A Minor but Important Petition to The Cabinet and Directorate of deputies
Just this once I am going to explain a matter that looks to the country, nation, and public order, although these last thirty years I have withdrawn from political life, It is as follows:
Due to numerous signs I am completely certain that there is a conspiracy on account of anarchy against myself, against this town of Emirdağ, and indirectly against this country. For making mountains out of molehills, an incident as insignificant as a fly's wing was shown to be as great as a mountain, and on account of anarchy and following a foreign plot I was made a pretext in this country, which is in need of calm and tranquillity, and we, that is, the Nur students were attacked totally illegally and arbitrarily, although we are striving to save our fellow citizens from eternal perdition and doubts about the world to come. Due to baseless suspicions and in openly hostile manner I was blamed, and a plot was hatched against this country and public order, like setting light to gunpowder. It was like this: Although myself and my books and letters of twenty years had been acquitted after having been minutely scrutinized by three courts; and although for three years I had given up composing pieces and wrote only one letter a week, and had received no one apart from three or four tailor's apprentices who took turns to attend to my needs each for one day at a time; and although I had been granted my freedom and had not returned to my home region; a high ranking member of the judiciary had the lock on my door smashed in a way that I had never in my life seen in order to make me angry and provoke an incident; and in order to insult and degrade me, illegally and maliciously conducted a search and seized my copy of the Qur'an and some Arabic writings as though they were subversive papers. In domineering fashion he told the officials here to tell two gendarmes to force me to put on a peaked cap in order to make a public spectacle of me and to take me to have my statement taken, and to detain anyone who attempted to intervene. He said this during an important meeting when they were reading my absolutely true statement. There is no doubt at all that a malicious plan is being followed to make me angry with insults and abuse, so as to disturb public peace and security.
Unending thanks be to Almighty God that He has bestowed on me a state of mind whereby I would sacrifice my dignity and honour a thousand times over for the well‑being of the wretched people of this country and to repulse calamities from them. So I decided to bear patiently all they did to me and the insults and abuse they intended. I am ready to sacrifice my life and honour a thousand times over for this nation's security and particularly for the worldly advantages and happiness in the next life of innocent children and the esteemed elderly and the wretched sick and poor.
One indication of their blowing up this matter out of all proportion is this: the governor of Afyon and chief of police coming five times in ten days and the public prosecutor coming once because of a sick, elderly, weak exile like myself who is all alone; and five aeroplanes following me for two days when I went out into the countryside; and five secret police being sent to join those who already spy on me and follow all my movements; and official orders being given to all the post offices to confiscate my correspondence; all this shows that they have been deluded into imagining an incident ten times more serious than the Shaykh Said and Menemen incidents, They must have made mountains out of molehills since they have adopted such a position. They supposed that I am like I was in my old life and that they could anger me by humiliating me. But they were wrong; we are striving with all our strength to build a Qur'anic barrier against anarchy, like the barrier of Dhu'l‑Qarnayn. Those who harrass us are pre- paring the ground for anarchy and even for communism.
Indeed, if like in my early life in order to preserve the dignity of learning I had refused to accept insults, and my true duty had not been the next life alone and to save Muslims from the eternal nothingness of death; and like those who attack us we had worked solely for this world and negative politics; then those working on account of anarchy could have provoked an incident like the Shaykh Said and Menemen incidents.
Moreover, to try to put a peaked cap on my head — although three courts and the police of several provinces these last twenty years have not legally interfered with my dress and I have received no notification about the dress changes due to my solitude and being excused, — such an attempt could have caused the hundreds of thousands of people who for the past forty years have displayed brotherly interest in this country and especially in the teachings of certain affirmative belief to bring the very globe to anger in the midst of a terrible excitement and to weep as never before.
In any event, by reason of numerous signs I am completely certain that on foreign instigation that illegal treatment was meted out for the above‑mentioned reasons as provocation to destroy public regard for me. But endless thanks be to Almighty God that as someone who is at the door of the grave, has no one, is world-weary, flees public attention and esteem, and has no desire for hypocritical fame and self-advertisement, I did not attach the slightest importance to their illegal insulting treatment. I refer it to Almighty God. I think of those who persecute me due to baseless suspicions being soon condemned to eternal nothingness when they die, and in truth I pity them. “O my Lord!” I pray, “Save their belief through the Risale-i Nur! Through the mystery of the Qur'an, transform everlasting non-being into the despatch papers for eternal life!” And I forgive them.
Saîd Nursî