Editorial

Bediuzzaman Said Nursî’s work “Divan-ı Harb-i Örfî”, which is one of
the works of his Old Said period, has a content that goes beyond the period
in which it was written and points to the present day in many ways. The
turbulent effects of the constitutional period, discussion topics of the period,
the cause-effect relationships and the background of the 31st March
events that changed the course of recent history, the breaking points belonging
to the Turkey’s democratic process and Nursî’s activities with social
and political structures of the period can be found in the book. In this
respect, what are the aspects of the work facing the present and how the
work can be evaluated with the approaches of Bediuzzaman’s additions to
the philosophy of history are important topics of the study.

“Divan-ı Harb-i Örfî” is the name given to the military commission
set after the 31st March Incident, which played a major role in the end of
the Period of Sultan II. Abdülhamid The defense that Bediuzzaman Said
Nursî made in this military court and compiled as “The Diploma From The
Two Schools of Calamities” became the name of his work named “Divan-ı
Harb-i Örfî”. The work is structurally composed of two parts: “eleven and a
half murders” and “eleven and a half questions, which are asked despite the
incidents charged as murder”.

The first part narrates his dialogue with the head of the court where Bediuzzaman
Said Nursî was brought against the allegation that he played a
role in the 31st March Incident, in the light of the accusations he made.
Here, Bediuzzaman complains that his activities that should be appreciated
are seen as murder and explains the activities of the Constitutional Period
under the name of “eleven and a half murders” and he reveals that he
did nothing bad related with the 31st March Incident, but rather played
a calming role. Nursî’s engaging in various activities at the point of protecting
freedom and constitutionalism, embracing constitutionalism in the
name of religion, his role in calming the crowded conflicts that took place
in places like Ferah Theater, his relations with the Society of Union of Muhammedîans,
his calming of the soldiers participating in the uprising in the
31st March Incident are the topics of this chapter. This chapter has a great
importance in terms of enlightening the social and political events of the
Ottoman Constitutional Period. The place of the things described in this
chapter is an important research topic in the present day discussions.
Bediuzzaman Said Nursî summarizes the background and reasons of
the 31st March Incident in seven items in the second part and he directs
eleven and a half questions to the court board. Within the framework of
the main concepts of right, law and justice; this section emphasizes the
principles of justice such as the individuality of the crime, superiority of
law, rule of law; criticises the privilege, revenge, despotism and efforts to
build justice on unfounded denunciations; highlights the basic principles
of the law. When evaluated completely, it is possible to evaluate the book
as a justice manifesto.

Based on the impact of the events such as 31st March on the legal
mechanisms; as it is drawing an important roadmap on whether the law
can be suspended or not in terms of the correct reading of the events such
as July 15, how much value the Divan-ı Harb-i Örfî has; illuminating the
events in 31st March, one of the breaking points in Turkey’s democratization
process and the messages given by the work in terms of its contribution
to the democratization process; Bediuzzaman’s periodic activities while
handling the Constitutional Monarchy in a multifaceted way; the attitude
of the Committee of Union and Progress after 31st March and the comparison
of its attitude with today’s events; starting from the context of The
Volkan, Dervish Wahdati and The Society of Union of Muhammedîans,
how the relations between the state, religion and politics should be in Turkey;
the legal structure of the military commission and the legal meaning
of such courts; accurate reading of the coups in Turkey; evaluation of
the pursuit of justice during the coup periods in terms of the principles set
forth in the the book draws the general framework of this issue.
Based on these issues, you can find the texts presented in the desk study
we made as Köprü magazine in the past months in this issue. As we leave
you alone with our magazine, we hope to meet you with a different issue in
the next issue.