We can only speculate as to when the original man and woman appeared on Earth, which is equated with the Heavens due to the divine art it exhibits, its ontological meaning, and its value largely coming from its chief inhabitant: humanity. According to the calendar we use today, we are at the threshold of the third millennium after the birth of Jesus, upon him be peace. However, since time revolves and advances in a helicoidal relativity, there are different measures of time in the world. For example, according to the measure of time that currently enjoys global acceptance, the world is about to cross the threshold of a new thousand-year period. According to the Jewish calendar, we are already in the second half of the eighth millennium. Within the Hindu timeframe, we are living in the Kali Yuga era. If we follow the Muslim calendar, we are approaching the end of the first half of the second millennium.

We should remember, however, the fact that each measure of time is nothing more than a relative measurement. While a 100-year period is assumed to be the measure for a century, the idea of a 60-year century, based on the life span of an average person, is also worth mentioning. From this point of view, we are already in the fourth millennium after the birth of Jesus, upon him be peace, and third millennium after the hijrah, which is the starting point of the Muslim calendar. I bring up this issue due to the spiritual discomfort engendered by the terrifying auguries believed to be associated with the upcoming millennium, especially in the West.

People live in perpetual hope, and thus are children of hope. At the instant they lose their hope, they also lose their “fire” of life, no matter if their physical existence continues. Hope is directly proportional to having faith. Just as winter constitutes one-fourth of a year, so the periods in a person’s or a society’s life corresponding to winter are also small. The gears of Divine acts revolve around such comprehensive wisdom and merciful purposes that just as the circulation of night and day builds one’s hope and revivifies one’s spirit, and every new year comes with expectations of spring, and summer, so too the disastrous periods are short and followed by happy times in both an individual’s life and a nation’s history.

This circulation of the “Days of God,” which is centered in Divine Wisdom, is neither a fear nor pessimism for those with faith, insight, and genuine perceptive faculties. Rather, it is a source of continuous reflection, remembrance, and thanksgiving for those having an apprehensive heart, inner perception, and the ability to hear. Just as a day develops in the heart of night, and just as winter furnishes the womb in which spring grows, so one’s life is purified, matures, and bears its expected fruits within this circulation. Also in this circulation, God-given human abilities become aptitudes and talents, sciences blossom like roses and weave technology in the workbench of time, and humanity gradually approaches its predestined end.

Having stated this general view, which is neither personal nor subjective but rather an objective fact of human history, it should not be thought that we welcome either winter or winter-like events that correspond to sorrow, disease, and disaster. Despite the general fact that disease eventually increases the body’s resistance, strengthens the immune system, and drives medical progress, it is pathological and harmful. It is the same with terrestrial and celestial disasters. From a theological and moral point of view, they result from our sins and oppression, which are enough to shake the Earth and the Heavens, and from engaging in deeds that have been declared forbidden and despised by law and ethics (whether religious or secular). Even though they awaken people to their mistakes and negligence and provoke developments in geology, architecture, engineering, and related safety measures; even though they elevate the demolished belongings of believers to the level of charity, and the believers themselves to the level of martyrdom, these disasters cause much destruction and harm humanity.

In the same way, we read in the Qur’an: Unless God hampered some (of you) with some other (of you), the mosques, monasteries, and synagogues in which God is worshipped would have fallen into ruins (22:40). In other words, God would be so little known that men and women, who are inclined not to recognize anything superior to them and believe that their deeds will not be questioned in the Hereafter, would completely go astray, thereby making Earth unsuitable for human life. There is also the divine decree: You consider something as evil although it is good for you; you also consider something else as good although it is bad for you (2:126). For example, war is permissible. Although wars based on specific principles and with the intention of improving the existing situation may have benefits, they should not be demanded, since they bring harm; they leave behind ruined houses, destroyed families, and weeping orphans and widows.

Anyway, realities of life cannot be neglected, nor should they be ignored. Human beings are mirrors for God’s Names and Attributes, and therefore are distinguished from the rest of creation with the honor of being responsible for making Earth prosperous in His name. If they cannot grasp the wisdom and purposes behind any good or evil that is sent their way by their Creator, they cannot escape despair and pessimism. For them, as is seen in the Existentialist literature, life turns into a meaningless process, existence into a purposeless vacuity, nonsense into the only criteria, suicide into a meritorious act, and death becomes the only inevitable reality.

The Basic Nature of Humanity

After presenting the issues that constitute the basis of this subject as an introduction, we can switch to our considerations regarding the third millennium.

Human history began with two people who constituted the essence of humanity and complemented each other. People lived a tranquil life during this time of the original mother and father and the families that descended from them. They were a united society that had the same views and shared the same environment and lives.

From that day on, the essence of humanity has remained unchanged, and it will remain so. The realities surrounding their lives, their physical structure, main characteristics, basic needs, place and time of birth and death, selection of parents and physique, innate characteristics, as well as the surrounding natural environment, have not changed. All of these require some essential and vital invariable realities and values. Thus, the development and alteration of life’s secondary realities should be based on the axis of these primary realities and values, so that life will continue as a worldly paradise under the shadow of Heaven.

We mentioned above some issues that seem to be harmful and unpleasant. Similarly, there are human traits that seem to be evil at first glance, such as hatred, jealousy, enmity, the desire to dominate others, greed, rage, and egoism. A human being also has other innate drives and needs that allow the continuation of his or her worldly life, such as the need to eat and drink and the drives of lust and anger. All human drives, needs, and desires should be guided and trained in the direction of the eternal, universal, and invariable values that address the fundamental aspects of humanity. In this respect, the need to eat and drink, and the desire associated with lust and rage, can be tamed and transformed into means of absolute or relative good.

Likewise, egoism and hatred can become sources of fine attributes and goodness. Jealousy and rivalry can be transformed into competition in charitable and good deeds. The feeling of enmity can be transformed into enmity against Satan, the greatest enemy of humanity, and against the feeling of enmity itself and hatred. Greed and rage can force one to perform good deeds without tiredness. Egoism can point out the evil aspects of the carnal soul (nafs), thereby seeking to train and purify the soul by not excusing its evil actions.

All negative feelings can be transformed into sources of good by training and struggle. This is how one reaches the level of “the best of Creation,” by traveling the way of transformation from a potential human being to a real and perfected human being, to becoming the best symbol, model, and personal representative of creation and existence.

Despite this fact, the realities of human life do not always follow these guidelines. Negative feelings and attributes often defeat people, pulling them under their domination to such an extent that even the religions that guide people to goodness and kindness are abused, as well as the feelings and attributes that are sources of absolute good. Human life, at the level of the individual and of humanity as a whole, is merely the summation of internal, personal struggles and their external manifestations. These tides make the personal world of the individual, society, and history an arena of battle, struggle, war, oppression, and tyranny. As a result, it is usually human beings themselves who suffer the consequences.

Men and women always receive the fruits of their deeds. In the first period of its history, humanity lived a happy life as a single society whose members shared their joys and sorrows. But, later on they bound their necks and feet with a rusty yoke composed of chains of oppression as a result of jealousy, greed, and coveting other’s rights and properties. The consequence was Cain’s murder of Abel. As a result of this, humanity entered the path of disunity. Despite the millenniums coming one after the other like days, seasons and years, this “cycle” still continues.

The Second Millennium

The second millennium started with the Crusades and then the Mongol invasions of the Muslim world, which was like the heart of Earth and history at that time. Despite the wars and destruction, and despite the crimes committed sometimes in the name of religion and sometimes in the name of economic, political, and military supremacy, this millennium has seen the apex of the East’s civilizations, based on spirituality, metaphysical, universal, and eternal values, and the West’s civilizations, based on the physical sciences. Many significant geographical discoveries and scientific inventions have occurred.

However, the East’s and West’s civilizations existed separated from each other. This separation, which should not have occurred, was based on the former’s retiring from the intellect and science, while the latter retired from spirituality, metaphysics, and eternal and invariable values. As a result, the last centuries of this millennium have witnessed disasters that are hard to believe. Due to humanity’s growing arrogance and egoism, arising from its accomplishments, men and women have had to live through worldwide colonialism, immense massacres, revolutions that cost millions of lives, unimaginably bloody and destructive wars, racial discrimination, immense social and economic injustice, and iron curtains built by regimes whose ideology and philosophy sought to deny the essence, freedom, merit, and honor of humanity. It is partly because of this and partly because of some auguries from the Bible that many people in the West fear that the world will again be soaked by floods of blood, pus, and destruction. They are quite pessimistic and worried about the new millennium.

Our Expectations

Modern means of communication and transportation have transformed the world into a large, global village. So, those who expect that any radical changes in a country will be determined by that country alone and remain limited to it are unaware of current realities. This time is a period of interactive relations. Nations and peoples are more in need of and dependent on each other, which causes closeness in mutual relations.

This network of relations, which has surpassed the period of brute colonialism and exists on the basis of mutual interest, provides some benefits to the weaker side. Moreover, owing to the advances in technology, especially digital electronic technology, the acquisition and exchange of information grows gradually. As a result, the individual comes to the fore, making it inevitable that democratic governments that respect personal rights will replace oppressive regimes.

As each individual is like a species with respect to other species, individual rights cannot be sacrificed for society, and social rights should depend on individual rights. This is why the basic human rights and freedoms found in the revealed religions came to be considered by a war-weary West. They will enjoy priority in all relations. At the head of these rights is the right to life, which is granted and can be taken only by God. To accentuate the importance of this right in Islam, a basic Qur’anic principle is that: If one person kills another unjustly, it is the same as if he or she has killed all of humanity; if one saves another, it is the same as if he or she has saved all of humanity (5:32).

Other rights are the freedom of religion and belief, thought and expression; the right to own property and the sanctity of one’s home; to marry and have children; to communicate and travel; and the right to and freedom of education. The principles of Islamic jurisprudence are based on these and other rights, all of which are accepted by modern legal systems, such as the protection of life, religion, property, reproduction, and intellect, as well as equality of people based on the fact that all people are human beings, and the rejection of all racial, color, and linguistic discrimination. All of these will be-and should be-indispensable essentials in the new millennium.

I believe and hope that the world of the new millennium will be a happier, more just, and more compassionate place, contrary to the fears of some people. Islam, Christianity, and Judaism all come from the same root, have almost the same essentials, and are nourished from the same source. Although they have lived as rival religions for centuries, the common points between them and their shared responsibility to build a happy world for all of the creatures of God make interfaith dialogue among them necessary. This dialogue has now expanded to include the religions of Asia and other areas. The results have been positive.

As mentioned above, this dialogue will develop as a necessary process, and the followers of all religions will find ways to get closer and assist each other.

Previous generations witnessed a bitter struggle that should never have taken place: science versus religion. This conflict gave rise to atheism and materialism, which influenced Christianity more than other religions. Science cannot contradict religion, for its purpose is to understand nature and humanity, which are each a composition of the manifestations of God’s Attributes of Will and Power. Religion has its source in the Divine Attribute of Speech, which was manifested in the course of human history as Divine Scriptures such as the Qur’an, the Gospels, the Torah and others. Thanks to the efforts of both Christian and Muslim theologians and scientists, it seems that the few-century-long religion-science conflict will come to an end, or at least its absurdity will be acknowledged.

The end of this conflict and a new style of education fusing religious and scientific knowledge with morality and spirituality will produce genuinely enlightened people with hearts illumined by religious sciences and spirituality, minds illuminated with positive sciences, characterized by all kinds of humane merits and moral values, and cognizant of the socioeconomic and political conditions of their time. Our old world will experience an excellent “springtime” before its demise. This springtime will see the gap between rich and poor narrow; the world’s riches distributed most justly according to one’s work, capital, and needs; the absence of discrimination based on race, color, language, and worldview; and basic human rights and freedoms protected. Individuals will come to the fore and, learning how to realize their potential, will ascend on the way to becoming “the most elevated human” with the wings of love, knowledge, and belief.

In this new springtime, when scientific and technological progress is taken into consideration, people will understand that the current level of science and technology resembles the stage when an infant is learning how to crawl. Humanity will organize trips into space as if traveling to another country. Travelers on the way to God, those self-immolators of love who have no time for hostility, will carry the inspirations in their spirits to other worlds.

Yes, this springtime will rise on the foundations of love, compassion, mercy, dialogue, acceptance of others, mutual respect, justice, and rights. It will be a time in which humanity will discover its real essence. Goodness and kindness, righteousness and virtue will form the basic essence of the world. No matter what happens, the world will come to this track sooner or later. Nobody can prevent this.

We pray and beg the Infinitely Compassionate One not to let our hopes and expectations come to nothing.

According to Islam, the eschatological descent of Jesus is one such manifestation. Jesus, along with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, John, and Muhammad, is considered one of the elite Prophets. Muslims believe that Jesus received a Divinely revealed book (the Injil [Gospel]), was born of a virgin, had no human father, and was sinless. He is given titles of honor, and pictured as a wandering preacher who performed miracles and spoke beautiful words. Many Sufis use his words in their prayers. The Qur’an states that Jesus’ people did not crucify him, for someone took His place on the cross. He then ascended to the heavens, after promising to send a comforter (Muhammad).

Muslims have surrounded Jesus with many pious legends. Some believe he will return and marry in the distant future. A grave site has been reserved for him. Others say he will judge the world at the end of time, help Muhammad rule, be Muhammad’s last Companion, or that he will appear at the eastern white minaret of the Damascus mosque or in Jerusalem. He will pursue the Antichrist (Dajjal) and, overtaking him at the gate of Lydda (a town near Jerusalem), will slay him.

