raining from the skies. The thing we were most powerless before was this shrapnel, which exploded in the air. It was destroying us and our losses were heavy. The shrapnel which exploded in the air was scattered to right and left in fragments.

Just when this going on, Molla Said the Famous was touring the trenches. He was moving up and down the valley on horseback. Then some people emerged from their trenches, and they were hit and killed.

I wanted both to see Molla Said and to kiss his hands, but I was frightened of being hit. I had heard the name before, but I was seeing this great person for the first time at the bloody front at Pasinler. Then I saw he had come level with me. I heard him say:

"Fight for Allah! Allah is our helper!" [^252]

[^252]:Ahlatlı İsmail Hakkı Arslan, in Son Şahitler, v, 236-7.

Another soldier who fought under Bediuzzaman at Pasinler, Mustafa Yalçın, recalled him like this:

They suddenly took us from Çanakkale, and sent us to the Eastern Front. We were in the Eighth Division in Kars, and at our head was Molla Said. Bands of Russians and Armenians were attacking us ceaselessly.

At that time, Molla Said used to teach us concerning religious matters. Every night he used to teach us. At Hasankale [Pasinler] we fought against the Russians mercilessly with Molla Said. Before, the Hoja used to wear a turban, but while fighting he would wear what we called a 'felt hat'.

At that point I was wounded at Hasankale and drew back. I received this shrapnel wound on my hip, look, it is still open. I would have died long before but Molla Said wrote out a prayer for each of four of us. We hung them round our necks, and no bullets hit us. At that time there were a hundred infidels firing on one Muslim. In the end I was wounded and they took me back. Molla Said continued to fight. They treated me in Konya then sent me to the Western, Austrian, Carpathian, and Galician Fronts.

Molla Said was a heroic person. At the front, he used to lead the attacks on horseback. He was a good shot. He did not go into the trenches. Once, Molla Said was told that some units were about to break up. He immediately removed the cause of their differences, and made sure that they did not disperse. He explained things wonderfully well; it was as though he could cast a spell on people.

Then during that hell-like war he was writing a book. His students used to write down what he dictated. He was an excellent horseman. They used to heave out great rocks and roll them down on the Russians. He used to say to us: 'Don't be frightened of anything; a Muslim's belief is stronger than any power.' Every night he used to read to us from the books he had