Said Nursi, Dersane, Medresetul Zehra, Risale-i Nur 

This study was conducted to analyse the development of Dershane educational system and its influence on Turkish society. This system is a revival of the Medresetü’z-Zehra project by Bediüzzaman Said Nursi. It emphasizes on the integration of religion and science disciplines in university education that was introduced at the end of the Ottoman Empire and then continued into the era of Republic of Turkey. This study aims to elucidate the difficulties faced by Said Nursi in his struggle to promote Islamic based education in Turkey. Secondly, the study aims at examining Sa’id Nursi’s influence on the educational system in Turkey. Thirdly, it tries to highlight the contributions of Dershane to the general population of Turkey. This thesis utilizes primary sources which include participant observations and interviews as well as documents. It also include secondary sources which focus mainly on books, pamphlets, newspapers, magazines, seminar and symposium papers to inform the development of Dershane outside of Turkey. The result of this study reveals that Sa’id Nursi overcame the difficulties and became victorious in his struggle to promote a contemporary Islamic education in Turkey. Sa’id Nursi’s influence on the educational system in Turkey is also evident in the increasing number of Dershane and its patrons. It is also evident that the establishment of Dershane succeeded in promoting holistic education in the Turkish society. It can also be claimed that the Dershane is a continuation of Said Nursi’s conception of an integrated religion and science based education. This holistic education now practised by the current generation, reconciles modern and religious science and provides guidance in preventing atheism, bigotry and ignorance.