Islamic scholars interpret some Qur’anic verses and hadith pointing to the second coming as a significant pre-Day of Judgment event.(2) The earliest Muslim scholars believed this so strongly that they attached it to the eminence of the Day of Judgment. At times, .expectations ran so high that commoners prepared a white horse and brought it to the white minaret in Damascus where they believed Jesus would reappear. Reputable texts give no credence to such details, although they have been dramatized by interpreters of lesser reputation. Jesus appears in the horizon at dawn and leads the people against the Antichrist who, helpless before such power, dissolves into nothingness.

Will this eschatological event occur? Is there any truth to this belief? How has the subject been treated in kalam (Islamic theology) literature? The starting point in seeking answers is the Qur’an.

Much of what the Qur’an teaches about Jesus is acceptable to Christians: the virgin birth, his sinlessness and ascension, and his miracles. The Qur’anic evidence for Jesus’ descent is somewhat obscure and ambigious, but later Muslim traditions took up the idea eagerly. According to them, Jesus is still alive in the heavens and will return to signal the Last Days.(3) The Qur’an, which considers Jesus a great Prophet, mentions him as ‘Isa (25 places),(4) al-Masih (Annointed One, Messiah), al-Nabi (Prophet), al-Rasul (Messenger), Min al-Muqarrabin (of those close to God), Mubarak (Sacred One), Qawl al-Haq (True Word), ‘Abd Allah (Servant of God), and in 33 places as Ibn Maryam (Son of Mary).

Before delving into this subject further, we will examine the events leading up to it. For example, his second coming necessarily implies his ascension to the heavens alive. This begs the question: Did Jesus die on the cross?

THE QUESTION OF JESUS’ DEATH

This very contentious question has engendered several schools of thought. Some claim that Roman soldiers charged into a cottage where Jesus was believed to be with twelve of his disciples. During the attack, one person disappeared. Soldiers took one of the twelve remaining men and crucified him. Others believe that when the soldiers entered the cottage, they could not identify him, as everyone had taken on his physical attributes, and so picked and crucified someone at random.(5)

While the Qur’an offers no details on this point, it clearly states that Jesus was neither killed nor crucified. Moreover, his ‘killers’ were never sure if they had killed him or not (4:157-58). We know that someone-but not who-was crucified. Jewish and Christian sources say it was Jesus, an assertion rejected outright by the Qur’an.

THE QUR’ANIC ACCOUNT

And remember when Allah said: “0 Jesus. I will take you and raise you to Myself and clear you of those who disbelieve” (3:55). In other words, Jesus was not executed. A perusal of the classical and more modern literature on this verse will clarify matters.

According to Ragheb al-Isphahani (d. 1696), mutawaffika (I will take you) here does not mean death in the sense we understand it, even though he mentions that the noted Companion Ibn ‘Abbas understood this literal meaning.(6) Al-Tabari (d. 922), a well-known Qur’anic scholar, states that mutawaffika means “to take and raise him to the heavens.” After offering several interpretations, he expresses his own preference: “In my opinion, a healthier view on the meaning of mutawaffika is ‘to take from earth and raise to the heavens.'”(7) Moreover, the verse as a whole points to Jesus’ eschatological descent and a war against the nonbelievers that ends in a great victory for the believers.

The noted Islamic theologian al-Maturidi (d. 944) mentions several views, one of which is that even though the verse first mentions Jesus’ death and then his ascension, his death is postponed until after the second coming. God says: “I will take you and raise you to myself … to the day of resurrection: Then shall you all return unto me…” However, the probable meaning of literal death cannot be dismissed.(8) Al-Maturidi does not state his own view. If, however, mentioning one view before another amounts to a personal preference, one can argue that he believes Jesus was not killed before his ascension. This uncertainty, however, does not apply to his second coming, as al-Maturidi cites several relevant hadiths and the subsequent slaying of the Antichrist.(9)

Al-Zamakhshari (d. 1143), a Mu’tazilite scholar and Arabic linguist, argues that Jesus “will die a natural death after his victory over the Antichrist, not at the hands of the nonbelievers.”(10) The famous Qur’anic interpreter Ibn ‘Atiyya (d. 1152) writes that Jesus “will die a second time after descending to the Earth and slaying the Antichrist.”(11) Based on this, he seems to accept that Jesus ascended after his death, whereas he claims that Jesus is still alive.

Abu al-Faraj al-Jawzi (d. 1200), who defines mutawaffika as “to take something completely,” writes that Jesus was raised to the heavens by God. And he does not rule out a normal death: “Jesus’ real death shall occur after his second coming.”(12) The noted Muslim theologian al-Razi (d. 1209) gives what he calls a “sensible” interpretation: “I will complete your life and then take your soul. I shall not leave you in their hands to kill you. I will raise you to My heavens and place you next to my angels. They will not have the chance to kill you, for I will protect you.(13)

Ibn Kathir (d. 1372), a prominent Qur’anic interpreter offering the same explanation, interprets mutawaffika as “sleep” and provides several supporting verses.(14) A similar explanation, that Jesus ascended and will return before the Day of Judgment, is held by many people, among them Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti, who uses the pertinent hadith literature to verify the meaning mutawaffa as “sleep.”(15)

Other respected Qur’anic scholars interpret tawaffa as “death as applied to Jesus.” However, as this death will occur after the second coming and the Antichrist’s subsequent defeat, Jesus is currently alive. Upon his second coming, Jesus will effect various social reforms and refute some established Christian beliefs.(16)

The Ottoman mystic scholar Bursevi accepts the traditional explanation and gives additional details: “When Jesus witnessed the virtuosity of the Prophet Muhammad’s community in the Preserved Tablet (al-Lawh al-Mahfuz), he asked God to count him as one of Ummah of Muhammad. God accepted this sincere supplication….”(17) The Qur’anic scholar al-Alusi (d. 1854) offers a different hypothesis: Jesus ascended alive and awake, stripped of all human needs and attributes.(18) In fact, he now lives in a world unknown to us.

Some contemporary Turkish and Egyptian scholars hold different views. Omer Riza Dogrul asserts that as Jesus could not have been killed, he must have died naturally.(19) According to the Egyptian Islamic scholar al-Qasimi, both literal and metaphorical interpretations are possible, although he appears to favor an idiomatic meaning for tawaffa.(20) The Pakistani scholar Abul Ala Maududi writes: “Mutawaffika in the Arabic text is from tawaffa, which literally means ‘to take and to receive,’ and ‘to seize the soul’ is not its lexical but rather its metaphorical meaning. Here it means ‘to recall from mission.'”(21) He castigates those who adopt the literal meaning (death) for tawaffa, accusing them of saying God cannot express Himself clearly.

Kawthari, who lived during the last phase of the Ottoman Empire, also emphasizes a metaphorical meaning based on historical analysis of the word’s meaning and more Qur’anic examples. During the Qur’an’s revelation, its audience would not necessarily have understood this word to mean “death,” for then the Qur’anic usage of mawt elsewhere would lose its significance as “death.” The Qur’an contains several words whose true meanings would be distorted if their contemporary meanings were ascribed to them. For example, today risalah means “letter,” while its original Qur’anic meaning is “Prophethood.”(22)

The Egyptian reformers Muhammad ‘Abduh and Rashid Rida accept the lexical meaning of “death.” Rida says Jesus literally died and his soul ascended. In conversation, it is not unusual to signify “soul” when a person’s name is mentioned, for the soul is the individual’s essence. Therefore when the Qur’an talks about Jesus in this verse, it means his soul.(23)

Mahmood Shaltut, a more contemporary Egyptian scholar, is certain of Jesus’ literal death. He cites two verses that mention Jesus’ forthcoming death and report his death (4:157 and 3:5, respectively). Several contemporary interpreters posit an energy-matter relationship, but provide no supporting evidence. According to them, Jesus had such a strong spiritual stature that his physical body became energy (spirit) and ascended to the heavens, similar to Muhammad’s Ascension. Mutawaffika naturally would refer to his death as tawaffa, “to call in a loan at the end of its term,” and is commonly used in that sense. But the verb also is used for nightly slumber. Therefore we cannot be certain that actual death is implied here.

QUR’ANIC VERSES and CRUCIFIXION

And because of their saying: We killed the Messiah Jesus, son of Mary, the messenger of Allah,’ but they hilled him not nor crucified him, but the resemblance of Jesus was put over another man, and those who differ therein are full of doubts. They have no knowledge, they follow nothing but conjecture. For surely; they killed him not. But Allah raised him up unto himself And Allah is ever AU-Powerful, All-Wise (4:157-58).

These verses have been interpreted in two ways: Jesus did not die but ascended, or he really died. Early Qur’anic scholars offered various interpretations. The scholar Mujahid ibn Jabr (d.0722) claimed “they crucified someone other than Jesus, whom they mistook for Jesus,” and “Jesus ascended to the heavens alive.”24 According to Ibn Hazm (d. 1064), a famous Muslim theologian, Jesus did not die and is alive in the heavens, as the above verses clearly indicate.25 Once again, these verses remind us that Jesus has not died, will return before the Day of Judgment, and eventually will die a natural death. In fact, Jesus is known to have said: So peace is upon me the day I was born, the day that I die… (19 which shows that he is still alive. It mus remembered, however, that since he said this while still in his cradle, this verse does not prove that he is still alive.

The Qur’an tells us that faith always triumphs over evil. If Jesus’ enemies crucified him, evil would be triumphant, It also states clearly that God defends the faithful (22:38). Therefore, Jesus could not have been crucified.26

Arguments against Jesus’ crucifixion are considerably more convincing than those favoring it. But both groups have asked: If he is not dead, why is his second coming delayed until soon before Day of Judgment? Those v ‘ say he has died already dt^-y the second coming.

Elmalili Hamdi Yazir, the best-known Turkish interpreter of the Qur’an, concurs with the majority view, basing himself on the hadith: “Jesus has not died and will reappear shortly before the Day of Judgment.”‘7 Most Muslims believe that as Jesus has not yet completed his appointed task, he this verse, it means his soul.23

Mahmood Shaltut, a more contemporary Egyptian scholar, is certain of Jesus’ literal death. He cites two verses that mention Jesus’ forthcoming death and report his death (4:157 and 3:5, respectively). Several contemporary interpreters posit an energy-matter relationship, but provide no supporting evidence. According to them, Jesus had such a strong spiritual stature that his physical body became energy [spirit) and ascended to the heavens, similar to Muhammad’s Ascension. Mutawaffika naturally would refer to his death as tawaffa, “to call in a loan at the end of its term,” and is commonly used in that sense. But the verb also is used for nightly slumber. Therefore we cannot be certain that actual death is implied here.

QUR’ANIC VERSES AND CRUCIFIXION

And because of their saying: ‘We killed the Messiah Jesus, son of Mary, the messenger of Allah,’ but they killed him not nor crucified him, but the resemblance of Jesus was put over another man, and those who differ therein are full of doubts. They have no knowledge, they follow nothing but conjecture. For surely; they killed him not. But Allah raised him up unto himself. And Allah is ever All-Powerful, All-Wise (4:157-58).

These verses have been interpreted in two ways; Jesus did not die but ascended, or he really died. Early Qur’anic scholars offered various interpretations. The scholar Mujahid ibn Jabr (d.722) claimed “they crucified someone other than Jesus, whom they mistook for Jesus,” and “Jesus ascended to the heavens alive.”(24) According to Ibn Hazm (d. 1064), a famous Muslim theologian, Jesus did not die and is alive in the heavens, as the above verses clearly indicate.(25) Once again, these verses remind us that Jesus has not died, will return before the Day of Judgment, and eventually will die a natural death. In fact, Jesus is known to have said: So peace is upon me the day I was born, the day that I die… (19:33), which shows that he is still alive. It must be remembered, however, that since he said this while still in his cradle, this verse does not prove that he is still alive.

The Qur’an tells us that faith always triumphs over evil. If Jesus’ enemies crucified him, evil would be triumphant. It also states clearly that God defends the faithful (22:38). Therefore, Jesus could not have been crucified.(26)

Arguments against Jesus’ crucifixion are considerably more convincing than those favoring it. But both groups have asked: If he is not dead, why is his second coming delayed until soon before the Day of Judgment? Those who say he has died already deny the second coming.

Elmalili Hamdi Yazir, the best-known Turkish interpreter of the Qur’an, concurs with the majority view, basing himself on the hadith: “Jesus has not died and will reappear shortly before the Day of Judgment.”(27) Most Muslims believe that as Jesus has not yet completed his appointed task, he will return to complete it and then die.(28) Relying on: Every soul shall taste death (3:185) and We granted not to any man before the permanent life (21:34), Ismail Fenni Ertugrul, a contemporary Turkish scholar, accuses Elmalili of hiding his real opinion. According to him, the above verses clearly presuppose Jesus’ death.(29) But such criticism is groundless; Elmalili does not contradict these verses, as all Islamic scholars agree that Jesus eventually will die and be resurrected.

Bediuzzaman Said Nursi (d. 1960), the most influential twentieth-century Muslim scholar, has defined five distinct levels of life, and places Jesus in the third level (along with the angels). The first level, that of humanity, is very restricted. The second level, that of Khidi and Ilyas (Elias), is free to some extent and allows its inhabitants to be present in numerous places at once. The third level is that of Idris (Enoch) and Jesus who, removed from human requirements, enter an angelic life and acquire a luminous fineness. Quite simply, they are in the heavens with their earthly bodies. In this life, Jesus is more like an angel than a man. The fourth level is for martyrs, and the fifth level is for the spirits of the dead in their graves.(30)

QURANIC VERSES INFERRING THE ESCHATOLOGICAL DESCENT OF JESUS

Whether the Qur’an addresses Jesus’ second coming has been a matter of contention.

