Said Nursi

Said Nursi; ; ; also spelled Said-i Nursî or Said-i Kurdî,}} (1877 – 23 March 1960) was a Kurdish scholar of Islam from Turkey who wrote the Risale-i Nur Collection, a body of Qur'anic commentary exceeding six thousand pages. Believing that modern science and logic was the way of the future, he advocated teaching religious sciences in secular schools and modern sciences in religious schools. He is commonly known with the honorifics ''Bediüzzaman'' (بدیع‌الزمان; ) and ''Üstad'' (استاد; ) among his followers.

Nursi inspired a religious movement that has played a vital role in the revival of Islam in Turkey and now numbers several millions of followers worldwide. His followers are often known as the ''"Nurcu movement"'' or the ''Nurcu cemaati''. In a 2008 publication, ''Nurcu'' worldwide adherents were estimated at 5 to 6 million with numbers going up to 9 million, with around 5500 ''dershanes'' or study halls where adherents would read Nursi’s writings collectively.

Nursi categorizes his life as 3 periods: The first period he calls as "Old Said" which he describes as the period when he was actively involved in politics and believed he could serve Islam through politics. This period is from his birth until early 1920's coinciding with the aftermath of World War I and the fall of the Ottoman Empire. This period of upheaval caused Nursi to undergo a deep personal transformation. In the "New Said" period he entirely abstained from politics, and focused on writing Risale-i Nur collection using reasoning to demonstrate truth of Islam. Most of this period was spent in jail and exile. This period ended when he was released from Afyon prison in 1949. From 1949 till his death in 1960 he considers as "3rd Said" period when he experienced relative freedom which coincides with the first democratic elections in Turkey. Provided by Wikipedia