The Effects of Nursi Mysticism on the Social Islam in Turkey: The Case of Fethullah Gülen’s Teachings

Whether the relationship between mysticism and politics is a negative or positive one has always been among the controversial issues in the history of political thought in the Islamic world. While some thinkers as Seyed Javad Tabatabai and Abdolkarim Soroush strongly propose that the grand roof of politics does not or should not rest on the pillars of mysticism in an Islamic state, there have been such great movements and states as Marashyan of Tabarestan, Sarbedaran , the Isma'ili state of Hassan-e Sabbāh, and the powerful Safavid dynasty  with basically mystical (sufi) structures and natures. As a present instance of the positive relationship between politics and mysticism, one can take the case of Islamist government in Turkey today that is strongly influenced by the mystical teachings from the doctrines of Naqshbandi  and Nursî . In fact, this sociopolitical system emphasizes such parameters as the importance of unity among the Islamic states, and the utility of the model of Islamic civilization; it has a favorable regard for the achievements of the Western civilization; it insists on the heightened role of the social principles of Islam; it cares for the people’s needs and well-being, has a mild and tolerant conception of Islam, believes in the importance of cultural Islam, fights against ignorance and schism, enhances education and literacy, and  shows tolerance toward the religious minorities. In all such principles, the Islamist government is under the impacts of mystical teachings.
The connection between mysticism and social Islam is the theories of Fethullah Gülen. Holding a realistic and practical approach, and through the application of powers of media software, Gülen tries to come up with a mild and moderate reading of Islam. Using a historical-analytic methodology, the present study attempts at investigating the effects of Sufism and mysticism, presented through Gülen’s teachings, on the workings of the Islamist state of Turkey.