Conception of the Self in Islamic and Modern Social Thinking: Nursi, Marx, and Weber on the Self.

Said Nursi is a prominent Islamic scholar whose writings have had tremendous influence on Turkish Islamic movements during the last 40 years (Mardin, 1989). Numerous Islamist groups have adopted the Nursian view of Islam, many of which have developed into politically influential formations. Currently, Nursi's views have also started to be adopted in other Islamic contexts such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Muslim communities in Europe, etc. (Yavuz, 1999). Nursian perspective has been especially conducive for intercultural understanding between Islamic and Modernist cultural heritages (Albayrak, 2002). I hope to shade some light on this particular aspect of the Nursian understanding of Islam by comparing it's conception of the self with that of the Modern tradition, which is represented in this paper by Marxian and Weberian views. Nursi places the issue of the self at the center of his analytical focus. He looks at the self in terms of its particular stance with respect to God. On the other hand, Marx and Weber see the self as a detached entity, who is an independent being within his/her autonomous existential boundaries. Although Marx and Weber differ in their particular stances on the self, which Marx conceives as belonging more to the material realm and Weber placing more emphasis on its affiliation with the ideal dimension; their perspectives concur as to the self vis-à-vis the world relation. The specific juncture at which their stances overlap also emerges as an apt representation of the Modern understanding of the self. The particular differences between the Nursian perspective and its modern counterpart are also reflected in their respective positions regarding such contemporary notions as secular state, individualism etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]