Theodicy and Justice in Modern Islamic Thought

This book explores the theology and philosophy of the distinguished modern Muslim scholar and theologian Bediuzzaman Said Nursi [d.1960]. Nursi wrote in both Ottoman Turkish and Arabic and his life and thought reflected the transition of modern Turkey from an empire to a secular republic. The contributors to this volume shed new light on two major dimensions of Nursi's thought: theodicy and justice. Classical Muslim theologians debated these two important issues; however, we must consider the modern debate of these issues in the context of the radical political and social transformations of modern Turkey. Nursi explored these matters as they related to the development of state and society and the crisis of Islam in the modern secular nation-state. Nursi is the founder of a 'faith movement' in contemporary Turkey with millions of followers worldwide. In this book, distinguished scholars in Islamic, Middle Eastern, and Turkish Studies explore Nursi's thought on theodicy and justice in comparison with a number of western philosophers, theologians, and men of letters, such as Dante, Merton, Kant, and Moltman. This book presents an invaluable resource for studies in comparative religion, philosophy, and Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies.

Ibrahim M. Abu-Rabi is ECMC Chair Of Islamic Studies, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada, and author of 15 books in English on Islamic thought and practice.

Contents: Editor's introduction; Theodicy and the many meanings of Adam and Eve, Barbara Freyer Stowasser; Living life in the light of death: a conversation with Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, Ian Markham; The resurrection of the dead and the final judgment in Said Nursi's thought, Thomas Michel; Proof of the resurrection of the dead: Said Nursi's approach, SÃ-kran Vahide; Death in Nursi's thought, Bilal Kuspinar; La Siyyama: Nursi's treatise on al-Hashr in Mathnawi al-Nuriye, Lucinda Mosher; Resurrection in the writings of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi: comparative reflections with Christian theology, W. Mark Richardson; The resurrection of the dead: Said Nursi and JÃ-rgen Moltmann, Leo D. Lefebure; The problem of animal pain: an introduction to Nursi's approach, CÃ-neyt M. Simsek; Justice, morality, and modernity: what makes the Risale-i Nur modern?, Dale F. Eickelman; Two epistles of consolation: Al-Shahid al-Thani and Said Nursi on theodicy, Eric Ormsby; 'Landscape and melancholy': Said Nursi, Dante Alighieri and the contexts of modernism, Gareth Jones; Said Nursi's approach to justice and its role for political reforms in the Muslim world, Leonid R. Sykiainen; Reflections on prayer and social justice in the thought of Thomas Merton and Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, David R. Law; God's justice in relation to natural disasters, Thomas Michel; Justice and balance in creation: Said Nursi's analysis, Bilal Kuspinar; Nursi's compassion and Kant's categorical imperative: justice and ethics in building a better world, Ian Kaplow; Index.