang-orang yang telah diamankan favorit pembaratan dan meninggalkan agama, mulai menunjukkan mereka benar warna. Memang, sejak dimulai ada telah melawan berbagai kelompok di Majelis Nasional.
Di muka yang kelalaian dan "sekarang dari ateisme" yang ia ditemukan, Bediuzzaman menulis bekerja di Arab disproving ateisme Zeylü'l disebut-Zeyl, dan lain bernama Hubab. Dia mencatat bahwa, ".... Alas, orang-orang yang tahu bahasa Arab sangat sedikit dan orang-orang yang dianggap serius yang langka itu, juga argumen yang ada dalam yang sangat singkat dan disingkat formulir. Akibatnya, risalah tidak memiliki efek seharusnya mempunyai selesai, dan sadly, saat ini dari kedua bengul ateisme dan memperoleh kekuatan. "[33. Lem'alar, 170.] Bediuzzaman perhatian utama di Ankara, bagaimanapun, adalah urging the Deputies untuk mematuhi Islam dan agama mereka melakukan tugas-tugas penting pada saat ini. Dalam hal ini ia menerbitkan surat edaran yang sepuluh point dia didistribusikan kepada semua Deputies. Ia membaca ke Kazim oleh Mustafa Kemal Pasha Karabekir. [34. Tarihçe, 124.]
Dengan surat edaran tanggal 19 Januari 1923, terutama yang menekankan perlunya melaksanakan resep doa dan beberapa lama, jadi daripada memberi seluruh teks, kami akan menyertakan terjemahan dari bagian terakhir. Pertama, Bediuzzaman adalah yang di sini yang berbahaya untuk bangsa jika pemimpin dan wakil-wakil mereka tidak melakukan kewajiban agama mereka, dan mengatakan bahwa dalam kebenaran seperti orang yang tidak cocok untuk memerintah:
"Apa alasan dapat ditemukan untuk diabaikan dan memberikan dari kewajiban keagamaan, yang menyebabkan kerugian untuk hal-hal yang baik agama dan dunia? Bagaimana patriotisme izin itu? Terutama ini mujahidin dan komandan Grand Majelis ini, karena mereka akan disimpan sebagai contoh. Bangsa akan baik mereka meniru kesalahan atau mengkritik mereka, dan kedua-duanya berbahaya. Yang mengatakan, tugas mereka agama perhatian hak-hak semua. Benar serius dan bekerja tidak dapat dilihat dari orang-orang yang terdiri dari makna konsensus dan kesepakatan, tidak menghiraukan peringatan dan banyak sekali baru, dan menerima delusions timbul dari cara berpikir jiwa dan whisperings Iblis. Pondasi batu besar revolusi ini harus kuat ... "
Bediuzzaman kemudian menyatakan bahwa karena kuasa diinvestasikan di dalamnya oleh bangsa, Majelis sekarang merupakan kesultanan. Ia juga telah mewakili kalifat, tetapi untuk melakukan hal ini sudah baik untuk memenuhi kewajiban agama-nya dan melihat bahwa mereka dipenuhi oleh negara, dan bangsa dari kebutuhan agama. Jika tidak melakukan hal-hal ini, dari kebutuhan, bangsa akan memaksa ke "memberi makna" kepada "nama" dari kalifat, yang berlaku itu telah dilakukan seperti di atas, dan juga akan berinvestasi Majelis dengan daya untuk melaksanakan fungsi dari kalifat. Namun, Bediuzzaman mengatakan, jika karena anggota kelalaian dan kelalaian dalam melaksanakan kewajiban agama mereka Majelis tidak memiliki kemampuan untuk melakukan hal ini, ia akan menimbulkan perpecahan dan pemecah-belahan, yang bertentangan dengan ayat, dan terus berpuasa semua Rope bersama dengan Allah. [35. Qur'an, 49:10.]
Bediuzzaman pergi untuk membuat titik yang mendasar kepada ide-ide dan yang telah disebutkan di beberapa tempat di saat bekerja selama ini. Ini adalah bahwa umur modern adalah 'massa' atau usia usia masyarakat atau kelompok sosial. Masyarakat menimbulkan 'kolektif pribadi' atau 'roh'. Dalam hal pemerintah atau otoritas, dalam kompleks modern usia ini, mereka hanya dapat berfungsi dengan cukup 'kepribadian kolektif' ini mengurutkan. Dia menyebut ini di Berkaitan dengan kalifat.
"Yang hadir adalah waktu dari masyarakat. Kepribadian kolektif masyarakat, yang adalah roh, adalah lebih firmer dan mampu melaksanakan ordinances dari syariah. Orang dari Khalifah hanya dapat melakukan tugas-Nya melalui mengandalkan [seperti kepribadian kolektif]. Jika kepribadian kolektif, semangat masyarakat, adalah benar, ia lebih cemerlang dan sempurna [lebih dari seorang individu]. Tetapi jika itu buruk, ia amat buruk. Baik kebaikan dan keburukan dari seorang individu yang terbatas, tetapi mereka adalah masyarakat yang tidak terbatas. Jangan memanjakan Anda yang telah mendapatkan kebaikan di muka eksternal [musuh] melalui internal keburukan. Anda tahu bahwa Anda tak henti-hentinya musuh dan opposites dan foes adalah praktek yang merusak dan tanda Islam. Oleh karena itu, Anda penting adalah tugas untuk menghidupkan kembali dan memelihara mereka. Jika tidak, tanpa disadari Anda akan membantu sadar musuh. Penghinaan untuk praktik dan tanda Islam menunjukkan kelemahan kedudukan sbg negara merdeka, dan untuk kelemahan, tidak menangkap musuh, ia mendorong dia.
"Allah cukup bagi kami, dan cara yang baik adalah Dia Guardian." [36. Qur'an, 3:173.], [37. Tarihçe, 125-7; Sahiner, N. Said Nursi, 242-8; Hubab, di Mesnevi-i Nuriye, 92-3.]
Ini peringatan dari Bediuzzaman's memiliki banyak efek, yang sekitar enam puluh ditambahkan ke jumlah Deputies doa yang dilakukan secara teratur dan ruangan yang digunakan sebagai sebuah masjid harus diubah untuk lebih besar. Namun, yang tak baik drew reaksi dari Presiden Majelis, Mustafa Kemal Pasha. Suatu hari di hadapan sejumlah besar Deputies dalam Majelis, ia berseru angrily di Bediuzzaman:
"Kami memerlukan pahlawan Hojas seperti Anda. Kami memanggil anda disini agar Anda dapat memperoleh manfaat dari ditinggikan ide, namun Anda datang di sini dan segera mulai menulis sesuatu tentang doa-doa, dan telah menyebabkan perbedaan di antara kita. "Bediuzzaman countered ini dengan beberapa kata, maka dirinya dalam amarah, ia jabbed nya jari dan berkata:
"Pasha! Pasha! Setelah kepercayaan, yang paling tinggi kebenaran dalam Islam adalah wajib doa. Mereka yang tidak melakukan doa-doa yang traitors, dan pendapat traitors akan ditolak. "[38. Tarihçe, 128.]
