However, the issue of privacy versus freedom of information has been with us forever. In world history, the recognition of privacy has deep roots.(2) The Qur’an (3) and the Bible (4) contain numerous references to privacy. Jewish law has long recognized the concept of freedom from being watched.(5) There also were protections in classical Greece and ancient China.

Privacy defined

Privacy is the interest that individuals have in sustaining a personal space free from interference by other people and organizations. It is a balancing act between the needs of individuals and society’s demands. There is a fine balance between the need for individuals to protect their privacy and the contending pressures of business, government, and the exigencies of modern life.

There are three main issues and areas of concern: How much other people may access our personal information, how much access should we have to our private information that is held by others, and how much access we should have to public information. Privacy, a topic of special concern to social scientists, is a complicated issue that cannot be discussed fully within this short article.

Even with the adoption of legal and other protections, privacy violations remain a concern. Beyond these obvious aspects of privacy, several important trends are contributing to privacy invasion, such as globalization (removing limitations to the flow of data), convergence (leading to the elimination of technological barriers between systems), and multimedia.

Types of privacy

Intuitively, privacy can be categorized into four separate but related concepts.

Privacy of communications or interception, which involves individuals desiring to communicate with other individuals and organizations through secure and private communications, whether these be mail, telephone, e-mail, or otherwise.

Privacy of the person, which is concerned with the integrity of one’s physical body and protection of one’s physical self against such invasive procedures as compulsory immunization, blood transfusion without consent, genetic tests, compulsory provision of bodily fluids and tissue samples, and drug testing.

Territorial privacy, which involves setting limits on intrusion and all aspects of behavior into the domestic and other environments, but especially with regard to various sensitive matters in both private and in public places (e.g., searches, sexual preferences and habits, political activities, religious practices, video surveillance, and ID checks).

Information privacy or privacy of personal data, meaning the establishment of rules governing personal data collection and handling. People claim that personal data on credit history, as well as medical and government records, should not be available automatically to other individuals and organizations.

The volume of instantly recorded information based on credit card usage, Internet visits, hospital or pharmacy visits, filing tax returns renting video tapes and so on’all of which can be accessed by authorized and unauthorized persons’has changed the speed and ease with which others can survey much of one’s personal life and activities.(6)

Types of surveillance

Identification. With the advent of microprocessor technology, such a card’s type, function, and integrity vary enormously. ID cards could embed biometric information, defined as the process of collecting, processing, and storing details of a person’s physical characteristics in order to identify and authenticate.

In recent years, the underlying technology interests governments and companies because, unlike other forms of ID, they now can include such new information as digital fingerprinting, handprint scans, hand geometry, thumb scans, facial recognition technologies, voice authentication devices, electronic retinal scans, and such other biological markers as DNA identification.

Thus security personnel also will be able to identify more accurately those people accessing buildings, computers, or national borders.

Communications. All companies that develop digital telephone switches, cellular and satellite phones, and other developing communication technologies build in surveillance capabilities.(7) Nearly every country has some form of eavesdropping capability as regards telephone, fax, and telex communications for the use of law enforcement or intelligence agencies. 

Internet and black boxes. Internet surveillance is a revolutionary new technology that allows remote monitoring of an e-mail address and the contents of an e-mail message.(7)

A related effort for enhancing government control of the Internet and promoting surveillance is being conducted in the name of preventing ‘cyber-crime,’ ‘information warfare,’ or ‘protecting critical infrastructures.’ A number of countries are demanding that ISPs install ‘black boxes’ that can monitor system traffic.

In short, black boxes contain specialized software programs that run in a computer hooked into the network at a location where it can monitor system traffic. These sniffers can monitor the entire data stream by searching for such key words, phrases, or strings as net addresses or e-mail accounts. Network administrators can take screen shots in real time or on a schedule, by time and day or user, and store them for future review; run any program installed on a remote PC; shut down or restart any remote workstation; and view a list of applications stored on all network PCs, the frequency of Internet usage, and more.

Electronic Commerce. As consumers surf and engage in routine online transactions, they leave behind a trail of personal details, often without any idea that they are doing so. Corporations monitor the huge amount of personal information (e.g., e-mail address linked to messages posted on mailing lists, from newsgroups or domain name registration data, individual surfing habits, deciphering how individual work, and building detailed profiles of where they shop and what they like to buy).

The perceived value of this kind of information is behind the stock-market valuations of many dotcom companies. Marketers and advertisers use cookies to track personal preferences as the most pervasive tracking technology. The cookie is a very small text file containing an ID number downloaded from a Web site by your browser and placed on a user’s hard drive.

Television and T-commerce

The new field of interactive digital television has a huge potential. Users can send and receive e-mail, browse the Internet, buy goods and services, and play games through their television. The industry anticipates that such T-commerce (television commerce) will enable viewers to make impulsive purchases based on what their favorite star is wearing or on individually tailored ads appearing between the plots of their favorite shows or sporting events.

