Young Academics

Young Academics Who Have Master's and Doctorate Degrees in Risale-i Nur Studies Gathered at a Conference in Istanbul

The “11th Arabic Graduate Conference” was hosted by the Istanbul Foundation for Science and Culture.

The meeting, which continued on 6-13 August 2022 at the IIKV headquarters, was attended by ten young academics from various countries who have done their Master's and Doctorate degrees in Risale-i Nur as well as five scholars who specialize in Risale-i Nur.

Said Yüce, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Istanbul Foundation for Science and Culture, who made the opening speech of the conference, stated that as a result of the symposiums held in various parts of the world, they observed that many students in different countries started to do their Master’s and Doctorate degrees in the Risale-i Nur Studies. He also mentioned that they organized it to bring them together with scholars who specialized in Risale-i Nur and to guide them in their research on Risale-i Nur.

The other speakers attending the conference shared the following in the opening ceremony:

Prof Abdulmecid Mihlafi, Former Minister of National Education of Yemen:

“We thank IIKV for inviting us to such a program. We hope that the conference will be beneficial to Almighty God. I think that these conferences are very important to move young people who are socially, socially, and familially dispersed to the next direction. I also believe that the studies on the thoughts of a thinker like Nursi will have a positive effect on both the family, the society, and the youth.

We all know that the evil committees in the world are making big plans to disrupt society and families right now. We all know that they have made great attacks, especially on the concept of family and gender. At the same time, we observe that atheism, irreligion, and drug addiction are spreading among our youth. These conferences will have a huge impact on our conscious response to them.”

Professor Abdulkerim Akevi, Ibn-uz Zuhr University in Morocco:

“I would like to thank IIKV Scientific Committee Members for participating in the program and for giving us such an opportunity. The lines of doing research in Risale-i Nur are clear, in short, I think it is as follows;

First; Faith is the biggest issue in life. There is nothing more important than that.

Second: To consider knowledge and ingenuity as the highest level of worship. It is to accept the life and property spent for this purpose as a jihad made in the way of Allah Almighty.

Third: To enlighten the minds with knowledge and ingenuity, and at the same time to purify and discipline the soul and morals.

Fourth: Keeping knowledge and faith together, seeing the two as one.

Fifth: All members of the ummah should always be viewed with the eyes of unity and solidarity, not with the eyes of disagreement and enmity, but should act positively, as Nursi states ‘’Leave the grief, take the joy’’ is the rule. 

These five pillars should be taken into account when reading and researching the Risale-i Nur.’’

Northern Iraq Kalaa University Rector Prof. Dr. Ferhat Sevani:

“These programs are very important for young people doing Master's or Doctorate degrees to get together with scientists specialized in Risale-i Nur and get counseling about their theses. When we look at the last year of IIKV; we see an institution that has rolled up its sleeves and is engaged in many programs and research to solve the problems of the ummah.

It is both very important and very beneficial for IIKV to protect and guide young academics who are doing academic studies on the Risale-i Nur.”

Prof Umit Mufti, Northern Iraq Salahaddin University:

“I am very pleased to be here as a member of this meeting.

Risale-i Nur is read and spread all over the world, its readers are increasing day by day. Thank God we are one of those readers. When I see this, I remember the words of Nursi, "One day the whole world will read the Risale-i Nur". We witness with our own eyes how this vision came true.

IIKV has the lion's share in the dissemination of this Risale-i Nur. Both the academic community owns the Treatises and helps the new generations to be well equipped to challenge the problems of the century. This young academics program is one of the many activities of the foundation.”

Prof Ammar Jidal, University of Algeria:

“We benefit from the Risale-i Nur in these works. May Almighty Allah be pleased with Said Nursi, may he resurrect him with martyrs and prophets. After Bediuzzaman, who was responsible for this service and was one of his students; We commemorate Mustafa Sungur, Zübeyir Gündüzalp, Bayram Yüksel, Said Özdemir and Mehmet Fırıncı with mercy. And we would like to thank İhsan Kasım, the Arabic translator of the Risales, and wish him good health and long life.

We especially thank IIKV and its president Said Yüce for their academic and other services through Risale-i Nur.

We are at the table of Risale-i Nur. Risale-i Nur is the food of the soul. Risale-i Nur is a tafsir’ul shuhud. In order to write the Risale-i Nur, it is necessary to have a heart free from bid'ahs and to have a structure to be sure of sins.

Risale-i Nur is a religious interpretation. The author of the Risale-i Nur must be a witness. In other words, he will make his message, he will see the results of his message and he will be a witness. And this author adopted the principles of the science he witnessed, lived and applied them in his life, lived away from arrogance and arrogance, gave testimony, and conveyed them to us.

Risale-i Nur is read to gain faith, act with that faith, and live by the principles required by faith. Risale-i Nur is not read for any worldly purpose. If the Risale-i Nur is read in accordance with these principles, it will show its effect on the life of the individual society.

I say these to encourage my students to read the Risale-i Nur. This program is a young academics program. Participants in this program are both young and academic. Youth should be upright with their valor and enthusiasm, and academics should also have responsibilities. It is necessary to comply with certain rules and principles in their academic studies.’’