Berkata dalam kata-kata ini ke Mustafa Kemal, telah Bediuzzaman, dalam kata-kata sendiri, "dobrak yang menggemparkan idol". Mereka yang hadir untuk takut dia yakin bahwa dia akan dibuat untuk menderita untuk kata. But Mustafa Kemal suppressed his anger and in effect apologized, for two days later he had a two hour meeting with Bediuzzaman in his office.
Just as with the Pashas in the court martial and Grand Duke Nicholas in Kosturma, Bediuzzaman did not bow before Mustafa Kemal. He took the opportunity to admonish him on the great harm to the nation, country, and Islamic world in attacking Islam and trying to eradicate its practices in the hope of gaining a reputation among their enemies. If a revolution had to be brought about, it had to be achieved through making the Qur'an the basis of it. He dwelt particularly on the great error of trying to find favour with the enemies of Islam and the Turks by attacking Islam in order to satisfy ambition and the desire for fame and position. Mustafa Kemal apparently took no offence at Bediuzzaman for these words which “wounded all his sensibilities and principles”,[39. Emirdag Lahikasi, i, 242.] on the contrary, he tried to placate him and win him over so as to take advantage of his influence. He offered Bediuzzaman Shaykh Sanusi’s post as ‘General Preacher’ in the Eastern Provinces with a salary of 300 liras, a deputyship in the Assembly, and a post equivalent to that he had held in the Darü’l-Hikmeti’l-Islamiye, together with various perks such as a residence.[40. Tarihçe, 131; Sualar, 301.] Bediuzzaman did not accept, and before examining the reasons, it may also be mentioned that Mustafa Kemal was also one of the 163 deputies who endorsed the allotting of 150,000 liras for Bediuzzaman’s Medresetü’z-Zehra.[41. Emirdag Lahikasi, ii, 196.]
Throughout the time Bediuzzaman was in Ankara, he pursued the matter of founding this university in the East. There were three points in particular that he impressed on the Deputies in regard to it, many of whom were of the belief that the religious sciences should be dispensed with and that general education should be in the Western style and concentrate on the modern sciences. Firstly was the geographical location of the Eastern Provinces; since they were like a centre of the Islamic world, it was essential to teach the religious sciences together with modern science. Secondly, the fact that most of the prophets had appeared in the East and most of the great philosophers in the West showed that the East would only be aroused by religion; progress was dependent on religion. And thirdly was the most important point that religion and the teaching of it was the only way to maintain unity. If religion was not taken as the basis, the non-Turkish Muslims of the region “would not feel true brotherhood for the Turks”, and the need for co-operation and solidarity at that time was great. Of two hundred Deputies addressed on this question, 163 endorsed the decision to set aside 150,000 liras for the project.[42. Tarihçe, 128.]
One reason Bediuzzaman gave for declining Mustafa Kemal’s offers was the change that had come about in himself. As he wrote: “Their conduct and the way they were going did not accord with my own feelings of old age.” And he quoted himself as telling them: “The New Said wants to work for the next world and cannot work with you, but he will not interfere with you either.”[43. Tarihçe, 195.]
In another place he wrote: “So I was compelled to leave those most important posts. And saying that nothing can be gained from working with or responding to this person, I abandoned the world and politics and social life, and spent all of my time on the way of saving belief.”[44. Sualar, 300-1.]
Bediuzzaman also understood that it would be followers of the Qur'an that would combat the opposing forces, and that they would be defeated not in the realm of politics, but with the “immaterial sword” of the Qur'an’s miraculousness. Thus, he refused to work together with the new leaders and left Ankara for Van, where he retired into a life of solitude.[45. Tarihçe, 131.]
When leaving, Bediuzzaman was escorted to the station by a number of Deputies and friends. Mustafa Kemal Pasha also, who at the time was living by the station, joined the group. It is recorded that they had a conversation about statues, and that on the Pasha asking Bediuzzaman his opinion on them, Bediuzzaman replied sharply: “The Qur'an’s attacks are all at statues and idols. The statues of Muslims are monuments like hospitals, schools, orphanages, mosques, and roads.”[46. Sahiner, N. Said Nursi, 250; Aktürk, Av. Hulusi Bitlisi, Defence Speech in Afyon Court, Müdâfaalar, 447.] The date on Bediuzzaman’s ticket – the ticket which took the Old Said to the New Said – shows that it was issued on 17/4/39; that is, 17 April 1923, which was the first day of Ramazan, 1341.
Bediuzzaman dari dagger
Sebelum melanjutkan dengan cerita Bediuzzaman kehidupan, adalah tepat untuk berhubungan berikut cerita nya mata, yang dia berikan saat ini ke Ghazi Ahmad Mukhtar Pasha. Setelah pertama yang harus membawa ketegangan ketika diserang oleh sesama siswa cemburu orang terkenal dan sukses dalam perdebatan ilmiah di Siirt di 1309 Rumi/1891, Bediuzzaman ini telah diikuti sejak itu adat lokal. Penulis dan sejarawan Ibrahim Hakki Konyali dijelaskan ke Necmeddin Sahiner bagaimana dia datang di seluruh gading-menangani dagger:
"Ada banyak mementos dari nilai besar, lama dan baru, di Museum Militer, dan di antara mereka saya menemukan sebuah gading-mata menangani sementara mengklasifikasi senjata. Ia nama Said-i Kurdî berukir di atasnya. Saya membuat pertanyaan tentang bagaimana dan kapan ia datang ke Museum. Sebelumnya dikenal sebagai Said-i Kurdî, Said Nursi telah ditunjuk sebagai anggota dari Darü'l-Hikmeti'l-Islamiye di tahun-tahun berikut Great War. Saya tahu dia secara pribadi. Ia digunakan untuk pergi berkeliling di sekitar _ehzadeba_i dan memakai serban yang luka sepanjang panjang topi dan pakaian lokal dari timur Anatolia dengan ketegangan di pinggang. Sesuai dengan apa yang saya pelajari, sarjana yang besar, dan sejarawan dan kedua pendiri dan kurator di Museum Militer, Ahmad Mukhtar Pasha, telah mendapat tahu Said Nursi, dan telah diperoleh besar terhadap dia karena ia belajar. Oleh karena itu, dia telah diambil-Nya untuk dagger Museum sebagai kenang-kenangan, dan memiliki nomor dan menaruhnya pergi. "[1. Sahiner, N. Said Nursi, 212-213; Konyali, Ibrahim Hakki, di Sahiner, N. Aydinlar Konusuyor, 316.]