Three Qur’anic verses have been advanced as evidence. The first refers to what Jesus said. Some classical interpreters, with the exception of the Mu’tazilite al-Zamakhshari, based themselves on hadith literature and inferred the second coming from: He shall speak to the people in childhood and in maturity… (3:45). According to them, the verb’s future tense implies the unfinished nature of Jesus’ mission. So, he will have to speak to people after his second coming.(31) Some contemporary scholars agree, notably al-Ghumari, who says that this verse refers to an extraordinary event, as he spoke while still in his crib. Before his ascension, Jesus preached among his kinsmen. However, the verse contains the word al-nas, indicating that he will speak to humanity. This necessitates his second coming. (32)

What is actually emphasized here, and in 19:29-31, is the miracle of Jesus speaking when still an infant. The verse also suggests that Jesus will speak to people. Of course he spoke to people as an adult before his ascension. So we cannot infer from the verse’s context that such an event will occur after his second coming. Those who assert this offer no concrete supporting evidence. The verse’s implied meaning of the second coming, I believe, appears at best to be forced, probably to provide additional support for hadith dealing with the subject.

The second relevant verse is: And there is none of the People of the Book but must believe in Him before his death (4:159). Again, their argument is weak. Al-Zamakhshari assigns the pronoun bihi (in him) to Jesus, and infers the second coming in the verse’s context. Al-Suyuti and al-Qari (d. 1605) infer a similar meaning.(33) According to al-Baydawi, if both bihi and mawtihi refer to Jesus, his death can be considered real only after his second coming.(34) ‘Abd al-Hamid, an al-Azhar scholar, puts forward this verse to those who claim that the Qur’an does not mention clearly or even hint about the second coming.(35) The best interpreters of the verse are the Prophet’s Companions. Al-Ghumari points out that Ibn ‘Abbas and Abu Hurayra, two Companions with an outstanding command of Arabic grammar and knowledge of the Qur’anic mission, interpreted it in a way that infers the descent of Jesus.(36) The Prophet’s grandson Hasan agrees with this interpretation.(37) Therefore the majority of Muslim scholars believe that Jesus will return.

The verse: And he (Jesus) shall be a sign of the Judgment Day… (43:61), according to various classical and contemporary Qur’anic scholars, refers to his eschatological descent.(38) In this verse, la ‘ilmun can be recited in three variations: la ‘ilmun, refers to knowledge of the Day of Judgment; la ‘alamun, points to a sign of the Day of Judgment; and la dhikr, as a warning of the Day of Judgment.(39) Al-Azhar’s official fatwa on the second coming offers this verse as evidence.(40) There will be a second coming, because it has been foretold to be a sign of the Hour of Resurrection. Moreover, such Western scholars as Parrinder, also point to this verse as evidence when speaking of the second coming.(41)

Shaltut does not accept the second and third verses as indisputable evidence, but rather prefers al-Tabari’s interpretation that Jesus’ virgin birth is itself a sign of the Hour of Judgment.(42) This verse addresses those who deny the Hereafter. This miraculous birth is offered to provide evidence of the Hereafter to unbelievers. According to al-Kawthari, who diametrically opposes Shaltut, pertinent Qur’anic verses and traditions necessitate a belief in the second coming. He does not respond directly to Shaltut’s views; rather, he accepts the majority view by faith without insisting on concrete evidence. The contemporary scholar Ibn ‘Ashur, who also opposes the majority view, fails to offer any convincing supporting evidence.(43)

In the context, the pronoun hu naturally refers to Jesus, meaning that Jesus is a sign of the coming of the Hour. Then the return of Jesus is, of course, one of the signs of the only Qur’anic passage supporting this view. But others say this pronoun refers to the Qur’an, or to Muhammad. In my opinion, these two latter interpretations are not credible, for these verses are generally about Jesus. Therefore the meaning would be “Jesus is the sign of the Day of Judgment.” As the exact aspect of Jesus that supposedly is a sign of the Day of Judgment is not mentioned, many interpretations are possible.

For example, some scholars imply that Jesus’ virgin birth is a sign: God is showing us His power. Therefore, the All-Powerful God Who created Jesus without a father can create the Hereafter and the Day of Judgment. The verse compares Jesus’ creation with, that of Adam, presenting both as evidence of God’s infinite power. When God mentions Jesus as a sign of the Hour, the first meaning that logically comes to mind is his miraculous birth. According to others, the verse indicates the second coming because there is a close relation between Jesus and the Hour. Therefore, as Jesus is mentioned as a sign of the Hour, his descent must be meant.

The fourth verse cited as evidence is: And ice be upon me the day I was born and the day 1die and the day I shall be raised alive (19:33). The resurrection mentioned here signifies his second coming, according to those who claim it proves this event. They base this on the fact that the same verse also mentions his future death. In other words, Jesus did not die on the cross.(44)

Another indirect proof is: He (Muhammad) does not speak of his own desire. It is only an inspiration that is inspired (53:3-4). This verse literally explains that whatever Prophet Muhammad says is an inspiration from God. It is narrated, with a strong chain of transmitters, that the Prophet was talking to his Companions about the second coming. Therefore this verse is a proof that Prophet Muhammad was inspired about the second coming.(45)

Unlike most interpreters, Shaltut opines that all such proofs violate the verses’ literal meaning, and that interpreters devised such meanings to avoid conflict with some second-coming traditions narrated by such famous Companions as Abu Hurayra. Therefore, he believes that the Qur’an and the Sunnah provide no trustworthy evidence for this event. The Syrian scholar al-Buty claims that Shaltut changed his view, adopted the majority view during his last illness, and then buried all documents connected with his old views.(46)

But why did Shaltut deny the second coming despite all the proofs mentioned above? It seems to me that he viewed the majority interpretation as unreasonable and against general Islamic principles. He thinks that a person cannot come from heaven, and therefore denies such statements. They based their evidence on God’s power, saying: He is able to do all things (67:1) and therefore He can bring Jesus. They think of bodily descent. Is the descent of Jesus from heaven to be considered materially? 

In semantic terms, nuzul (descending) does not necessitate a material descent, for other verses treat this descent as a manifestation of God’s bounty. For example: He sent down for you eight pairs of cattle (39:6}.(47) We cannot say that the animals descended from the heavens, but we can say that they descended to us from God’s Mercy. Moreover, in some hadiths nuzul is used in relation to God: “God descends every night to the first heaven, the heaven of the world…”(48) Of course it is not a physical descend. Therefore, in this sense, the descend of Jesus in his second coming can be spiritual, meaning that God will send him from His Mercy to be a mercy to humanity.

There is another, more spiritual approach: His descent means that Christian spiritual leaders will purify Christianity and return it to the original religion of Jesus. Meanwhile, they do not deny the possibility of Jesus’ physical descent. Because of his strong spirituality, Jesus can come and go and appear in different human forms. But the focal point, according to this opinion, is his spiritual domination of the Earth in alliance with Islam. The true religion, seen in the togetherness of Islam and Christianity, will defeat materialism, communism, and atheism. This view is shared by the prominent Turkish scholar Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, the Indian scholar Siddik Hasan Khan, and partly by ‘Abduh. Therefore, the second coming can be a strong means for Muslim-Christians dialogue.

To clarify this matter, we cite Qur’an 30:1-5, which discusses the Muslims’ hope that the Roman Christians would defeat the pagan Persians. The Qur’an clearly mentions that Muslims shall rejoice over that victory. If we apply this historical event to today’s life, what can we say? In general, when one asks a Muslim about a possible war, for example, between the United States and China, Muslims must support the former, for it believes in God and religious values, and China does not. In fact, as far as I know, many Muslims are very upset over China’s persecution of its Muslims and Christians. Since Prophet Muhammad stated in many traditions that some Qur’anic verses hint of Jesus’ second coming, the concept of Muslim-Christian dialogue is readily understandable. To sum up, the huge restoration of the Last Days will witness true Christianity (the spirit of Jesus) working hand in hand with true Islam (the spirit of Muhammad) for the benefit of humanity. 

* Zeki Saritoprak is an Associate Faculty Member of the Department of Semitics at The Catholic University of America, and a Research Associate at Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. The author wishes to thank Seyyid Hussein Nasr, Sidney Griffith, Theresa Ann-Druart, and Monica Blanchard.

FOOTNOTES

1. See ‘Abd al-Baqi, Muhammad Fuad, Al-Mu’jam al-Mufahras li Alfazi’l-Qur’an al-Karim, (Istanbul: 1982), 370-1, 581-2, 775-80.
2. Abu ‘Abd Allah al-Husayn b. Hasan al-Halimi, Al-Minhaj fi Shu’ab al-Iman, (Cairo: 1979), 1:142; Muhammad b. Ahmad b. Abi Sahi al-Sarakhsi, Sifatu Ashrat al-Sa’ah (Paris: Bibliotheque Nationale, n.d.), nr. 1800; ed. by Zeki Saritoprak, (Cairo: 1993), 35; Abu al-‘Abbas Ahmad b. Hajar al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi al-Mahdi al-Muntazar, ed. by Muhammad Zaynuhum-Muhammad ‘Azab (Cairo: 1986), 84; Abu al-Tayyib Muhammad Ashraf b. Amir b. ‘Ali al-Azemabadi, ‘Anmu’l-Ma’bud Sharhu Sunani Abi Dawud (Madina: 1989), 11:424-5; ‘Ali al-Maliki al-Manshalili, Risale fi ‘Ashrati’s-Sa’ah wa Ahvali Yawmi’l-Qiyama, nis. (Cairo: Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyya, nr. B-19690) fol. la-3b; Ahmad ibn al-Faqih al-Shafi’i, ‘Ashratu’s-Sa’ah, ms. (Cairo: Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyya, Tasawwuf, nr. 2191), fol. 3a-6b; ‘Ali b. Sultan al-Harawi al-Qari, Sharh al-Fiqhi’l-Akbar (Cairo: 1323 CE), 112; Al-Mashrab al-Wardifi Haqiqati’l-Mahdi, ms. (Istanbul: Koprulu, nr. 1509), fol. 200a-200b; Kamal al-Din Ahmad al-Bayadi, Isharat al-Maram min ‘Ibarati al-Imam, ed. by. Yusuf Abd al-Razzak (Cairo: 1949), 67; Kamal al-Din al-Tai, Risale fi al-Tawhid wa al-Firaq al-Mu’asira (Beirut: n.d), 106; Muhammad Anwar Shah al-Hindi al-Kash-miri, Al-Tasrih bima Tawatara fi Nuzul al-Masih, ed. by Abd al-Fattah ‘Abu Ghudda (Aleppo: 1965), 9-11.
3. See F. E. Peters, Allah’s Commomwealth: A Histoiy of Islam in the Near East (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1973), 51.
4. ‘Abd al-Baqi, Al-Mu’jam, 494-5.
5. See Muhammad b. Umar Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, Mafatih al-Ghayb (Beirut: n.d), 11:100.
6. Ragheb al-Isfahani, Al-Mufradat fi Alfaz al-Qur’an (Istanbul: 1986), 830.
7. Abu Ja’far Muhammad b. Jarir al-Tabari, Jami’ al-Bayan an Ta’wili al-Qur’an (Beirut, 1984); ed. by Muhammad Mahmud Shakir (Cairo: n.d) 3:290-1.
8. Abu Mansur Muhammad b. Muhammad b. Mahmud al-Maturidi, Ta’wilat al-Qur’an, ms. Haci Selim Aga (Istanbul: n.d.) nr. 40 fol. 80 a-80b.
9. Ibid., fol. 239 a.
10. Abu al-Qasim Jarullah Mahmud ibn ‘Umar al-Zamakhshari, Al-Kashshaf ‘an Haqaiqi al-Tanzil wa Uyuni’l-Aqawil fi Wujuh al-Ta’wil, (Beirut: n.d.), 1:432-3.
11. Abu Muhammad ‘Abd al-Khaliq b. Ghalib b. ‘Atiyya al-Andalusi Ibn ‘Atiyya, Al-Muharrar al-Wajiz fi Tafsir al-Kitab al-‘Aziz, (Fez: 1977), 3:105,13:255.
12. ‘Abd al-Rahman b ‘Ali ibn Muhammad Ibn al-Jawzi, Zad al-Mathir fi ‘Ilm al-Tafsir (Beirut: 1964), 1:396-7.
13. Al-Razi, Mafatih al-Ghayb, 2:100, 8:67.
14. ‘Imad al-Din Abu al-Fida ‘Ismail b. Umar Ibn Kathir, Tafsir al-Qur’an al-Azim(Beirut: 1969),1:575.
15. Jalal al-Din ‘Abdarrahman al-Suyuti, Al-Durr al-Manthur fi al-Tafsir bi al-Ma’thur (Beirut: n.d.), 2:225-7.
16. Abu Hayyan Muhammad b.Yusuf al-Andalusi, Tafsir al-Bahr al-Muhit (Beirut: 1983), 2:473.
17. ‘Isma’il Haqqi Bursawi, Ruh al-Bayan (Istanbul: 1389), 2:41.
18. Abu al-Fadl Shihab al-Din Sayyid Mahmud al-Alusi, Ruh al-Ma’ani fi Tafsir al-Qur’an al- ‘Azim wa Sab’i al-Mathani, (Beirut: n.d.), 3:179.
19. Omar Riza Dogrul, Tanri Buyrugu (Istanbul: 1980), 97.
20. Muhammad Jalal al-Din al-Qasimi, Mahasin al-Ta’wil, ed. by M. Fuad ‘Abd al-Baqi (Beirut: 1978), 4:107.
21. S. Abul A’la Maududi, The Meaning of the Qur’an (Lahore: Islamic Publications, 1985), 2:34.
22. Muhammad Zahid al-Kawthari, Nazra ‘Abire fi Maza’imi man Yunkir Nuzula ‘Isa qabla al-Akhira (Cairo: 1987), 99-100.
23. Rashid Rida, Tafsir al-Manar (Cairo: 1954), 3:169.
24. Ibn Jabr Abu al-Hajjaj Mujahid, Tafsiru Mujahid, ed. by ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Tahir (Qatar: 1976), 180-1.
25. Abu Muhammad ‘Ali b. Ahmad al-Zahiri Ibn Hazm, ‘Ilm al-Kalam ‘ala Mazhabi Ahli al-Sunna wa al-Jama’ah, ed. by Ahmad Hijazi al-Saqa (Cairo: 1989), 56-7.
26. See George Anawati, “Isa”, Encyclopedia of Islam, 2d ed. (Leiden: 1978), 4:84.
27. See Al-Bukhari, “Mazalim,” 31; “Buyu’,” 102; Muslim, “Iman,” 242; Ibn Maja, “Fitan,” 33.
28. Elmalili Hamdi Yazir, Hak Dini Kur’an Dili (Istanbul: 1992), 2:372-3.
29. Ismail Fenni Ertugrul, Hakikat Nurlari (Istanbul: 1949), 221-4.
30. Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, The Letters, trans. by Þukran Vahide (Istanbul: Sozler, 1994), 22.
31. Al-Tabari, Jami’ al-Bayan, 6:420; Abu ‘Abd Allah Muhammad b. Ahmad al-Qurtubi, Al-Jami’ li Ahkam al-Qur’an, (Beirut: 1967), 6:11; Abu Sa’id ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Umar al-Baydawi, Anwar al-Tanzil (Cairo: n.d.), 2:19; Al-Alusi, Ruh al-Ma’ani, 6:13.
32. ‘Abd Allah b. Siddik al-Ghumari, Iqama al-Burhan ‘ala Nuzuli ‘Isa fi Akhir al-Zaman (Cairo:1974), 97.
33. Al-Suyuti, Al-Durr al-Manthur, 2:241-2; ‘Ali b. Sultan al-Harawi al-Qari, Mirqat al-Mafatih (Cairo: 1309), 5:221.
34. Al-Baydawi, Anwar al-Tanzil, 1:240.
35. Muhyi al-Din ‘Abd al-Hamid, “Bab al-Fatwa,” Majalla al-Azhar, vol. 48 (1972), 4:552.
36. Al-Ghumari, Iqama al-Burhan, 100-1.
37. Ibn ‘Atiyya, al-Muharrar, 4:305-6.
38. ‘Abd Allah Ibn Mas’ud, Tafsiru Ibn Mas’ud, ed. by Muhammad Ahmad Isawi (Riyadh: 1985), 560; Abu ‘Abd Allah Sufyan b. Masruq al-Thawri, Tafsir (Beirut: 1983), 273; Al-Tabari, Jami’ al-Bayan, 25:90-1; Al-Razi, Mafatih al-Ghayb, 27:222; Al-Sayyid Muhammad Siddiq al-Qanuji Khan, Fath al-Bayan fi Maqasid al-Qur’an (Cairo: 1965) 8:428.
39. See Anawati, “Isa”, EI2, 4:84.
40. Mustafa al-Tair, “Nuzul al-Masih min ‘Alamat al-Sa’ah, ” Majalla al-Azhar, vol. 47 (1971), 6:515.
41. Geoffrey Parrinder, Jesus in the Qur’an (London: 1967), 124.
42. Shaltut, al-Fatawa, 74-5.
43. Muhammad Tahir Ibn Ashur, Tafsir al-Tahrir wa al-Tanwir (Tunisia: 1984), 25:243.
44. See Parrender, 122; Anawati, “Isa” EI2, 4:84.
45. Ibrahim al-Tuwijary, “Iqama al-Burhan,” Majalla al-Buhuth al-Islamiyya, vol. 13 (1985), 104-5.
46. Sa’id Ramadan al-Buty, Kubra al-Yaqiniyyat, (Beirut: 1994), 352.
47. Cf. sending down iron (57:25) and clothing ( 7:26).
48. Al-Bukhari, “Da’awat,” 14; “Tawhid,” 35.

