November 2017

11-01-2017

Issue 120 (November - December 2017)

The Fountain

1928

Editorial: Is There an American Muslim Song?

This question, posed by Dr. Ingrid Mattson during her address at the conference “Islam in America: Civic and Religious Youth Identities,” stresses the need for Islam to start feeling at home in the so... read more..

11-01-2017

Issue 120 (November - December 2017)

M. Fethullah Gulen

2073

Perhaps One Day We, Too, Will Be Revived

In our gloomy lands, we have waited years for a breeze of revival, expecting the momentous sound of a resurrecting trumpet. Though we hope God will not make us wait any longer, we are determined to ac... read more..

11-01-2017

Issue 120 (November - December 2017)

Harun Avci

1936

Water Management and the Qur’an

Water is a unique blessing, given to all living beings. It needs to be used with balance, harmony, economy, and justice. Agriculture, industry, and ecology depend on our water sources. What happens in... read more..

11-01-2017

Issue 120 (November - December 2017)

Ali Gomaa

1905

Ethics: A Principle in Islamic Epistemology

Islam has been ordained for higher objectives designed to refine the conduct of those who endeavor to follow its guidance. The hope is to yield benefits both for society and individuals. These honorab... read more..

11-01-2017

Issue 120 (November - December 2017)

Lawrence Brazier

1816

In A Different Light

Our cause is not the acceptance or rejection of religion, or the debate of Faith against Reason. We wish to make faith a matter of reason because, if the mystics are right, reason is not necessarily a... read more..

11-01-2017

Issue 120 (November - December 2017)

Adam Allison

2070

Awesome Inspirations from Shark Skin

There are more than 500 species of sharks that have been identified. They can live both in the sea and in fresh water. According to the fossil records obtained to date, sharks have been around for abo... read more..

11-01-2017

Issue 120 (November - December 2017)

Mubina Muftic

3354

Saadi Shirazi’s Influence on Ralph Waldo Emerson

“To Baron von Hammer Purgstall, who died in Vienna in 1856, we owe our best knowledge of the Persians,” wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson (d. 1882) in his essay “Persian Poetry.” Thus, it was an Austrian Orie... read more..

11-01-2017

Issue 120 (November - December 2017)

M. Fethullah Gulen

1979

Ghayba (Absence)

Literally meaning disappearance and no longer being existent, ghayba (absence) denotes that the heart has cut its relationship with the corporeal world in order to give itself to exclusive devotion to... read more..

11-01-2017

Issue 120 (November - December 2017)

Rafiq Ebrahim

1638

Stem Cell Treatments A Breakthrough in Medical Science

There have been certain moments in human history that have stunned humanity and changed the way we thought. Some have even altered the very course of civilization. The late twentieth century and the b... read more..

11-01-2017

Issue 120 (November - December 2017)

Omer Yildiz

1643

Arteries and Veins – How and Why Are They Different?

The human body is an ideal example of the perfect harmony between structure and function; every part serves a purpose. Arteries and veins differ in many ways, including diameter, strength, durability... read more..

11-01-2017

Issue 120 (November - December 2017)

Zara Khan

1948

Is There an American Muslim Song?

Islam in America presents a growing field of research for social scientists who explore Muslim societies and the contentions that arise around them, given the current political and cultural context in... read more..

11-01-2017

Issue 120 (November - December 2017)

Justin Pahl

1708

On Bodies

1. Having a body is a strange thing – stranger, still, when you think about how rarely we consider our bodies and what goes on inside of them. When was the last time you stopped while taking the stai read more..

11-01-2017

Issue 120 (November - December 2017)

Gunel Mehraliyeva

1407

Teenagers and Eating Disorders

“You look great. Have you lost weight?” Most of us enjoy such compliments. Our culture’s messages maintain the importance of being slim. Dieting, exercising, skipping meals, body dissatisfaction, and ... read more..

11-01-2017

Issue 120 (November - December 2017)

Esra Akdogan

2549

Prejudice and Ways to Avoid It in Education

Prejudices are attitudes that may lead to the stereotyping of and discrimination against certain groups, usually minorities. Psychologists have conducted detailed studies on prejudice. In this article... read more..

11-01-2017

Issue 120 (November - December 2017)

Zuleyha B. Ozturk

1831

I See No Difference

“I do not see color, or culture, or any sort of difference about anyone because that leads to discrimination; everyone is the same anyways.” My ears picked up on this conversation right before a read more..

