and events at the end of time, and which the authorities again interpreted as referring to Mustafa Kemal. It unfortunately received support for this from the Experts' Report. Related to this was the hat question. And secondly, the brief passages in the Twenty-Fifth Word explaining Qur'anic verses about Islamic dress and inheritance were alleged to be inflammatory, as in Eskişehir Court. But once again if there was some sort of conspiracy, it backfired, for rather than arousing hostility towards Bediuzzaman, the Risale-i Nur and religion, the widely publicized trial and imprisonment aroused sympathy. In fact, public indignation was such at the heartless, inhuman, and unlawful treatment suffered by the entirely innocent Bediuzzaman and his students that it has been suggested that it contributed to the defeat of RPP in the 1950 elections.

Since the charges were the same as in Eskişehir and Denizli Courts, Bediuzzaman was able to reuse a part of his former defence merely changing some of the wording. Once again he clearly disproved the charges and demonstrated that neither the Risale-i Nur nor the activities of himself and his students had contravened the law. The following are some extracts from his defence speeches. Firstly from those refuting the political society and public order charges:

The one hundred and thirty parts of the Risale-i Nur are there for all to see. Understanding that they contained no worldly goal and no aim other than the truths of belief, Eskişehir Court did not object to them with the exception of one or two of the parts, and Denizli Court objected to none at all, and despite being under constant surveillance for eight years the large Kastamonu police force could find no one to accuse apart from my two assistants and three others on pretexts. This is a decisive proof that the Students of the Risale-i Nur are in no way a political society. If what is intended by "society" in the indictment is a community concerned with belief and the hereafter, we say this in reply:

If the name community is given to university students and tradesmen, it may also be applied to us. But if you call us a community that is going to disturb public order by exploiting religious feelings, in response we say:

The fact that in no place over a period of twenty years in these stormy times Risale-i Nur Students have infringed or disturbed public order, and the fact that no such incident has been recorded by either the government or any court, refutes this accusation. If the name community is given meaning it might harm public security in the future through strengthening religious feelings, we say this:

Firstly, foremost the Directorate of Religious Affairs and all preachers perform the same service.

Secondly, the Risale-i Nur Students protect the nation from anarchy with