PROBLEMATIZING THE MODERN CITY: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE FRAMEWORKS OF JACQUES ELLUL AND SAID NURSI

Hossein Turner

ABSTRACT

My aim in this paper is to present the concept of the “city” as a problem that is not only sociological in nature, but also theological. A city is a cursed theological construct which invites warfare and vice. Yet despite this, Ellul sees the city reconciled in Christ and ultimately used by God, eschatologically speaking, to bring out redemption and as a means to bring about a Holy City free from the vices of man’s rebellion. With this in mind, I aim to examine how this problematized and particular definition of the city as a corrupting force have parallels in the writings of Islamic thinkers, such as Ibn Khaldun and, focussed on in this particular paper - that of Said Nursi. I argue that like Ellul, the Nursian city has a dialectic counterpart with a city that is heavenly, that its current earthly problems lie in its being the most complete representative of aggressive materialism and negative naturalism. However, unlike Ellul - Nursi’s conception of urban civilization is more nuanced. His writing uses imagery and metaphor that pertains to palaces and cities as potential positive places that reflect the harmony of God. This is in contrast to his criticism of primitive nomadic peoples who are ignorant of “civilization”. Thus I argue that like Ellul (despite their differences), Nursi’s conception of modern social life addresses the human “city” as a problem- to be interrogated both sociologically and theologically.