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Issue 79 (January - February 2011)

Issue 79 (January - February 2011)

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Articles

Peacebuilding

01 January 2011 | The Fountain | Issue 79 (January - February 2011)

Everything has a price; in particular, things as precious as peace always come at a heavy cost. Peace is a constructive effort. And building is a gradual activity, one brick after another; it takes time. Destruction, however, is much easier. One match is enough to destroy an entire house, a house t…

Dreamy World of the Past

01 January 2011 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 79 (January - February 2011)

The grace and flavor of our legendary glorious past does no longer exist in a great many people and in most of the places. Just like our thoughts and feelings, our joys, pleasures and philosophy of life have altogether changed. Our feelings and emotions are all in a tumble; our desires and cravings…

Mushroom: A Unique Blessing

01 January 2011 | Ebubekir Pasazade | Issue 79 (January - February 2011)

Until recently fungi used to be considered plants. Today, due to their unique qualities, fungi have now been categorized as a separate kingdom, in addition to animals and plants. Among the fungi are numerous species of mushrooms, including some that exist at microscopic levels which can cause illne…

Faith, Theology and Service in Peacebuilding

01 January 2011 | Stanley Ridge | Issue 79 (January - February 2011)

Fethullah Gulen’s work and thinking starts and ends in faith. In a world that commonly extends conflict by speaking of religion either in stereotyped or in ideologized terms, this is a refreshingly engaged perspective. Faced with the challenge of mounting hostility between the Islamic world and the…

Sweeter Than Sugar, Black as Night, Healing as Medicine

01 January 2011 | Sumeyra Dural Cokavci | Issue 79 (January - February 2011)

Imagine a substance that’s fifty times sweeter than sugar and flexible enough to use as a shoelace or a jump rope. Just like plastic, this substance can be shaped into tiny bears, cats, Scottie dogs, or even Volkswagen Beetles. But, unlike plastic, it can be chewed up and swallowed. It sounds like…

Islamic Science and Making of the European Renaissance

01 January 2011 | Nuh Aydin | Issue 79 (January - February 2011)

George Saliba is a professor of Arabic and Islamic Science at Columbia University in New York, USA. He is an expert on the history of science, especially astronomy and mathematical sciences. On his website (http://www.columbia.edu/~gas1/saliba.html) he describes his research thusly: “I study the de…

My Dear Joseph

01 January 2011 | Sebnem Unlu | Issue 79 (January - February 2011)

“My dear Joseph …” These were the words of Jacob as he wept for his beloved, trustful and humble son Joseph, whom his brothers alleged was eaten by a wolf. They showed him a shirt soiled with some blood. However, with great foresight, perception and insight, deep down he knew that Joseph was still…

Each Child Is Born Knowing God

01 January 2011 | Jennifer Knight-ari | Issue 79 (January - February 2011)

She remembered the day when the world stopped being beautiful. As a child of 11, Rebecca thought she was going blind. There was a Japanese plum tree in her front yard, and its leaves seemed duller than they had the day before. Looking down, the grass didn’t seem quite right either. Neither did the…

Sidq (Truthfulness)

01 January 2011 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 79 (January - February 2011)

Meaning true thought, true words and true actions, sidq is reflected in the life of a traveler on the path to God as follows: he or she does not lie or tell a falsehood, lives according to truthfulness, and strives to be a trustworthy representative of loyalty to God. In other words, he or she neve…

The Luminous Riders

01 January 2011 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 79 (January - February 2011)

The luminous riders, divine light on their faces With fire in their hearts and a blissful composure They take everywhere armfuls of peace Inside their eyes dews of infinity appear The luminous riders, divine light on their faces Like censers giving off fragrance all around Leaving wisps behin…

Second Life or Afterlife?

01 January 2011 | Halil I. Demir | Issue 79 (January - February 2011)

What would you think if you overheard two people talking about Second Life? Although this may sound like the afterlife to most, that is, where, after facing the Judgment of God humans will be either admitted to Heaven by His mercy or driven into Hell by His justice, today, for millions of players…

The Story of a Lie

01 January 2011 | Mirkena Ozer | Issue 79 (January - February 2011)

“Take these trousers to Kristina, the old seamstress,” my teacher instructed me, “and tell her they need mending. I have also put some extra fabric in the bag,” she added. This wasn’t the first time I was being sent on an errand for my teacher. I had run to fetch her lunch, pick up her prescription…

Renewal in Belief: A Model for Modern Times

01 January 2011 | Colin Turner | Issue 79 (January - February 2011)

If the definitive history of twentieth century Islamic movements is ever written, one wonders whether its author would be both perspicacious and brave enough to argue a point which, while held in private by many Muslim thinkers and writers, is rarely if ever mooted openly, namely that the ‘Islamic…

A Well-designed On/Off Switch for the Cellular Pathways

01 January 2011 | Safiye Arslan | Issue 79 (January - February 2011)

In living cells, ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a key molecule, which is transcribed from deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and was known to function in the protein synthesis, since its new properties such as RNA processing and gene regulation have been discovered in the last decade. RNA is a structurally and…

Kant on Causality: A Critical Approach

01 January 2011 | Nathan Ruler | Issue 79 (January - February 2011)

Immanuel Kant shaped modern philosophy enormously and determined its way towards today. There are two main strands in contemporary Western philosophy: analytic philosophy, which is widely practiced in Anglo-Saxon World, and Continental philosophy, which is centered in continental Europe. Both tradi…

It's me Peter, your kidney!

01 January 2011 | Irfan Yilmaz | Issue 79 (January - February 2011)

Dear Peter, in the earlier issues my friends heart and stomach spoke with you and I patiently waited for my turn. I am located at the waist level to the right of the spine and my twin left kidney on the left, on whose behalf I’m also speaking now. We are truly vital organs to you. Before you say “e…

Vacations

01 January 2011 | Hikmet Isik | Issue 79 (January - February 2011)

Question: How should we make use of our vacations to dispel fatigue and boredom arising from our regular occupations? Even if work done is for the sake of good, if it does not occasionally add color to life, then one can experience boredom beyond monotony. The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him…

Your sleep shapes your hair

01 January 2011 | The Fountain | Issue 79 (January - February 2011)

1- Your sleep shapes your hair Original Article: Akashi M. et al., PNAS 107, 15643 (2010). Feeling sleepy during the day after a long flight? Internal body clock genes are to blame. Circadian (Latin: “around” “the day”) rhythm genes take part in a time dependent cycling of an organism to carry ou…

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