Said Nursi and the Nur Movement in Turkey:An Atomistic Approachdome_97 226..241
Mustafa Gökhan Sahin, PhDUniversity of South Florida
Since his active involvement in politics during the late Ottoman era, Bediüz-zaman Said Nursi,1 the founder of the Nur movement,2 posed fundamental
challenges to “the modernizing the state in Turkey.” He was not the only scholar whoopposed authoritarian state policies; however, over the years, his movement hasbecome the most influential Islamic movement. For Nurcus, as sympathizers of Nursicall themselves, this was due to the Nur movement’s “renewalist” character. Since thegroundbreaking work of Mardin (1989), the story of the Nur movement has beenelaborated in many scholarly studies. Many of them, however, paid an inordinateamount of attention to external (structural) factors such as social milieu, opportunityspaces, institutional factors (i.e., state), and the movement’s position vis-à-vis theWest. None of them touched upon the atomistic approach inherent in the Nurmovement’s renewalism.
This has been a common trend in many Islamic studies. However, external factorsare choices and opportunities, not strict limitations. Because of the strong connec-tions with its normative sources, the Nur movement does not act like “billiard balls”;rather, it is a thinking agent making deliberate decisions in line with its identity.Structural/institutional analyses3 cannot adequately explain this self-referential, if notdogmatic, identity of the religious actors who constantly challenge the structurallimitations around them. Even the scholars, who see the social relations as a “co-constitutive” process, overlook the qualities that emerge from reading a religious textthat shapes an actor’s own imaginings and interpretations, which are formulatedindependent of social relations.4 Based on the Nur movement’s own self-perceptiondescribed in the Risale-i Nur, Nursi’s magnum opus, this article will mainly employan actor-based approach. By examining the historical development of the Nur move-ment and its approach toward important religious and political issues, this study willshed light upon the distinct Islamic identity of the movement.
What Is New in Said Nursi’s Message?
The Nur community upholds the belief that, the text (Qur’an), not the context,constructs the Muslim identity.The Qur’an as a living text,however, can have differentmessages for different ages.This emerges from what they call the renewalism (tajdid),a traditional Islamic concept.According to Islamic theory,historically, in each century,renewalist movements develop a new message for their target audience by returning tothe age-old traditions. Nursi’s renewalist ideas against the challenges of the day
(structural factors) were especially evident in his treatment of the place of the individualin Islamic societies. Nursi’s response to the secularizing state policies was differentfrom his contemporaries in Turkey. It was not a complete rejection, like Iskilipli AtifHoca; an escape, like Mustafa Sabri and Mehmet Akif; or seclusion, like ElmaliliMuhammed Hamdi Yazir.Rather than following any of these leading Islamic scholarsin Turkey, Nursi adhered to, rather innovatively, an atomistic path to the salvation ofMuslims. He wanted to form a new generation based on the renewal of the faith thatredefined the entire spectrum of social and political aspects of life. Aktay argues thatNursi was the only scholar who aimed to accomplish such a goal (Aktay, 2004).
The historical manifestation of renewalism as an age-old tradition has beencharacterized by the centennial renewal of the faith side by side with the intellectualand theological critique of innovation (bidat) (Algar, 2001). Therefore, renewalism atits core is traditional because it holds that Islam suffices to meet the challenges of thetime without feeling the necessity of going through a reformation process thatrequires destroying the tradition and rebuilding it from scratch. Nurcus looks back tothe earlier generations of Islam, in general, and companions of the Prophet Muham-mad, in particular, as models of Islamic behavior. They view themselves as thelegitimate representatives of the prophetic tradition. For them, the Prophet is morethan a historical figure. He is the one sent by the divine will, and all his actions areworthy of emulation.
The concept of renewing the religion “stemmed from the conviction that theperiod of the Prophet was the ideal which should be recaptured.”This understandingis an implicit acceptance as time passes the authentic practice of the religion decays.The Prophet Muhammad stated in a hadith: “The best of my community is thegeneration in which I was sent, then those who follow them, then those who followthem.” Friedmann argues that this “is only one of the numerous traditions idealizingthe earliest period of Islamic history and indicating that a process of deteriorationwould set in after its completion” (Friedmann, 2000). To remedy the deterioration,Muhammad said that at the beginning or end of each century, God would send oneof his servants to the Islamic community who will renew the religion (Algar, 2001).
Renewalism is a process of rectifying the religion after it is corrupted. It presup-poses that the message of Islam is fundamentally sound, but it needs renovating.Nursi’s followers uphold the belief that the success of their movement is due to itsability to renovate the Islamic message in line with the requirements of the contem-porary age. They believe that Nursi invented a new method within the traditionconcerning all aspects of life, including politics, and an individual’s position, vis-à-visthe state. Undeniably, for Nurcus, Nursi is the renewer (mujaddid) of this age.
