Bediuzzman Said Nursi was born a century ago, in 1877. It was the epoch of great challenges and unbelievable social, economic and ideological development. It was the time of global changes, which took place all over the world ? from Eastern Asia to Europe and America. Born in the heart of Euro-Asia, in a village in Eastern Anadola, he, since the very first year of his life, was deeply involved in the world?s innovation. Still, being born in the village Nurs, from which he later on received the name Nursi, he belonged to the traditional Oriental society and by destiny followed all the regulations and precepts of this society. That is why he made his first steps in receiving education from the famous scholars and teachers of the region. That was the beginning of his growing up and maturing; that became his first school of life. He realized all the importance of education and showed at a very early age unique ability to learn and extraordinary intelligence. His capacity and readiness to learn was outstanding. Moreover, when he was only sixteen years old, he debated with many distinguished scholars on many topics, and these scholars had to accept his arguments and conclusions. Thus, through debates or philosophical discussions, which were very popular in many Oriental countries, he became famous among scholars in his own country.

What is even more important, he was not a traditional scholar in the proper meaning of this word, he also studied many modern branches of sciences and humanities. He dedicated himself to understanding of the ambivalent nature of the world, to grasping all the aspects of the Universe and the Mankind.

This combination of classical theosophy and theology, on one hand, and modern knowledge, on the other hand, allowed him to turn into one of the most outstanding spiritual leaders of his time. He understood that traditional knowledge would not be sufficient enough to carry debates with representatives of Western scholarly thought. Education in Turkey - his own country, as well as education in the traditional Islamic society in principle should unify religious sciences and modern (secular) sciences. In other words, two types of schools ? religious schools and secular schools ? should share the subjects, courses and disciplines taught therein. He said: ?This way the students in the modern schools will be protected from the unbelief and scepticism, and those in the religious schools, from bigotry?.

The point is that Bediuzzaman Said Nursi was not a typical theoretic, but he tried to realize his visions concerning the educational system in Turkey (in that time Ottoman Empire). What I mean is his trip to Istanbul in 1907, when he sought to convince the Sultan to establish in Eastern Anadola a University, based on religious and secular sciences and humanities. Unfortunately, that his attempt failed, but it does not mean that he gave up his plans to change the educational system in his country. On the other hand, being in one of the biggest cities in the world, Said Nursi did not skip the chance to enter the intensive scholarly and cultural life of the megapolice. He contributed to the revitalization of the state ? the Ottoman Empire ? and Islamic world, as a whole. Besides that, being in Istanbul he became enormously popular thanks to his extraordinary learning and wide knowledge.


Prof. Dr. Alexander Fedotoff