PRESENTER: "Allah's greetings to you and your companions."

ADNAN OKTAR: Wa alaikum salam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.

PRESENTER: "On the program on 6 April you said there had been attempts on your life. How many attempts were there, and what kind? Could you tell us, insha'Allah?" From Serdar Yavuz in Scotland.

ADNAN OKTAR: Masha'Allah, Serdar must be a courageous young man. He may enjoy hearing about my struggles, in the same way he enjoys hearing Hazrat Ali (pbuh)'s efforts in the battle during the capture of Hayber Castle. I counted 9 attempts made on my life. There was a welcome for me when I came to Ortakoy. They fired 7 bullets. But, thanks be to Allah, none found their mark.

But if a person's life is destined to end after completing his duty, then Allah will not take his soul until that duty is accomplished. Otherwise I could easily have been martyred in any of those assassination attempts. They raided my home, for example. I used to open the door myself, directly. We even used to go to bed with the door open, to let the air in. And a gentle push would open that door anyway. The lock was a useless one. They came in with knives about this length. They came with the intention to kill me; they imagined, in their own eyes, they were going to martyr me. My surname is written on the front door clearly, but they didn't see it, thanks be to Allah. It was a miracle, when they entered my neighbor's house instead. There was a lot of scuffling then. My neighbors are still alive they can tell you about this.

Once it happened in front of my home. The man was on drugs and waiting there for me with a gun. The third day he took our attention. We wondered why he was waiting in the car for days. We informed 155 securities about this and police vehicles turned up one after the other and took him away. Years later we learned he was waiting there to assassinate me. There are several such instances.

ALTUG BERKER: I witnessed one. We went a bit ahead of you, and there was a group waiting there at Ortakoy.

ADNAN OKTAR: Yes, the dogs. They were waiting in front of the door and then phoned me upstairs saying, "We were going to kill you, but you were saved this time." They said they hid in the bushes and gave me details of how they were going to do it. I was in front of the house. All those stray dogs were right in front of our house, and prowling round and round. They were touring around in circles. Were you in the car?

ADNAN OKTAR: You were there. You saw those dogs, didn't you?

ALTUG BERKER: Yes, I saw them.

ADNAN OKTAR: They were prowling around. I said there was something extraordinary going on and that we should keep on driving. We drove with the car, made a tour and then came back. I thought in the meantime dogs would break up, and I could see what was going on. There was an escort police car passing by, do you remember? Just on time, I said. I said that Almighty Allah provides the necessary means. I told them to stop the car and I would go out. I used to get out alone and there would be nobody with me. I got off the car and went up. A few minutes after I got upstairs, the phone rang. Very unpleasant words, of course, "We were waiting for you downstairs," the voice said. "We were going to kill you, but you got away this time." There was a bushy area, and they were lying in wait there. They must have thought I would get out alone, which is what I used to do. Thinking that you would drive off and I would be there alone, presumably. But Almighty Allah did not give them the opportunity. Allah inspired the dogs there, and they began prowling around. Otherwise, why should stray dogs come there? That was the first time I had seen dogs prowling around. Dogs don't usually turn round and round like that. I had never seen it.

ALTUG BERKER: It was something I saw for the first time, too.

ADNAN OKTAR: Very strange, it was.

ALTUG BERKER: On another occasion they were in a group, and they caught them in Ortakoy.

ADNAN OKTAR: Yes, they raided the house I was going to, wearing ski masks. They broke the door down. They thus committed robbery with intent to violence, so we first complained to the police straight away. Others then acted as intermediaries and "Robbery with intent to violence means 25 years," they said. "That would be a real pity for them," they said. "They are just ignorant people," they said, and acted as intermediaries in that way. And I withdrew my complaint. But what they did was really robbery with intent to violence. They came in armed and took money from my companions, imagining I was among them. Nuri was in the car on that day.

ALTUG BERKER: Yes, he was driving.

ADNAN OKTAR: Yes, Nuri. But you weren't in the car?

ALTUG BERKER: I was in the other house, but I know what Nuri said.

ADNAN OKTAR: Which house were you in?

ALTUG BERKER: That one the robbery took place.

ADNAN OKTAR: The house where it happened. They came wearing ski masks, didn't they? We were driving and he [Nuri] suddenly sheered the car up.

ALTUG BERKER: Up from Akaretler [in Istanbul].

