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Islam and the West: a Critique of Said Nursi Thesis

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Islam and the West: a Critique of Said Nursi Thesis Islam and the West: A Critique of Said Nursi Thesis SUBMITTED FOR THE AWARD OF DEGREE OF Doctor of Philosophy In Islamic Studies By Zubair Hamid Under the Supervision of Dr. Abdul Majid Khan Department of Islamic studies ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY ALIGARH-202002 (INDIA) 2018 Acknowledgements “The (adequate mode of) thanksgiving for all favors, however great they may be, is that you praise God, the Almighty and the Glorious, on their account.” – Prophet Muhammad(SAW) Thanks to Almighty Allah, the most Beneficent and the all Knowing, for showering His blessings on me to have this academic endeavor and to complete this uphill task successfully and infinite salutations to Prophet Muhammad (SAW) the mercy for whole humankind. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor Dr. Abdul Majid Khan, Associate Professor, Department of Islamic Studies, for his careful supervision, guidance, valuable comments, suggestions and constructive criticism throughout accomplishment of the thesis. It was a great experience and privilege to work under his guidance for his dynamism; sincerity and motivation have been a source of inspiration. I would also like to thank him for his friendship, empathy, great sense of humor, consistent encouragement, scholarly inputs and expert advices. This feat was possible only because of his unconditional support. His observations and comments, since the day I began working, helped me to establish the overall direction of the research and to move forward. I acknowledge the kind and academic behavior of the Chairman Department of Islamic Studies, Prof. Obaidullah Fahad and other faculty members; Prof. Sayyid Ahsan (ex- chairman), Prof. Muhammad Ismail, Dr. Abdul Hamid Fazili, Dr. Adam Malik Khan, Dr. Ahsanul Haque, Dr. Ziauddin Malik, Dr. Aijaz Ahmad, Dr. Bilal Ahmad, Dr. Nighat Rashid and Dr. Zubair deserve a token of thanks for their commendable support. I am thankful to the non- teaching staff of the Department for their cooperation. I am indebted to the whole library staff, Department of Islamic Studies, who are always there to extend their help, for their assistance in getting the relevant stuff. Mr. Kabir Ahmad, Mr. Anees Ahmad and all others deserve a token of appreciation. I am i Acknowledgements also thankful to the staff of Maulana Azad Library, AMU and Social Science Cybrary, AMU for providing access to the valuable material. I am grateful to UGC for granting me the fellowship to complete the thesis. Thanks are due to the faculty members of the Department of Islamic Studies, Islamic University of Science and Technology, Kashmir, who infused the quantum of research in me and introduced me to the domain. For this, Dr. Showket Hussain, Dr. Afroz Ahmad, Dr. Ghulam Nabi, Dr. Sheikh Jameil and Dr. Ali Muhammad deserve appreciation. I am extremely grateful to Istanbul Foundation for Science and Culture, Dr. Faris Kaya (Former Director, IFSC), Mr. Hakan Gulerce, Ahmet Kayan, Mustafa and Akif for providing their support. I am indebted to Prof. Ian Markham (Dean and President Virginia Theosophical Seminary, Alexandria), Prof. Hamid Algar (British-American Professor Emeritus of Persian studies at the Faculty of Near Eastern Studies, University of California, Berkeley) and Katherine A. Molly (Executive Assistant to the Dean and President Virginia Theosophical Seminary, Alexandria) who promptly responded to my emails and provided me (access to) the stuff relevant to the thesis. I express my gratitude to my colleagues, (Dr.) Tauseef Ahmad, Muhammad Yaseen, Muhammad Dawood, Dar Showket, Muhammad Iqbal, Tafazul Hussain, Muddassir Ahmad, Umar Sharif, Sumaiya Ahmad, Aaisha Siddiqua and friends-cum-brothers, Mohammad Irfan, Sajid Shaffi, Gowhar Quadir, Sajad Rashid, Muzzaffar Ahmad, Ganie Showkat, Muhammad Muslim, Mujtaba Farooq and Mohammad Sadiq for their encouragement, support and suggestions. Showket Ahmad, Sajad Dar and Adil Hussain also deserve thanks for giving me their company in tough times. Special thanks are due to my father who taught me how to set pen on the paper and my mother who always stood beside me with her love, prayers, support and sacrifices. A warm gratitude to my uncles; (Mr.) Bashir Ahmad, Zaffar Ahmad, Abdul Majeed, Abdul Qayoom, Mohammad Sultan, especially Bhaijan (Hafeezullah) for shouldering my responsibilities and being always there for me and taking care of my financial ii Acknowledgements needs. I am thankful to my cousins; Bilal Ahmad, Ajaz Ahmad, Umar, Aarifa, Aamina and Ubayda for their consistent encouragement and John, Asif, Nazim, Yawar, Yasir, Mariya, Zainab and Muneeb for being source of enjoyment for me. One greatest reason of happiness is gratitude, I came across a galaxy of people whom I spared time with and interacted throughout my life. I would like to thank all those who remained anonymous here for encouraging me in one way or the other. Zubair Hamid Department of Islamic Studies Aligarh Muslim University iii Abstract Abstract Islam-West relationship