Sa'id Nursi

Sa'id Nursi is one of those rare figures in history whose true impact will never be fully grasped by the people most indebted to him. The fall of the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century brought with it a crushing spiritual and ideological defeat for Muslims around the globe, and nowhere more painfully than in Turkey. A tidal wave of Western secularism swept across the land that for centuries had stood as a stronghold of the Islamic world. A place that had once given Muslims some of their greatest triumphs now appeared to turn hostile to the very faith that had propelled it forward. Amid confusion and fear, and faced with an increasingly antagonistic environment, the prayers of Turkish Muslims were answered in the form of Said Nursi. His persistence in the face of state persecution and his unshakeable conviction that the spiritual battle for Islam's survival in Turkey was worth fighting, remain among the chief reasons why practicing Turkish Muslims still exist in large numbers today. Dragged from prison to prison, from isolation to exile, he spent his life trying to save his people's faith. His Quranic commentary as written in the Rasail-e-Nur (Magazines of Light) were more than the ultimate symbol of resistance against religious repression and tyranny; they served as the very means by which Allah brought forth the spiritual revival of a great nation. Said Nursi's dedication to rekindle the flame of spirituality in the hearts of millions of Turks was reflected not just in his own life but in the lives of his students – whose sacrifices remain a source of inspiration and gratitude today. During those dark nights, as they secretly copied and distributed their teacher's words in defiance of attempts to silence him, little did they know how profoundly they were shaping the trajectory of Turkish Muslims for generations to come.