INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM, The Risale-i Nur : Knowledge, Faith, Morality
and the Future of Humankind
2009-10-26 04:04:20
INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM
The Risale-i Nur : Knowledge, Faith, Morality and the Future
of Humankind
I. Scope and Objectives
Scholars today frequently suggest that the problems besetting us stem from
the abandoning of ethical principles and moral degeneration. It is as
though, while taking giant strides forward in science
and technology, humanity has forgotten the fundamental principles underlying
existence and has neglected essential human values. People live to acquire
more and consume more, but have forgotten the spiritual and moral needs of
their human ontology. Their homes have grown larger, but families
have grown smaller and have even dispersed. They journey to the depths of
space, but have strayed from the paths leading inward to their own selves.
Mass communications are all-encompassing, but relations with family and
neighbours are minimal. News channels have multiplied, but truth and
reliability have diminished and disappeared. Information technology has been
developed to an astonishing degree, but psychological problems, social
injustices, global crises, and ecological disasters have also increased.
How has this
happened? Science should have brought greater understanding of the human
being, nature, and the purpose of creation, and assisted in their
fulfilment. Was it that science was misunderstood or misused? Was it
utilized solely in serving particular interests and material needs? Could it
be that the source of these problems was the absence of faith and
spirituality, which keephumankind from
committing excesses and turn them towards the doing of good. Was
it the loss of spirituality that has been the cause of people suffering
loneliness and unhappiness and their becoming insensitive and belligerent?
These questions need close study, for only then may the answers be found and
human beings live with the dignity they deserve. Certainly numerous civil
and social organizations work to rectify these problems, but more often than
not they neglect the spiritual aspects so that the partial solutions they
offer hinder positive development rather than help it. As the world grows
smaller, the problems grow larger so that they now clearly threaten the
material and spiritual future of humanity.
The Risale-i
Nur, a contemporary commentary on the Qur’an’s message by a famous
Muslim theologian and thinker Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, offers many solutions
for these problems. Its method is based on acquiring true knowledge and
pointing out its corrected uses; that is, as a means of attaining to “belief
by investigation,” and on constructing an ethical understanding proceeding
from these principles. The
year 2010 marks the 50th anniversary of Bediuzzaman’s death. At the
symposium, which is being organized that year with the above objectives in
mind, academics, specialists, and writers of all persuasions from all over
the world will research the contributions of the Risale-i
Nur to the peace,
prosperity, and happiness of the Islamic world in particular and humanity in
general, and will present papers on them.
II. Subtitles
We encourage scholars to consider writing on one of the following topics:
The Modern World and Current Situation
The Various Crises Afflicting Contemporary Societies, and Their Solutions
The Nature of Knowledge and its Utilization for Human Happiness
The Relation of Knowledge and Faith, and Their Rendering Existence
Meaningful
The Importance of Strengthening Faith in the face of the Positivist
Understanding of Science
The Dimensions and Facets of Morality Based on Faith and Knowledge
The Problems of Racialism and Social Injustice, and their Solutions
The Factors Nurturing a Culture of Violence, and their Solutions
Solutions for Problems Arising from Multicultural Differences
The Role of Faith in Developing a Sense of Responsibility and Accountability
Holistic Approaches to Morality and the Future of Humanity
Nursi’s Method of Service based on Impotence, Poverty, and Compassion as a
Solution for Problems
Nursi’s Understanding of Mutual Assistance, Compassion, and Solidarity
The Contributions of Nursi’s Approach to Economics to Solving Human Problems
Problems Arising from Modernity and the Solutions Offered by the Risale-i
Nur
Problems Caused by Secularization and Views on Their Solution
Solutions Related to the Manipulation of Political Problems
Solutions for Problems Related to Consumerism
The Role of Faith in Developing a Sense of Compassion and Fellow-feeling
Solutions for Problems Stemming from Religious Differences
III.
Important Notes
1) The
Symposium will take place in Istanbul from 3-5 October, 2010.
2) Papers
should reach the Symposium Secretariat by the dates shown below. Any that
arrive late will not be considered.
a) Abstracts
of the papers, not exceeding 250
words, should reach the Symposium Secretariat no later than 28
February 2010. Accompanying the papers should be a CV of applicants
no longer than half a page in length. Both abstract and CV should be in Word
format.
b) For
their study and evaluation by the Secretariat, full papers should reach it
no later than 30 June
2010. They should not exceed 15
pages.
c) The
presenters of those papers accepted for presentation will be notified no
later than 31 July 2010.
3) Papers
should be within the framework of the above topics and written with
reference to the Risale-i Nur.
A wide variety of documentation related to the Risale-i
Nur is available for study
on www.nursistudies.com www.nuronline.org www.barlaplatformu.org The
Symposium Documentation Centre will assist in providing further material if
required. In addition to reading the English translation of Risale-i
Nur by Sukran Vahide, we
encourage the participants to consult the following sources: Serif
Mardin, Religion and Social
Change in Modern Turkey: The Case of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi (Albany
1989); Camilla Nereid, In the
Light of Said Nursi: Turkish Nationalism and the Religious Alternative (Bergen
1997); Fred A. Reed, Anatolia
Junction: A Journey Into Hidden Turkey (Burnaby
1999), and Sukran Vahide, The
Author of the Risale-i Nur, Bediuzzaman Said Nursi(Istanbul 1992); Sukran
Vahide’s Islam in Modern
Turkey: An Intellectual Biography of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi ,
ed. Ibrahim
M. Abu-Rabi‘, (Albany:
State University of New York Press, 2005); Ibrahim
M. Abu-Rabi‘, Spiritual
Dimensions of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi’s Risale-i-Nur (Albany:
State University of New York Press, July 2008); and Ibrahim M.
Abu-Rabi‘, editor, Islam
at the Crossroads: On the Life and Thought of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi (Albany:
State University of New York Press, 2003).
4) The
Symposium will be in Turkish, English, and Arabic, for which there will be
simultaneous translation.
4. Address for All
Communications:
İstanbul
İlim ve Kültür Vakfı,
Rüstem Paşa
Medresesi,
Surûri
Mahallesi, Medrese Sokağı No: 2,
34120
Eminönü, İstanbul.
Turkey
Tel: +90 212
527 8181
Fax: +90 212
527 8080
symp2010@iikv.org
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