► (012) ◄ To the President of the Republic, Celâl Bayar, and the Cabinet, Ankara

To the President of the Republic, Celâl Bayar,

and the Cabinet, Ankara

We Nur students have for the past twenty years been the target of unprecedented penalties and torments. We have exercised patience. Now Almighty God has sent you to assist us. Utilizing the correct legal procedures, three courts over thirteen years have been unable to find in one hundred and thirty books and a thousand letters the reason for those torments; as witnesses to this, we cite the Court of Appeal and Denizli Court. I gave up politics thirty years ago. Now, together with congratulating the President of the Republic and the Cabinet on their taking over the leadership of the Ahrar [^2] and taking on themselves the nation's destiny, I am divulging a fact; it is like this:

[^2]:Supporters of freedom as prescribed by the Shari'a, sometimes translated as liberals. It refers here to the Democrat Party, rather than to supporters of the Party of Ottoman Liberals (Ahrar Fırkası), founded subsequently to the Constitutional Revolution of July 1908. [Tr.]

Those who have attacked us and punished us in the courts advanced the possibility that the Nur students might exploit religion for politics and suggested that they were doing so. So in the face of those tyrants we declared the following in our defences supported by thousands of proofs, and we still say: Although they have vindictively scrutinized more than three sack-loads of documents over a period of three years, our enemies have realized that they can convict us of nothing since the basis of our way is not exploiting religion for political ends but to make it the tool of nothing except divine pleasure, not even the world or worldly rule. They could not even find a pretext for the arbitrary sentences they gave us, so the Appeal Court quashed their decision. We do not exploit religion for politics. Our duty in the face of those who in bigoted fashion exploit irreligion for politics to the awesome harm of this country and nation, is — when the definite necessity arises that we do consider politics — to make politics the tool and friend of religion so that it may lead to winning the brotherhood of three hundred and fifty million brethren for the brothers in this country.

In Short: In response to our tormentors fanatically exploiting politics for irreligion, we have worked for the happiness of this country and nation by making politics the tool and friend of religion.

My brothers, I consider this appropriate and refer it to you for your consultation.

S a i d   N u r s i ∗∗∗