In Nursi’s renewalism, the ideal way of renewing the religion was not through thestate apparatus but through reading, learning, and disseminating the message of theRisale-i Nur. Therefore, as he gradually distanced himself from daily politics, hesubstituted direct political involvement with an apolitical one (Kuru & Kuru, 2008).Nursi, however, did not emerge in a vacuum. Analyzing the dynamic relationship
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between the social milieu (structure) and the transformation of Nursi’s own under-standings (agency) is imperative. As stated in his semiofficial autobiography, Nursi’slife has three important epochs in which his ideas versus the state apparatus differedsignificantly.To understand the development and transformation of Nursi’s approachto Islam and politics, we need to closely study the different stages in his life. In thefirst phase of his life, he lived through the turbulent times of the late OttomanEmpire where he was actively involved in politics until his visit to the Grand NationalAssembly of Turkey (Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi) in Ankara in 1922. This phase iscalled the Old Said (Eski Said) era.
The second era began after the Old Said era, which more or less corresponds tothe end of the Ottoman Empire and to the rise of the new republic. After he went toAnkara in 1922, Nursi retired from his political activities and began to live a semi-secluded life in the city of Van, near his hometown. This marks the era when thecountry was steadily being secularized from above. This period was the New Said(Yeni Said) era. The “Third Said” (Üçüncü Said) era more or less corresponds to thebeginning of the multiparty age when the Democrat Party (Demokrat Parti, or DP)won the majority vote against the ultra-secular Republican People’s Party (Cumhu-riyet Halk Partisi) in 1950 until Nursi’s death in 1960.
Early Life and the Old Said Era (1878–1920s)
Said Nursi was born in 18785 during the turbulent years of the late Ottoman era inthe southeastern part of modern-day Turkey. The official name of the region wasKürdistan, because the majority of the population was Kurdish Muslims (Bruinessen,1992). His hometown, Bitlis, was a major center for Islamic scholarly research. ThisKurdish city was second only to Istanbul in the training of religious sciences (Mardin,1989).6 Nursi was Kurdish and learned Turkish in his late teens long after he masteredthe Arabic and Persian languages, the two major languages taught in the traditionalschool (medrese) system in the Ottoman era. Nursi was born into a Sayyid family,descendants of the Prophet Muhammad.7 Being a Sayyid has been a source oflegitimacy for the ulema in the Islamic world (Kilic, 2005).8 Nursi’s family was amember of the Khalid al-Baghdadi branch of the Naqshbandi order (Vahide, 2005b).The Naqshbandi scholars gave him his first informal training in the Islamic sciences,especially the study of jurisprudence (Mardin, 1991/2005). However, Nursi neverbecame a formal member of the Naqshbandi order (Vahide, 2005b). In spite of thedominance of the Naqshbandi order in the region, he instead insisted on his self-proclaimed spiritual adherence to the teachings of, among others, Abdulkadir Gey-lani.9 Nursi often showed a mastery over the traditional curriculum despite hissomewhat attenuated educational career (Mardin, 1982).10
In the following years, Nursi pursued a career as a local master teacher while alsoacting as an arbitrator between the rival tribes in the region. He was named MullahSaid the Famous (Molla Said-i Meşhur). Because of this reputation, he was able to
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establish relationships with the local and regional authorities, that is, governors.Sometime after 1896, Nursi met with Tahir Pasha, the governor of the Province ofVan.Tahir Pasha’s political and official activities informed Nursi about contemporarydebates in Europe. He became Nursi’s gateway to the political and philosophicaldiscussions in Europe concerning the future of Islam and the Ottoman Empire(Mardin, 1982). According to Nursi’s own records, one day, Tahir Pasha informedNursi that the secretary of the British House of Commons made remarks insultingMuslims, their faith, and the place of the Qur’an in their lives (Şahiner, 2006). Afterlearning about this incident, Nursi decided to dedicate himself to make the promo-tion of the faith and the study Islam as a source of Muslim identity his life’s work(Vahide, 2005a, 2005b).11
At this time, he realized that the traditional form of Islamic theology (kelam) wasincapable of providing guidance and solutions to the challenges facing Islam. In orderto bridge the gap between traditional Islamic thought and modern sciences, he didextensive readings in modern sciences at the residence of the governor. For traditionalulema of the Ottoman medrese system, this was unheard of (Vahide, 2005b). Dis-pleased with the progressive deterioration of the moral as well as social and economicwell-being of the people, he began to look for new ways of reforming society via theeducational system (Şahiner, 2006). His initial focus was Eastern Turkey.12 Duringthis era, he used to sign his name as Said-i Kurdi (Said the Kurdish).
