tions and were imposed only by means of the Independence Tribunals and not a few executions. [^39] Many hundreds of people were arrested in efforts to enforce this law, men of religion being the main targets and victims. Characteristically, Bediuzzaman resolutely refused to discard his turban and gown, and persisted in defying attempts to make him do so till the end of his days, even making his court appearances in them. "This turban comes off with this head!" he told Nevzat Tandoğan, the governor of Ankara, in 1943 after a very sharp exchange. He was taken from the governor's office and transported to prison in Denizli. [^40]
[^39]:Türkiye Tarihi, iv, 111.
[^40]:Şahiner, Said Nursi, 323-4; Nursi, Emirdağ Lahikası, ii, 19.
The traditional calendars and forms of time-keeping were the next to go. The Western Gregorian calendar and twenty-four hour clock were introduced with effect from 1 January, 1926. Then came the final blow to the 'ulema and Islamic establishment: the adoption of European codes of law. The adoption of the Swiss Civil Code removed the last areas where the Shari'a was still in force, personal and family law, and the remaining areas of competence of its lawyers.
These changes were not without opponents, even at the highest level, and a conspiracy against Mustafa Kemal in June 1926 provided him with the pretext to do away with many of them. The Independence Tribunals went into action following the discovery of the plot and many were sent to the gallows, whether implicated or not.
By 1928, Mustafa Kemal felt sufficiently secure to adopt first Western numerals, and then the Latin alphabet. The New Turkish Letters were officially adopted in accordance with a law passed on 3 November 1928, and the Arabic alphabet, the script of the Qur'an and mark of Islam, was declared banned after the end of that year. A more effective way of cutting off an entire nation from its religion, its roots, and its past could not have been devised. The Risale-i Nur was to play an important role in keeping the Qur'anic script alive in Turkey.
Having Turkified the alphabet the next logical step was to Turkify Islam itself. The Arabic letters had been done away with, now the language itself had to be substituted by Turkish. To retain the Arabic language was considered incompatible with the principle of nationalism, one of the six basic principles of Kemalism, and the decision was taken to substitute it by Turkish. Thus from the end of January, 1932, the glorious Arabic words of the call to prayer, the great mark and symbol of Islam, were banned and a Turkish version was provided to take its place. This, which according to