the copies of the Risale-i Nur sent from Denizli, by sending petitions to various high officials and members of the government informing them of the real nature of this struggle and the vital role the Risale-i Nur had to play in saving the country from the anarchy into which it was being pushed by forces working for the causes of communism, freemasonry, and Zionism, and also informing them of the illegal treatment he was suffering at the hands of some officials.

#### Arrival in Emirdağ

Arrival in Emirdağ

Bediuzzaman arrived in Emirdağ on a hot August evening, shortly before sunset. A small group of people were sitting drinking tea in front of the government building when a bus arrived in a cloud of dust from the direction of Afyon. Among them was the government doctor, who also acted as District Settlement Officer, Dr. Tahir Barçın. He saw the unusual sight of someone wearing turban and gown alight, escorted by two gendarmes. And even stranger, this elderly person in his seventies set about looking for a suitable spot, and on learning the direction of the qibla, spread out the prayer-mat he was carrying, and performed the afternoon prayers, something unheard of at that time of religious persecution. It was a happy moment for the doctor, who as a young medrese student in Istanbul in 1922, had seen Bediuzzaman in Fatih Mosque, for he became his close student in Emirdağ, and when posted to Bitlis in eastern Turkey in 1945 for a year, played an important role in introducing the Risale-i Nur to Bediuzzaman's native region, where many people thought he had not survived his exile. [^266]

[^266]:Tahir Barçın, in Son Şahitler, ii, 125-7; Şahiner, Said Nursi, 352-3.

As in each place he was sent, Bediuzzaman attracted students who served him loyally, unhesitatingly sacrificing themselves and their property and position for him and the Risale-i Nur. In Emirdağ it was the Çalışkan family who took it on themselves to see to his needs and assist him. One of these six brothers, Hasan, was his first visitor in Emirdağ. Thereafter, they and their families attended to all his personal needs, such as sending his food, for which he always paid, as well as doing everything necessary for the work of the Risale-i Nur to continue. In 1945, Bediuzzaman adopted as his spiritual son, Ceylan, the exceptionally intelligent twelve-year-old son of Mehmed Çalışkan. He remained with him, and in future years became one of the leading students of the Risale-i Nur. [^267]

[^267]:See, "Emirdağ, Çalışkanlar Hanedanı ve Ceylan," in Son Şahitler, iv, 41-114.