“Any people who would like to secure their futures should apply as much energy to the upbringing of children as they devote to other problems. The energy devoted to many other things may go in vain, but whatever is spent for the upbringing of young generations to elevate them to the rank of humanity will be like an inexhaustible source of income.”
M. Fethullah GULEN

In thousands of American classrooms, early childhood educators and caregivers are faced with the dilemma of meeting the needs of an ever-changing population. As the population becomes more diverse, classrooms are beginning to reflect the larger population. In response to the expanding needs of young students, instructors and caregivers increasingly are trying to incorporate multiculturalism into their class curricula. This article will explore how diversity, inclusion, and multiculturalism have impacted the early childhood classroom.

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION: A BRIEF OVERVIEW

The concept of early childhood education, which originated in the 1800s with the formation of kindergartens, focuses upon children between 3 and 8 years of age. In many arenas, early childhood education theories center on encouraging and supporting the educational needs of young children.

The North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL) position statement on “Critical Issue : Promoting Children’s Readiness to Learn” states: “In most instances, children come to school ready to learn but with different cultural, educational, and environmental experiences to draw from. It is the responsibility of the educational system to meet children where they are and encourage and support their development from that point” (1999, p. 1).

The Educational Excellence for All Children Act of 1999 echoes NCREL’s position: “Consistently poor early education programs hinder children’s cognitive and language development. As a result, some children are unprepared to attend school and learn to read, the foundation of nearly all later learning” (Title II, Part C, “Early Childhood Educator Professional Development,” 1999, p. 1). Both NCREL and The Educational Excellence for All Children Act of 1999 touch upon the concepts of cognitive development and school readiness.

School readiness, as defined by Kagen et al., encompasses two points: readiness to learn, and readiness for school. Specifically, “… readiness to learn … involves a level of development at which the child has the capacity to learn specific materials…” (Kagen, 1990; Crnic & Lamberty, 1994; Lewit & Baker, 1995). On the other hand, readiness for school is defined as “… a specific set of cognitive, linguistic, social and motor skills that enables a child to assimilate the school’s curriculum” (Kagen, 1990; Crnic & Lamberty, 1994; Lewit & Baker, 1995). Hence, there is a possibility that a child may have a readiness to learn but lack a readiness for school. For example, a 3-year-old girl could have the ability to recognize colors; however, she may not have the ability to participate appropriately in a school setting.

On June 8, 1999, U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley gave an address to the National Press Club. Entitled “Cost, Quality and Child Outcomes’ Study,” it emphasized the following points: “What we know can be summarized this way: the quality of experiences in the years matters, and there appear to be critical periods in the first few years of life for acquiring certain language and cognitive skills. Therefore, the stakes are highest in the earliest years-the stage in life when children are their most vulnerable, and a stage when it has been proven difficult to build support for public investment” (1999).

The preceding excerpt alludes to a connection between language and cognitive skills. The emphasis on developing language and decision-making skills has resonated among early childhood educators for decades. Language development and cognitive development is important, because if children learn how to express themselves effectively, their cognitive abilities may grow exponentially. Furthermore, if children’s cognitive abilities become sharp, they may develop a better understanding of those who are different and make decisions accordingly.

It is well documented that many children become aware of differences among people before they enter a kindergarten classroom. Maritza Macdonald, contributing author of “Explorations with Young Children: A Curriculum Guide from the Bank Street College of Education” writes that children “… between the ages of 2 and 5 … become aware of gender, race, ethnicity, disabilities and other differences among people” (1999, p. 5). In “‘Do You See What I See?’ Appreciating Diversity in Early Childhood Settings” by Dr. Barbara Kupetz, it is stated that “children are around two or three when they begin to notice physical differences among people-some are short and others tall, some have blue eyes and others brown, and some have dark skin while others have light skin.” Both Macdonald and Kupetz point out that most children can discern differences among individuals at an early age. Hence, early childhood educators are not simply charged with teaching “empty vessels.” On the contrary, many educators are faced with the task of educating individuals who already may have formed negative perceptions of people who look different.

DIVERSITY AND THE EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION CLASROOM

Diversity means different things to different people. Webster’s New World Dictionary defines it as: “1. Quality, state, fact, or instance of being diverse; difference 2. Variety.”(2) While this definition touches upon the point of difference, it does not convey various perspectives that make up the concept of diversity.

Macdonald states: “The concept of diversity includes the perspectives of multiculturalism and nonsexist and antibias education. Diversity encompasses children’s individual interests and capabilities, racial and cultural differences, age and gender difference and language differences” (1999, p. 5). Her definition incorporates the range of differences that teachers and caregivers face everyday. Macdonald completes her definition by adding: “It also includes the social realities that affect children and communities, including availability of economic resources, access to technology, health and safety concerns, demographic make-up and locale” (1999, p. 5), Here she addresses social factors that can make a child seem different. Thus this definition can be applied to a child who is part of a racial minority, has a learning disability, does not share the majority’s native language, is homeless, or has a chronic illness. In other words’ the needs of a multitude of children are included.

Inclusion, which falls under the umbrella of diversity, is becoming another growing concern of early childhood educators. The Early Childhood Research Institute on Inclusion (ECRI) released the following statement on inclusion: “Early childhood inclusion, formerly known as ‘mainstreaming’ or ‘integration,’ refers to the full and active participation of young children with disabilities in programs with typically developing children. In principle, including children with disabilities in early childhood classes and community settings is a well-accepted practice”(1998, p. 4). This position adds an all-too-often ignored segment of an already diverse population: children with disabilities.

Deanna Jordon’s “Inclusion in the Preschool Setting” illustrates the challenges of seeing to the needs of special children in the early childhood classroom: “In many preschools and daycares today you can find a growing number of special needs children. These children have disabilities ranging from hyperactivity, attention deficit disorder, speech and language difficulties, blindness, deafness, mental retardation, and physical impairments. Thanks to the Americans with Disabilities Act, our society is becoming better equipped to meet the needs and challenges of these special children. Unfortunately, many daycare providers have little to no special training to deal with these children.”

Although the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in 1990, many school districts remain ill-prepared to educate this special population.(3) Part of the challenge of implementing change within the early childhood school setting lies in the fact that many school administrators and teachers encounter financial, cultural, and social obstacles that prevent a fully inclusive atmosphere. ECRI supports the concern of inclusion by stating: “… family members, teachers, and administrators often encounter practical problems and policy barriers when they try to include young children with disabilities. Such barriers may prevent inclusion from occurring or may affect the quality of the experience for all children.”

When a person looks at all the problems faced by early childhood educators, it is not difficult to see why many teachers feel overwhelmed. Alison Levy, author of “Culture in the Classroom,” succinctly puts the point of view of early childhood educators into perspective: “In a field where burnout is common and salaries are low, there is not sufficient respect and appreciation for what teachers accomplish. It is often hard to accept this added challenge of continued learning” (p. 10). Although Levy acknowledges that educators face a number of barriers, she goes on to say that children who participate in multicultural settings gain valuable experiences. Hence, despite the obstacles that come with diversity and inclusion, both concepts are worth pursuing in multicultural classrooms.

MULTICULTURAL CLASSROOMS

Very few individuals can deny the importance of building strong communities within classrooms. Many teachers “… have become more interested in multicultural education, with the assumption that such approaches help children feel more welcomed, validated, integrated, and able to cooperate with others in their classroom” (Allen, McNeill, & Schmidt 1992; Brendenkamp, 1986; Byrnes & Kiger, 1992, Gollnick & Chin, 1994).

Levy concurs with the preceding statement by speaking to educators directly: “… if your class includes a variety of cultures or abilities, the group spends more time learning about and cultivating an understanding of those unique features.” Validation, integration, cooperation, and cultivation of ideas and experiences are of vital importance. Consequently, if educators ease this process for young students, they will impact the futures of their students. Macdonald emphasizes the impact of diversity on decision making: “… when you include diversity in your work with children, you are preparing them for citizenship in a society where people speak different languages, practice different customs and embrace different values. By starting in early childhood, you will be helping individuals learn to work together, communicate across differences, and value just and fair treatment for all” (1999, p. 10). Both Levy and Macdonald encourage educators to remain aware the impact teachers have on the well-being of future societies and generations.

M. Fethullah Gulen, a noted scholar who has been molding the minds of students for close to four decades, maintains that there is a direct relationship between a community and its young people. In his Towards the Lost Paradise, Gulen explains: “A community maintains its liveliness through the spirit of its young, and flourishes through it. When a community loses this spirit, it fades and withers away, like a flower whose veins have been cut, and it is finally crushed under foot.”(4) His comparison of a flower to a child is all the more poignant when we look at the loss of innocence thousands of children have experienced due to violence in schools.

CONCLUSION

Diversity and multiculturalism may seem like concepts that are not age-appropriate for young children. However, I contend that issues of diversity must have a place in the early childhood curriculum. Although children may have difficulties articulating the differences they see around them, they are aware of the concept of difference. Just as classroom populations are changing, the face of early childhood curriculum also must expand and grow to meet the needs of the twenty-first century.

FOOTNOTES

1. M. Fethullah Giilen, Criteria or The Lights of the Way -1 (Izmir, Turkey: Kaynak A.S., 1998), 55.
2. Webster’s New World Collegiate Dictionary, 3d ed., (N.p., n.d.)
3. Americans with Disabilities Web site: www.usdoj.gov/crt/ ada/adahoml.htm.
4. M. Fethullah Giilen, Towards the Lost Paradise (London: Truestai, 1996), 25.

