The Centennial Renewer: Bediuzzaman Said Nursi and the Tradition of Tajdid

Said Nursi and the Nur Movement in Turkey: An Atomistic Approach

“…The historical manifestation of renewalism as an age‐old tradition has been characterized by the centennial renewal of the faith side by side with the intellectual and theological critique of innovation ( bidat ) (Algar, 2001). Therefore, renewalism at its core is traditional because it holds that Islam suffices to meet the challenges of the time without feeling the necessity of going through a reformation process that requires destroying the tradition and rebuilding it from scratch.…”

“…The Prophet Muhammad stated in a hadith : “The best of my community is the generation in which I was sent, then those who follow them, then those who follow them.” Friedmann argues that this “is only one of the numerous traditions idealizing the earliest period of Islamic history and indicating that a process of deterioration would 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 one of his servants to the Islamic community who will renew the religion (Algar, 2001).…”

“…7 7 Although it is a widely accepted issue among his followers, Algar (2001) presents a different view about the “Sayyed”ness of Said Nursi. …”

An Islamic Approach to Peace and Nonviolence: A Turkish Experience1

“…As this paper will show, he is one of the leading figures of peace and nonviolence in the Islamic tradition of our last century. Nursi, who is known as one of the renewers (mujaddid ) of Islam, 16 is among Islamic figures who promoted the theology of nonviolence in his struggle against his oppressors to avoid transgressions on the rights of innocents in society. Having fought in World War I and experienced first hand the horrific realities of the battlefield, and also having been wounded and spent two years as a prisoner of war in Siberia, Nursi was very conscious of the real destruction that war can and does cause.…”