Islam at the Crossroads

<p><b>Sheds light on one of the most important religious thinkers in the modern Muslim world.</b></p><p>Distinguished scholars in Islamic Studies Middle Eastern Studies and Modern Turkish Studies examine the life and thought of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi (1877-1960) using a variety of approaches-theological philosophical sociological and historical-to shed new light on one of the most important thinkers and religious leaders in the modern Muslim world. Early in his life Nursi had hoped to save the Ottoman Empire from collapse but after the empire gave way to the modern Turkish Republic Nursi found himself in disagreement with the vision of a secular Western-style state fostered by Turkey's new leadership and withdrew from public life. Deemed a potential threat to the young Republic he was condemned to a life of exile and imprisonment. This isolation however allowed him to write the works that were to form the basis of a faith movement that would not only keep alive the Islamic religion in Turkey but also in later decades would become one of the most important religious movements in contemporary Turkey and an inspiration to millions throughout the Muslim world.</p><p>Contributors include Ibrahim M. Abu-Rabi> Redha Ameur Mehmet S. Aydin Mucahit Bilici Kelton Cobb Dale F. Eickelman Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad Ayize Jamat-Everett Metin Karabasogûlu Bilal Kuspinar Oliver Leaman Serif Mardin Lucinda Allen Mosher M. Sait Özervarl? Taha 'Abdel Rahman Fred A. Reed Barbara Freyer Stowasser Sükran Vahide and M. Hakan Yavuz.</p>