Evolution, the Purpose of Life and the Order of Society:How a Nurcu connects worldview and normativity in pseudo-biographical narratives

This essay scrutinizes how the conceptualization of the notion of ‘miracle’ varies in the works of contemporary Muslim authors who share (but differently define) the assumption that Islam and science enjoy a special harmony. Their positions are analyzed after a brief reconstruction of the multiple meanings of the very term ‘miracle’ and an historical excursus on the Christian and Muslim tradition respectively. I argue that such variation is dependent on each author’s understanding of science and technology, and complementarily, on the prestige and appeal exerted by science and technology on the authors’ respective readership.