Bediuzzaman's study of science and involvement with philosophy should be seen in the context of the increasing Western influence in the Ottoman Empire at the end of the l9th and early 20th centuries and the attacks which were being made on the Qur'an and Islam in the name of science and materialism, and Positivist philosophy in particular; it was in order to answer these attacks. When the leadership of Turkey came into the hands of Ataturk and his supporters on the founding of the Republic, the drive for Westernization received a strong impetus, and philosophy was progressively inculcated into the Turkish people at the expense of Islam. In keeping with the extraordinary perspicacity and farsightedness that he displayed at every stage of his life, Bediuzzaman had perceived these designs of the new regime at the outset and understanding that it was not to be combatted in the realm of politics, had withdrawn from social and political life. Within a short time he was proved right, both concerning the secular republic they set up, and in how it was to be combatted. For as he himself later wrote, in modern states, where freedom of conscience is accepted as a fundamental principle, internal cihad has to be on the level of ideas and learning. Struggle with weapons and the sword in the way of religion has made way for "religious striving of an immaterial nature with the sword of true and certain belief." Thus, when he was sent into exile in western Anatolia by the new leaders, with his learning in both science and philosophy as well as the religious sciences he was uniquely well-fitted to counter their inauspicious plans.
In his exile which was little better than captivity, Bediuzzaman started writing treatises which demonstrate all the truths of belief by means of powerful proofs. Using logical proofs and reasoned argument and frequently comparing Qur'anic teaching and civilization with those of philosophy, they specifically answer the questions and doubts raised by philosophy and the scepticism it causes. This method, which shows clearly and simply these truths in an unprecedented way, as well as solving and explaining with convincing proofs many `mysteries' of religion, indeed resulted in large numbers of people attaining `certain' belief, and had unparalleled success in the repressive conditions of those times, spreading throughout Turkey. Furthermore, since Westernization is a universal phenomenon and Western materialist philosophy has permeated the Islamic world, the success of these writings, the