REFERENCES

• Americans with Disabilities Act. www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahoml.htm.
• Early Childhood Research Institute on Inclusion. “What is Inclusion?” www.inform.umd.edu/EDUC/Depts/ecrii/inclu.html
• The Educational Excellence for All Children Act of 1999. “Title II, Part C, Early Childhood Educator Professional Development.” (4 pp.). www.ed.gov. offices/OESE/ESEA/prospectus/title2-c.html
• Gulen, Fethullah M. Criteria or the Lights of the Way -1 (Izmir, Turkey: Kaynak A.S., 1998)
• . Towards the Lost Paradise. London: Truestar, 1996.
• Jordon, Deanna. “Inclusion in the Preschool Setting.” www.earlychildhood.com.” Informative Articles from earlychildhood.com.
• Kupetz, Barbara. ‘”Do You See What I See?’ Appreciating Diversity in Early Childhood Settings.” Early Childhood News (Jul.-Aug. 1998): 1-5.
• Levy, Alison. “Culture in the Classroom.” Early Childhood News (Jan.-Feb. 1997): 1-9.
• Macdonald, Maritza. “Valuing Diversity: An Excerpt from Explorations with Young Children, A Curriculum Guide from the Banks Street College of Education.” www.early-childhood.com.
• North Central Regional Educational Labor. “Critical Issues: Promoting Children’s Readiness to Learn.” www.ncrel.org/ncrel/sdrs/areas/issues/students/earlycld/ea700.htm.
• Riley, Richard W. “‘Cost, Quality and Child Outcomes’ Study.”8 June 1999. (Speech).

Wilson Bentley took the first photomicrographs of a snowflake, thereby initiating extensive research on the snowflake. When he was 15 years old, his mother gave him a microscope as a gift. He began studying several things under the microscope, among them raindrops and snowflakes. Later on, he discovered how to photograph this delicate ice formation and presented it to the world. His enthusiasm for photographing snowflakes continued until his death 47 years later. Through his photomicro graph collection, we can see just what a complex and wonderful creation each snowflake is and why it has been the subject of such debate over the years.

The average snowflake is made up of 2 to 200 separate snow crystals; much larger ones can contain as many as 1,000 separate snow crystals. These snow crystals begin to form around tiny dust particles that have been carried up high into the atmosphere. When the temperature drops below freezing at these high altitudes, water vapor clings to these dust particles. Interestingly, the water vapor skips the liquid state and turns directly into ice, a process called sublimation. When the air contains enough moisture and the ice crystals accumulate, these crystal formations begin to fall as snow.

Scientists believe that there are only four different types (shapes) of these six-sided snowflakes; hexagonal plates, stellar stars, stellar and plate combinations, and spatial dendrites. Hexagonal plates are thin, solid, or partly snow crystals. This pattern is made up of a variety of ridges and hollows, as well as thick and thin ice. The stellar star pattern is the one many know as the symbol of a snowflake. It assumes this pattern because ice crystals tend to cling together in “cottony” clumps and have the corners of a star, unlike hexagonal plates.

The stellar and plate combination pattern is formed when plate and stellar star characteristics unite. The resulting flake is considered the most exquisite of all crystals. The plate pattern is in the middle, and the stellar star branches out from the plate. Finally, the dendrite, another stellar type, is identified by small crystals that branch out, fern-like, along each of its six “rays.”

It is believed that the shape of the snow crystals forming these snowflakes depends on the temperature of the cloud in which it is formed. Ice crystal columns are formed in the highest clouds, which have the lowest temperatures. Dendrites and star-shaped crystals are formed in the slightly warmer middle clouds, and needle ice crystals are formed in the lower clouds. These temperature variations cause each snowflake to assume a specific shape. Different sources give slightly different temperature ranges and different explanations of a snowflake’s developmental stages. This may be to the fact that scientists do not have exact knowledge of the conditions and formation of these delicate crystals, for they base their assumptions on laboratory experiments that seek to create the same weather conditions. It must be pointed out, however, that all snowflakes “created” in laboratories are always deformed and do not resemble the perfectly symmetrical flakes found in nature.

The first wonder I would like to describe is the snowflake’s construction. Nuclear physicists and crystallographers are still trying to explain this complex bridgework of molecules that form the ice crystals into a snowflake. A brief explanation behind the construction mystery is that an average hexagonal-shaped crystal may contain 100 millon more water molecules. The ice crystal grows by adding more and more molecules. Its growth proceeds in a way that is both perfectly horizontal and perpendicular, thus building a broader and thicker crystal. Amazingly, this process is always carried out within the same hexagonal symmetry.

An ice crystal’s framework is a marvelous example of solid geometry, for it always presents an ingenious grouping of molecular parts. Not only does the ice of a snow crystal grow perpendicularly by interlocking pyramids, but at the same time its horizontal ice particles extend themselves in overlapping hexagonal patterns.

But not all of a snowflake’s beauty can be seen with the naked eye. Each crystal contains an invisible masterpiece of construction resembling an ongoing pattern that becomes smaller and smaller. Such a development is produced by the ice crystals themselves, which bond to each other and thereby increase the snowflake’s size. Over a period of 15 minutes, and under the conditions necessary for sublimation, a snow crystal gradually assumes the shape of the first stage. This baby crystal is unbelievably tiny, from .008 to .009 of an inch in diameter.

The average initial crystal may appear as hexagonal plates, sector plates, various stellar forms, or as capped columns. This later shows evidence of a skeletal structure, surface design, and pattern that subtly determine the snowflake’s final pattern. Later, this plain star will begin to develop either crystal twigs or fern-like plumes. As the final ice structure becomes heavy, it begins its journey to the ground.

An additional wonder is that no two snowflakes are alike! Each snowflake has a unique combination of ice crystals, which creates a unique snowflake. No two identical snowflakes have been found.

Another mystery is why each snowflake has six sides. Johannes Kepler, a physicist and mathematician, has studied this for years. In his The Six-Cornered Snowflake, he mentions some very important and thought-provoking questions and explanations. He also states that there must be an agent for such perfection and calculation, some definite reason why a snowflake’s initial form invariably displays the shape of a six-cornered starlet. Why always six? If this were the result of chance, should not some of them at least have five or seven corners?

In his search for a logical reason for the six sides, he asserts that if you ask geometers on what plan honeycombs are built, they will respond “on a six-cornered plan.” Each cell is surrounded by six others, each of which ends in an obtuse angle, pointing downwards, formed on three planes. The architecture causes each cell to share six walls with six cells surrounding it in a row, and also three plane surfaces with three other cells from the contrary row. Each bee, as a result, has nine neighbors.

Kepler also observed that the insides of such fruits as pomegranates and peas are squeezed into six sides. Why? One reason, perhaps, is that a plane surface can be covered without gaps by only three shapes: a triangle, a square, and a hexagon. Of these, the hexagon is the roomiest, and so has the most storage space, for example, for the honey produced by bees. Therefore, bees instinctively build their hives in this shape rather than others. Why and how?

Kepler concludes that this original, well-thought-out pattern can only have been imprinted on it by a Creator: our Creator. He concludes that the cause of each snowflake’s hexagonal shape is the same cause that shapes plants and numerical constants. Nothing happens without a reason, but rather with a reason guided by a Supreme Reason.

The wonder of the snowflake is seen not only in its wealth of variety and form, which is perfectly constructed with complete beauty and perfection, but also in how these six-sided crystals are formed with perfect symmetry by various processes in the clouds.

As I mentioned earlier, such findings are merely realizations of a fact. The term realization is used because discoveries like these have been in existence since the beginning of time! They have always been around us and will continue to be. But now we can see some of these small miracles due to recent, rapid advances in technology. This displays to us more about the reality, existence, and attributes of the Creator. Yet even a tiny snowflake shows us, through sight and reasoning, the attributes of our Creator. Among these attributes are artistry in creation, finality in creation, countenance, and divine teaching and directing.(1)

Artistry in creation: “The whole of creation exhibits an overwhelming artistry of dazzling worth. Yet it is brought into being, as we see it, easily and in a very short time. Furthermore, creation is divided into countless families, genera and species and even smaller groups, and each of these exists in great abundance. Despite the variety and abundance, we see only orderliness and art and ease in creation. This shows the existence of one with an absolute power and knowledge, who is God.”

For example, each snowflake is literally a masterpiece of art, with a perfectly eye-appealing design. It is remarkable that such a masterpiece is created within minutes in the clouds, yet has perfect symmetry and a complex pattern. This is the first attribute of our Creator that we see when we look at a photo of a snowflake. Hence, our Creator is a master in artistry.

Finality in creation: “Nothing in the universe is for nothing, pointless. As ecology in particular shows, everything in creation, no matter how apparently insignificant has a very significant role in existence and serves a certain purpose…. There are many purposes for every thing, every activity, and every event in it. Since this requires a wise one who pursues certain purposes in creation, and since nothing in the world-except for man-has the consciousness to pursue those purposes, the wisdom and purposiveness in creation necessarily point to God.”

An example is the snowflake. The causes for it and its six sides, which point to certain reasons, are still being examined. If something cannot be explained at this point in time, all it means is that we have yet to understand its complexity.

Countenances: “[Uncountable] human beings have lived since man’s first appearance on the earth. Despite their common origin-a sperm and ovum, which are formed from the same sort of foods taken by the parents-and although they have all been composed of the same kind of structures or elements or organisms, every human being has an individual countenance distinguishing him or her from the others…. This obviously shows one with an absolutely free choice, and all-encompassing knowledge, and He is God.”

Just as each snowflake is different in pattern and type, no snowflake has been identified as identical with another, even though uncountable snowflakes fall each year. This truly points to a Creator with an unbelievable attribute of countenance.

Divine teaching and directing: “For man to direct himself in life and distinguish between what is good or bad for him needs a minimum of around fifteen years. However, many animals can do this very soon after they come into the world. A duckling, for example, can swim as soon as it hatches. Ants start to dig nests into the earth when they get out of their cocoons. It does not need a long time for bees and spiders to learn how to make their honeycombs and webs, respectively, while each are marvels of handiwork beyond the capacity of man…. How can you explain all these astounding facts otherwise than by attributing them to the teaching or directing of one who knows everything and has arranged the universe with all creatures in it in a way that enables every creature, big or small, to direct its life?”

The snowflake is an example of such directing. How can a snowflake, which is completely devoid of intelligence and consciousness, create itself in such an absolutely perfectly manner within a matter of minutes? Such events can only be the result of Divine teaching and directing.

In conclusion, I would like to highlight two points. First, such astonishing facts exist all around us. Yet in order to appreciate them, first we must observe our surrounding environment and consider its complexity, purpose, and perfection. Second, acknowledging that we have limited senses and that our technology continues to advance rapidly, I am excited about all of the other wonders in this world that might be revealed to us, for all of them will enable us to better understand and marvel at our Creator.

FOOTNOTES

1. The four following attributes are taken from Fethullah Giilen, Understanding and Belief: The Essentials of Islamic Faith (Kaynak, Turkey: Kaynak, 1997), 4-8.

REFERENCES

• Bell, Corydon. Wonder of Snow. New York: Hill and Wang, n.d.
• Blanchard, Duncan. The Snowflake Man. Weatherwise: 1970.
• Gulen, Fethullah. Understanding and Belief: The Essentials of Islamic Faith. Kaynak, Turkey: Kaynak, 1997.
• “How Do Snowflakes Form?” Lansing State Journal. October 8, 1997.
• Kepler, Johannes. The Six-Cornered Snowflake. Clarendon Press: 1966.

The primary reason for this misunderstanding is the modern “scientific” worldview, which is based on the modern scientific approach of restricting existence to its material, visible dimension. As a result, a human being is seen only as a material or biological entity. Such a view ascribes all human intellectual products and spiritual experiences to one’s physical and biological composition, thus reducing a human being to only his or her physique. In addition, since this approach labels as unscientific that which cannot be established in the laboratory, religious facts and beliefs have no scientific truth. This leads to the assertion that religion is a set of dogmas that only demand belief, whether they are scientifically true or not.

This approach has caused knowing and believing to be separated from each other. According to it, something is known when it is established in the laboratory. In other words, knowledge is that which has been established and obtained in the laboratory through experimentation. This scientific attitude limits our ability to research ourselves, and put insurmountable limits to existence. If only it had admitted that there may be truths outside its reach!

By presenting whatever is outside its reach as impossible to establish scientifically and therefore devoid of any truth, science has made the universe the subject matter of, say, physics or chemistry or astronomy, and humanity the subject matter of biology and materialistic psychology.

A human being is no longer a being composed of a body, spirit, and soul. Whatever people conceive of, think and feel, as well as their emotions and beliefs, are products of their biological composition. In addition, the subject matter of psychology is human behavior only, which does not accept any meta-physical dimension of human existence. By doing so, the modern scientific approach has promoted itself to the rank of being the sole criterion of truth, and has reduced existence to the field of its study. It was natural for this approach to see religion as a human product, and so it did.

The second fatal blow was delivered to religion by Darwin’s theory of evolution. When this biological theory was applied to humanity’s history and products-as if there were and could not be an eternal, unchanging dimension of human existence containing certain perennial values and principles that govern human life-religion was subjected to this evolutionist approach.