The instrument Nursi intended to use to mediate and solve the pervasive prob-lems was an educational institution, a university that could study and enact changesbased on modern sciences and religion (Nursi, 1996).13 The problems of ignoranceand turmoil in the Muslim world, for Nursi, could only be resolved if people fol-lowed religious principles. Nursi wanted to unite regional communities from dif-ferent backgrounds through the Medresetu’z-Zehra project. Therefore, in the newuniversity (in Nursi’s words, house of sciences—darul fünun), education would be inArabic (vacip, meaning obligatory); Kurdish would be the second language (caiz,meaning permitted) and Turkish would be elective (lazim, meaning necessary)(Nursi, 1996). Although Nursi emerged in a Naqshbandi setting, his universityproject was beyond the Naqshbandi imagination, which was limited to localmedreses (Mardin, 1982).14
The university project was unorthodox and unusually “modern-flavored”(Mardin, 1989) but essential for Nursi.The reason Nursi produced a modern-flavoredproject, however, was because the problems faced by the society were the products ofmodernity. He was flexible enough to accommodate external challenges within hisown educational and cultural boundaries. As a result, after long years of establishinghimself as a respected scholar in the eastern parts of the Empire, he decided to go toIstanbul, the capital city, hoping to meet with the Sultan in order to receive fundingfor his university project. It was late 1907 and Nursi was approximately 30 years old.
Before coming to Istanbul, he was already informed about the major develop-ments in the world. Despite his previous life in isolation, Nursi was following events
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both inside and outside of the country. Later in his life, his focus would gradually shiftfrom Eastern Turkey to the overall Ottoman Empire within the Islamic world andthe political activities that would bind the Muslim world together. In one of the bookshe published in Istanbul, Divan-i Harbi Örfi, Nursi states that “my predecessors in[Islamic Unity] (Ittihad) are Shaykh Cemaleddin-i [Afghani]; the late Mufti ofEgypt [Muhammad] Abduh; from the extremist [Turkish] scholars Ali Suavi, HocaTahsin; and those who took Islamic Unity as their goals like Namik Kemal and SultanSelim” (Nursi, 1996). Similar to Namik Kemal, one of the major figures of the earliestgeneration of the Ottomanist thought, Nursi demanded reforms via constitutional-ism, which would bring rule of law, freedom, and most importantly, consultation,which he considered as an Islamic requirement.
During his years in Istanbul, Nursi began to participate in political debates. Afterthe proclamation of the Second Constitution (İkinci Meşrutiyet) in July 1908, he gavelectures in support of the constitution and the importance of freedom (of thought) forthe well-being of the Islamic community.The Second Constitution toppled OttomanSultan Abdulhamid II. Because of his pious life and strong support for pan-Islamiccauses like the Palestinian issue, he was a hero for many Muslims. However, in theopinion of Nursi, Abdulhamid’s authoritarian character precluded him from beingconsidered heroic because his administrative style was ultimately counterproductive(Beyhan, 2002; Kara, 1999).
While Nursi was becoming an active participant of the political life, he was tryinghard to balance his original pro-individual stance. Nursi contributed to public debateson the applicability of constitutionalism and its role in strengthening Islamic unity,and made the additional argument for a renewed focus on education as the mostimportant way of promoting Islam in society. These discussions resulted in twoimportant books, The Reasonings (Muhakemat) and The Debates (Münazarat), pub-lished in 1911 and 1913, respectively. Because of his publications and public appear-ances, coming from the periphery of power in Turkey, Said Nursi was quite successfulin winning the recognition and respect of two major classes in Istanbul—the scholarsand the soldiers/politicians. For Nursi, the center of gravity was not necessarily theOttoman state per se, but the high-ranking groups of actors within the state such asthe scholars and politicians. If he could influence these two classes, he felt he wouldultimately be able to influence the entire society.
His aim was to link developments like constitutionalism and other specificallymodern developments with the future of Muslims as a community, based on morallystrong individuals. Often times, he was deeply disappointed with the shortcomings ofthe political method (Karabasoglu, 2004). In 1911, he went to Damascus and gaveone of his most memorable speeches in the Umayyad Mosque. This famous sermonis called the Sermon of Damascus (Hutbe-i Şamiye). In the sermon, Nursi explainedthe reasons for underdevelopment in the Islamic world and offered six solutions towhat he defined as six moral and spiritual diseases widespread in the Muslim world.According to Nursi, the six diseases were: (1) prevalence of hopelessness or despair
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in social life (Ye’s), (2) the absence of truthfulness in social and political life(Sıdkın . . . Ölmesi), (3) the love of hostility (Adavate Muhabbet), (4) ignoring thebonds that unite and strengthen the believers (Rabıtaları bilmemek), (5) pervasivedespotism in the lives of people either at home or with other members of society(İstibdat), and (6) the exclusive focus of people on personal aggrandizement(Menfaat-i Şahsiye, egocentricity) (Nursi, 1996).
