previously had been returned to our Master in Denizli. We have absolutely no doubt that the decision taken for their destruction, which would bring the earth and the heavens to anger and cause all beings to weep, is a plan against the Democrats devised by extremist members of the People's Party. For the extremist devils have understood that the Nur students protect the Democrats and are a powerful support for them. In this way, they are trying to turn the Nur students against the Democrats and cause the government's fall. Our Master therefore refers it to you to make the very greatest efforts to thwart this plan of theirs, to save the collections, and to have all our books in Afyon returned to us.

Ziya, Zübeyir ∗∗∗

► (025) ◄

To the Government Ministry!

We are disclosing to your esteemed self on the subject of this nation's fate, a plan against the Democrats which is of the utmost seriousness and which Satan even could not have hatched. It is as follows:

The cunning fanatics of the People's Party have understood that the numerous students of the Nur community are protecting the Democrat Party. The community was formed by Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, who, with extraordinary self-sacrifice has for twenty-seven years striven unobtrusively with his works against the irreligion, absolute despotism, and severe tyranny in this country. Even, in the regions the Nur students were most numerous, they covertly planted İsmet to spy on them and investigate them.

The Nur students have, with powerful faith, devotedly served Islam and the nation's belief in every part of Anatolia and have been a means of the tyrants' dominion crumbling. In consequence, in order to turn the Nur students against the Democrats and make them hate them, the Isparta judiciary took the decision to burn the Staff of Moses and Zülfikar collections. Yet these works save lives in this world and the next, and have illuminated and given guidance to hundreds of thousands of believers and numbers of university-educated youths, and have met with approval and applause in Arabia and Egypt and out of respect have been placed on the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad (Upom whom be blessings and peace) and on the Black Stone in the Ka'ba. We received news of this decision, which would bring the heavens and earth to anger and cause all creatures to weep. How- ever, these two lengthy works from the one-hundred-and-nineteen-part Risale-i Nur were acquitted unanimously in 1944 by Denizli Court and its