Editorial

Bediuzzaman Said Nursi defines the republic as “The Republic consists of justice, consultation and rule of law.”  This definition emphasizes the democratic republic, in which the right to human life is respected at the highest level. Bediuzzaman Said Nursi points out the compatibility of the republic with Islam, which is the religion of creation, and that Islam requires it, in other words it is a necessity of creation, with the light of the verses on justice and consultation in the Holy Quran. For this reason, he claims the republic in the name of Islam. Bediuzzaman Said Nursi describes the four caliphs after the Prophet (pbuh) as the heads of the religious republic as they fully implemented these basic principles. However, the transformation of the caliphate into a sultanate during the Umayyad period hindered the implementation of this true republic. With the sultanate, the state was seen as the most important factor in practicing and spreading of religion, and such approach on one hand sanctified the state administration but on the other hand spread the understanding of “relative justice” which opened the door to all kinds of injustice and abuse. This caused the society to consider monarchical administration as a principle of Islam, and brought arbitrary and personal practices in the Islamic geography.

In the 164th issue of our Köprü journal, most of the articles are derived from the papers presented at the 16th Risale-i Nur Congress titled “In Its Centenary; A Proposal for Democratic Republic on the Basis of Justice, Consultation and Freedom”. In this issue, the phenomenon of the Republic has been tried to be interpreted through the concepts of freedom and despotism, based on the need to crown it with democracy and to call it a truly Democratic Republic, not just a name and picture. It was also emphasized that Bediüzzaman Said Nursi, who says “I can live without bread, but can not without freedom”, defended constitutionalism/freedom in the name of sharia by basing freedom in his speeches. It is emphasized that the Farewell Sermon of the Prophet (pbuh) is the basis of all significant and humanitarian collective steps that concern all humanity, such as signing the Magna Carta Agreement (1215), the establishment of the United Nations (1942), and the establishment of the European Union (1993).

In the issue, it is stated that consultation is an important element that will strengthen the Republic, and that the happiness of not only a society but also continents depends on consultation. Defining as the “Spirit of the Republic” with his words “The key for Asia’s fortune is consultation and council”, Bediüzzaman Said Nursi’s different and original placement in Islamic history is also emphasized. The issue also includes Islamic references of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi’s definition of the Republic, it is stated that it brings a quality that overlaps with the hadiths and the practices of the Four Caliphs. The importance of the principles of equality of opportunity, independent education, work sharing and specialization, which are the basis of democratical education, are discussed as well. In particular, determinations have been made about Bediuzzaman Said Nursi’s important discourses and predictions on democratic education. In another study emphasizing the balance in the universe system and dealing with the balance in public administrations from the perspective of Parkinson’s disease, the place of the opposition in the parliament is aimed to be examined as its counterpart in consultation structures in the axis of Risale-i Nur. In the study, it is stated that an unbalanced power will turn into tyranny, like in Parkinson’s disease. The issue also includes a study that reveals the relationship between economic development and the republic, and that we can see the findings that democratic republics can develop more easily. In another study it is revealed that it is a grave false to evaluate democracy as a regime of blasphemy, by presenting the most precise and clear way that a management system (democracy) and its implementation principles (sharia) cannot be compared with each other and cannot be an alternative or rival of each other. Finally, this issue includes a study that addresses the questions of how the Risale-i Nur movement shapes the social identities of its members, how it processes intra-group relations, and how these dynamics are reflected in people’s beliefs, behaviors and social life. In the study, there is an effort to make sense of Nur students in the context of group psychology.

We wish you a pleasant reading in advance and hope to see you with the same file topic in our next issue.