WESTERN POSITIVISTIC AND MATERIALISTIC VIEWS OF RELIGION

According to modern Western assumptions, which are based on scientism and evolutionism, humanity is in a continuous, irresistible, and irreversible movement toward what is better. During this progress, it has gone through certain stages of intellectual and civilizational development. Many people have studied the origins of religion. Anthropologists have concentrated on the theory of the evolution of religion. For some, such as Sir James Frazer (1854-1941), religion’s origin can be found in magic; others proposed animism or preanimism, totemism, fetishism, or polytheism. Later anthropologists concentrated more on religion’s role in society than its origin. Social anthropologists saw religion as part of society and concentrated on field studies of particular tribes or analyzed myths, rituals, and symbols. Cultural anthropologists saw it as a set of beliefs, rites, and institutions.

To illustrate the differences of opinion that arise among such “experts,” Jalal al-Din al-Rumi, a famous thirteenth-century Muslim Sufi, made this analogy: Some blind persons encounter an elephant and, on touching different parts of its body, offer their partial and contradictory definitions of what an elephant is: one finds it to be a heavy, thick column, while another thinks that it is a hard, flexible pipe, and so on. This is the situation in which Western scholars who study the origin of religion find themselves.

Just as anthropologists drew different conclusions, sociologists also put forward different opinions about the origin of religion.

The sociology of religion found its leading analysts in Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) and Max Weber (1864-1920). The former stressed religion’s social functions by considering it a stabilizing factor created by a given society to express its ideals and unify itself. Weber, more dynamic and positive, saw religion’s prophetic side as an instrument that could shape and change society, and tried to discern what aspect of Western religious attitudes or culture gave birth and then shaped capitalism. Other sociologists focused more on particular religious groups and institutions. 

The psychology of religion centers upon the individual and personal religious experience. William James (1842-1910), one of its main exponents, described the “religion” of the healthy-minded and the sick soul, the “religion” of the once-born and the twice-born, and the psychological basis of prayer, meditation, mysticism, and conversion.

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), whose research was based on theories of infantile sexuality and opposed by friends, patients, and medical colleagues, emphasized the importance of childhood sexual experiences and regarded religion as necessary illusions (delusions) and projections. He also argued that dreams, like neuroses, were disguised manifestations of repressed sexual desires.

More recent work in the psychology of religion has centered upon such issues as how different religious people or institutions really are, what is mature religious faith, what are the spiritual potentialities of human nature, and what are the stages of religious development in children and adults.

The common denominator in any Western analysis of religion is that religion was invented by people either to project repressed desire or weakness, or to represent an individual or collective effort to systematize a particular community’s beliefs and rites. The corollary is the following: As science develops, humanity’s need for religion will continue to decrease and eventually disappear. According to Ludwig Feuerbach (1804-72), religion is a dogma contradicted by modern society’s fire and life insurance policies, railways and steamships, military forces and industrial schools, theatres and science museums. Karl Marx (1818-83) proclaimed that it is the opiate of the masses and inevitably will become a thing of the past. 

Auguste Comte (1798-1857) divided human history into three eras. The first era is the period of religion, when primitive people feared natural events and forces, and so needed to believe in a Supreme Being. The second era is the period of metaphysics, when humanity reached a considerable level of intellectual maturity. And the last era is the period of science, in which there is no room (or need) for religion, because reason and science will solve all human problems. Some people may continue to follow a reduced religion, comprising very basic moral and spiritual principles, to satisfy their emotional and spiritual needs and lead an upright life. But religion should not transgress its limits, and must not interfere in society’s collective-especially political-life. 

According to Ferdinand Buisson (1841-1932), the secular approach to life will not wipe out religion altogether, but will diminish it considerably and destroy the force of its dogmas and the basis of its doctrines. 

Before proceeding to criticize Western (materialistic and evolutionist) views of religion, we should summarize other definitions of religion by various Western thinkers or philosophers.

Georg Hegel (1770-1831) maintained that religion is a certain view of the universe. Benedetto Croce (1866-1952), an Italian follower of Hegel, defines religion as a philosophy that is incomplete. Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) deals with religion from the viewpoint of social morality, and thinks that religion means considering all of our responsibilities as Divine ordinances. Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768-1834) sees religion as no more than a feeling or excitement, an emotion or noble sentiment, felt for eternity. According to Ralph Otto, a contemporary theologian, religion is a mysterious fear combined with awe that causes people to tremble and yet attracts them to itself. 

CRITICS OF THE WESTERN VIEWS OF RELIGION

The positivistic and materialistic view of religion, promoted by modern Western attitudes and directed by the dogmas of science and technology, is highly questionable. The positivist line, which regards the West’s sociological and economic, as well as its military and political, levels as the ultimate human achievement, has been criticized severely even by Western thinkers. Such a view engenders existential tension and anxiety. Toward the end of his life and despite his view of religion as a mode of thinking or being belonging to the second (long past) era of human history, Comte tried to establish a humanistic religion. This shows that religion is not something to be denied or dismissed as belonging to some long past phase of human development.

Also, despite the huge recent advances in science and technology, extreme sexual freedom, high living standards and education levels, there is a growing global interest in and turning to religion. We have seen the emergence of new, primitive religions such as devil worship, as well as the quest for contentment through certain authentic or such false supernormal phenomena as telepathy, necromancy, sorcery, and fortune-telling.

Moreover, as Erich Fromm puts it, we still see the pursuit of security and guarantees for the future through increased association with insurance companies and trade unions, mighty governments, and holdings and pacts. We have seen the almost-global collapse of communism and a return to religion in those countries.

All of this shows that the scientific theories of Western researchers in the field of religion have proven to be false. These events and trends also demonstrate that, whether sociological or anthropological or psychological, Western studies of religion are based on wrong premises.

Whereas religion is a rising global value and more and more people are turning to it, modern Western civilization is being questioned severely and shows signs of inward decay while outwardly it is at the peak of its dominion. Like many others, Oswald Spengler (1880-1936), a famous German sociologist, prophesied the collapse of this civilization with all its skyscrapers, huge metropolises and railways, and foretold that it would be an ethnographic museum.

Such “refined” Western intellectuals and scientists as Rene Guenon, Alexis Carrel, Max Planck, Boris Pasternak, and James Jeans (1887-1946) have argued that religion would allow humanity to live in another era of happiness.

Also, the ongoing re-emergence of missionary churches in increasing numbers in Christendom and the return to Islamic values all over the Muslim world, despite the stern measures taken against Islam by native governments for several decades, demonstrate that it is almost impossible to defeat religion.

REFERENCES

• Adivar, A. Adnan. Ilim ve Din (Science and Religion). Istanbul: Remzi Kitabevi, 1983. Carrel, Alexis. Insan Denen Mechul. Trans. R. Ozdek. Istanbul: n.d.
• Dawson, Christopher. Batinin Olusumu. Trans. Istanbul: 1970.
• Fromm, Erich. Psikanaliz ve Din. Trans. Istanbul: n.d.
• Guenon, Rene. Dogu ve Bati. Trans. Yeryuzu yay. Istanbul: 1979.
• Hume, David. Din Ustune. Trans. Mete Tuncay. Istanbul: 1983.
• Mardin, Serif. Din ve Ideoloji (Religion and Ideology). Istanbul: Iletisim yay, 1983.
• Nisset, Robert. History of the Idea of Progress. London: 1993.
• Scognamillo, Giovanni. Batinin Inanc Temelleri. Trans. Istanbul: n.d.
• Spengler, Oswald. Batinin Cokusu. Trans. Istanbul: Dergah yay: n.d. 

Before giving information on dream interpretation, it is necessary to expound on the issues of sleep and dreams, because without knowing the essence of dreaming, no appropriate interpretation is possible.

What is dreaming? What constitutes its core? Is it the peculiar images seen during sleep, which is said to be like a temporary death? Why and how we dream is an unsolved mystery. Since the creation of humanity, philosophers and scholars have tried to explain dreaming, but none of them have demystified it completely. And so the subject continues to attract people’s interest.

Some basics of dreaming are the following. A dream is a vast metaphysical world that is also related to the Hereafter. Feeling this relationship is possible if people undertake the necessary emotional cleanliness and spiritual purification practices. If they do not do so, they live in a state of unawareness and thus cannot understand the subtle realities presented in dreams.

The fact that many Qur’anic verses and Prophetic hadiths mention dreams means that Muslims should pay attention to them. The narration of the Prophets’ dreams and their interpretations in the Qur’an, as well as Prophet Muhammad’s statement that dreams are the doors to spirituality, indicate that they contain a crucial type of knowledge (‘Ilm).

THE REALITY OF DREAMING

According to some scholars, the essence of dreaming consists of traces left on the shared sense (hiss-i mushterek) that descends from one’s imagination. Philosophers assume that this shared sense is not one of the five basic senses.

In addition, people have a nafs-i natika(1) a “spiritual intellect” that is the perception itself. This intellect perceives what is happening around it, but its preoccupation with bodily activities hinders it from reflecting upon knowledge related to the Unseen (ghayb).(2) During sleep, the burden of the five senses is lightened, which enables this spiritual intellect to receive ghayb-related knowledge from the metaphysical world. Then it turns to the body. Since it is located within the body, it becomes bound by corporeal things and can function only via bodily faculties. The spirit transmits what it perceives from its world to the faculty of the imagination, after which one’s imagination describes and pictures this information in an appropriate manner and presents it to “the shared sense.” The sleeping person feels as if he or she is actually seeing those things. This is a partial explanation of dreaming.

Now, let us dwell upon the matter of sleep during which dreaming takes place.(3)

SLEEP AND DREAMS: A SCIENTIFIC APPROACH

It is generally believed that an adult needs an average of 8 hours of sleep a night. However, researchers point out that the need for sleep differs from person to person: babies need about 16 hours, while elderly people show a great variation from the average. In addition, some people dream frequently while sleeping; others wake up frequently.

The actual cause and function of sleeping is not understood completely. Allan Rachtschaffen, a sleep researcher at the University of Chicago, states that sleep has no active function for the body. Despite the reduction in muscular fatigue and weariness, the body does not actually need sleep to renovate itself for our cells can restore and mend themselves under any condition. According to recent research, the human body does not have to undergo this renovation process to be in a passive condition or a sleeping mode. Electroencephalograms (EEGs) administered during sleep detect no such passive activity in the brain. According to Dr. Evans, a psychologist at England’s National Physics Laboratory, Computer Science Section, the main purpose of sleeping is to allow a person to dream.

Dr. William Dumont, a doctor at Stanford Medical Center, Sleep Disorders Clinic and Research Division, claims that dreaming is very important, for dreams help to maintain the body’s physical balance.

Dr. Colin D. Hendrigh of Stanford University writes that all organs perform systematic movements and activities at different times and various rates, and to extents that are specific to them. These changes, which are the rhythms’ highest and lowest levels, are different for every person. Physical activities reach their peak at midday and their lowest level at dawn.

Dr. Franz Halberg introduced the term circadian for changes that occur regularly on a 24-hour basis. Physical balance can be maintained by the rhythmic changes in accordance with time.

When the organs’ rhythm is the most inadequate, we feel sleepy. The first period of sleep, the non-rapid eye movement (NREM) state, is the most tranquil state for the body. Breathing is regular and quiet, and EEGs show that all mental activities are normal and orderly. Snoring occurs in this period.

The active sleeping state is the rapid eye movement (REM] state. Here the body is steady, except for irregular facial muscle and fingertip movements. Breathing becomes irregular, which leads to a continual rhythmic oscillation between slow- and fast-paced breathing. There is no snoring in this state. Some researchers claim that the REM period is not a part of sleep, but rather a kind of epileptic fit. REM sleep usually lasts for 1.5 to 2 hours, and NREM and REM cycles range from 70 to 110 minutes. On the average, they are expected to last for 90 minutes.

People who are spiritually depressed feel relaxed as long as they are not in REM sleep, for this is the state in which dreaming usually occurs. Many people cannot avoid REM sleep, however, even if they take sedatives or soporifics designed to block it either partially or entirely.

The first REM period of sleep lasts for about 10 minutes. As the night passes, REM periods might last longer, sometimes even as long as an hour. We dream, regardless of this period’s duration, but usually forget what we have dreamed when we wake up. (Researchers wake sleepers and ask whether they dreamed or not in order to record the dreams.)

During dreams, many details are removed from our memory. Usually we remember dreams consisting of nice and pleasant meanings and suggestions. If we were to recall all of our dreams, we would stay under their influence during the entire day and be unable to use our senses.

If there were no REM period, people would wake up for 10 or 20 minutes every 1 or 2 hours, instead of sleeping through the whole night. Experiments indicate that people deprived of REM sleep show psychological, spiritual, or bodily disorders. Other experiments show that when people deprived of REM sleep are given soporific drugs, they have longer REM periods. Ernest I. Hartman states that human beings need constant NREM periods with variable in-between REM periods. In other words, everybody has a constant period of NREM sleep, but REM periods vary from person to person.

“Long sleepers” are mainly those with demanding manual jobs or those who work long hours. If they do not sleep properly, they face problems in various aspects of their lives, are unhappy and constantly complaining, and have neurological problems. On the other hand, people with a romantic or artistic nature sleep to escape from society.

We cannot change our sleeping habits. If you cannot sleep for more than 6 hours, it just means that you only need that much sleep. The 8-hour average is just a generalization used in scientific circles, and thus is not supposed to apply to everybody.