Bediuzzaman yang menentang Otonomi Kurdistan
Bediuzzaman inti dari proses perubahan besar saat ini tidak mencegah dia dari combatting British menempati memaksa dalam cara apapun yang dia dapat. Dijelaskan di atas adalah beberapa orang tentang kegiatan ini di Darü'l-Hikmet, area belajar, dan dalam berbagai bidang lainnya. Selain ini, Bediuzzaman bertentangan British terbuka di tekan, di atas semua peringatan terhadap mereka intrigues di bidang politik dan upaya untuk menyebarkan perpecahan di antara para 'ulama. Sebelum melihat lebih dekat meskipun ini, subyek lain tentang pentingnya British Bediuzzaman dan yang bersangkutan juga harus disebutkan, dan ini merupakan pertanyaan Kurdistan.
Ia akan selalu diingat bahwa ketika allotting yang rampasan dari Kekaisaran Ottoman, Inggris - dan juga Perancis - telah meletakkan klaim kepada geografis wilayah Kurdistan dan minyak-bidang Mesopotamia. Untuk lebih lanjut dengan kepentingan di daerah, termasuk Inggris rencana pengaturan-up yang otonom Kurdistan, dan ketentuan ini adalah dalam Treaty of Sèvres. Dan sebagainya, mengikuti perang, janji otonomi digunakan oleh British sebagai alat instigating penduduk kawasan untuk memberontak terhadap kekuasaan Usmani, dan juga, sekali-sekali, untuk menghambat Nasional Forces. Sejumlah politik masyarakat dengan tujuan yang sama didirikan pada saat yang sama, salah satu yang merupakan Masyarakat untuk kemajuan dari Kurdistan (Kurdistan Teali Cemiyeti). [2. Lihat, Tunaya, T.Z. Türkiye'de Siyasal Partiler, ii, 186-229.] Bediuzzaman telah mendekati lagi dengan harapan yang ia mendapatkan dukungan dan akses kepada banyak pengaruh, tetapi karena sebelum dan setelah ia benar-benar menolak dan mengutuk tindakan apapun yang akan merusak kesatuan dengan Turks. Salah satu dari mereka yang mendekati itu Seyyid 'Abd al-Qadir, presiden di atas masyarakat. Bediuzzaman dilaporkan telah diberikan ini dia menjawab:
"Tuhan Yang Maha Kuasa mengatakan dalam Alquran: Allah akan menghasilkan orang-orang yang dikehendaki-Nya karena mereka akan cinta kasih-Nya. [3. Qur'an, 5:54.] I pondered Divine atas pernyataan ini dan saya memahami bahwa bangsa ini adalah bangsa Turki, yang selama seribu tahun bertindak sebagai pembawa-standar di dunia Islam. Aku tidak akan mengikuti beberapa racialists bodoh daripada melayani pahlawan bangsa ini, di tempat empat ratus lima puluh juta saudara-saudara Muslim benar. "[4. Sahiner, N. Said Nursi, 216, dikutip dari Mustafa Polat, Mülakat, 37.]
Necmeddin Sahiner tanda kutip juga petikan lain dari pekerjaan yang sama, yang, karena berisi keterangan pertama Bediuzzaman selain menggambarkan lebih titik tersebut, kita berikan secara penuh. Hal ini terkait Konsolidçi oleh Asaf Bey, yang dikenal writer:
"Suatu hari, sambil duduk di kantor percetakan seorang masukkan. Dia memakai pakaian yang aneh dan memiliki beberapa jenis topi panjang di kepalanya. Di dia melihat, Mevlânzâde naik ke kaki dan yang ke saya. Ia berkata:
"" Ini adalah pemimpin-writer, Konsolidçi Asaf. 'Kemudian menangani saya, beliau berkata:
"" Ini adalah Bediuzzaman Said Efendi, salah satu ulama besar keagamaan. 'Maka dari itu saya mulai ada percakapan dengan Bediuzzaman. Dan benar-benar, saya secara sangat besar manfaat dari luas percakapan. Setelah itu ia sering digunakan untuk datang ke kita tekan dan kita akan berbicara. Bahkan kadang-kadang kita pergi bersama-sama dan putar kota.
"Saya tidak tahu berapa lama setelah itu, Said Nursi kiri Istanbul. Saya tidak ingat apakah sekarang dia pergi ke rumahnya wilayah atau beberapa tempat lainnya. Anyway, Jerman dan sekutunya telah bertemu dengan penghancuran kekalahan. Negara ini dibagi atas dan mereka mulai untuk membuat negara baru di setiap sudut itu. Armenia adalah salah satu. Suatu hari, Mevlânzâde Rifat Bey berkata kepada saya:
"Mereka menyiapkan sebuah negara Armenia. Jadi, karena selain Empire adalah jatuh, kita patut untuk membuat sebuah Kurdish satu '.
"Ketika saya melihat dia heran, ia berkata kepada saya:
"Saya bukan pengkhianat. Dan tidak saya yang broke up the mighty Kekaisaran Ottoman. Allah mengutuk orang-orang yang telah memusnahkannya, mereka semua telah melarikan diri seperti pencuri. Pasti ada Nasional Angkatan Darat, tetapi tidak menawarkan banyak harapan. Kita tidak hidup dalam usia keajaiban. I'm going to Bediuzzaman untuk menulis tentang hal ini, karena ia sangat berpengaruh. Ia adalah pemikiran yang banyak, jadi saya akan menulis kepadanya dan meminta dia untuk bergabung dengan kami.
"Mevlânzâde menulis dan mengirim surat. Setelah itu, sekitar sepuluh hari atau dua minggu kemudian kami duduk di kantor dengan pencetakan beberapa tamu. Terjadi Cakali Hamdi Pasha, yang juga Menteri Navy yang pada saat itu, dan juga Ketua Pengadilan Militer. Kami berbicara tentang ini dan itu ketika pos datang, kiri surat, dan pergi. Rifat Bey muka gelap sebagai ia membaca surat, ia jelas dia marah. Setelah melalui membaca, dia sekali di saya, dan berkata:
"Baca ini dan melihat. Bediuzzaman menolak proposal saya dan mengatakan ia tidak mendukung gagasan saya.
"It would rude telah membaca surat untuk diri sendiri, jadi saya mulai membacanya out loud. Cakali Hamdi Bey dan Mustafa Pasha, maka Ketua Pengadilan Militer, mendengarkan. Walaupun saya tidak ingat persis bagaimana surat itu, Bediuzzaman menolak usulan dari Mevlânzâde mengatur [yang independen dari negara] Kurdistan, dan berkata: "Rifat Bey, mari kita tidak menyiapkan Kurdistan, mari kita kembali Kekaisaran Ottoman . Jika Anda menerima untuk melakukan ini, aku bahkan rela berkorban untuk hidup saya untuk itu. "
"Setelah mendengarkan ini, Mustafa Pasha berpaling ke Mevlânzâde dan berkata:
"Anda salah, Rifat Bey, dan Bediuzzaman adalah kanan. Ianya bukan Kurdistan yang harus dibentuk, tetapi Usmani Empire yang harus dibentuk kembali dan kembali. ' "[5. Sahiner, N. Said Nursi, 214-216, dikutip dari Mustafa Polat, Mülakat, 31-34.]
