"People, Society And Religion: The Risale-i Nur Perspective" Conference Held In Istanbul

On the 18th of October, the Rector of Dhaka University along with several academicians from Turkey and Bangladesh attended an international conference titled "People, Society and Religion:  The Risale-i Nur Perspective", hosted by the Istanbul Foundation for Science and Culture.

The conference was conducted at the IFSC center in Vefa, Istanbul with an audience of attendees both from within Turkey and from abroad. The first session of the conference began at 10am with an opening speech by Dhaka University Rector, Prof. Dr. Muhammed Akhtaruzzaman.  Professor Akhtaruzzaman, who is an expert in the field of Islamic History, mentioned that both the end of the 19th century and the start of the 20th century yielded great social, ideological and political upheavals and transformations. He also stated that Bediuzzaman Said Nursi's struggles, efforts and treatises designed to save the belief of those muslims afflicted by despair and doubt in the face of such upheavals was highly noble and honorable. For Nursi, in the face of great trials and difficulties worked to ensure that both individuals and the whole society could preserve peace, security and welfare as well as the core value of Iman (Belief). 

Board of Trustees member founding member of IFSC, Prof Dr. Faris Kaya talked about how, for Said Nursi, the concepts and principles of Weakness, Poverty, Compassion and Contemplation serve as methods of faith-service. Also, the Chairman Of The Board Of Trustees, Mehmet Firinci, told the attendees who had come all the way to Istanbul from distant lands that he was very grateful and thankful for their participation in this conference. Also present was the English translator of the Risale-i Nur, Şükran Vahide, who stated that though it was several decades since the death of Said Nursi, there was still great fruits that had been yielded from his treatises and struggles. In addition, she expressed her gratefulness to the participants.

Ihsan Kasim Salihi, the translator of the Risale-i Nur into Arabic, asked the audience to think about why the Risale-i Nur has spread to all corners of the globe. Stating that "Why have Bediuzzaman's words reached Bangladesh as well as all other corners of the globe? The reason is because of the fact that Bediuzzaman's words are ultimately not his own. They arise from and occur as inspiration from the Qur'an. Since the Qur'an addresses everybody, these works too (which have arisen from the Qur'an) are also addressing everybody in the world who read them".

Many papers and presentations were given in the conference which was held in both Arabic and English and in two separate conference rooms respectively.

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