Said Nursi and the Need for a Cognitive Approach
By Azzedine Azzimani*
The epistemological dimension is what matter when we deal with the legacy of a school of thought. This dimension is what makes knowledge and thought related to a vision of history and susceptible to future evolution. Now, many aspects made Bediuzzaman Said Nursi (1877-1960) thought open to different approaches.
First of all, the “encyclopedic nature” of his writing opened the floor for some researchers and followers “to celebrate” his work as a doctrine not as a school of thought open to critics and evolution. Secondly, Said Nursi writing based on the Qur’anic framework (Risale-i Nur). Thus, the method of preaching this thought took place easily and could lead to claiming that the Risale-i Nur is the only modern interpretation of the Qur’an. I’m not saying these methods are not useful, but I argue that it is beneficial to recognize the cognitive approach. I will set at least three characteristics of this approach: critical, openness and Interdisciplinary. The critical characteristic prevents researchers from “glorifying” this thought instead of using scientific investigation. The characteristic of openness makes the text of the thinker a universal text not a national, ethnical or sectarian one. In this regard the contribution of researchers from different cultural affiliations helps to enrich this thought. The Interdisciplinary characteristic which is open to different approaches and methods that belong to different fields of knowledge lead to a multi-dimensional understanding of this thought.
In this regard, we can see the efforts by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Science which adopted more academic attitude dealing with Nursi’s legacy by organizing high-quality seminars and conferences. Recently, I had a chance to participate in one of these conferences took place in Istanbul between 23 and 24 June 2012, under the title “Said Nursi and the concept of renewal”. The conference was designed carefully within an interdisciplinary approach including social sciences, Islamic sciences and humanities. It invites young scholars and post-graduate students belonging to different scientific fields to present papers on Said Nursi writings. The discussions were enlightened by insightful comments and reflections from distinguished Muslim scholars. This opportunity helps me to understand that the commitment and dedication to the work of Said Nursi is crucial, but a cognitive approach makes a difference.
The adoption of a more critical reading of Nursi’s writings and inviting foreign scholars to present their views of The Epistles of light (Risale-i Nur) will make the latter becoming a source for academic study and examination, not only in Turkey but in the major Western universities. This is what distinguishes this institution from other trends in Nursi School. The success in Promoting the cognitive approach of knowledge would help to bring out the rest of the messages inherent in this approach from a vision of a dialectics of God, nature and man. Therefore, gaining academic legitimacy for such intellectual project is a strategic one. No doubt, this path requires a greater focus on scientific efforts, and staying away from the easy approaches of celebration and preaching which express an immediate Self-glorification. Edward Said, is an example of gaining academic legitimacy within a universal level and becoming a reference in the post-colonial studies, but his phenomenon was not repeated with other Arab and Muslim intellectuals.
Today, with the growing number of researchers engaged in studying Said Nursi’s thought and the thesis tackling different issues and concepts in the major universities in the West and in the Islamic world shows the universal transition and puts “the Nursi studies” in the center of the academic studies.
But still we have to be careful. This transition will not be possible if we didn’t succeed in overcoming missionary approaches, which deal with the thought on the basis of a person and not a method. We also should be worry about dealing with the though in “carnivalesque way”. For instance, Nursi was not “a sociologist”, “a philosopher”, or an “astronomer” and “mathematician”, or other categories that researchers may came up with. He himself never categorizes his work under these scholastic terms. Therefore we should be dealing with this thought in its context and conditions, and overcome the approach of glorification which leave our school of thought far away from cosmopolitan approaches. What matter in the cognitive approach is not how the view of these outstanding thinkers affects the consciousness and behavior of some limited groups or even nations, but also how they influence the mode of thinking of all mankind. Indeed, Nursi was a religious and social reformist who established an authentic vision dealing with issues of society, history and man. It’s clear that thorough epistemological efforts (applying new interpretations, building concepts…) we can bring up the social thought inherent in this comprehensive project of reform. Ultimately, the cognitive approach is the best way to theorize this thought, and move towards a new step which is open to the problems of our time and to the future such as his views on issues like: the relation between social, economical and political aspects of progress, social criticism of modernity and secularism, and his view of the public role of religion in public sphere, the intellectual and institutional obstacles of progress, his view of the method of change and so on.
Succeeding in these challenges within a cognitive approach come first with adopting the academic framework dealing with Nursi’s legacy as we find in the efforts of the “Istanbul foundation for Culture and Science”, and this will definitely contribute in the challenge of gaining academic legitimacy for Muslim scholars in terms of Cosmopolitanism standards. The next challenge will be the “Eurocentrism”, which look at Muslim scholar’s legacy from the perspective of their role as religious figures and preachers, and does not consider their intellectual alternatives and views on the method of social change. The absence of a cognitive approach in our dealings with the thought of Nursi and other reformists thinkers leaves the door wide open to the” Western agenda” of research. To sum up, the realization of the cognitive approach in the promotion of Said Nursi thought in the academic world is to promote the values of Islam and its cultural, social and political visions, and at the same time is a contribution to the Reconstructing of the self according to our concepts and civilizational framework.
*Azzedine Azzimani, Hartford Seminary – USA
Posted on August 21, 2012 by nursistudiescom