Memang, Bediuzzaman terus mendukung semua upaya untuk memperkuat kesatuan antara Kurds dan sisanya dari 'bangsa'. Seperti sebelumnya, ini terutama dalam bidang pendidikan dasar. Masyarakat pada tahun 1919 didirikan untuk tujuan ini di mana dia merupakan salah satu dari lima belas anggota pendiri. Masyarakat yang dipanggil untuk perambatan Pendidikan Diantara Kurds (orang Kurd Neshr-i Ma'arif Cemiyeti), itu bukan politik, independen, dan hanya peduli dengan pendidikan. Ini pada awalnya ditujukan untuk membuat satu sekolah dasar untuk anak-anak Kurdi di Istanbul, yang, "semua anak-anak di tanah air, adalah salah satu yang paling deprived of karunia pendidikan", dan kemudian sebagai dana diijinkan untuk ditemukan di tempat lain Kurds membentuk mayoritas penduduk. [6. Tunaya, T.Z. Türkiye'de Siyasal Partiler, ii, 188, 214-215.] Bediuzzaman juga akan lebih berhasil dalam pengamanan dana dari pemerintah Ankara untuk Medresetü'z-Zehra, maka universitas-tingkat 'medrese' di Timur, sebagai yang akan kita lihat.
Bediuzzaman Combats British
Selama ini, yang Shaykhü'l Islam Kantor telah disajikan dengan pertanyaan tentang agama Islam oleh Gereja Inggris otoritas, dan sebagai anggota dari Darü'l-Hikmet, Bediuzzaman diminta untuk menyiapkan jawaban. Outraged ini penghinaan pada bagian dari Inggris, Bediuzzaman wrote ikhtisariah beberapa kata yang membosankan makna insults daripada jawaban. Niat nya adalah untuk melindungi kehormatan Islam. Dia kemudian menggambarkan urusan sebagai berikut:
"Satu kali, ketika Inggris telah menghancurkan senjata di Bosphorus dan telah menyerang Istanbul, pemimpin pendeta dari Gereja Anglikan, yang merupakan negara yang tertinggi otoritas agama, meminta Shaykhü'l Islam Kantor enam pertanyaan tentang agama. Saya adalah seorang anggota dari Darü'l-Hikmeti'l-Islamiye pada waktu dan mereka berkata kepada saya: 'Anda menjawabnya! "Mereka yang ingin enam ratus-kata membalas enam pertanyaan. Saya berkata: "Aku tidak akan terbaik dengan enam ratus kata, maupun dengan enam kata-kata, dan bahkan tidak dengan satu kata, tetapi dengan suap dari meludah! Karena, Anda bisa lihat, saat mereka bertambah darat di sini, mereka mulai kepala pastur dgn tinggi hati kami meminta pertanyaan. Apa yang harus dilakukan di muka ini adalah untuk meludah di wajahnya. Jadi meludah di muka yang merajalela ampun! ' "[7. Mektûbat, 390.] Dan Rumuz, tanda-tanda, ia menerbitkan sebuah pekerjaan pada saat itu, termasuk Bediuzzaman berikut piece berhak, Jawab Untuk yang licik pastur Siapa yang diinginkan ke Pour Scorn pada Kami:
"Seseorang yang telah dilemparkan ke bawah ke dalam lumpur dan membunuh Anda. Walaupun ia adalah menekan kaki-Nya pada tenggorokan, dia meminta secara mengejek apa sekolah hukum Anda ikuti. Silencing yang terbaik untuk ini adalah untuk merasakan sakit hati, jangan diam, dan meludah di wajahnya. (Spit di wajah keparat tak tahu malu!) Jadi bukan dia, tetapi atas nama kebenaran:
1) T. Apa agama yang terdiri dari Muhammad?
A. Alquran.
2) T. Apa itu diberikan kepada jiwa dan pikiran?
A. Divine Kesatuan dan moderasi.
3) T. Apa yang dimaksud dengan obat untuk manusia dari masalah?
A. larangan bunga dan riba dan kewajiban pembayaran zekat.
4) T. Apakah yang hadir berkata mengenai upheavals?
A. Manusia telah gagal menyimpan apa yang ia berusaha. [8. Qur'an, 53:39.] Dan orang-orang yang amass emas dan perak dan tidak menghabiskan uang itu di jalan Allah; umumkan kepada mereka yang paling menyedihkan hukuman. [9. Qur'an, 9:34.], [10. Rumuz, dalam Asar-i Bedi'iye, 85.]
Bediuzzaman paling efektif bekerja saat ini, bagaimanapun, merupakan kerja singkat Enam Langkah-langkah yang disebut, di mana dia mengatakan enam cara yang Inggris, dan Yunani, sowed perbantahan dan pertikaian di komunitas Muslim. Telah di atas kepala dengan ayat: Dan janganlah kamu mengikuti jejak di Iblis, [11. Qur'an, 2:168.] Bediuzzaman dan kemudian dijelaskan sebagai memiliki "Istanbul yang menjadi 'terhadap pendapat ulama dari Inggris dan demi gerakan nasional", [12. Sualar, 385.] Dan memiliki "rencana busuk yang ngeri dari komandan pasukan Inggris yang menduduki Istanbul." Rencana ini adalah "untuk menyiapkan tanah untuk kekalahan dari Nasional Angkatan dan kemenangan dari Yunani melalui penanaman perselisihan di antara umat Islam, dan bahkan deceiving yang Shaykhü'l-Islam dan sebagian 'ulama dan inciting mereka terhadap satu sama lain, dan melalui membuat pendukung utama dari kedua kelompok politik berdebat satu sama lain [yaitu, mereka yang kemudian dibubarkan oleh Komite dan Uni kemajuan dan orang-orang dari Partai Kebebasan dan Accord]. "[13. Sualar, 379.]
Untuk menerangkan ini lebih lanjut, harus menyebutkan bahwa sumber konflik menyimpan fakta bahwa, menurut rekening resmi, Sultan Vahideddin, [14. Lihat Bab 8, catatan 15.] Di Istanbul Pemerintah, sebagian 'ulama, dan lain-lain, bertentangan dengan gerakan nasional di Anatolia mutlak. Mereka menganggap mereka yang terlibat di dalamnya menjadi salah satu anggota dari Komite Uni dan Kemajuan atau orang yang menyukai jenis, yakni, bandits, mereka yang bertanggung jawab untuk memasukkan Turki ke dalam perang, dan akan mengalahkan yang berurusan dengan kematian-meniup ke Empire. Walaupun tidak pernah datang ke kuasa, yang lama saingan dari CUP dan sekarang dominan partai politik, maka Partai Kebebasan dan Accord, juga dianggap orang-orang yang terlibat dalam gerakan nasional untuk menjadi musuh utama daripada di luar batas. [15. Tunaya, T.Z. Türkiye'de Siyasal Partiler, i, 29-30, 34-35.]
