Islamic Political Identity in Turkey

print-based islamic discourse 163need a teacher to understand its meaning, the spread of the work through itsreading within the structure of dershanes has contributed to the formation of acommunal Islamic-social political consciousness.The RNK has become the tool that pulls diverse groups together. Indershanes, reading is evolving into a kind of large-scale community formationwith a number of social activities that consolidate social ties. In the urbanizingsociety of Turkey, people are isolated and search for ways to connect with otherpeople. Reading the same book and internalizing the same vocabulary play animportant role in connecting people. Through collective readings, Nurcus learna new normative charter of action that shapes their understanding of the worldand serves as a basis for action. These beliefs inform what actions are good anddesirable and what are to be avoided.In order to understand the community-building impact of the RNK, oneneeds to explore the meaning of the reading in the Nur context. The mode ofreligious reading establishes certain relations between the reader and the writingsof Nursi. As a result of this institutionalized reading, readers develop acertain cognitive and ethical attitude toward themselves, each other, and thewhole community. This relationship between readers and what they read hasnot been examined fully. Some readers develop technical skills for extractingseveral competing meanings from the text. Nursi’s Turkish narrative vernacularand metaphoric writing oVers a rich and dynamic array of texts that can betested out to understand contemporary challenges and the deep continuity inhuman relations. Moreover, new participants in these reading circles are encouragedto internalize a certain disposition in their approach to the RNK. TheRNK empowers its reader by oVering a worldview and a moral system for action.In a way, it becomes a treasure trove into which one can dig for deepermeanings in response to the human desire for meaning. Thus each gatheringto read the RNK opens up new horizons, because there is no Wnal act of readingwhen it comes to discovering the meaning of religious texts.Nurcus believe that reading these texts is required to keep stability and asense of community. In a way, reading becomes a way of understanding anddiscovering (not creating) the self and developing a moral position to cope withsocial issues and diversity. An act of reading becomes an act of self-discovery.The major diVerence between religious reading and regular reading of novels,magazines, and textbooks is that in the latter forms of reading one reads to getinformation, to be entertained, or to cultivate one’s humanity with the goal ofdiscovering a vocation in life; in the Wrst form of reading, one seeks spiritualfulWllment. The RNK’s readers stress reading more than writing, and they evenmemorize some of the essays, which they recall during their debates and discussionsto develop an argument.Reading creates a community, and collective reading becomes a ritual activityto aYrm this communal gathering. Readers not only are trained to thinkabout the meaning of Qur’anic verses but also the world around them, because,according to the RNK, creation is the essential part of revelation. Thus God’spower and grace is communicated not only through sacred texts but also throughphysical signs and the order in creation. People need to develop their eyes and