İİKV Launches 'Atlas Nursî Project': A Comprehensive Digital Gateway to Bediüzzaman Said Nursî's Heritage

ISTANBUL – The Atlas Nursî Project, prepared by the İstanbul İlim ve Kültür Vakfı (İİKV - Istanbul Science and Culture Foundation), was officially announced to the public at a dedicated introductory meeting. The project, which covers all aspects of Bediüzzaman Said Nursî and the Risale-i Nur movement, drew significant interest as a comprehensive digital archive and research portal.

The meeting was held on Saturday, November 1st, at the İİKV Conference Hall. The program commenced with a recitation from the Holy Qur’an by Abdurrahman Seyitoğlu.

Following the recitation, İİKV Board of Trustees President Said Yüce delivered the opening speech, titled “The Necessity of the Atlas Nursî Project.”

Subsequently, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mehmet Ali Gündoğdu, Director of the Atlas Nursî Project, introduced the project team, its content, scope, objectives, and the technical infrastructure of Atlas Nursî.

Bediüzzaman’s Legacy is Transferred to the Digital Environment

Atlas Nursî aims to make information and documents concerning Bediüzzaman Said Nursî’s life, works, students, the events of his era, and the genesis of the Risale-i Nur visible, accessible, and academically usable.

Within the scope of the project:

* The Risale-i Nur Collection (Külliyat) will be analyzed by both content and structure and transferred to the digital environment.

* The Lahikalar (Letters) will be examined with their corresponding time periods, recipients, and contexts.

* Bediüzzaman’s life will be presented through a chronological timeline.

* The biographies, memoirs, and service aspects of his close students will be included.

In this regard, Atlas Nursî is designed not only as a digital archive but also as a comprehensive research platformaccessible to academics, researchers, and specialists working on the Risale-i Nur.

A Knowledge-Based Medresetü’z Zehra Ideal

The project aims to make a knowledge-based contribution to one of Bediüzzaman's greatest objectives—the Medresetü’z Zehra ideal—by digitizing archival documents and spreading accurate, reliable information across the internet and artificial intelligence platforms.

The İİKV Bediüzzaman Archive's content, including manuscripts, photographs, newspaper clippings, audio recordings, books, and articles, is being digitized.

Key works such as the Risale-i Nur Külliyatı, Nurlu Yıllar, Son Şahitler, Mufassal Tarihçe-i Hayat, and Arşiv Belgeleri Işığında Bediüzzaman Said Nursî ve İlmi Şahsiyeti are utilized as foundational sources.

Broad-Based Teamwork and Advisory Board

The project is being carried out under the general directorship of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mehmet Ali Gündoğdu. The project’s advisory board includes distinguished names such as: Prof. Dr. İshak Özgel, Prof. Dr. Alpaslan Açıkgenç, Prof. Dr. Niyazi Beki, Prof. Dr. Mustafa Tuna, Prof. Dr. Muhammed Gür, Prof. Dr. Burhan Akpınar, Prof. Dr. Bayram Özer, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ünal Akyüz.

Software development is being handled by Cüneyt Arı, owner of the CAWEB company, and his team, while Azmi Şerbetçi and Medine Okur are responsible for archive management. Content creation is carried out by researchers working in teams in Istanbul and Anatolia, as well as by expert academics who have a personal interest in the project.

In this context, researcher-writer Ömer Özcan provided significant support to the project with his rich personal archive and documents, alongside researchers from İİKV and many experts in the field.

A Science and Service Project for the Digital Age

The Atlas Nursî Project was highly praised at the introductory meeting as a science, archive, and service project aiming to carry Bediüzzaman Said Nursî’s intellectual world, the depth of the Risale-i Nur, and the history of its hizmet (service) into the future through the possibilities of the digital age.