Selain itu, banyak kaum cendekiawan Barat cenderung bertentangan dengan nationalists, dan tulisan-tulisan piuh ini dikombinasikan dengan propaganda dari Inggris yang bertujuan untuk memperluas dan bermain di divisi, yang telah menyebabkan kebingungan di kalangan masyarakat, bahkan getaran iman mereka, dan mereka melemah tersebut untuk melawan musuh. Oleh karena itu, dalam tulisannya, Bediuzzaman mengingatkan pada distorsi, dan di Enam Langkah khususnya, menunjukkan dengan biasa kejelasan bagaimana British telah bermain pada perbedaan mereka dan menjawab mereka dan membahayakan saran agar cepat dan witheringly bahwa kedua illuminated para pembaca dan heartened mereka.
Bediuzzaman juga sangat mengutuk orang-orang yang disparaged bangsa mereka sendiri dan berpikir bahwa "kepentingan dan ambisi-ambisi dari British bangsa yang konsisten dengan kepentingan dan martabat Islam" dan diterima British perlindungan. [16. - Atau, ide dari protektorat Inggris. Hutuvat-i Sitte, dalam Asar-i Bedi'iye, 117-118.] Ketika ditanyakan atau kelompok masyarakat yang milik dia dan mengapa dia sangat penting dari oposisi, yaitu Partai Merdeka dan Accord, ia berkata:
"Saya milik masyarakat yang martir. Hal ini tak baik untuk menolak atau mengabaikan satu saint. Jadi, adalah yang paling sial dari semua inauspiciousness untuk menolak dua juta martir yang kudus, dan darah mereka untuk mempertimbangkan untuk memiliki spilt dengan sembarangan. Karena oposisi mengatakan bahwa kami salah memasukkan [Pertama Dunia] Perang, dan bahwa kami musuh yang tepat, agar ia bukan jihad. Oleh itu, adalah suatu keputusan untuk menolak kesyahidan dari dua juta martir. Menurut pendapat saya doa kita harus mengucapkan paling adalah: Ya Allah, tidak membahayakan meletakkan di antara kami!
"Ada satu fakta yang paling sebelum yang tak beradab dan bahkan yang paling ganas tundukan kepala mereka dalam pengabdian dan hormati, dan yang, ketika menghadapi musuh oleh eksternal, dua berseteru marga dari suku menyisihkan permusuhan naluri mereka sendiri. Hal ini mengherankan karena itu bahwa orang-orang yang dianggap sopan dan mendapat penerangan-penerangan jauh rendah kepada mereka savages; ketika menghadapi eksternal oleh permusuhan, permusuhan mereka mengintensifkan internal. Jika peradaban ilmu dan dengan itu, maka kebahagiaan manusia terletak pada kekejaman dan kejahilan! "[17. Ishârât, dalam Asar-i Bedi'iye, 96-7.]
Enam Langkah-langkah yang telah diterbitkan dalam waktu dekat sebelum reoccupation dari Istanbul oleh British pada bulan Maret 1920, dan karena mereka datang untuk mewujudkan Bediuzzaman efektifitas dalam menentang mereka, British otoritas bertekad untuk menyingkirkan dia. Namun, mereka berkata bahwa jika mereka berusaha untuk assassinate dia, penduduk dan suku dari timur Anatolia tidak akan pernah mengampuni British, dan mereka yang akan mereka kekal permusuhan. Ada berbagai sumber yang membenarkan fakta bahwa British ingin menghilangkan ini dengan berapi-api musuh yang berhasil jadi persistently dan foiled mereka mencoba untuk menghapuskan Islam dan bangsa Turki melalui plots dan propaganda. Salah satu insiden yang terkait oleh Bediuzzaman dari pelajar, Molla Süleyman:
"... Kami berangkat ke arah Divanyolu, dan Misirli Said Molla ada. Dia adalah presiden kedua dari The Friends of England Asosiasi. Dia tidak memiliki agama, dan apakah dia adalah seorang Mason atau apa dia, saya tidak tahu. Manusia ini digunakan untuk memberitahukan pada Bediuzzaman ke Inggris, ia digunakan untuk memberitahukan kepada mereka tentang tampilan, fitur, pakaian, dan di mana dia tinggal. Ini adalah kerana Bediuzzaman digunakan untuk membuat ngeri serangan mereka di tekan. Ia digunakan untuk menerbitkan artikel di koran Tanin dan lainnya yang mengatakan hal-hal seperti: "Spit di muka tak tahu malu yang terkutuk Inggris" Dan, "Kamu anjing, yang lebih keji dan sama sekali seperti anjing-anjing daripada '
"Kemudian satu hari, prajurit dari pasukan yang menempati Bediuzzaman menunggu di alun-alun oleh Aya Sophia, mereka akan merampas dia. Saya ketakutan dan dia berkata kepada saya: 'Anda mengikuti dekat di belakang saya, Süleyman, dan tidak tertinggal. "Kemudian dia dengan ayat dari Al Qur'an Sura Ya. Berdosa. Dan Kami adakan bar di depan mereka dan sebuah bar di belakang mereka, dan lebih lanjut, Kami tutup mereka, sehingga mereka tidak dapat melihat, [18. Qur'an, 36:9.] Dan mereka tidak melihat kami. Kami lulus dan kanan oleh mereka yang datang ke rumah. I knocked di pintu, dan ketika ia lambat dalam membuka, saya berkata kepada teman saya di dalam: "Come on membukanya dengan cepat; Bediuzzaman adalah dengan me! 'Dia segera dibuka dan kami pergi in Bediuzzaman duduk di amben, diambil dan saya off his boots. Kemudian dia bertanya saya:
"Apa yang Anda mengerti dari semua itu?"
"Saya tidak tahu ', saya menjawab. Maka ia berkata:
"Mereka telah menerima pesanan untuk menembak saya, dan saya lakukan seperti yang saya lakukan untuk menyelamatkan Anda. Aku pitied Anda karena Anda tidak memiliki senjata. Jika saya akan berkerut sepuluh atas diambil dari mereka dan tujuan saya. Saya telah membunuh sedikitnya sepuluh dari mereka sebelum membunuh diri ". [19. Sahiner, N. Said Nursi, 218-219.]