As seen from his portrayal of diseases, the sources of the problems in the Muslimworld are moral and spiritual. Nursi is distinct from many of his contemporaries inlocating the problems of his time atomistically in the misbehavior of individualhuman beings as actors rather than the external factors. His cures for the diseaseswere also from an individual level of analysis that was, for Nursi, perfectly Islamic.The cures Nursi offered were: (1) hope (Emel), (2) truthfulness and trustworthiness(Sıdk), (3) mutual love among Muslims (Muhabbet), (4) solidarity (Rabıta), (5) con-sultation (Meşveret), and (6) freedom (Hürriyet-i Şer’iye).15 He argued that he derivedhis cures for these ailments from the (pharmacy of the) Qur’an (eczahane-i Kur’aniye),for these diseases first affect the individual Muslim then become pervasive in society(Şahiner, 2006). Although, during this period of his life, Nursi mostly preferred an“institutional” political method to cure society’s problems, it is noteworthy to see howeven in the Old Said era, his explanations targeted “individuals” as agents capable ofchanging the status of the Islamic state.
Until the outbreak of World War I (WWI), Nursi traveled back and forthbetween Istanbul and Eastern Turkey. While in Eastern Turkey, he defended andexplained the developments taking place in Istanbul; while in Istanbul, he lobbied forhis university project for Eastern Turkey. Before starting his university project, WWIbegan, and he became a commander in the army and fought on the Eastern Frontagainst Russian and Armenian forces. Later, he was captured by the Russians in 1916and was able to return to Istanbul only after the Bolshevik Revolution. Afterwards, helived in Istanbul, on and off, until the end of 1922.
During his years in Istanbul, Nursi began to perceive at a deep level the almostunalterable changes in the religious character of society. As the Ottoman statedeclined in power, the educated elite preferred a Western lifestyle to an Islamic one.Nursi warned his pupils about the impact of these changes in his publications andlectures.16 He published books and became an active member in social organizationswhere he intended to promote an awareness of individual and social diseases from anIslamic perspective.
After WWI, different independence movements emerged throughout Anatolia.Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk) began to lead the most prominent, and ultimately, the mostsuccessful independence movement in Ankara. Under coercion by the invadingWestern powers, the Shaykh al-Islam (Şeyhülislam) Durrizade Abdullah Efendi17 ofthe Istanbul government issued a fatwa (Islamic legal opinion) against the Ankaragovernment’s national struggle. However, Said Nursi supported them and issued acounter fatwa (Turner & Horkuc, 2009). Eventually, he lost his faith in the Istanbul
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government’s ability to save the empire and promote the teachings of the religion.This feeling had been with him for some time, but it began to solidify at this time(Nursi, 1996).
In late 1922, Nursi accepted an invitation from the governmental body thatrepresented the independence movement in Anatolia and went to Ankara (Yavuz,2003).18 He attended a welcoming ceremony organized for him and gave a speech inthe parliament. His visit to Ankara, where he met with the influential members of theparliament, increased his discontent with the political method. Upon seeing thesaliency of materialism and positivism among the secular elite and their disregard forIslam as a legitimate point of reference in developing a national culture and identity,he tried to call the lawmakers to practice Islam. He began with the basics and wrotea treatise that called politicians to pray daily and perform other acts of worship for thesake of God. He even published it as a booklet on the importance of the five dailyprayers (Karabasoglu, 2004).19
From the perspective of the secular elite in Ankara, it must have been extraor-dinary to listen to a scholar talking to them about the importance of belief in God andpracticing religion while they, themselves, considered Islam to be the main cause ofdecline in the country. His experiences in Ankara might be considered as a peak of histransformation into a rather apolitical position. Nursi readily admitted that his effortsdid not pay (Nursi, 1996). Although he was offered a government position, Nursirejected it and went back to Van, the city he left decades ago, with a dream to study,teach, and live by the Qur’an. He decided to devote his life to the study of Qur’an onemore time. He was perhaps willing to spend rest of his life in a secluded cave wherehe used to teach before, this time as a new Said.20
New Said Era (1920s–1950)
The end of Nursi’s active political life coincided with the fall of the Ottoman Empireand the emergence of the new republic. Although during his Old Said era he wasactively involved in politics, in the new era he tried to seek a balance between thepromise of political power and the grave peril of possibly being overcome andcorrupted by that power.21 When he finally realized the futility of pursuing positionsin state institutions as a means to advance the cause of Islam, he ended his activepolitical life. He coined a famous saying: “I seek refuge in God from the Devil andpolitics.”22 Later, the Ankara Parliament declared the Turkish republic on October29, 1923. The early years of the republic witnessed one of the most comprehensivereforms in Turkish history. On March 3, 1924, the parliament enacted a major lawnamed Unification of Education Law (Tevhid-i Tedrisat Kanunu). The law broughtall educational institutions under strict governmental control. This resulted in theclosure of all religious medrese schools throughout the country. On the same day, theoffice of Shaykh al-Islam was closed and the Islamic caliphate was abolished (Ahmad,1993). Upon retiring from politics, Nursi argued that political interpretation or
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implementation of the religion was not necessarily the “true nature” of Islam neededin this age. His argument was straightforward—state is not the main reason of acorrupt society therefore it cannot be the cure for its deficiencies.
