Identity, Nur Movement, Said Nursi 

Master Thesis - Yüksek Lisans Tezi 

This thesis analyzes the identity of the Nur movement in Turkey from the emic
perspective on two levels, the group and the individual. Research was conducted
through semi-structured, in-depth interviews with ten university students who
identify themselves as Nur students. With regard to group identity, first, the
emergence and function of the movement is considered in light of Norbert Elias’s
“Changes in the We-I Balance,” concluding that the movement constitutes an
important “survival unit” for the students, for some even taking the place of the
nation-state. Second, an attempt is made to define the boundaries that exist vis-à-vis
non-adherents, other Islamic groups, and between the sub-groups within the
movement itself per Fredrik Barth and Thomas Hylland Eriksen’s theories. Several
important boundary markers are identified including such things as language, dress,
value orientations, differing approaches to religion (rational versus imitative or
emotional), social involvement, political involvement and attitudes toward the
Risale-i Nur. Finally, the impact of the movement on one’s individual identity is
considered, utilizing Richard Jenkins’s model of the internal-external dialectic.
Regarding the external, it was determined that the “outside other” creates the need for identity negotiation and restricted interaction, while the “inside other” prescribes
some important values, including education and nationalism. The internal half of
the identity dialectic, it was concluded, is significantly shaped by one’s interaction
with the Risale-i Nur.