that traces its origin from the Prophet’s (SAW) time had an auspicious kickoff but turned into a discord. Apart from the story of wars and mutual distrust, one finds a commendable exchange in economy and intellectualism. The relationship has served as a channel between the two for the transmission of collective human experience yet it has remained stimulating to this day for some religio-political reasons. The relation has progressed in an uneven way through critical encounters across the time and space such as in al-Andalus, Crusades (11th-14th Century) and Colonization. The relationship of the two is and has been the subject of the writings of both the Muslims and non-Muslim academicians alike. It has been a predicament for the Muslim scholars to respond to the challenge of Islam and the West. ‘Islam and the West’ has emerged as a subject of great interest and a beaten path scholars have dealt with great interest, both Muslims and the otherwise, right from its inception and exclusively post 9/11. In this regard an array of literature has been produced on this field by different academicians. In this research proposal a brief overview of the relation, has been discussed, tracing the history, development of the relations and the response of the Muslim intellectuals; Jamal al-Din Afghani, Muhammad Abduh, Ali Shariati, Allama Iqbal and some prominent Turkish intellectuals like Said Halim Pasha, Namik Kamal and Zia Gokalp to give the proposal a comparative touch. Nursi (1876-1960), one of the great Islamic thinkers of the 20th Century, appeared in the academics only in the recent years. Likewise the Western academics, Nursi was somehow ignored by the scholars of Turkish Republic. He was troubled about the deterioration of religious zeal that had filled the spirit of Muslims in Turkey for centuries. As an exceptional personality and sharp intelligence he lived in a transitional phase of modern world and witnessed the significant events of the world history and even participated in them like the two Great Wars and Collapse of Ottoman Empire. He realized the transformation in the fields of politics and education. In the early decades of the 20th century, the decline of the Islamic world had made the Ottomans unable to 1 Abstract defend themselves not only physically against imperialist advance but also intellectually against Western attacks. With the onslaught of secularism, religious schools and Sufi meetings were closed down. Nursi played a significant role among all these changes and adopted a new methodology to adjust with them. He tried to unite people of faith against atheism. He stood against Westernization, spread of atheistic thoughts and inadequate religious education. The following works have been reviewed to enhance the present proposal. Abul Hassan Ali Nadavi’s (1983), Islam and the West in which the author argues that Britian was the first embodiment of Western civilization. The author blames Western intellect of annihilating love and worthiness of soul and asserts that a revolutionary leadership is needed to save human civilization. Abul Hassan Ali Nadavi’s (2005), Islam and the World: The Rise and Decline of Muslims and Its Effect on Mankind depicts the narrative of the Muslim civilization from the Prophet’s era, its pinnacle and downward course. The author describes the fundamental principles of the West, the rise of the West by virtue of its conquest; cultural, political and economic. The author accuses the West for moral and spiritual degradation due to distorting the religious scriptures. Said Nursi’s (2015), Risale-i Nur, Fountainhead of Nursi’s thought, a composition of more than 130 epistles dealing with multiple aspects of Nursi’s thought. It makes demonstration of the subjects like the Divine Attributes, Resurrection, Prophethood, Divine Activities, etc. in a metaphorical and allegorical perspective using stories, comparisons and reasoned proofs. Sukran Vahide’s (2005), Islam in Modern Turkey: An Intellectual Biography of Said Nursi, wherein Nursi has been discussed as a rich historical, religious and spiritual figure. Vahide divides her biography of Nursi into three simple sections; Old Said, New Said and The Third Said, designations that Nursi chose himself that strongly correspond to three sequential historical periods, the late Ottoman era, the early Turkish Republic and the multi-party era in Turkey following 1946. Ian Markham and Ibrahim Ozdemir’s (2016), Globalization, Ethics and Islam: The Case of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, apart from giving a biographical account of Nursi, examines his stance on peace, approach towards ethics, disagreements and pluralism. The concepts; patience and humility are discussed and their relevance in the 2 Abstract era of globalization. Nursi’s views on Christianity and the West are incorporated followed by an analysis of virtuous and decadent civilization. Serif Mardin’s (1989), Religion and Social Change in Turkey: A Case Study of Said Bediuzzaman Said Nursi provides a parallel outlook of the developments relevant to study of Nursi’s biography, thus producing pictures complementing one another.
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