DREAMS: A SPIRITUAL APPROACH (Part I)

Ibrahim Hakki of Erzurum, in his Marifetname, writes:

Ahl Allah (people who have proximity to God) said that: “The spirit has two windows for the world of Barzah(4): sleep and inspiration. In dreams, sometimes a person sees future happenings directly and sometimes in symbols. The latter should be decoded. If the sensory organs are closed to the physical world, and the internal mirror (the heart) is clean of all evil and polished, spiritual beings and unknown writings in theLawh-i Mahfooz(5) can be reflected and seen in this mirror. But if the senses are occupied with the material world and the internal mirror is rusty, the spirit cannot view the world of Barzah. Rather, it becomes busy with images left in the memory from the five senses. When a person dies, however, the spirit can view the metaphysical world and learn about the world of the Unseen (ghayb), for the senses and the body can no longer serve as obstacles. By inspiration, people can learn many previously unknown things. But if their hearts are not clean, they will not recognize and understand the actual source of these inspirations” (Marifetname, pg. 581). WT

Ibn Khaldun devotes a portion of his book al-Muqaddimah (Prolegomena) to dreams:

“A dream is a spiritual activity that consists of seeing and observing the forms and shapes of entities reflected to the spirit from the Unseen (ghayb) after the spirit enters into the metaphysical world during sleep. When people are awake, they do not contemplate their spirituality, for they are occupied with their carnal and physical functions. Thus they forget the information reflected from the Unseen. Since people reduce their connection with the flesh and physical existence while asleep, they become spiritual entities somewhat like other spiritual beings and, when they turn toward the world of the Unseen, can observe angels and other ethereal beings [lateef entities(6)]” (Bayram, 33).

The bond between body and spirit, merely a connection, becomes ideal during dreams. With this development, the human spirit becomes an incorporeal being and can perceive without the help of the body and the sense organs. In this state, the human spirit is lower than an angel, because an angel’s perfection comes from its nature and creation. As an angel’s intuition or cognition never develops, it cannot improve itself. However, as long as the spirit inhabits a physical body, it can develop and grow in metaphysical understanding. This ability can be classified into two groups: special (belonging to the saints in the form of gifts) and general (found in everybody in the form of contacting the Unseen).

The spirits of Prophets are purely spiritual, for they transcend the body. This state is the highest rank of spirituality. Its onset could be observed whenever a Prophet received Revelation, for his

body’s perceptive faculties would enter a dozing-like period different from regular sleep. In reality, sleeping is greatly inferior to such a state. Concerning this state, the Prophet said: “The (good) dreams of a believer are one part of the forty-six parts of Prophethood (Al-Bukhari, vol. 9: no. 116). Some Muslim scholars interpret this hadith as meaning that when the Revelation began, it was in the form of dreams for the first 6 months. (His Prophethood lasted for 23 years in total, and so the first 6 months would constitute l/46th of this period.)

A Prophet’s dreams are not ordinary, for they come true exactly as they are seen. All Prophets had dreams in the first stage of their Prophethood. This only indicates the association of dreams to Prophethood, not the reality of dreaming to the essence of Prophethood, of which dreaming constitutes only a small part. In addition, it is an innate human ability that allows us to reach spiritual and unseen worlds. The smallness of this fraction (l/46th) contrasts the relationship of this common ability to dream with a Prophet’s ability to contact spiritual and unseen worlds.

Contacting these nonmaterial worlds is very difficult, although it is a general potential for human beings. Many obstacles prevent us from making the best use of this ability. The first one is the external senses. God made sleeping an innate and natural characteristic and state of mind so that we could bypass, temporarily, these external obstacles. During sleep, one can try to understand the reality behind events and also have some of his or her concerns addressed in dreams. For this reason, Prophet Muhammad regarded dreaming as a harbinger. He said: “Nothing is left of Prophethood except al-mubashshirat (harbingers, glad tidings).” His Companions asked: “What are al-mubashshirat?” He replied: “The true, good dreams (that convey glad tidings). Only pious people and you have such dreams” (Al-Bukhari, vol. 9: no. 119).

The nafs-i natika can perceive and think only via the human spirit, for they are tied to each other. Creation, through combining and synthesizing physical elements, prevents ethereal entities from influencing material objects. Since the human spirit is both ethereal (lateef) and located within material entities, it needs a means (the nafs-i natika) through which it can receive the stimuli of material things. The nafs-i natika, which fulfills this function, acts within the human spirit and has both internal and external perceptive abilities. Internal perceptions come through the brain’s faculties, while external perceptions come through the five senses.

These means of perception, despite their innate abilities, inhibit the perception of metaphysical realities. The external senses, which are all corporeal, are used by the nafs-i natika so often that they become exhausted and require sleep to rest.

Even though the spirit can leave the body, tired senses inhibit the nafs-i natika from perceiving metaphysical realities. God implanted within the spirit a desire to depart from the material realm, as shown by its turning from the external senses toward the internal senses. As the night’s coolness helps this departure, the body’s natural heat withdraws deep inside the body and the spirit, which causes the nafs-i natika to ascend to the spiritual realm. The human spirit remains inside the body. This is why people fall asleep.

When the human spirit leaves the external senses and supervises the internal faculties, the nafs-i natika’s tasks are alleviated. This reduces the obstacles to its ascent, which allows it to deal with sensory images. Imagination engenders virtual figures by synthesizing and analyzing sensory images, because the carnal soul perceives, observes, and becomes mostly accustomed and familiar with these figures. This is the basic habit of the nafs-i natika. After this, the collective sensory powers, which gather all external sensory perceptions in the brain, observe those images as if they were actually perceived with external senses.

During sleep, the spirit does not deal with internal or external powers. Rather, it grasps its spirituality as if it were a physical perception, and acquires information about the Unseen. The human spirit then submits these images directly to the imagination, which either accepts them totally or puts them into resembling shapes (symbols). Dreams that result from the latter process require interpretation, for the meaning is not immediately clear. If the nafs-i natika analyzes and synthesizes the images acquired through external senses and hidden in its memory with what it perceived from the Unseen during sleep, the dream is confusing and mixed up.

In an authentic hadith, the Prophet says: “There are three kinds of dreams: those inspired by God during sleep, those from angels, and those inspired by Satan” (Al-Bukhari, vol. 9: no. 144). This does not invalidate the above argument. Dreams that need to be interpreted are from angels, while confusing and mixed dreams come from Satan. The latter are beguiling and erroneous.

Most of our dreams are neither deliberate nor intentional. When one’s spirit focuses on the Unseen world to learn the hidden reality about itself or something else, the reality of these things may reflect on it instantly, and the subjects of concern may become clear. If this is not the case, the spirit cannot see and observe whatever and whenever it wants to during sleep.

Medieval Islamic literature records many instances of pre-Islamic Arabs relying on soothsayers who also dealt with dream interpretation. For example, Shiqq (from the family of Enmer bin Nizar) and Sutayuh (a descendent of Mazun bin Garsan) were well-known soothsayers. Sutayuh had no bones in his body, except for his skull, and so could be folded like cloth.

The most well-known stories about these soothsayers are Shiqq’s interpretation of Rebia bin Muzar’s dream heralding the Abyssinian invasion of Yemen, and Sutayuh’s interpretation of the famous Persian scholar Mubezan’s dream. Chosroes of Persia sent ‘Abdulmesih to ask Sutayuh to interpret Mubezan’s dream. Sutayuh said that it foretold the coming of a new Prophet and the destruction of Chosreos’ kingdom (Bayram, 38).

‘Abdulgani an-Nablusi states, in light of Qur’anic verses and the Prophet’s hadiths: They shall have glad tidings in this world and in the Hereafter (10:64). According to some Qur’an interpreters, glad tidings in the earthly life means dreams about a person regardless of who dreams; glad tidings in the Hereafter means seeing God.

The Prophet said: “One who does not believe in true dreams does not have a sound belief in God and the Resurrection.” ‘A’isha, the Prophet’s wife, stated that: “The commencement (of the Divine Inspiration) to God’s Apostle was in the form of true dreams in his sleep, for all of his dreams turned out to be true and clear as bright daylight” (Al-Bukhari, vol. 6: no. 478)

The Prophet once told Abu Bakr as-Siddiq: “I dreamed we were climbing up some stairs, but that I was two steps ahead (of you).” Abu Bakr interpreted this as follows: “O Messenger of God, after God raises your soul to heavens near Him and grants you His Compassion, I will give for another 2 1/2 years” (Bayram, 38).

Your Lord will approve you (Yusuf) (as in your dream) select you and grant you the knowledge on interpretation of dreams (12:6), and 0 my Lord. You have indeed bestowed on me (something of) sovereignty, and taught me something of the interpretation of dreams and events… (12:101). According to these verses, God granted the knowledge of dreams to Yusuf (Joseph).

to be continued…

FOOTNOTES

1. Nafs-i natika is the faculty of the soul that is responsible for thinking and talking.
2. Ghayb means hidden, secret, or unseen. It is usually used for the metaphysical world, as in ‘alam-i ghayb (the Unseen world). Here, we translate it as “the Unseen.”
3. This section is borrowed from an article of Mr. Ali Toker, published in Kopru (The Bridge) magazine. (See also references.)
4. Barzah literally means precipice, chasm, or abyss. In Islamic terminology, it is the period between one’s death and resurrection. It refers to the place between this world and the Hereafter, or sometimes the world of the dead.
5. Lawh-i Mahfooz literally means a protected or preserved tablet. In Islamic literature, it means the Tablet preserved in God’s presence and contains His decrees and the destiny of all creation. It is a title for Divine Knowledge.
6. Lateef literally means soft, intangible, and pretty. In Islamic literature, it means something nonmaterial, incorporeal, and impossible to see with the eyes, and a type of being that is less dense than physical entities. We translate it as “ethereal” to indicate this peculiarity.

REFERENCES

• Bayram, Ali and M. Sadi Cogenli. Ruya Tabirleri Ansiklopedisi (The Encyclopedia of Dream Interpretations). Istanbul: 1993. (Toker’s article, originally published in Kopru, is borrowed from this source.)
• Hakki, Erzurumlu Ibrahim. Marifetname (The Book of Wisdom). Turkey (then Ottoman State): 1756 (compiled and simplified by M. Faruk Meyan. Istanbul: 1993).
• Al-Huseyni, Sayyid Suleyman. Kenzul Menam. (Treasures of Sleep). Istanbul: 1340-41 AH.
• Ibn al-‘Arabi, Muhyiddin. Tabirname-i Muhyiddin ‘Arabi (The Book of Dream Interpretations by Muhyiddin Ibn al-‘Arabi). Istanbul: 1270 AH/1854 CE.
• Ibn Sirin, Muhammad. Muntehabul Kalaam fi Tafsiiri’l-Ahlaam. (The Selection of Words for Dream Interpretations) Egypt: 1359 AH/1940 CE.
• Ivadullah, Ahmed as-Sabahi. Delil-u Tafsiri’l Ahlaam. (The Evidence of Dream Interpreting). N.p.: 1974.
• . Tafsiirul Ahlam min Vahyi’d-Din ve’l-Ilm. (Dream Interpretations in Religious Revelation and Knowledge). N.p.: 1974
• Miras, Kamil. Sahih-i Buhari Muhtasari Tecrid-i Sahih Tecumesi ve Serhi. (The Authentic Translation and Commentary of Sahih al-Bukhari) Istanbul: 1972.
• Suleyman, Avanzade M. Muabbir Yahut Yeni ve Mukemmel Tabirname (The Interpreter or New and Excellent Book of Dream Interpretation). Istanbul: 1329 AH/ 1913 CE.
• Tabirname (The Book of Dream Interpretation). Istanbul: 1274 AH/1858 CE.
• An-Nablusi, Abdulgani. Tatir-ul Enam fi Tabiri’l Menam. (The Beautiful Fragrances of Sleep with Dream Interpretations). Egypt: 1359 AH/1940 CE.
• Unal, Nurettin and Hekimoglu Ismail. Ilimde, Teknikte, Edebiyatta, Tarihte, Dinde Ruya ve Tabirleri (Dreams and Their Interpretations in Science, Technique, Literature, History, and Religion). Istanbul: 1982.
• Al-Zahiri, Halil b. Shahin. Al-Isharat fi ‘Ilmi’l-‘Ibarat. (The Signs for the Science of Symbols) Egypt: 1359 AH/1940 CE.

– Moive Review

Science Fiction/Fantasy and Action/Adventure

Rated R for sci-fi violence and language

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, Joe Pantoliano

Directed by: The Wachowsky Brothers

Produced by: Andrew Mason and Joel Silver

Written by: Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski

Distributor: Warner Brothers

In the year 1999. To be more precise, people believe it is the Year 1999. In facts we are well into the middle of the twenty-first century. In addition, this is not the only reality concealed from us. The “creators” of artificial intelligence were caught unprepared while they were drunk on the extent of their accomplishments. There has been a great revolution-machine revolted against humanity and conquered life. Now we do not even have a system about whose corruptness and shortcomings we can complain. Yet we continue to work from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in our daily shifts, eat hamburgers while watching television, and attend parties. Children are still being born, and the sun still rises and sets.

However, none of this really exists, for only the “Matrix” exists. This “Matrix” is the name of a dream from which we cannot awake. It also is a three-dimensional curtain pulled between reality and humanity. With your fork-actually your fork does not exist either-you can still feel the taste of a nonexistent slice of meat. Tiredness, disappointment, and sorrow are all possible, along with the signals they send to your brain, most of which they already own.

Unless you believe “ignorance is a virtue,” like someone who realizes the difficulty of “knowing” does after he or she has known, you would like to learn. Yet, you also realize immediately that knowing this particular truth does not exalt you. This is neither an auto-criticism nor a suggested solution, but rather a knowledge that you will not be able to relate to others with extravagant praise or mention in every meeting or social gathering.