Bediuzzaman account lain yang saat ini telah diberikan oleh Tevfik Demiroglu, yang kemudian menjabat sebagai Wakil untuk Van selama bertahun-tahun. Dia memberikan sejumlah Bediuzzaman rincian tentang kehidupan, dan terutama recalls sendiri petualangan dengan Abdurrahman ketika mendistribusikan Enam Langkah-langkah yang secara diam-diam di bawah hidung dari Inggris. Pekerjaan yang telah dicetak secara diam-diam "melalui upaya Eshref Edip." [20. Sualar, 379.] Tevfik Demiroglu juga mencatat bahwa Bediuzzaman itu terkait erat dengan Eshref Edip, dan dengan Mehmet Akif dan majalah Sebilürreshad - karena memang dia telah sebelum Perang, dan bahwa mereka digunakan untuk memenuhi untuk percakapan panjang di Yusuf Izzeddin Pasha pavillion di Çamlica, Bediuzzaman tempat tinggal untuk beberapa waktu. Dia juga menjelaskan kepada petualangan di bagian belakang mencuri-blok dari arsenals sehingga membuat British unusable senjata berat, sementara yang lain akan mencuri senjata pasukan penembak dan lainnya. [21. Demiroglu, Tevfik, dalam Anak Sahitler, i, 229-231.]
Bediuzzaman dari musuh yang tidak dibatasi untuk British. Beberapa tiga puluh tahun kemudian ia menulis dalam surat yang sesama anggota dari Darü'l-Hikmet, Seyyid Sadeddin Pasha, dia telah memperingatkan orang lain komplot untuk membunuh dia. Pasha yang telah diberitahu kepadanya: "Saya telah belajar melalui tertentu berarti yang agresif atheistic organisasi [zindika komitesi] yang ada di sini, tetapi di luar negeri adalah akar yang telah membaca salah satu karya, dan telah menyatakan bahwa begitu lama sebagai penulis tetap di dunia ini , mereka tidak bisa memaksakan ide-ide mereka, yaitu irreligion, di negara ini, dan bahwa ia harus dihapuskan. Jadi menjaga diri sendiri dengan baik! "Bediuzzaman menulis bahwa di balas katanya Sadeddin ke Pasha:" Saya tempat saya percaya pada Tuhan! Kematian hanya datang satu kali, dan waktu yang datang tidak dapat diubah. "[22. Emirdag Lahikasi, i, 189-190.]
Ankara
Dalam pengakuan di layanan ini dengan menyebabkan nasional, dan khususnya melalui The Enam Langkah, pemimpin nasional di Ankara Bediuzzaman diundang untuk bergabung dengan mereka di sana. Namun Bediuzzaman menolak untuk "melarikan diri" dari Istanbul. [23. Sualar, 379.] Mustafa Kemal Pasha dirinya, yang telah dipilih sebagai Presiden Grand Majelis Nasional, yang dikirim dalam tiga pesan cipher summoning Bediuzzaman. Ini yang diulang di berbagai kesempatan oleh berbagai orang termasuk Marshal Fevzi Çakmak; ini Corroborated oleh 'Pertahanan Nasional Imam' dan resimen mufti, Osman Nuri Efendi. [24. Teymuroglu, Mehmet Süleyman, 'Muhterem Said Nursi'nin Doldurdugu Bosluk,' Hilal Dergisi, No.13, Subat 1969; lihat, Sahiner, Said Nursi, 239-240.] Bediuzzaman Tetapi kepada mereka:
"Saya ingin berjuang di tempat yang berbahaya, saya tidak suka berkelahi di belakang trenches. Saya coba di sini untuk lebih berbahaya daripada Anatolia. "
Berkeras pada tuntutan, Bediuzzaman dikirim tiga orang siswa, Tevfik Demiroglu, Molla Süleyman, dan Mayor Refik Bey menawarkan dukungan kepada mereka Nasional Pemerintah. Ia sendiri pada akhirnya pergi yang diundang oleh para teman lama, dan mantan Wakil Gubernur Van, Tahsin Bey. [25.Tarihçe, 124; Sahiner, N. Said Nursi, 239-40.]
Necmeddin Sahiner menulis bahwa dia melakukan perjalanan dengan kereta api, tiba seminggu sebelum 'Id al-Adha, Hari Raya dari korban, yang dikenal di Turki sebagai Kurban Bayrami, yang tahun itu, 1922, jatuh pada tanggal 4 Agustus, dan terkait percakapan antara Bediuzzaman dan Wakil untuk Siverek, Captain Abdülgani Ansarî. Pada malam di festival Bediuzzaman Wakil diberitahu bahwa keesokan harinya kepalanya akan dilenyapkan. Wakil memandang aghast, jadi Bediuzzaman dijelaskan, jika huruf Dosa akan dihapus dari kata Said, kata 'Id tetap, yang berarti festival [26. Sahiner, N. Said Nursi, 240-1.]
The War of Independence-nya telah mencapai klimaks, dan pada tanggal 22 Agustus di sana menjadi apa yang mulai dikenal sebagai 'Great menyinggung', yang oleh 29 September telah mengakibatkan Turki kemenangan dan kemerdekaan dari Anatolia. Pada bulan Oktober, Mudanya gencatan senjata yang telah ditandatangani. [27. Shaw dan Shaw, Sejarah, ii, 362-4.] Ini juga hari terakhir dari Kekaisaran Ottoman. Gencatan senjata yang telah ditandatangani dengan Pemerintah Ankara, tetapi Sultan Pemerintah masih berfungsi nominal di Istanbul. Dan sebagainya untuk memecahkan masalah, pada 1 November 1922, di dorongan dari Mustafa Kemal, Grand National Assembly voted untuk meniadakannya di Kesultanan dan mempertahankan hanya kalifat. Hak untuk memilih Khalifah akan beristirahat dengan Majelis. The Sultan Vahiddedin memecat meninggalkan negara di kapal perang Inggris pada 16 November, dan sepupu Abdülmecid diangkat sebagai Khalifah oleh Majelis. [28. Lewis, B. Emergence, 259.] The kalifat itu akhirnya dihapuskan pada 3 Maret 1924 setelah berlangsung selama 407 tahun oleh Usmani House. [29. Danismend, iv, 470.]
Dengan semua peristiwa ini sangat penting, tidak sampai 9 November, 1922, yang telah diberikan Bediuzzaman pejabat 'menyambut' di Majelis. Upacara telah dicatat sebagai berikut pada hari itu hari:
"Selamat Datang untuk sarjana agama Bediuzzaman Said Efendi Hazretleri.
"Pembicara: Wakil untuk Bitlis, Bey Arif, dan teman-temannya ada mosi.
"Kami mengusulkan kepada terkemuka Kepresidenan pesan yang diberikan kepada Bediuzzaman Molla Said Efendi Hazretleri, salah satu yang dikenal 'ulama dari Provinsi Timur, yang telah datang dari Istanbul di sini untuk mengunjungi gazis dari Anatolia dan Maha Majelis dan saat ini dalam Pengunjung 'Galeri.
Bitlis Bitlis Mus Mus Siirt Bitlis Ergani
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____
Arif darwis Kasim (Ilyas Sami) Saleh Resul Hakki
"(Teriakan)
"Rasih Efendi (Antalya):" Kami meminta dia untuk menghormati dan menawarkan platform doa. "[30. TBMM Zabit Ceridesi, Vol. XXIV, hal 457, seperti di Sahiner, N. Said Nursi, 241.]