11-01-2017

Issue 120 (November - December 2017)

M. Fethullah Gulen

1733

System Blindness and the Lifespan of a Society

Question: It usually is inevitable to lose motivation in good works, which, like other things, may become ordinary and monotonous in time. Is this a consequence of system blindness? What can be done t... read more..

11-01-2017

Issue 120 (November - December 2017)

The Fountain

1390

Hidden Oceans in Frozen Worlds

Hidden Oceans in Frozen Worlds Saxena P. et al. Relevance of tidal heating on large TNOs. Icarus, December 2017. Searching for alien life, a new study from NASA suggests that some icy worlds in our ... read more..

11-01-2017

Special Issue 2017

The Fountain

794

What Went Wrong With Turkey?

Asli recounts how her mother-in-law recently caught her six-year-old son stealing a pomegranate from the neighbour’s tree. When she asked her grandson why he was stealing, he replied: "I’m stealing th... read more..

11-01-2017

Special Issue 2017

M. Fethullah Gulen

732

The Turkey I No Longer Know

The Turkey that I once knew as a hope-inspiring country on its way to consolidating its democracy and a moderate form of secularism has become the dominion of a president who is doing everything he ca... read more..

11-01-2017

Special Issue 2017

Yüksel A. Aslandoğan, PhD

667

What Really Happened in Turkey on July 15, 2016? An Alternative to the Turkish Government Narrative

On July 15, 2016, Turkey experienced a horrific event: an unsuccessful military coup. But a year after the tragedy, questions about what really happened remain unanswered. What we know for sure is tha... read more..

11-01-2017

Special Issue 2017

Philip Clayton, PhD

583

“And not equal are the good deed and the bad” - On Violence, Power, and Peace in Turkey’s Most Disastrous Year

Why do the most violent people in the world accuse the most peaceful of violence? The last year represents one of the darkest periods in modern Turkish history. In lectures around the world, I once a... read more..

11-01-2017

Special Issue 2017

Jon Pahl, PhD

553

A Meditation on Persecution

Among the many gospel hymns and spirituals that have provided strength for a suffering people over the decades, one has stayed with me in recent weeks. That song—sung by the great soul artis... read more..

11-01-2017

Special Issue 2017

Peter A. Cohen, PhD

542

“Have You No Sense of Decency?” An Open Letter to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

Mr. Erdoğan: I have visited your lovely country no less than five times over the past ten years. On four of these visits, members of the Hizmet movement were my guides. I have also proudly been assoc... read more..

11-01-2017

Special Issue 2017

Scott C. Alexander, PhD

582

What Went Wrong? Purge, Persecution, and the Imperative to Stand with the Innocent in Turkey

The disturbing meme depicting criminals impaled on hooks with the words "The ideal method of execution for [the members of] the Fethullah Terrorist Organization: The Ottoman Way" is making i... read more..

11-01-2017

Special Issue 2017

Sophia Pandya, PhD

644

Erdoǧan’s Most Vulnerable Victims: Women and Children

Human rights violations in Turkey have increased exponentially in the aftermath of the July 15, 2016 attempted coup. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoǧan blamed the plot on the Hizmet (Gül... read more..

11-01-2017

Special Issue 2017

Thomas Michel, PhD

558

The Gülen Community: Who to Believe – Politicians or Actions?

In the aftermath of the attempted coup on July 15, 2016, Turkish government has launched an unprecedented purge – with no evidence linking a vast majority of those pu read more..

11-01-2017

Special Issue 2017

Ori Z. Soltes

481

Turkey’s Coup That Was Never a Coup

Note: I first wrote most of the words that follow these in August, 2016, a month after the “coup” in Turkey. Between then and now, things in that splendid country have only gotten worse, and there are... read more..

11-01-2017

Special Issue 2017

David L. Phillips, PhD

497

Was Turkey's Coup For Real?

Much speculation exists about the coup in Turkey on July 15, 2016. Some even call it a “false-coup,” which President Recep Tayyip Erdogan organized in order to justify a crackdown against oppos read more..

11-01-2017

Special Issue 2017

Anwar Alam, PhD

557

Turkey: A State Under One-Man Rule

The July 15, 2016, failed military coup in Turkey, among others, has accelerated and strengthened the Erdoğan regime’s authoritarianism (albeit the democratic aspiration reflected in the people’s resi... read more..

11-01-2017

Special Issue 2017

Zaman Stanizai, PhD

464

Civil Liberties in the Throes of Turkish Authoritarianism

Objectivity in political analysis is a luxury often claimed, but rarely earned. Governments, no matter how responsive to public demands, often fall short of the people’s expectations and are, therefor... read more..

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