this. In Ankara, he addressed a gathering of university students on the subject of Bediuzzaman and the Risale-i Nur, and on returning to Pakistan actively publicized them. He had in fact invited Bediuzzaman to Pakistan offering him access to all the media, but Bediuzzaman replied that "the front" was in Turkey since the fundamental sickness had started there. [^39] Sayyid 'Ali Akbar Shah was subsequently appointed Rector of Sind University and both kept up a correspondence with the Risale-i Nur Students in Turkey, and did what he could to spread the Risale-i Nur. [^40]

[^39]:Salih Özcan, in Son Şahitler, iii, 130-1.

[^40]:Tarihçe, 624; 626.

During the 1950's the Risale-i Nur found numerous new Students and readers in different parts of the world, including Pakistan. The last section of Bediuzzaman's official biography, first published during his lifetime in 1958, is devoted to these developments and includes letters from Risale-i Nur Students from as far afield as Finland and Washington, as well as various Islamic countries. Articles began to appear in such countries as Iraq [^41] and Pakistan. [^42] Also some of Bediuzzaman's students travelled to foreign countries to introduce the Risale-i Nur and establish relations, for example, to the Hijaz, Syria, and Iran. [^43] In 1954 Bediuzzaman sent his close student Muhsin Alev to Germany, [^44] to have the "miraculous" Qur'an printed there, since repeated attempts to have it printed in Turkey had come to nothing. He remained in Berlin, actively serving the cause of the Risale-i Nur. Bediuzzaman previously had sent to Germany the collection, Zülfikâr, and other parts of the Risale-i Nur, which met with a good reception. [^45] Bediuzzaman also received visits from religious scholars and figures from the Islamic world. [^46] Links were reforged as one of his ultimate aims began to be realized: the renewal and strengthening of relations between Muslims in Turkey and in other parts of the world by means of the Risale-i Nur. In fact it was Selahaddin Celebi from İnebolu who, with Bediuzzaman's permission, in 1950 sent Zülfikâr to the Imam of Berlin Mosque. He also sent copies to al-Azhar in Egypt, the Pakistani ambassador, and to the Pope in Rome, In response to this last, Bediuzzaman received a letter of thanks from the Vatican dated 22 February, 1951. [^47] As has been pointed out previously, although Bediuzzaman always upheld and struggled for the indepen-

[^41]:Nursi, Emirdağ Lahikası, ii, 138-40.

[^42]:Ibid., 148-50.

[^43]:Ibid., 63; Kâmil Acar, in Son Şahitler, ii, 251-2.

[^44]:Hakkı Yavuztürk, in Son Şahitler, ii, 269-70.

[^45]:Kâmil Acar, in Son Şahitler, ii, 250; Nursi, Emirdağ Lahikası, ii, 55.

[^46]:For example, Ömer Adil Mehalifçi, in Son Şahitler, v, 122-3.

[^47]:Nursi, Emirdağ Lahikası, ii, 62; Şahiner, Said Nursi, 384.