Letter from the Director

Peace be with you. As the 2013-2014 school year wraps up, I just want to share with you some thoughts. This has been a very exciting and active year both for myself and for the Nursi Chair. This year, the Nursi Chair not only hosted John Carroll’s annual Week of Islamic Art and Culture, but we also renewed the Nursi Lecture Series with Rabbi Reuven Firestone, Ph.D., and hosted the Midwest Catholic-Muslim Dialogue.

I am also very happy that we were able to collaborate with programs here at John Carroll as well as other programs in Cleveland and the across the country to foster a more accurate and positive understanding of Islam and Islamic culture. God willing, our programs will continue to grow and the message of goodwill to all and harmony that Bediuzzaman Said Nursi preached will reach an ever wider audience.

Islam’s Jesus

After many years or hard work and by the grace of God, Islam’s Jesus, Dr. Saritoprak’s book, has been published by the University Press of Florida.

"Accessible and readable. Spotlights an important theological theme in a way that both illuminates its internal development in Islamic thought and presents it as a helpful basis for interreligious discussion. The topic is very much in need of teaching and discussion and is a fine example of ‘common ground.’" - John Renard, author of Islam and Christianity

"Contains valuable and fascinating material about how classical Muslim theologians treated various aspects of Jesus and, in particular, the role of Jesus in Islamic eschatology. Saritoprak brings new insights from contemporary Turkish thinkers to bear on the issues raised by the Jesus figure in Islamic narratives about the Last Days." - Marcia Hermansen, author of Shah Wali Allah’s Treatises on Islamic Law

"A refreshingly easy read that makes a complex world of theology and interfaith relations accessible and enjoyable for readers of all backgrounds." - Jonathan Brown, author of Hadith: Muhammad’s Legacy in the Medieval and Modern World 

Few people realize that Jesus was a prominent messenger of God in Islam and that Muslims believe in the return of Jesus. Even among Muslims, it is not well known that there are diverse interpretations of references to Jesus in the Qur’an and the Hadith. Aiming to remedy this, Islam’s Jesus takes a bold yet candid look at the highly charged topic of Jesus’s place in Islam, exploring some of the religion’s least understood aspects.

Examining multiple intellectual traditions, Zeki Saritoprak makes clear the reality of pluralism in the history of Islamic religious scholarship. Actively engaged in efforts to promote interfaith dialogue and harmony, Saritoprak thoughtfully argues that the shared belief in Jesus presents an excellent opportunity for understanding between Muslims and Christians. Together, they constitute more than half of the world’s population, and such understanding may be a foundation for peace.

Week of Islamic Art and Culture

The Nursi Chair hosted the 7th Annual Week of Islamic Art and Culture at John Carroll University from March 23-27, 2014.

This year’s speakers were Anna Gade, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Languages and Cultures of Asia in the Religious Studies Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Asma Afsaruddin, Ph.D., chair and professor in the Department of Near Eastern Languages & Cultures and an adjunct professor in the Department of Religious Studies at Indiana University. Professor Gade’s talk was titled “Islam and the Environment: Examples from Indonesia” and Professor Afsaruddin’s was “A Different Kind of Striving: Jihad as Peacemaking.”

Additionally this year, Tulin Olgun gave demonstrations of the traditional Islamic art of marbling or ebru. Dr. Saritoprak also showed the film Islam: Empire of Faith and held a question and answer sessions after each showing of the film. 

2014 Nursi Chair Lecture

Rabbi Reuven Firestone, Ph.D., professor of Medieval Judaism and Islam at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and a senior fellow at the University of Southern California Center for Religion and Civic Culture, delivered the spring 2014 Nursi Chair Lecture. Rabbi Firestone’s lecture was titled “Abraham: The First Jew? Christian? Muslim?” The lecture was very well attended and the audience read through, with Rabbi Firestone, descriptions of Abraham in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and the Qur’an.  

Chair Activities Fall 2014