In fact, you would prefer not to know it at all: Matrix is the name of a computer program that is animated as if it is “life.” In reality, our bodies are connected to metal basins, and cables of various sizes are plugged into us. Our life lasts only as long as (the lifetime of the “battery.” We are planted on electronic fields, harvested and fed “until we exhaust” the battery. We are walking around with large plap-ins,which provide our connection with the machine, located at the back of our heads. Only those few who were born naturally have seen the world in which real parents exist, known in the movie as “Zion,” and do not have plug-ins. Zion is the only place that the electronic barbarians cannot enter, which is why the ruthless guards of the Matrix are trying so hard to find its coordinates.

THE CHOSEN MAN

Thomas Anderson is a computer geek who works for a software company during the day and spends his nights as a computer hacker known as “Neo.” There is a truth that he has been trying to find for a long time: Is his life somehow being controlled? He is after “Morpheus,” whose name is usually uttered as if he were a terrorist. Neo feels that this man is somehow connected to his problems and can provide him some answers. Morpheus gets in touch with Neo through his assistant “Trinity.”

When they finally meet, Morpheus promises to show Neo “the truth,” of which even minute parts are invaluable. Now, faith is the power that reality cannot deny. Neglecting humanity’s fragile nature, men and women built the Machine and will defeat it to the extent that they can free their thoughts from it. Is Neo the awaited savior? If so, what will he promise to humanity? Unless they are killed at the instant they “awaken,” will he promise the underground breakfasts consisting of mossy oats at best? In place of a joyful but unreal world, can he promise a dark but real world?

ELECTRONIC SCIENCE FICTION

Finally, a science fiction movie that can be viewed with enjoyment and suspense, one that is graded “A” despite its shortcomings. In The Matrix, the dose of excitement, long and technical dialogues, and contrasts are properly blended. The fighting scenes, modeled after Asian action movies and modernized in a computer environment, have been transformed into a public demonstration by the aesthetic style of the Wachowsky brothers. They do not hesitate to use such scenes, for they know that even viewers who do not like such action and fighting scenes will appreciate the results. With cameras that can shoot 12,000 clips per second, with actors seemingly almost independent of gravity, these fighting scenes seem like dances conforming to the movie’s theme, rather than brutal fights.

The movie moves smoothly between prologue and awakening, development and meeting, result and struggle, and conclusion. Among the cool, black-clad men and women with sunglasses, Reeves, Fishburne, and Moss have peculiar facial expressions. But the movie itself has a power beyond its individual components. One example of this is how the camera approaches objects: In one scene, the camera is located right under the helicopter and window from which a gun is being fired. Both action areas can be seen, yet the focus is on cartridges seemingly suspended in the air and then gradually gliding to the ground

As a matter of fact, the question: “Seeing that this electronic mechanism fools man and condemns him to a virtual life, to a dream from which awakening is impossible, could not man be deceived by a better view of 1999 rather than the present one?” is answered before long. Agent Smith accidentally lets the cat out of the bag when he has cornered Morpheus: “We wished a better world for man, but man defines his essence with such misery and sorrow that these designs were rejected by human conscious in the experiments.”

The martial-art figures borrowed from Asia give the impression that this struggle to awaken humanity carries a deeper philosophy, yet only in the movie’s second half is this suspicion confirmed. But it is impossible not to notice the symbolic supports of the Bible and Greek mythology, which are layered one inside the other and pervade the movie’s life and imagery. The relationship of “Trinity” to the Bible is self-evident. Moreover, “Neo” (like his name, he also is “new”) ascends to his own “reality” under the protective wings of “Morpheus” (the Greek god of dreams), who heals the mental and physical harm caused by switching from one world to another. Trinity Morpheus, and Neo form a sacred trio who know the “truth” and partially own the mechanism to alter it. They are striving to benefit a humanity corrupted by its own faults, while at the same time being fully aware that they really do not have more than just their belief. Until he experiments with the limits of his powers to learn if he is the “Chosen One” or not, Neo continues to learn. A female soothsayer wants him to sacrifice himself. After all, is there any other savior for humanity, who became arrogant because of its accomplishments but lost the struggle against evil forces and was enslaved, other than a “Chosen One”?

A BROTHER TO LEM

I do not know how much of The Matrix is inspired by the science fiction work of Polish author Stanislaw Lem. But the theme of living in a fake world as if alive, which came to the public agenda with such books as Strangers by Day (by Vicki Malones, 1984) and movies as Dark City (written by Frank Lauria, 1998, the movie version released on February 27, 1998), or the theme of an existing dark reality contrary to the present make-believe world-in other words the theme of illusion-simulation-is not so new.

The Matrix’s story-line bears a considerable resemblance to a book written in the 1970s by Lem, who is considered to be the genius of science fiction. But rather than eulogies, Lem delicately criticizes science. He foresaw humanity’s misfortunes and degeneration years ago. He touches on the results of inventions and discoveries in his future tableaus, rather than becoming carelessly intoxicated by them, and analyzes our greed and inordinate desires via scientific diagnoses and terms. Lem fictionalizes a virtual world similar to The Matrix in his 1974 novel The Futurological Congress.

The story goes like this: After a space voyage, Ijon Tichy finds himself in an advanced twenty-first century civilization. He tries to understand the age in which he lives and what he missed while asleep in the shuttle. In this new age, people can assume any temperament they want via chemical stimulants, store in their brains any information they want to by means of drugs, torment those they hate in their virtual worlds, travel, and participate in any virtual fantasy. In this “democracy,” such serious social problems as prejudice and racial discrimination are solved by chemicals. Opportunities are endless. There are firms to decide things for you, fight your fights, even to satisfy your religious sentiments. In short, this society has an ultra-free market economy.

Ijon comes across a Professor Trottelreiner, whom he had known long ago and who was sent to sleep in a spaceship like himself. He shows Ijon more than he wants to know by giving him a bottle of fragrance to smell. The scent emitted from the bottle shows reality to Ijon. The eye-catching restaurant coated with Italian tile, and the palm trees are transformed into a coarse underground shelter. The pheasant they are eating is, in fact, a porridge that has a grayish-brown vomit-like color, because the last pheasant died 25 years ago. The palm tree is really the rubber underwear of the man living in the upper shelf, which in reality is too narrow. People inhabit an incredibly overcrowded world, and forks and knives are made of tin.

Worse than that, Ijon understands why people are always red and out of breath: There are no elevators, so people reach the ninth and tenth floors by climbing up elevator cords. The chemical empire has already started to transform them, for most people now have stained and discolored skins, longer ears, and scaly backs. All seen images and used chemicals conceal the already demolished system of the planet, on which more than 20 billion people live. The air we breathe is full of camouflage mascots, reality is hidden under layers of chemical products, and humanity is rescued superficially from the reality of poverty and misery!

The Matrix is a movie that should be seen more than once. The Wachowsky brothers took into consideration not only aesthetic styles, but also commercial worries by meeting the expectations of an average sci-fi viewer and then combining both issues on the same platform. After the Coen and Taviani brothers, it is possible to say that the Wachowsky brothers, who managed to attract interest with their previous movie Bound, have opened a respected room in the cinema for themselves with The Matrix. We can only hope that the sequels, already rumored to be coming soon, will be just as good.

The best side of the movie is the Matrix paranoia itself, which is even scary to say. The Matrix gains importance when the uncontrolled life is faced with the reality of existence, the purpose of which is almost forgotten. It gains importance by becoming the new name for alienation, enslavement, and enumeration. Everything is assigned a number, including people. Our identification and accomplishments, everything we do, is specified with statistics and numbers, which have more value than the individual in the twenty-first century.

Smart structures can sense changes in their environment and respond accordingly. These adaptive structures can autonomously modify their shapes to perform the desired task regardless of the particular environmental disturbance.

“It’s difficult to bet on technology-you cannot always pick the winners, but it looks like smart materials would be the next step in engineering design,” says Craig A. Rogers, director of Virginia Tech’s Center for Intelligent Systems and Structures.

By using smart materials instead of adding mass, engineers can endow structures with built-in responses to a myriad of contingencies. In their various forms, these materials can perform as actuators, which can adapt to their environments by changing such characteristics as shape and stiffness, or as sensors, which provide actuators with information about structural and environmental changes.

Smart structures have numerous applications, among them the following:

SPACE STRUCTURES

Large space structures are subject to a variety of dynamic perturbations produced by the crew, the docking of other spacecraft, transient thermal states during the orbit, micrometeorities, and so on. The vibration amplitude of the perturbations has to be dampened in time to avoid further nonstability in the space structure.

In addition to that, the dampening of the flexible models is a necessary ingredient in achieving robust attitude control of the spacecraft.

AIRPLANES

Smart wings. Airplanes that have smart wings will control surfaces that can reshape themselves on the fly. Airplane wings will flex themselves like fish tails. With the help of smart structures, airfoil will be shaped and the aircraft’s lift will be improved. This improved lift will help to get a single-engine fighter off the deck of an aircraft carrier without a catapult.

Replacing current (and heavy) hydraulic control systems with light-weight, high-performance smart materials could increase aircraft payloads by as much as 30 percent and flight range by 50 percent.

Adaptive surfaces would replace stiff structures designed as a compromise among ideal wing shapes for various maneuvers. Eventually vertical tails, ailerons, and stiff structures could be eliminated.

HELICOPTERS

Active helicopter blades that adjust shape continuously to respond to vibration-engendering pressure changes in the air. These fluctuations knock the machinery out of alignment and cause a lot of down time. A helicopter’s maintenance schedule is approximately 15 percent of its time. In the helicopter project, piezoelectric patches on blade surfaces function both as sensors and as actuators, or as generators of counter-force.

Flutter suppression is a particularly important problem. Recent experiments in NASA wing tunnels with unoptimized smart structure designs have shown a 70 percent decrease in displacement and a 20 percent increase in blade speed by utilizing active vibration control concepts.

Active noise suspension for helicopter cabins promise greatly decreased acoustic noise/vibration intensities. This reduces stress upon crew members involved in increasingly longer duration missions.

SUBMARINES

Stealth submarines using smart skins. Smart materials technology may result in stealth submarines. Their acoustically hypersensitive smart skins would detect the pressure of an incoming sonar wave, and then automatically generate an equal but opposite counter-pressure to cancel out the ping. With nothing reflected back to enemy boat, the submarine would be invisible.

CARS

The automotive industry also is eager to incorporate intelligent materials technology. Some of the areas where smart material will be used are:

Smart car seats. Researchers are working on an industry-sponsored project to develop smart car seats that can identify primary occupants and adapt to their preferences for height, leg room, back support, and so forth.

Maintenance information. The technology exists to enable cars to tell owners how much air pressure tires have, when oil changes are needed, and other maintenance information.

Suspension and transmission. Smart materials that can change their viscosity (inherent thickness or resistance to flow) when exposed to electric or magnetic fields. This kind of smart material will lead to new kinds of auto suspensions and transmissions.

SKIS

A revolutionary piezo control module, developed by Active Control eXperts, Inc. (ACX), serves as “the brain inside the ski.”

The ACX “brain” is a small, thin, rectangular card containing piezoelectric smart materials and control circuits, which are embedded while the skis are being made. These materials detect unwanted vibrations in the skis and convert them into useful electrical energy. The control circuitry then uses the energy to smooth out the vibrations, putting the skis back on the snow. The result is a smoother ride, more responsive turning, and “solid stability.”

SOUND

Ultra-high-fidelity stereo speakers. Using piezoelectric actuators, such speakers can expand and contract in thousandths of a second in response to applied voltage. Speaker speakers in their homes and cars to achieve maximum musical effects. Their cars and houses will offer built-in surround-sound.

BUILDINGS

New bridge systems using fiber-optic lines and other sensors as strain indicators. Embedded in building materials, these devices would generate telltale optical or electrical signals when the system is stressed. Eventually, earthquake-resistant structures could be made using materials that would alter their stiffness in response to the ground’s motion, much as horseback riders flex their legs while riding.

Earthquake resistant structures. Smart structures will shake the building to cancel the effect of the earthquake.

Early warning. Smart structures will help determine possible structural damages due to the onset of structural degradation.

Unfortunately, the biggest millennial issue was the Y2K syndrome. Instead of focusing on this temporary problem, we should have been concentrating on evaluating the century we so recently left, and devising ways to improve people’s mental and spiritual capacity. However the focus was Y2K, which showed once more that advances in technology and science are not enough to make us happy. Now that this particular “crisis” has passed, to what issue should we turn our attention? In our opinion, we should focus on our need for a new philosophy to unite our hearts and minds.

Science and religion have been separated for centuries, and religion has been accused of being implausible and superfluous. But during the last years of the twentieth century, we saw some new approaches to understanding religion and reconsidering human beings as believers. Despite this positive development, some futurists still claim that the next century will be one of religious polarization. The strongest answer to this claim is to understand the meaning and purpose of-life: “Altruism, beauty, and sincerity are the essentials of the world. No matter what happens, the world will come to those essentials.”

The continued call for interfaith and intercivilizational dialogue are strong indications that the next century will be one of mutual understanding. This is the position taken by the author of our first article, who writes: “I believe and hope that the world of the new millennium will be a happier, more just, and more compassionate place, contrary to the fears of some people. Islam, Christianity, and Judaism all come from the same root, have almost the same essentials, and are nourished from the same source. Although they have lived as rival religions for centuries, the common points among them and their shared responsibility to build a happy world for all creatures of God make interfaith dialogue among them necessary. This dialogue has now expanded to include the religions of Asia and other areas. The results have been positive.”

The second coming of Jesus is another factor for hope. Perhaps he is the one who will unite our hearts and minds, and remind us of the reason behind creation. In this issue, one of our authors deals with this topic from an Islamic point of view.

We sincerely hope that the new millennium justifies our optimistic expectations…