Knowing God in the Secular Age

Offers a coherent account of the foundations of Nursi's thought, situating it within Islam's intellectual and spiritual traditions and explaining its relevance to contemporary Muslim experiences. Knowing God in the Secular Age explores the intellectual prowess and spiritual practice of the contemporary Sunni Islamic tradition through an analysis of the thought of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi (1878–1960). As an erudite scholar of Islam whose life traversed the Ottoman Empire and Republican Turkey, Nursi's thought represents one of the most innovative and practical responses to modernity from within the Sunni Islamic tradition. His prioritization of faith at the personal level offers a remarkable counterbalance to the emphasis of most modern Muslim thinkers on promoting orthopraxy at the levels of society and politics. This monograph develops a coherent account of Nursi's original thought and scholarly methodology, situates it within Islam’s intellectual and spiritual traditions, and explains the relevance of his interventions to contemporary Muslim experiences. The compelling intellectual history it offers raises thought-provoking questions for anyone interested in the problems and prospects of faith and modernity.