Conference Programme (last modified: 17 September 2008)
GOD, MAN AND MORTALITY: THE PERSPECTIVE OF BEDIUZZAMAN SAID NURSI
The Durham University Risale-i Nur Programme, under the auspices of the School of
Government and International Affairs, is organizing a conference for scholars of Said
Nursi to be held on the 20th and 21st October 2008.. The conference focus on Nursi's
approach to the Creator-creature relationship and what it means to be human,
particularly in the light of man's mortal nature and the inevitability of death.
PROGRAMME
Monday 20th October (Venue: Room 102, Al-Qasimi Building, IMEIS/SGIA)
9.00-9.45 Registration
9.45 Opening Address: To Be Announced
Morning session:
Chair: Prof Oliver Leaman
10.00 – 10.45. Prof Bilal Kuspinar: ‘The Human Conscience as a Proof for the
Existence of God: An Analysis of the Relevant Passages in the Mathnawi Al-
‘Arabi Al-‘Arabi’
10.45 – 11.00. Refreshments
11.00-11.45. Prof Thomas Michel: ‘Sincerity and Wisdom in the Fully Human
Person’
11.45- 12.30. Dr Metin Karabasoglu: ‘New Aspects of the Struggle between Belief
and Unbelief in the Midst of Shifting Paradigms’
12.30 – 14.15. Lunch
Afternoon session:
Chair: Prof Thomas Michel
14.15 – 15.00. Dr Sukran Vahide: ‘Man as Divine Vicegerent on Earth: How New
is Said Nursi’s Interpretation?’
15.00 – 15.45. Prof Yunus Cengel: ‘Beyond the Body: Towards Understanding
the True Nature of Man’
15.45 – 16.00. Refreshments
16.00 – 16.45. Prof Oliver Leaman: ‘The Bite of the Gnat and the Bite of the
Snake: Style and Substance in Said Nursi's Discussion of the Afterlife’
Tuesday 21st October (Venue: Room 102, Al-Qasimi Building, IMEIS/SGIA)
Morning session:
Chair: Prof Bilal Kuspinar
09.30 – 10.15. Prof Ahmet Akgunduz: ‘Divine Decree and the Issue of Free Will
according to Bediuzzaman’s Works’
10.15-11.00. Dr Kerim Balci: ‘Agents of Human Spirituality: The Ten Subtleties
(Letaif-i Asere) of Man and Their Use in the Epistles of Light’
11.00- 11.15. Refreshments
11.15- 12.00. Prof Zeki Saritoprak: ‘Nursi on the Problem of Theodicy’
12.00 – 12.45. Dr. Murat Ciftkaya: ‘Pleasure, Mortality and a New Approach’
12.45 – 14.15 Lunch
Afternoon session:
Chair: Prof Ahmet Akgunduz
14:15 – 15.00 Father Martin de Vries: ‘Man created in God’s Image’
15.00 – 15.45 Dr Mehmet Ozalp: ‘Reconciling the Universal Will of God and the
Human Free Will’
15.45 – 16.00 Refreshments
16.15 – 17.00. Dr Mahsheed Ansari: ‘Man’s Struggle with Mortality and the Quest
for Rediscovering God; Finding Spirituality in Generation Y.’
17.00 Concluding address