In 1925, the leading Kurdish groups frustrated with the republican reforms, inaddition to not receiving the official promises of autonomy, rose up against theAnkara government. The groups led by the famous Kurdish religious figure, ShaykhSaid, asked for Said Nursi’s support. Nursi presented a quasi-Ottomanist argumentand argued that the Turkish citizens of the Ottoman Empire should be respectedbecause they had served the cause of Islam for centuries. His principle concern was toensure that Muslims did not engage in fighting with other Muslims (Şahiner, 2006).
Because of a rebellion that he opposed, Said Nursi was accused of sedition, takenby government officials, and sent to exile to Western Anatolia. During his exile inBarla, a village in Western Anatolia, Nursi began to do something that the govern-ment officials did not expect from him; he formed a loyal circle of students in theservice of religion. He was living in a very remote and underdeveloped part of thecountry. Besides,Western Turkey with its somewhat secular residents has been knownto be quite distant from practicing religion, although not entirely against it. This wasa perfect opportunity for Nursi to build his message from scratch.The elements of thehuman agency, according to Nursi, were all related to religion as a faith rather than toworldly pursuits or the state.23 Focusing on the text of the Risale-i Nur, Nursi tried toreconstruct an Islamic identity that relied on the power of belief in Allah.
Barla was a small village with poor residents just like Nursi himself. His initialaudience was illiterate, at least in religious sciences. During his exile in Barla, Nursi’swritings had become less scholarly and more symbolic. Compared with his previousabstract works, Nursi was becoming practical, trying to relate God to the practicalaspect of people’s lives. However, there was a problem; Nursi was not good at writingin Turkish. He learned to speak Turkish in his teenage years, but did not know howto write in the language. He was somewhat familiar with the official alphabet in useuntil 1926, which was a slightly different form of Arabic. However, with the newalphabet reform in 1926, he literally became illiterate.
The demographic characteristics of Nursi’s followers changed as his messagedeveloped over time. He began to attract a number of students (talebe) from all overthe country who were interested in learning, writing, and disseminating the messageof the Risale-i Nur. Nursi sought the help of his expanding student body to record hismessages in Turkish (Erdagi, 2007).24 Afterwards, he would edit these works to checkfor errors and discrepancies. Student would reproduce these works by hand becausethey did not have access to printing presses. His followers in their native towns andcities later secretly disseminated these works.25 In this way, Nursi was able to authormost of his major works in Barla and attract followers from the rest of the countrywho either read his short letters or heard stories about him. The most importantaspect of this newly forming movement was that it was connecting the people to themain textual sources of Islam.
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Common Themes in Nursi’s Ideas during the New Said Era andLater Years
During this period, Said Nursi began to argue that the root cause of the problems inthe Islamic world was not about the Islamic creed (itikat) or its political implemen-tation. The problem was how these were interpreted by the scholars and conveyed tothe masses. In short, there was a need to articulate the traditional values of Islamaccessible to the modern mind. From early on, he started to remind his students aboutGod as the cause of all causes (Müsebbibül Esbab), all-powerful (Kadir), and shaper ofeverything (Rab). His idea was to call Muslims to the omnipotent, omnipresent, andomniscient God, while his target audience shifted from the residents of easternTurkey to the greater Muslim world.
In The Words, one of his earliest books written in the New Said period, Nursiaddressed the role of tradition, calling for a return to the original practice of theearliest Muslim communities and identifying with the cumulative tradition thathad developed throughout the Muslim world for centuries (Nursi, 1996).26 In thisrespect, the major difference between Nursi and many radical alternatives lay in hisability to create a message embedded in the tradition, critical of modernity but notcategorically against it. Nursi argued that the problems that would face Muslims inthe twenty-first century would result from a civilizational crisis that affected humanbeings individually. The state apparatus, he thought, could not solve a civilizationalcrisis, because it was not a political problem. Nursi primarily intended to changeideas of people about belief in God. He argued that there were two levels of belief,belief by imitation (taklidi iman) and belief by exploration (tahkiki iman). Nursiargued that when Sufi orders give excessive emphasis to spiritual pleasure (keramet),it limits the quality of the spiritual life of the entire community. It makes themweak and vulnerable to identity crisis in a modern world that poses serious chal-lenges to the Muslim mind. Among others, Nursi’s “5th letter” is devoted entirelyto this issue. This work explains why Nursi differs from excessive Sufism and jus-tifies why the immediate bond between man and God is more important thanpersonal spiritual pleasures.
After the belief in God as the sole creator and “owner” of the Day of Judgmentwhere all human beings will be held accountable for their deeds in the world, Nursifocused on issues like the role and normative example of the Prophet Muhammad inIslam. His famous work on the importance of Prophet Muhammad, Miracles ofMuhammad (Mucizat-i Ahmediye), was published in 1929. In this work (the 19thLetter), Nursi commented on the importance of the Prophet Muhammad and histradition (sünnet) as the second pillar of religious knowledge and practice. For him,prophethood was the link between the divine and worldly. This was an identityconstruction based on the sources of Islam rather than outside references.
