Issue 79

  • Peacebuilding

    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 m

    Published January - February 2011 - The Fountain

    Dreamy World of the Past

    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. Ou

    Published January - February 2011 - M. Fethullah Gulen

    Mushroom: A Unique Blessing

    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,

    Published January - February 2011 - Ebubekir Pasazade

    Faith, Theology and Service in Peacebuilding

    Review by Stanley Ridge 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 refreshingl

    Published January - February 2011 - Stanley Ridge

    Sweeter Than Sugar, Black as Night, Healing as Medicine

    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.

    Published January - February 2011 - Sumeyra Dural Cokavci

    Islamic Science and Making of the European Renaissance

    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

    Published January - February 2011 - Nuh Aydin

    My Dear Joseph

    “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

    Published January - February 2011 - Sebnem Unlu

    Each Child Is Born Knowing God

    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.

    Published January - February 2011 - Jennifer Knight-ari

    Sidq (Truthfulness)

    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 trustwo

    Published January - February 2011 - M. Fethullah Gulen

    The Luminous Riders

    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 fa

    Published January - February 2011 - M. Fethullah Gulen

    Second Life or Afterlife?

    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

    Published January - February 2011 - Halil I. Demir

    The Story of a Lie

    “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 a

    Published January - February 2011 - Mirkena Ozer

    Renewal in Belief: A Model for Modern Times

    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 an

    Published January - February 2011 - Colin Turner

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

    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 regulati

    Published January - February 2011 - Safiye Arslan

    Kant on Causality: A Critical Approach

    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 Contin

    Published January - February 2011 - Nazif Muhtaroglu

    It's me Peter, your kidney!

    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

    Published January - February 2011 - Irfan Yilmaz

    Vacations

    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 ca

    Published January - February 2011 - Hikmet Isik

    Your sleep shapes your hair

    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 d

    Published January - February 2011 - The Fountain

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