Said Nursi
By: Colin Turner, Hasan Horkuc.
Contributors: Horkuc, Hasan.
Series: Makers of Islamic civilization; Makers of Islamic civilization
Publisher: I.B. Tauris; Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies
Published: 2009
Place of publication: London; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 140
ISBN-13: 9781845117740
Subjects: Nursi, Said, -- 1873-1960; Nursi, Said, -- 1873-1960; Muslim scholars -- Turkey -- Biography; Nurculuk; Islam -- Turkey -- History; Islam and politics -- Turkey
Genres: Biography
Description: Said Nursi (1876-1960) was the most influential figure in twentieth century Muslim scholarship. He was the founder of what is arguably Turkey's most important popular religious grouping, the Nur Movement ('Nurculuk'), which sought--and seeks--to foster Islamic sensibilities through a system of education based on Nursi's ideas. But for many of his disciples, who number now in their millions, Said Nursi represents a great deal more than just a religious instructor. As they see it, he was also the prophesied "renewer," the "mujaddid," who--according to Muslim tradition--would appear at the beginning of each century to revive Islam and reinterpret the tenets of the Qur'an according to the needs of the day. Yet for all who revere him, Nursi has as many detractors. To some, he was a hypocrite and a liar: a man whose life was full of contradictions. To others, a Kurd in the pay of the Communists and an overt proponent of anarchy. In so many ways his life and what he stood for echo the increasingly dangerous polarization in Turkey between Islamic traditionalism and the secularism established by Ataturk. This short book offers a sure guide to the fierce debates surrounding Said Nursi's life, thought and major writings. It will be indispensable reading for all those interested in Turkey, and in the bitter power struggles within the country between "religionists" and "secularists."--Publisher description.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [125]-132) and index.
Table of contents: title: Life and works; title: Thought and teachings; title: Nursi on culture, society and politics.