Because of the increasing secularization of the society during this time,members of many other religious orders tried to escape from the negative impact
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of society and preferred to live in seclusion seeking spiritual peace. Nursi, on theother hand, argued that the dire condition of humanity in general and Muslims inparticular drive believers to sacrifice and struggle in order to reconnect humanbeings with their spiritual core. Nursi argued that the loss of faith in God hadbecome a major impediment, even in interpersonal relations-causing social prob-lems. Based on his “bottom-up” explanation, he argued that by believing in God,individuals rely on the power of God rather than their limited personal will(Albayrak, 2002). For Nursi, relying on God’s power made people more just whileegocentric life led to selfishness and injustice. He was giving spiritual solutions totemporal and material problems.
For Nursi, a chaotic and brutal portrayal of the world was only possible if humanbeings “desacralized” the world. This is a product of the bifurcation of reality intosecular and sacred realms. Nursi argued that the fundamental principle of this kind ofa world is a constant fight (cidal, meaning conflict or chaos in a disorderly world)(Nursi, 1996).27 According to Nursi, although they come from different perspectives,religious people who run away from society for moral purposes and those who acceptdivision of the world into sacred and secular realms are all divorced from the realityof God. They all fear that their environment will have a negative impact on them.Because they cannot find atomistic solutions to institutional problems, both of theseunderstandings lead to authoritarian state understandings, whether it is leviathan ortheocracy.
This stance is evident in Nursi’s dissatisfaction with Abdulhamid II and earlyrepublican era policies. Said Nursi was unhappy with Abdulhamid II’s authoritarianpolicies that supposedly intended to improve the position of Islam. Nursi supportedthe secular Committee of Union and Progress (Ittihat ve Terakki Cemiyeti) becausethey promised freedom (Kara, 1999).28 However, after gaining power, the Com-mittee of Union and Progress continued its authoritarian policies. Eventually, itsideology gave birth to the Republican People’s Party’s single-party regime, whichdid not keep its promises. The atomistic approach as a social reform project is themain difference between the Nursi’s renewalism and political Islamists. For socialchange, Nursi’s revivalism gave primacy to human beings—one by one, while forpolitical Islamists, it was the state apparatus that shapes and reforms society. AsHaddad states, “despite [many] similarities in experience” with his contemporaries,Nursi “developed a radically different idea about the means of saving the Muslimummah” (Haddad, 2003).
Rising dominance of Western values, therefore, was an important concern forNursi. He “categorically rejected the concept of the West as normative, or of its valuesas universal” (Haddad, 2003). For him, Muslim society had to be based on the sourcesof Islam itself. Nursi’s ideas on the West and its degenerating impact on Turkishsociety were not so different from other Islamists. However, the major difference inNursi’s ideas was the absence of a view based on constant conflict (or clash inHuntingtonian sense) between Islam and the West.
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Nursi blended a detailed criticism of the anthropocentric tenets of modernWestern thought with an appreciation of the progress and freedom of Europeansociety (Brodeur, 2005). His criticisms of Western influence were not essentialistbecause he did not view the West as a monolithic entity. He had a twofold view ofEuropean culture: First, the Christian Europe, which was based on the message ofJesus; and second, the Europe of secular materialism and positivism that is responsiblefor the overall moral and spiritual decay in modern societies (Nursi, 1996).29 InNursi’s terms, the second aspect of Europe represented the “decadent” nature of theEuropean Civilization.30 In the pre-Istanbul and Istanbul periods of his life, he wasskeptical of learning from the West or apologetic approaches to secularism. For Nursi,because “second Europe” was alienated from its Christian origin through the influ-ence of secularism, he was uneasy with the idea of modernizing Islam along the samelines. Nursi did not think that there was any need to reform or modernize Islam. Heonly attempted to ground individual believers on the long forgotten principles ofIslam.To counter the negative, centrifugal effects of modernity, Nursi felt “that it wasnecessary to fashion a cadre of Muslims whose lives are centered on the Qu’ran”(Haddad, 2003).
The Third Said Era (1950–1960)
The Third Said era was the last and the shortest period in Nursi’s life. During thisera, the DP government promoted lenient policies toward Muslims and Islam. Assoon as it came to power, the government lifted the ban on the Muslim call for prayer(ezan). As a result, Nursi openly supported them, against the ultra-secular RepublicanPeople’s Party. Although he did not get involved in politics, Nursi demanded fromthe DP government support for and free distribution of his Risale-i Nur. Contrary tohis previous demands for total separation of church and state, in the Third Said era,Nursi wanted the government to support religious activities. Nursi did not considerthe idea of the state as merely “instrumental.” He was not contented with theunquestioned political authority of state leaders; however, he knew that Muslimsneeded the state to provide services like security and safety so that individuals couldflourish in moral and free societies.Therefore, although he was critical of the extremepolicies of the state, he was not critical of the idea of the state. Nursi maintained thisposition until his death in 1960.
