Editorial

Modernism which has been unable to find solutions to socio-psychological
crises brought up by its habit of excluding the religious rituals since
the enlightenment has also caused the modern man to damage the relationships
with the creator and to lose his peace. Muslim societies are not
saved out of this loss. Muslim societies also suffer from diseases such as
alienation from spiritual values, destroying whatever belonging to morality
and conscience, sticking to a hedonist life style, overconsumption and
wasting which can be associated with the weakness of faith. These diseases
threat all humanity. The questions that how to get rid of these diseases born
by philosophical ideas and movements which threat faith, cause immoral
life, break man’s relations with Allah and how to enable man to pursue a life
style appropriate to his respectable natural disposition.
In this context we expressed in the previous issue the need for new
paradigms that would shape our future and draw attention to the concept
of “tajdid” (revival or innovation) that would provide efficiency to religion
in accordance with its origin and we published the presentations of the
congress titled “Risale-I Nur as an Act of Innovation”. Because Risale-I
Nur, having the potential of curing the spiritual diseases of humanity, need
to be studied and investigated thoroughly within the framework of “tajdid”.
The way that Risale-I Nur explains the holy Quran and lays down its
principles leads the humanity to salvation against atheism, the most hor
rible disease of the modern age. What makes Risale-I Nur different from
the other contemporary interpretations of the Quran is its skilful pattern
of carrying the values of the age of bliss and the traditions of the prophet
to the modern man and its explaining the true nature of man in such a
persuasive way that modern mind can not oppose.
This difference compels us to investigate its peculiarities. Some of the
aspects we discuss in this issue in terms of the innovative properties of
Risale-I Nur are the ways and methods by which Risale-I Nur diagnoses
and prescribes the disease of atheism; it puts forward the universal principles
of morality in the Quran; it expresses the principles of a democratic
society, it restores the spiritual values degenerated by positivist approaches;
it rejects the hedonist consumptive understanding imposed by capitalism,
it revives an understanding of art in peace with the creator; it explains the
true meaning of belief, morals and worshipping; and it portrays the Unity
of Islam as a project of civilization.
Furthermore, in this issue we try to seek answers to certain questions
like: What are the solutions suggested by Risale-I Nur for the chronic
problems of man and society? How does Risale-I Nur provide the rediscovery
of the Creator by the conscience, the man and the society? What are
the distinctive features of the model suggested by Risale-I Nur for man and
society from those suggested by other systems of thought? How can Muslim
societies grappling with many problems attain Islamic Unity? How can
a Muslim world attain colossal organizations such as Islamic Unity when
still it is devoid of morals of sincerity? How should the relationships between
religion, politics and state be arranged?
Therefore we continue to publish the presentations of “the 10th Congress
of Risale-I Nur”. We hope to address our readers in the next issue, the
file of “general war,” in which we will deal with various aspects of the First
World War.