Audio. Audio surveillance allows people to eavesdrop (and/or record) conversations taking place at a particular location or on a particular telephone line. Advances in technology are making it easier and cheaper to conduct covert audio surveillance. These devices come in many shapes and sizes: from micro-engineered transmitters the size of an office staple to devices no bigger than a cigarette packet that can transmit video and sound signals for miles. A magic item of modern ingenuity, each audio stream is captured and analyzed on the fly, allowing intelligence agents to perform voice-pattern matches during an intercept. It also provides the names of speakers and access to their dossiers.

Video. By now, the use of video surveillance cameras, known as closed circuit television (CCTV), to monitor public and private spaces has grown to unprecedented levels. Most towns and cities are moving to CCTV surveillance of public areas. This technology enables the observation of individuals without their knowledge at the ATM, in stores, elevators, restaurants, school hallways, housing estates, car parks, and when stopped by police in patrol cars.

In addition to the obvious security applications, video surveillance technology is being used to measure traffic flow, detect accidents on highways, monitor pedestrian congestion in public spaces, compile consumer demographics in shopping malls and amusement parks, log routine maintenance tasks at nuclear facilities, and count endangered species. The numerous military applications include patrolling national borders, measuring refugee flows in troubled areas, monitoring peace treaties, and providing secure perimeters around bases and embassies. Their use on private property is also becoming popular.(8) 

This essay evaluates an example of violence theme books, claimed to be written for both children and adults. We shall analyze Harry Potter, which has been marketed through commercials and campaigns, in terms of content and language, adequate and overriding themes.

The author: Joanne Kathleen Rowling was born in 1965 in England and graduated from Exeter University with a degree in French literature. She started writing the series after an instant inspiration while riding a train. The Harry Potter series, which has sold more than 200 million copies and has been translated into 47 languages, has made the author one of the highest taxpayers (’60 million sterling) in England.

The hero: Harry Potter is a child who survived a tragedy in which his parents, both wizards, were killed by black magic. As an infant, he was sent to live with his mother’s sister and her husband, both opposed to magic and therefore openly hostile to Harry. After realizing that he has inherited supernatural powers, Harry dedicates himself to fighting evil. He acquires many magic skills that no one else has.

Themes: The science-mystic series starts on a Tuesday morning in London. Throughout, good-bad and positive-negative elements are inseparable, for there is neither a hierarchy of values nor a moral code. Furthermore, the characters’ morals shift morals throughout the books. The series affects children, leaving traces of subjective behaviors based on imitation and changing ethics. As a result, they use their fathers’ cars without permission, lie to cover up incidents, and become apparently disobedient at school.

In such books, there usually is an overwhelming idea: The universe is ordered and good always triumphs over evil. But in this series, there is no good side apart from Harry’s hereditary supernatural powers.

Language: Another interesting feature is the unacceptable language full of swear words, even though it is said to be written for children. It is evident that the author tried to maintain the readers’ interest through inappropriate metaphors and negative terminology.

Main theme: The usual design of the universe can be changed through magic, and the only way to overcome evil is to use mysterious forces and sorcery. Thus everything is build on a theme of sorcery. The author successfully tells the story for children by using normal objects and places and by incorporating the real world with an artificial world based on sorcery.

Magic is used to overcome evil and help the good, but is portrayed as a positive element to be used in daily life. Thus, all daily behaviors are associated with magic. This emphasis asserts that adults and children must use magic to resolve issues that can be resolved through human willpower and effort. In this case, there is the possibility to believe in sorcery’s power, and thereby be drawn into helplessness and pessimism and forgetfulness of Divine power.

The absolute evils in the books (vampires, witches, bloodsuckers) are around all the time and can exert evil constantly. Such a world concept has the potential to increase the number of unhappy children, as well as those who already are aggressive and cause trouble for others.

Up until the eighteenth century, people believed in white (good) and black (bad) magic and that white magic somehow helped goodness to prevail. However, in Harry Potter, white and black magic are inseparable, use the same weapons, and both use the apparatuses used in black magic (e.g.,corps, urine, blood, crow, cemetery soil). However, it is implied that black magic is used for murder and death. Black magic and spells replace mercy, forgiveness, warning, and short-term punishment with methods of terminating and disappearing. As a consequence, children are manipulated toward magic (particularly black magic) and the so-called dark sciences.

Religion and Divine Power: This series emphasizes a universe without any design and owner, one having no concept of God or Destiny. Creation, killing, and reviving are associated with a mysticism originating from an arbitrary and Godless universe. The concepts attributed to God in all religions are tied to the power of magicians and sorcery. In a sense, therefore, sorcery has replaced religion. Harry has an almost divine role due to the supernatural powers he possesses, which have come to him from an unknown source.