Conclusion
In the early republican era, the closure of traditional religious schools, Sufi orders, andban on all kinds of religious education made some Muslims more alienated from themodern environment. In this situation, Nursi pushed for reconstruction of the faithfrom inside out rather from the periphery. Nursi was not an armchair theoretician; heexperienced and perceived his future project as an isolated endeavor for sincere
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believers (Haddad, 2003). On the other hand, he was not the only thinker torecognize the challenges and threats to his faith coming from changing externalfactors. Other influential figures dealt with the same problems in the rest of theMiddle East. As Haddad put forward, like Nursi, “[other] reformers [also] focused onreinterpreting Islam for modern life. [However], while [some of them] struggled tomodernize Islam and [others] sought to Islamize modernity, Nursi’s program at theend of his life sought to contain modernity, to devise a course of life that proves thesufficiency of Islam whatever its environment” (Haddad, 2003).
In this sense, Nursi was modernist as well as traditionalist; he sought a “middle-way” to address problems endemic to modernity (Kuru, 2003). This traditionalismwas based on the belief that the Qur’an is the last and most complete form ofrevelation and as such can guide Muslims. Members of the Nur community aremodernists in the sense that they engage the changes inherent in modernity and arepositive toward scientific advancements; that is, they do not dismiss modernity in itsscientific aspect, but they criticize secularism as a self-professed universal ideology.Containing the radical intrusion of modernity on Islam by returning to the primarysources of religious knowledge and making them relevant to the modern man is stilla main tenet of overall Nurcu movements. Today, 50 years after his death, Nursi’sideas inspire different Nur communities that altogether make up the most influentialIslamic social movement in Turkey. Contrary to their different, if not conflicting,views on a wide variety of subjects, Nursi’s sympathizers continue to hold on to onefundamental tenet that human beings individually are the foremost important crea-tures in the entire universe and their foremost goal is nothing but to attain belief inGod for eternal salvation (Nursi, 1996).
Notes
1. Nursi is known as Bediüzzaman, which means “nonpareil of the time” (Mardin, 1989). After the“Surname Law” of 1934, which required all Turkish citizens to have a last name, Nursi wasgiven the last name of “Ünlükul.” Ünlükul means famous servant (of God). According toofficial government records, therefore, Bediüzzaman Said Nursi is Said Ünlükul. Said Nursi,however, has never used the Ünlükul last name.
2. In Turkey, the movement is popularly known as Nurculuk.3. The discussion here is in line with the “agent-structure debate” in International Relations theory.
A different version is available in Kuru and Kuru (2008).4. I would like to thank Professor Mohiaddin Mesbahi for bringing this issue to my attention.5. There are different accounts of when Said Nursi was born. Conversion problems between three
different calendars caused this confusion.There were two calendars used during the Ottomanera. They were the Hicri (Islamic Lunar) calendar that was used for religious issues and theRumi (Ottoman Solar) calendar for administrative and economic issues. After 1926, theMiladi (Gregorian) calendar began to be used. By relying on different sources, Mardin(1989), Kosoglu (2004), and many others argue that Nursi was born in 1873. Şahiner (2006),the most famous biographer of Nursi, argues that Nursi was born in 1876. On the other hand,Nursi’s (1996) semiofficial autobiography states that Nursi was born in 1877. Most recently,however, after a detailed analysis, an editorial article in Köprü (a journal published by young
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generation Nur scholars in Istanbul) convincingly argued that Nursi was born in 1878(Bediuzzaman hangi tarihte dogdu [When was Bediuzzaman born?], 2000). I take 1878 asthe most accurate account.
6. See also Mardin (1991/2005) where Mardin argues that the students of the Khalid al-Bagdadadibranch of the Naqshbandi order were instrumental in making the region a hub of Islamicstudies.
7. Although it is a widely accepted issue among his followers, Algar (2001) presents a different viewabout the “Sayyed”ness of Said Nursi.
8. In some of Prophet Muhammad’s sayings (hadith) and more importantly in the Qur’an, thefamily of Muhammad was exalted. The 33rd verse of the 33rd chapter in the Qur’an is anexample (Ahzab/33). According to conventional understanding, members of Muhammad’sfamily were descendent from his daughter Fatima (wife of Ali and mother of Husayn andHasan). For Muslims in general and Muslims in Turkey, it is a traditional honor to establisha lineage to the “house of the prophet” known as Al al-Bayt (Ehl-i Beyt). Initially, it was aninformal declaration, however, since the later periods of the Ottoman Empire, Husayni andHasani Muslims, were officially recorded in government records, in some cases because oftheir special tax-exempt status.
9. Geylani (or Jilani) is the founder of the Qadiri tarikat, a relatively less popular but still highlyesteemed order in Turkey. For more on Nursi’s emphasis on Geylani, see Nursi (1996, pp.2083–2092).
10. Nursi’s education only lasted 3 months. Mardin (1982, p. 68) states that because he was muchyounger than his peers, Nursi’s educational career ended with a controversial graduationceremony in 1888.
