03/07/2026 15:00 - 17:10

HALL: Pola - A102

Contact: Gülerce H.

Chair: Gülerce H., Yildiz A.

This panel proposes a focused examination of Said Nursî's conception of equality as articulated in his early twentieth-century work Muna?arat (Disputations), situating it within broader debates on religion, freedom, social justice, and (in)equalities.


Written in the context of late Ottoman constitutionalism (Mesrutiyet), Muna?arat addresses long-standing and unresolved questions concerning equality before the law, political inclusion, minority rights, social hierarchy, economic disparity, individual liberty, religious authority, and social cohesion. Nursî advances a conception of equality that rejects both hierarchical domination and reductive egalitarianism. Equality, in this framework, does not entail sameness of belief, virtue, or social role, but rather rests on justice, dignity, freedom as non-domination, and moral responsibility.


Approaching Muna?arat as a normative and political text, this panel explores how a religious moral framework can simultaneously critique despotism, challenge structural inequalities, and sustain pluralism. By foregrounding Nursî's reflections on law, governance, and social morality, the panel contributes to EuARe 2026's theme of how religious traditions have both reinforced and contested modern forms of inequality.
The panel welcomes interdisciplinary contributions from religious studies, political theory, sociology, history, law, and ethics that ground their analyses in close readings of Muna?arat and examine its relevance for contemporary debates on constitutionalism, citizenship, minority rights, and equality. Papers comparing Nursi's Muna?arat with other works and thinkers are also welcome.


Suggested Topics for Papers (Not limited to):


• Equality before the law and respecting religious differences
• Religion, constitutionalism, and political inclusion
• Minority rights, dignity, and coexistence
• Despotism as a source of structural inequality
• Social class, poverty, and moral responsibility