Dimana Bediuzzaman platform yang terpasang, yang kemudian congratulated veteran dari Perang Kemerdekaan yang ditawarkan dan doa.
Meskipun penerimaan hangat dia diberikan dan sukacita di kejayaan Islam dan Turki atas musuh-musuh mereka, Bediuzzaman was dismayed mencari longgar dan sikap acuh tak acuh terhadap agama Islam dan kewajiban di antara mereka banyak Deputies di Majelis. Niat nya di datang ke Ankara telah mendorong orang-orang yang berkuasa untuk membuat sebuah bentuk pemerintahan berdasarkan Al Qur'an dan syariah. Melalui bantuan ilahi, yang telah Turks totally dikalahkan mereka yang ingin menghancurkan Islam dan sendiri. Itu adalah awal dari sebuah era baru dan tepat waktu untuk menyusun kekuatan mereka untuk membuat Republik cara baru untuk membawa kembali tentang Islam dan peradaban Islam, dan menjadikannya sebuah pusat sumber dan dukungan bagi dunia Islam. [31 . Tarihçe, 129.] Tetapi bukan ini, selain sebuah kelalaian terhadap agama, ia menemukan bahwa ide atheistic sedang propagated. Dia digambarkan seperti ini:
"Ketika saya pergi ke Ankara pada 1922, dengan semangat orang-orang kepercayaan yang sangat tinggi sebagai akibat dari kemenangan dari tentara Islam atas Yunani. Tapi saya melihat bahwa saat ini dari abominable ateisme treacherously telah mencoba merusak, racun, dan menghancurkan pikiran mereka. 'Oh Tuhan', saya berkata. "Ini rakasa akan membahayakan pilar kepercayaan". [32. Lem'alar, 170; Bahasa Inggris, Alam, Cause atau Effect? Istanbul 1989, 13-14.]
Yang mengatakan, setelah kemenangan telah memenangkan, perbedaan yang lama datang ke kedepan sekali lagi. Hingga akhir kemenangan itu telah dianggap cedera apapun di Majelis Wakil ke menganggap posisi apapun bertentangan dengan Islam, tetapi setelah orang-orang yang telah diamankan favorit pembaratan dan meninggalkan agama, mulai menunjukkan mereka benar warna. Memang, sejak dimulai ada telah melawan berbagai kelompok di Majelis Nasional.
Di muka yang kelalaian dan "sekarang dari ateisme" yang ia ditemukan, Bediuzzaman menulis bekerja di Arab disproving ateisme Zeylü'l disebut-Zeyl, dan lain bernama Hubab. Dia mencatat bahwa, ".... Alas, orang-orang yang tahu bahasa Arab sangat sedikit dan orang-orang yang dianggap serius yang langka itu, juga argumen yang ada dalam yang sangat singkat dan disingkat formulir. Akibatnya, risalah tidak memiliki efek seharusnya mempunyai selesai, dan sadly, saat ini dari kedua bengul ateisme dan memperoleh kekuatan. "[33. Lem'alar, 170.] Bediuzzaman perhatian utama di Ankara, bagaimanapun, adalah urging the Deputies untuk mematuhi Islam dan agama mereka melakukan tugas-tugas penting pada saat ini. Dalam hal ini ia menerbitkan surat edaran yang sepuluh point dia didistribusikan kepada semua Deputies. Ia membaca ke Kazim oleh Mustafa Kemal Pasha Karabekir. [34. Tarihçe, 124.]
Dengan surat edaran tanggal 19 Januari 1923, terutama yang menekankan perlunya melaksanakan resep doa dan beberapa lama, jadi daripada memberi seluruh teks, kami akan menyertakan terjemahan dari bagian terakhir. Pertama, Bediuzzaman adalah yang di sini yang berbahaya untuk bangsa jika pemimpin dan wakil-wakil mereka tidak melakukan kewajiban agama mereka, dan mengatakan bahwa dalam kebenaran seperti orang yang tidak cocok untuk memerintah:
"Apa alasan dapat ditemukan untuk diabaikan dan memberikan dari kewajiban keagamaan, yang menyebabkan kerugian untuk hal-hal yang baik agama dan dunia? Bagaimana patriotisme izin itu? Terutama ini mujahidin dan komandan Grand Majelis ini, karena mereka akan disimpan sebagai contoh. Bangsa akan baik mereka meniru kesalahan atau mengkritik mereka, dan kedua-duanya berbahaya. Yang mengatakan, tugas mereka agama perhatian hak-hak semua. Benar serius dan bekerja tidak dapat dilihat dari orang-orang yang terdiri dari makna konsensus dan kesepakatan, tidak menghiraukan peringatan dan banyak sekali baru, dan menerima delusions timbul dari cara berpikir jiwa dan whisperings Iblis. Pondasi batu besar revolusi ini harus kuat ... "
Bediuzzaman kemudian menyatakan bahwa karena kuasa diinvestasikan di dalamnya oleh bangsa, Majelis sekarang merupakan kesultanan. Ia juga telah mewakili kalifat, tetapi untuk melakukan hal ini sudah baik untuk memenuhi kewajiban agama-nya dan melihat bahwa mereka dipenuhi oleh negara, dan bangsa dari kebutuhan agama. Jika tidak melakukan hal-hal ini, dari kebutuhan, bangsa akan memaksa ke "memberi makna" kepada "nama" dari kalifat, yang berlaku itu telah dilakukan seperti di atas, dan juga akan berinvestasi Majelis dengan daya untuk melaksanakan fungsi dari kalifat. Namun, Bediuzzaman mengatakan, jika karena anggota kelalaian dan kelalaian dalam melaksanakan kewajiban agama mereka Majelis tidak memiliki kemampuan untuk melakukan hal ini, ia akan menimbulkan perpecahan dan pemecah-belahan, yang bertentangan dengan ayat, dan terus berpuasa semua Rope bersama dengan Allah. [35. Qur'an, 49:10.]
Bediuzzaman pergi untuk membuat titik yang mendasar kepada ide-ide dan yang telah disebutkan di beberapa tempat di saat bekerja selama ini. Ini adalah bahwa umur modern adalah 'massa' atau usia usia masyarakat atau kelompok sosial. Masyarakat menimbulkan 'kolektif pribadi' atau 'roh'. Dalam hal pemerintah atau otoritas, dalam kompleks modern usia ini, mereka hanya dapat berfungsi dengan cukup 'kepribadian kolektif' ini mengurutkan. Dia menyebut ini di Berkaitan dengan kalifat.
