A Truth About the Life of Our Society Which Was Imparted to My Heart
There are now four parties in this country: one is the People's Party (Halk Partisi), another the Democrat (Demokrat Partisi), another the Nation (Millet Partisi), and the other Islamic Unity (İttihad‑ı İslam Partisi).
In the event of sixty or seventy per cent of the people being completely religious, The Islamic Unity Party may assume a leading role in present politics. But due to the deficient Islamic training of recent times the latter party would have to exploit religion for politics in the face of the malpractices of present politics, and should therefore not assume such a role.
As for The People's Party, since behind the screen of the law it has in truth given extraordinary, pleasurable, and widespread bribes to officials, and since together with all its own crimes of twenty‑eight years the crimes of others and the evils of the Unionists (İttihadçılar) and their Masonic 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, 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.
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 , 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, attractive supports of these two parties, you are obliged to take the truths of Islam as the basis of your support, for they are even more of a drawing force, both materially and spiritually. Or there is the possibility that the crimes committed down the years which you did not commit will be loaded on you as they were on the former party, and the members of the People's Party will adopt racism and defeat you completely. I felt this and am worried for Islam.
Postscript: In my view, the following is the only way the religious Democrats may be saved from having inflicted on them the serious penalties which were dealt out following the Ticânî incidents. For those incidents resulted from the unnecessary, arbitrary laws of the former party and their exploitation, and even due to its incitements. In this way they may also be saved from losing face in the view of the Islamic world:
Just as the Democrats' power was increased tenfold by restoring the Arabic call to prayer, so it would be increased by returning Aya Sophia to its position of five hundred years. The religious Democrats should therefore announce officially the Risale‑i Nur's freedom, for it has made a very favourable impression in the Islamic world as well as winning the Islamic world's regard for the people of this country, and nothing harmful has been found in it by courts of law over twenty years and five courts have ruled for its acquittal. They should apply a salve to this wound, They would then both win the good opinion of the Islamic world, and the tyrannical faults of others would not be ascribed to them.
For the sake of the religious Democrats and particularly persons like Adnan Menderes, I have dwelt on politics for one or two days, although I have given them up for the past thirty‑five years.
Saîd Nursî
Nur students who have observed this fact and endorse it,Ceylân, Halil, Osman, Hamza, et al.