Mental violence: In the series, both the good and evil forces use violence against each other. In fact, violence against violence is the primary theme. All of these violent messages sent to the subconscious are constantly repeated and thus leave negative impacts. Moreover, even the fairy used as the symbol of good in such books is portrayed as an evil fairy. It is well known that mental violence is more harmful to one’s personality than physical violence.

Interaction with the Devil and Satanism: The series contains many satanic motifs, among them Harry’s interaction with the snake in the zoo and owls carrying a letter to him. Both of these animals are apparent signs of the world of sorcery. In fact, the Qur’n refers to the snake as the ‘€œdevil who leads people astray.’€ The victims of satanic scarifies are unfortunately innocent girls. The author even writes about such a girl who is killed in this way, a murdered cat whose blood is drunk tree days after, and a way of suicide that the Satanists call Satan suicide. Furthermore cemeteries, which also attract Satanists, appear frequently in the books. The Satanists’ œblood drinking ritual, based on their belief that they become more powerful by drinking the blood of a cat killed by torture, is also depicted.

We do not know why blood, another element that feeds mental violence, is used so much in books written for children. However, if we consider that blood is not shown on TV news programs, we find it difficult to comprehend the author’s intentions. The frequent use of such terms as ‘blood, death, soul suckers’ cannot lead to anything but mental terror for small children whose perception cannot go beyond physical means.

Conclusion

The Harry Potter series emphasizes an unorganized universe; ignores moral codes; implants mental violence; injects helplessness, fear, and pessimism; replaces religion and Divine Power with sorcery and magic; overlooks the effects of God and Destiny in the flow of events; encourages Satanism, violence, and suicide; and reflects a perception of the consumer society as an appetizing market without any social concern.

Regardless of the author’s intention, all of the images and descriptions of violence stored in the subconscious will bear violent people, who will play a role in creating a violent society. We should expect one consequence to be rising rates of children terror, death, and suicide on the nightly news.

From this perspective, this overlooking of moral values, children’s pure minds, and the beautiful world of tomorrow for the sake of earning more and reaching greater markets could be countered by the efforts of those striving for goodness and their consciousness of these dangerous games. Children, to whom we one day will hand over the future, can be saved only in this way.

And We made your sleep to be rest (to you) and the night to be a covering. (Qur’an 78:9-10)

Most time management experts agree that the essence of time management is self-management. A successful time management strategy requires the setting of goals, and then assigning priorities and identifying important activities that help achieve these goals. People then will organize their time into a ‘time map’ (just like a floor map), writes Morgenstern, and place important activities in fixed blocks of time.

This general strategy, which has worked for many, requires strong willpower. According to Taylor, it is ‘self-management with respect to time.’ We can achieve more important goals by increasing the time we spend on them and/or by increasing our productivity. To use our mind and body in the most effective manner, we need to understand the psychological and physiological aspects of our selves and act accordingly. This article considers the relationship of hormones, our body’s biorhythms, and self-management with respect to time.

Hormones

Hormones, which are produced in certain parts of the body, are chemical signaling molecules that travel to another site to have an effect. Many researchers believe that these messenger molecules are the basic channels of mind-body communication. The periodic release of messenger molecules regulates our mind-body activities, but this does not mean that we are controlled by our hormones. We know that our thoughts, attitudes, and emotions can influence the release and flow of these messenger molecules just as they can influence our thinking, feeling, and behavior. By focusing on positive thoughts, we can induce the secretion of hormones associated with calmness and serenity, and vice versa (the mind-body communication flows both ways). Let’s examine several important hormones that regulate our energy, stress, activity, and rest.

Energy and stress hormones. Energy is crucial for performance. Two important hormones, among others, are secreted to provide a steady level of energy for the brain and other organs: insulin and glucagon. Insulin, released when the blood sugar level increases, helps various organs consume sugar and hence decreases the blood sugar level. Glucagon, the other pancreatic hormone, tends to raise the blood sugar level.

Both hormones work together to help maintain the blood’s normal level of glucose so that this critical energy source’s supply is always constant and even. While different bodily organs can use other forms of sugar for energy with the help of insulin, the brain’s only energy source is glucose. Therefore, it is vital to maintain a steady level of glucose in the bloodstream for the brain’s healthy functioning.

Insulin is important because its excessive release causes large fluctuations in the blood sugar level, which affects our mental performance. High glycemic index foods, such as high-carbohydrate and sugar-loaded processed foods (e.g., cookies, cakes, sweet carbonated drinks etc.) raise the blood sugar level too quickly when they are digested. The body responds by releasing insulin, which causes the blood sugar level to drop too much.

Normally, various bodily mechanisms collaborate to ensure that the glucose level remains within certain limits. But if the brain cannot get enough glucose, it first may reduce its activity in the form of sleepiness or unconsciousness. Continued deprivation may cause brain damage and even death. To achieve maximum mental performance, high glycemic index foods should be avoided, and steady blood sugar levels should be maintained.