11. This event happened in the Islamic calendar year 1316, which corresponds roughly to May1898–April 1899. Şahiner (2006) argues that the British Secretary was William EvartGladstone. Şahiner is the main source of this information. However, Vahide (2005a), missingalmost two years in calendar conversion, argues that 1316 corresponds to the turn of thecentury that is roughly two years after Gladstone died. In line with Vahide’s explanation,although her calendar conversion is wrong, Nursi probably learned of the remarks of Glad-stone sometime after the latter made them.
12. Although he considers the importance of a science university valid for all Muslims, he specifi-cally mentions Eastern Turkey as the main area for his project. Nursi says, “Sark bir darul-
fununa muhtac” (East[ern Turkey] needs a science university).13. Nursi said, “The enlightenment of the soul comes from religious sciences.The light of the mind
comes from modern sciences.”Therefore, he said, “We need to unite [modern] new scienceswith the [religious] sciences of medreses.”
14. Mardin argues that the influential Naqshbandi medreses were not able to compete withmissionary schools opened in the region by the Protestant missionaries which intended tosupport the local Armenian minority, who at the time made up slightly less than one thirdof Bitlis’s 400,000 residents.
15. By Hurriyet-i Şer’iye Nursi means that Islam supports freedom.16. Said Nursi was displeased with the developments of his age. He was one of the earliest
scholars to recognize the impact of globalization in transforming the world into a village.His revivalist predecessors, such as Imam Rabbani and Khalid al-Baghdadi, were alsoaware of the changing environment during their lives; however, none of the transfor-mations taking place in their era was as far-reaching as the effect of secularism andmodernization.
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17. Shaykh al-Islam as the utmost religious authority was the head of the Ministry of Sharia andReligious Foundations (Şeriye ve Evkaf Vekaleti) and oversaw the compatibility of the actionsof the state with the Sharia constitution.
18. In his sympathetic account of Nursi’s life, Akar (2008) argues that Nursi was invited to Ankaramore than 15 times, some of which by Mustafa Kemal himself.
19. Nursi argues that in Ankara, he saw a group of people in disbelief in God. Therefore, he triedto refute the ideas of positivists (Naturalists, Tabiiyyun) by publishing some booklets onnature. However, he admits that it did not work (tesirini gostermedi in Turkish). For more, seethe Epistle on Nature (Tabiat Risalesi).
20. The cave famously known as Horhor Medresesi was mostly used by Sufi masters as an informaland underground school.
21. Among other places, Nursi explains the reasons of his anti-political stance in “Lahikalar”(Addendum), which is a part of the 27th Letter (27. Mektub) published separately in Emirdağ
Lahikasi.22. In its Arabic origin (written in Turkish, as in Risale-i Nur), “Euzu billahi min eş Şeytan ves
Siyaset.”This saying is in one of Nursi’s book called Sünühat. It was written before 1920 andis not necessarily part of the core of the Risale-i Nur. Said Nursi also discussed the same issuein other places like his book Letters (Mektubat) that was written after 1926.
23. Zubaida (2005) makes the distinction that religion as a faith involves elements related to thebelief system rather than to religion as an ideology of the state.
24. In some cases, Nursi dictated some of his books when he was in jail. His followers used to writewhat he said on cigarette papers and then take these draft copies to the villages where theentire village secretly reproduced the books late at night. Erdagi tells this and many otherstories told by the sympathizers of Nursi.
25. This method became so widespread that it even became a branch of Nur movement lateron which opposed the printing of the Risale in the Latin alphabet. This group was calledthe scribers (Yazicilar). Yazicilar, a small group within the Nur community, argued thatcopying and distributing Risale in Arabic also kept the people connected with the Arabicscripture.
26. Nursi argues that tradition (majority of the scholars) has to accept new ideas (in Turkish, Bir
fikre davet, cumhur-u ulemanın kabulüne vâbestedir. Yoksa davet bid’attır, reddedilir).27. According to Nursi, the modern world “accepts ‘power’ as its point of reference in the life of
society. It considers its aim to be ‘self-interest.’ The principle of its life is ‘conflict’ (cidal).” Asimilar version of this statement is also available, among others, in The Words.
28. Committee of Union and Progress was very popular not only within the bureaucracy but alsoamong the many religious scholars. The main commonality was their strong opposition toAbdulhamid II’s Islamist but authoritarian regime. As Kara informs us, Tunali Hilmi Bey, amajor bureaucrat, often published religious sermons embedded with Quranic verses andMuhamad’s sayings that were outside of an ordinary bureaucrat’s area of expertise. Karastates that this was probably a result of Ulema’s support to the bureaucracy in their fightagainst Abdulhamid.
29. Nursi says, “It shouldn’t be misunderstood, Europe is two. One that follows sciences that servejustice and rights that are beneficial for the social life through the inspiration it has receivedfrom the true religion of Christianity.”
30. “[I criticize] the second Europe, corrupted through the darkness of the philosophy of Natu-ralism, that took the humanity to vice and misguidance by supposing the evils of civilizationto be virtuous.” For more, see Aydin (2005).
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