members have been loaded on it, they appear to predominate over the Democrats in some ways. For egotism is strengthened by the lack of worship and the numbers of little Nimrods increase. Despite in reality officialdom being service, with such domination, mastery, and little dictatorships, it has given certain officials powerful positions as bribes. From this and from the treatment meted out to me and from newspaper reports and all their crimes, I perceived that they are prevailing over the Democrats in a sort of way. Whereas, a fundamental law of Islam is the Hadith, "The ruler of a people is its servant," [^53] according to which, the task of officialdom is not to act as ruler or chief, but to serve the nation. Democracy and freedom of conscience may be based on this law of Islam, for if power does not reside in the law, it passes to individual persons and despotism becomes absolute and arbitrary.

[^53]:al-Maghribī, Jāmi' al-Shaml, i, 450, no. 1668; al-'Ajlūnī, Kashf al-Khafā', ii, 463. [Tr.]

As for the Nation Party, if it is Islamic nationhood, the basis of Islamic Unity, in which Turkism has been dissolved, it is the equivalent of the Democrats and should join them. Racism and racial prejudice, which we call Europe's disease, was inculcated in us by Europe in order to split up the Islamic world. But this sick idea produces a state of mind which people find gratifying and enthralling, so every nation embraces it enthusiastically to a greater or lesser extent, despite its many harms and dangers.

If the Nation Party was to win a majority and gain power, due to deficient Islamic training and the predominance of secular education (terbiye-i medeniye), the true Turks, who comprising only thirty per cent of the population do not form a majority, and the other elements, who form seventy per cent, would be obliged to take up a front against Islamic rule. For another fundamental law of Islam is the verse, "No bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another" (Q 6: 164), no one is answerable or may be punished due to another's sins. Whereas, due to the vein of racialism, a person supposes he has the right to kill an innocent brother because of another man's crime, and even his relatives and the members of his tribe. In such cases, there is no true justice and it opens up the way to extreme injustice. For the dictum "the rights of an innocent person may not be sacrificed for even a hundred guilty people" is a fundamental law of Islam. This is a matter of the greatest importance for this country. It also presents a serious danger to Islamic rule.

Since the truth is this, O religious Democrats and Democrats who are respectful towards Islam! In the face of the powerful, pleasurable, attrac-