ADNAN OKTAR: Yes, he sheered the car towardsAkaretler. "What are you doing, Nuri?" I said. "The car is leading me," he said. That was the first time I had heard anyone say such a thing that the car was leading him. I thought he was joking, such an odd thing to say. I said there must be good in it, and we went to the apartment in Nisantasi. It was in Nisantasi, wasn't it?

ADNAN OKTAR: It was on the lower floor, so we went downstairs. As soon as we were there, a few minutes later the phone rang. They said, "We have been raided," "Don't come here." There was a group of people in ski masks, some waiting outside and some inside. They broke the door down to get in. You owe us, they said, and took an amount of money. There was no such debt, of course, that was their excuse. My companions complained about that to the police station. The police said, "This is a major incident." That was a major crime due to robbery with violence, they said. That will mean at least 25 years imprisonment, they said. When I heard this, I felt pity for them and we withdrew our charges. The police station records for the time are still in existence. The police officers were only young then. People at the police station know what went on.

ALTUG BERKER: There was another occasion, again in Ortakoy. The police again stopped a few people after the event. At a check point around Ortakoy, if you recall.

ADNAN OKTAR: Yes, they followed us by car. They were right behind us. We parked in front of the police station, and they sped off. Then when we set off again, thinking it had all gone quiet, they again began following us by car. We called the police to inform about this. The police sealed all the roads off. And they were caught further up, around Balmumcu. There were police everywhere. Police lights were flashing on and off all over the place. They had them all with their hands on their heads. I did not press charges against them, either, and had them released. I felt pity for them.

ALTUG BERKER: You have always preferred the way of forgiveness.

ADNAN OKTAR: Yes, these would have been major incidents had I persisted.

PRESENTER: May I read another question?

PRESENTER: "Assalamu alaikum."

ADNAN OKTAR: "Alaikum salam."

PRESENTER: "One day my cousin gave me a book, as she enjoyed reading. It was one of your books. It was about Darwinism and perception in the brain and such matters. Sparks began flying in my brain as I read it. It was as if all the codes in the religious books of my father's I read as a child had been resolved. That book was a key and opened doors in my mind. From that day on, by Allah's leave, I began praying. I now comfortably perform those acts of worship I used to do intermittently. Allah made your book a cause whereby He showed me the true path. Many reports about you have appeared in the media. Those false allegations tore at my heart. May Allah be content with you," says Mehmet Tayfun from Sanliurfa.

ADNAN OKTAR: Mehmet, there is no sorrow in Islam, insha'Allah. It is said, the great hearted fight all-around. Nothing happens to us, Muslims may be slandered or insulted or attacked. Muslims may be injured or martyred. But there is no sorrow, only joy. Have you ever seen anything like that in me?

ALTUG BERKER: No. He says it is "one of two beauties."  

ADNAN OKTAR: Of course. I rejoiced every time. For example, I was really happy on the day of the shooting. It delighted me. I love such lively, exciting environments. Insha'Allah. Because we earn merit, because a Muslim earns merit every time he demonstrates bravery. Their aim was to frighten me off, stop me moving around. Far from it, I used to get up very early, between 4:30 and 5:30 am, in the dark, just to annoy them. I used to walk down the side streets right as far as the mosque in Ortakoy, as if challenging them to shoot me. I went alone, head erect and went all the way in full courage. And they could not touch me. Why could they not?

PRESENTER: Because Allah did not so will.

ADNAN OKTAR: Because I have a life which Allah gave me and a task ordained by Him. Nobody can take my soul before I complete that. And no precaution can prevent it. What would be the point of hiding at home? Would I wait there? If it is destined, that man would easily come for me at home. That is not a problem for them because one will have to step outside one day anyway. For that reason, I even went for it and exhibited this kind of behavior.

ALTUG BERKER: You described how the Marxists wrote on the café windows.

ADNAN OKTAR: Yes, in Ortakoy, windows of a café were dirty in mud where they had written, "Adnan Oktar 1956 Ankara." I had just come there. It was as if to say that I had been noted. The communists had bookstores near that café, and I used to go and buy books from there deliberately. I used to go right into it, directly inside of it. That was to show I was not intimidated. Everyone knows what those days were like.

ALTUG BERKER: People were killed by terrorists every day in 1979.

ADNAN OKTAR: Yes. They were unable to attach a meaning to my bravery in those days.