court how forces representing the same interests had attempted to provoke a similar incident in Isparta and having failed were now trying to deceive the judiciary. Saying also that the matter had to be seen in the light of the perpetual struggle between belief and unbelief, religion and irreligion, and that "everyone who is aware of the heart of this matter knows that these attacks on us are an assault on religion directly on behalf of irreligion." [^133]

[^133]:Tarihçe, 214-5.

Thus, Bediuzzaman demanded a fair trial from the court. He told it: "Among the branches of government, it is the court that is charged more than any other with preserving its independence, and, remaining free of outside influences, with considering matters impartially and without emotion." Nevertheless, irregularities had taken place. For example, while his name was Said Nursi, in his questioning Bediuzzaman was always referred to as "Said-i Kurdi" and "the Kurd" in a way which would inevitably produce biased opinions. [^134] Indeed, the intention was to link Bediuzzaman with the constant opposition to the government and rebellions in eastern Turkey, as is shown clearly from the slanderous campaigns orchestrated against him in the press at the same time. So also, despite his correcting them in all his statements, the dates his works were written were deliberately confused with the dates they were copied out and pieces written over a period of twenty years were shown as having been written in one year. [^135]

[^134]:Tarihçe, 203.

[^135]:Ibid., 227.

It was due to his "scholarly defence" of a few Qur'anic verses concerning women's dress and inheritance, written before the foundation of the Republic and adoption of the new Civil Code, "against the objections and attacks of European philosophers", [^136] part of which had been included in the Risale-i Nur as the Twenty-Fourth Flash, that the court finally convicted Bediuzzaman and sentenced him in entirely arbitrary fashion to one year's imprisonment followed by one year's compulsory residence in Kastamonu under house-arrest, and as mentioned, fifteen of his students to six months. Sentence was passed on 19 August, 1935. [^137] He served eleven months and was released the following March.

[^136]:Ibid., 222.

[^137]:Şahiner, Said Nursi, 308.

An extraordinary event occurred while Bediuzzaman was being held in the prison, occasions similar to which were recorded while he was in Denizli Prison. One day, the Eskişehir Public Prosecutor saw him in the market. Overcome with surprise he went immediately to the prison gov-