After the speeches of the professors in the opening program, the PhD and Master's students made a short greeting at the conference.

Muhammad Tawfik, who participated in his doctoral study on "The effect of Bediuzzaman's thought on the political fatwas of scholars in Indonesia", stated the following:

‘’I would like to thank the Science Culture Foundation and Said Yüce for inviting me here. I am honored to be here.Our hope is that this Young Academics program will continue until the end of the world. At the same time, such programs are held not only in Turkey, but also in Malaysia and Indonesia. We want the results and benefits to be spread all over the world. 

I would like to share my ideas about my Ph.D. research. This will be a study on Nedvet-ul Ulema in Indonesia and on Bediuzzaman's ideas of patriotism and nationalism. It will be a study that will connect these two issues. Especially since I will research the independence struggles of Indonesia and Turkey, I will research Bediuzzaman's idea of freedom and its effects."

Fiki Mala, Ph.D. student from Indonesia Sharif Hidayetullah University, whose research topic is “The Role of Muslim Women in the World in the Light of Bediuzzaman's View” said:

“Before giving information about my thesis, I would like to thank the Istanbul Foundation for Science and Culture for inviting us here and giving us all kinds of support. My research is on Bediuzzaman's view on the role of Muslim women in the modern world. Bediuzzaman's only goal is to awaken the Ummah from its current state. In this awakening, Bediuzzaman gives great importance to the role of women in the family and society. Bediuzzaman does not discriminate between men and women in humanity. The duties of both are based on nature. Allah Almighty has created human beings equal and has assigned duties to every human being in accordance with their nature. Bediuzzaman also says that the mercy and compassion inherent in women play a role in building a strong society. I will have studied that in my Ph.D research.”

Zikra Salimi, whose thesis topic on "Exemplary society in the light of Risale-i Nur thought", said:

“Such programs are very important for the increase in studies on Risale-i Nur in Tunisia. In my thesis, I am investigating the solutions proposed by Bediuzzaman based on the Qur'an. We also need to work on the circumstances and conditions in which these proposals were put forward, so I am working on how to achieve the exemplary society that Nursi envisioned, by addressing the historical dimension of the issue."

Pishrev Ali, Northern Iraq Erbil Selahattin University, who attended with his thesis on "Bediuzzaman's Method of Qur'anic Education", said:

“I am very pleased to be given the opportunity to attend here and give information about my thesis. While writing his treatises and educating his students, Bediuzzaman always saw the Qur'an as a teacher. That's why I determined the subject of my thesis as Bediuzzaman's method of education in the Qur'an. Allah Almighty has mentioned the solutions to all moral disorders in the Qur'an. Our duty is to research and find this from Islamic scholars. Every scholar will bring an analysis with his own ijtihad and this way will continue.”

Esma Shaip from the Ibn-uz Zurh University, whose thesis topic on "The purpose of the stories in the Qur'an in Bediuzzaman's works" in Morocco said:

“I am very happy to be here. To summarize, we can reduce the purpose of the stories in the Qur'an to three purposes: We can say that the first is the creed, the second is education, and the third is the purpose of building a social life. 

I was normally a housewife and was busy raising my children. However, whenever I met Risale-i Nur, I decided to go to university because of its influence on me and became a researcher. I have come to the conclusion that Risale-i Nur is a book that really needs to be read and researched.”

The last speaker, Ali Aleyami from Tunis Zeytuna University, said:

“The aims of Risale-i Nur are built on four foundations. These are faith, deeds, knowledge and positive action. Bediuzzaman still lives with what he wrote and said. We are gathered here today to understand it. I am grateful to the Istanbul Foundation for Science and Culture for bringing us together.’’

And lastly,  Prof İshak Özgel from Süleyman Demirel University added as:

“I would like to start my speech with the sentence of the master in the Hutbe-i Şamiye. While the Master Nursi was expressing the rally and the salwala there, he used it as we do it, we do it, not as I do it, I do it.

This principle is the basis of all the ideas of the master.

There is no break or separation in his ideas. In all his ideas there is unity with all creatures. On the issue of Prof Ammar’s tafsir being a shûhûdi, Nursi said; He wrote down what he saw and what he observed. What he saw was humanity, what he saw was the universe, what he saw were the truths in the Quran, and he combined them.

Science on one side, wisdom on the other, irfan on the other. This put the bets together. We see them in every sentence of all the texts we read. On the other hand, it brought man, revelation and the universe together. This is how contemplation occurs, they are not disconnected from each other.

Finally, I would like to highlight the value of the work of the Istanbul Foundation for Science and Culture. The most needed issue for graduate students in universities is to consult with their experts. You will be able to find and benefit from teachers such as Ammar, Akevi, Omar, who are very valuable in the world and in Turkey, and like our other teachers, who know, write, draw, follow, and direct theses on the Risale-i Nur. You can find these teachers individually, but you can find them all together. It is a great treasure to be able to benefit from the mutual exchange of the views of these valuable teachers through such programs.

We need to know the value of these services. Thank you all so much.”

At the closing of the conference attended by doctoral students from different disciplines and distinguished professors from various countries, certificates were awarded. You can watch it on IIKV YouTube site:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mA834SFVOsQ