In His Name, be He glorified!
A summons arrived from Samsun Criminal Court which stated that the examining magistrate and prosecutor had opened a case against me in connection with a complaint I had written which was published in the newspaper, Büyük Cihad. They read it to me and I saw that it contained only four points that were worthy of consideration.
The First: The editor of Büyük Cihad had evidently told the public prosecutor: “Said Nursi sent me the article so I published it,”
The fact of the matter is this: when I was ill in Emirdağ, my brothers there came to visit me and we spoke about an unpleasant and inhumane incident that had occurred involving me. I was both ill and angry and said a few things complaining about Ankara. The person who assists me was with me and he wrote them down, With the approval of the Nur students, he sent the note to one or two students in Ankara for them to show to some religious deputies so that, seeing that I was ill, difficulties should not be inflicted on me. It was sent and some deputies saw it. It pleased a person we are not acquainted with and he evidently sent it to the editor of Büyük Cihad. But I swear that neither then did I know who sent it nor do I now. A copy was sent here after it was published and someone read it to me since I do not know the new letters. I was pleased and called down God's blessings on the publishers. It's true that I have given up politics for thirty‑five years, but for the sake of religion I was grateful to the owner and writers of Büyük Cihad, a newspaper which serves religion sincerely. “May God be pleased with them!” I exclaimed. After that, the blessed paper was then sent to me regularly, but without my knowledge and without it being paid for.
The Second Point is about my being sent to the Criminal Court in Sam‑ sun. Concerning this point, I say with all certainty that I would have liked to go to Samsun to visit my brothers of the hereafter who are linked to the Büyük Cihad and the Nur students in the region, but as stated by the doctor's report, my infirmity is so advanced that for one and a half years I have been unable to attend for five minutes even the court that was holding the trial, although it had summoned me, The public prosecutor and examining magistrate who was acting as judge were compelled to come to me. They brought with them the newspaper that was the subject of their questioning. The paper had mixed in some of its own words with mine. I gave them the necessary replies. If the Criminal Court attaches so much importance to this case, it should allow my trial to be transferred to Eskişehir, for there I can appear in person since I have a two-month report from the health committee stating that I am severely ill from poison. It is otherwise quite impossible.
Third Point: Basing it on Article 163 of the Criminal Code, the prosecutor and examining magistrate accuse Said Nursi of exploiting religion for politics and disturbing public order. The truth about this point is that five or six courts over the past twenty‑nine years and the police of five or six provinces have found nothing indictable apart from two matters in the one hundred and thirty-three parts of my books and all my thousands of letters which they had seized, despite the provocations of some irreligious secret societies and their deceiving certain naive officials. Evidence for this are the facts that Denizli Criminal Court and Ankara Criminal Court and the Court of Appeal all agreed on my acquittal and the return of all my books, and in five or six provinces only one court wanted to impose a light sentence on the pretext of my expounding a Qur'anic verse about Islamic dress. In the face of my decisive and powerful reply, they were obliged to alter the verdict into one of discretion, That is to say, they could find nothing to convict me of either. For further elucidation of this point, I am sending you also the petition I sent to the chairman of Afyon Court.
In Short: The same palaver was repeated in five or six courts yet they could find nothing that constitutes an offence, Now the Samsun prosecutor and examining magistrate are repeating the same palaver of twenty‑eight years: “He is conducting campaigns of propaganda to secure personal influence and is exploiting religion for political ends,” I refer them to my unrefuted defence speeches of four hundred or so pages which I have delivered during five trials. Let them take a look at them rather than making me speak.
Saîd Nursî