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Sa’eed Nursi, the famous Islamic scholar, educationist and pan-Islamic political reformer of Turkey
Compiled By: Syed Ali Shahbaz
On March 23, 1960 AD, Sa’eed Nursi, the famous Islamic scholar, educationist and pan-Islamic political reformer of Turkey, passed away at the age of 82. Born in Nurs village in eastern Anatolia to a Kurdish family of Shafe’i persuasion, his knowledge earned him the title “Badi oz-Zamaan” (Wonder of the Age), He wrote the “Risala-e Nour”, a voluminous Qur'anic commentary in response to the provocative newspaper statement of British Secretary for the Colonies, William Gladstone, "so long as the Muslims have the Qur'an, we shall be unable to dominate them. We must either take it from them, or make them lose their love of it.”
He said in reply: "I shall prove and demonstrate to the world that the Qur'an is an undying, inextinguishable Sun!" Nursi believed that modern science and logic was the way of the future, and advocated teaching religious sciences in secular schools and modern sciences in religious schools. As a supporter of Ottoman rule, he inspired the faith movement that has played a vital role in the revival of Islam in Turkey. This brought him into conflict with Mustafa Kemal, after the end of monarchic rule and emergence of the laic Turkish Republic where Islam and Islamic culture were brutally suppressed. He was arrested many times between 1930 and 1950, but until his death continued his activities.
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