"Yang hadir adalah waktu dari masyarakat. Kepribadian kolektif masyarakat, yang adalah roh, adalah lebih firmer dan mampu melaksanakan ordinances dari syariah. Orang dari Khalifah hanya dapat melakukan tugas-Nya melalui mengandalkan [seperti kepribadian kolektif]. Jika kepribadian kolektif, semangat masyarakat, adalah benar, ia lebih cemerlang dan sempurna [lebih dari seorang individu]. Tetapi jika itu buruk, ia amat buruk. Baik kebaikan dan keburukan dari seorang individu yang terbatas, tetapi mereka adalah masyarakat yang tidak terbatas. Jangan memanjakan Anda yang telah mendapatkan kebaikan di muka eksternal [musuh] melalui internal keburukan. Anda tahu bahwa Anda tak henti-hentinya musuh dan opposites dan foes adalah praktek yang merusak dan tanda Islam. Oleh karena itu, Anda penting adalah tugas untuk menghidupkan kembali dan memelihara mereka. Jika tidak, tanpa disadari Anda akan membantu sadar musuh. Penghinaan untuk praktik dan tanda Islam menunjukkan kelemahan kedudukan sbg negara merdeka, dan untuk kelemahan, tidak menangkap musuh, ia mendorong dia.
"Allah cukup bagi kami, dan cara yang baik adalah Dia Guardian." [36. Qur'an, 3:173.], [37. Tarihçe, 125-7; Sahiner, N. Said Nursi, 242-8; Hubab, di Mesnevi-i Nuriye, 92-3.]
Ini peringatan dari Bediuzzaman's memiliki banyak efek, yang sekitar enam puluh ditambahkan ke jumlah Deputies doa yang dilakukan secara teratur dan ruangan yang digunakan sebagai sebuah masjid harus diubah untuk lebih besar. Namun, yang tak baik drew reaksi dari Presiden Majelis, Mustafa Kemal Pasha. Suatu hari di hadapan sejumlah besar Deputies dalam Majelis, ia berseru angrily di Bediuzzaman:
"Kami memerlukan pahlawan Hojas seperti Anda. Kami memanggil anda disini agar Anda dapat memperoleh manfaat dari ditinggikan ide, namun Anda datang di sini dan segera mulai menulis sesuatu tentang doa-doa, dan telah menyebabkan perbedaan di antara kita. "Bediuzzaman countered ini dengan beberapa kata, maka dirinya dalam amarah, ia jabbed nya jari dan berkata:
"Pasha! Pasha! Setelah kepercayaan, yang paling tinggi kebenaran dalam Islam adalah wajib doa. Mereka yang tidak melakukan doa-doa yang traitors, dan pendapat traitors akan ditolak. "[38. Tarihçe, 128.]
Berkata dalam kata-kata ini ke Mustafa Kemal, telah Bediuzzaman, dalam kata-kata sendiri, "dobrak yang menggemparkan idol". Mereka yang hadir untuk takut dia yakin bahwa dia akan dibuat untuk menderita untuk kata. But Mustafa Kemal suppressed his anger and in effect apologized, for two days later he had a two hour meeting with Bediuzzaman in his office.
Just as with the Pashas in the court martial and Grand Duke Nicholas in Kosturma, Bediuzzaman did not bow before Mustafa Kemal. He took the opportunity to admonish him on the great harm to the nation, country, and Islamic world in attacking Islam and trying to eradicate its practices in the hope of gaining a reputation among their enemies. If a revolution had to be brought about, it had to be achieved through making the Qur'an the basis of it. He dwelt particularly on the great error of trying to find favour with the enemies of Islam and the Turks by attacking Islam in order to satisfy ambition and the desire for fame and position. Mustafa Kemal apparently took no offence at Bediuzzaman for these words which “wounded all his sensibilities and principles”,[39. Emirdag Lahikasi, i, 242.] on the contrary, he tried to placate him and win him over so as to take advantage of his influence. He offered Bediuzzaman Shaykh Sanusi’s post as ‘General Preacher’ in the Eastern Provinces with a salary of 300 liras, a deputyship in the Assembly, and a post equivalent to that he had held in the Darü’l-Hikmeti’l-Islamiye, together with various perks such as a residence.[40. Tarihçe, 131; Sualar, 301.] Bediuzzaman did not accept, and before examining the reasons, it may also be mentioned that Mustafa Kemal was also one of the 163 deputies who endorsed the allotting of 150,000 liras for Bediuzzaman’s Medresetü’z-Zehra.[41. Emirdag Lahikasi, ii, 196.]
Throughout the time Bediuzzaman was in Ankara, he pursued the matter of founding this university in the East. There were three points in particular that he impressed on the Deputies in regard to it, many of whom were of the belief that the religious sciences should be dispensed with and that general education should be in the Western style and concentrate on the modern sciences. Firstly was the geographical location of the Eastern Provinces; since they were like a centre of the Islamic world, it was essential to teach the religious sciences together with modern science. Secondly, the fact that most of the prophets had appeared in the East and most of the great philosophers in the West showed that the East would only be aroused by religion; progress was dependent on religion. And thirdly was the most important point that religion and the teaching of it was the only way to maintain unity. If religion was not taken as the basis, the non-Turkish Muslims of the region “would not feel true brotherhood for the Turks”, and the need for co-operation and solidarity at that time was great. Of two hundred Deputies addressed on this question, 163 endorsed the decision to set aside 150,000 liras for the project.[42. Tarihçe, 128.]
One reason Bediuzzaman gave for declining Mustafa Kemal’s offers was the change that had come about in himself. As he wrote: “Their conduct and the way they were going did not accord with my own feelings of old age.” And he quoted himself as telling them: “The New Said wants to work for the next world and cannot work with you, but he will not interfere with you either.”[43. Tarihçe, 195.]
In another place he wrote: “So I was compelled to leave those most important posts. And saying that nothing can be gained from working with or responding to this person, I abandoned the world and politics and social life, and spent all of my time on the way of saving belief.”[44. Sualar, 300-1.]
Bediuzzaman also understood that it would be followers of the Qur'an that would combat the opposing forces, and that they would be defeated not in the realm of politics, but with the “immaterial sword” of the Qur'an’s miraculousness. Thus, he refused to work together with the new leaders and left Ankara for Van, where he retired into a life of solitude.[45. Tarihçe, 131.]
When leaving, Bediuzzaman was escorted to the station by a number of Deputies and friends. Mustafa Kemal Pasha also, who at the time was living by the station, joined the group. It is recorded that they had a conversation about statues, and that on the Pasha asking Bediuzzaman his opinion on them, Bediuzzaman replied sharply: “The Qur'an’s attacks are all at statues and idols. The statues of Muslims are monuments like hospitals, schools, orphanages, mosques, and roads.”[46. Sahiner, N. Said Nursi, 250; Aktürk, Av. Hulusi Bitlisi, Defence Speech in Afyon Court, Müdâfaalar, 447.] The date on Bediuzzaman’s ticket – the ticket which took the Old Said to the New Said – shows that it was issued on 17/4/39; that is, 17 April 1923, which was the first day of Ramazan, 1341.
