Said Nursî

Said Nursi (, ‎; 1877 – 23 March 1960), also spelled Said-i Nursî or Said-i Kurdî, and commonly known with the honorifics ''Bediüzzaman'' (meaning "wonder of the age") and ''Üstad'' (meaning "teacher") among his followers, was a Kurdish Sunni Muslim theologian 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.

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, often known as ''the "Nurcu movement"'' or ''the "Nur cemaati"''. In a 2008 publication Nurcu worldwide adherents were estimated at 5 to 6 millions with numbers going up to 9 millions, with around 5500 ''dershane''s 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 he 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