The adrenals glands, located just above the kidneys, often are referred to as the stress glands, because we could not survive stress without them. Cortisol, DHEA, and adrenaline are the three adrenal stress hormones that raise blood pressure and heartbeat. Under their influence, glycogen is converted to glucose for additional energy. A normal adrenal rhythm will produce correct amounts of these adrenal stress hormones at appropriate times during the day.

Occasional surges of stress hormones temporarily raise the heart rate, blood pressure, and mental acuity so that the task at hand can be accomplished. They give us the energy to escape danger, fight (verbally, psychologically, or physically), and generally survive the pressures of our lives. The downside is that too much of this activity erodes our health in insidious but serious ways. An excess of stress hormones compromises health, from damaging blood vessels to weakening the immune system. Some physicians blame stress for most disease.

Stress hormones play an important role in time management. Natural stress hormone secretion is at its peak during the early morning so that it can awaken the body and prepare it for the day. Cortisol and insulin secretions reach their maximum around 6:00 am, and we awaken. Lubeck states that German researchers have discovered that two hormones, ACTH and cortisol, send a message that alerts the brain. Even the blood’s contents are enriched to get ready for the day. The early morning increase in stress hormones is part of our circadian biorhythm, and we can take advantage of it by scheduling demanding activities at this time.

However, an artificial increase in stress hormones may sometimes hurt us. A frequent cause for excess stress is the use of such stimulants as cola drinks (e.g., Coca Cola and Pepsi) and coffee. When trying to focus on a task, mental clarity is very important. When we are under stress, we may find it hard to concentrate and thus spend a lot of time to achieve very little. Continued stress depletes our energy and prevents us from undertaking important tasks. An abnormal release of stress hormones also affects our REM sleep, which is very important for memory consolidation. People who find it hard to wake up in the morning may suffer from an abnormal stress hormone cycle.

Some neurohormones such as pinoline and DMT, which are linked to spiritual imagery, reflection, and out-of-body experiences, are secreted at their peak level around midnight. Early Islamic scholars, following Prophet Muhammad’s tradition of night prayer, used to wake up at midnight for reflection, study, and prayer. The discovery of these hormones may explain why this time of day might be the best time for such activities.

The rest hormone. The pineal gland’s cells secrete the hormone melatonin in a 24-hour (circadian) cycle. The amount remains low during the daylight hours but increases during the nighttime hours. Melatonin regulates the 24-hour circadian biorhythms, and its secretion is affected by light. As a biological timekeeper, melatonin is critically involved in synchronizing hormone secretion and is responsible for regulating many biorhythms, including the sleep-wake cycle.

Since it is the ‘rest hormone,’ it generally is more productive to rest when its secretion is high, namely, the dark hours. Trying to work or study with the help of caffeine and other stimulants despite increased melatonin levels is like fighting the body’s natural rest and healing systems. Students sometimes cram on the night before the exam. While this strategy may work for short periods, continued disruption of the body’s rest cycle may leave the person weak and susceptible to diseases. Melatonin secretion turns off around 8:00 am.

Biorhythms

Each person experiences mental lows several times throughout the day. Most people attribute these to the food they have eaten, not enough sleep, or other external factors. While some of these factors may be real, Rossi informs us that there is a more fundamental factor: ultradian rhythm. Scientists have observed a number of interrelated biological rhythms of the body and the brain since the 1950s. These rhythms are named according to how much time they take to complete a cycle. Circadian rhythms occur once every day, ultradian rhythms occur several times a day, and infradian rhythms take more than a day to cycle. Originally it was thought that our circadian rhythm was simply a daily alteration between being awake and asleep. The second stage of our developing understanding began when researchers discovered, in the mid-1950s, that sleep was divided into 90-120 minute ultradian alterations of dreaming and deep sleep. While such external factors as daylight and seasons do affect us, the periods of our bodily rhythms are regulated primarily by the hormones our body secretes. When planning activities for different periods of the day, it helps to know which periods are conducive to what kinds of activity. For instance,early morning is the time of energy hormones and mental clarity.

Therefore, it is more effective to schedule our early morning hours for mentally taxing, difficult problems. Afternoons, however, are ideal for socializing, relationship building, and long-term memory building. There is a second peak of bodily energy around 5:00 pm, and a mental peak around 7:00 pm. Ultradian rhythms were observed first in military research laboratories, where the objective was to determine the effects of time on human performance. A common pattern among the ultradian rhythms was their occurrence within a period of 90-120 minutes. They consisted of a peak of heightened alertness and performance, followed by a trough /deep of fatigue and a need for a break from the current activity. Mental activities modulated by ultradian rhythms include right-left brain dominance, attention, concentration, learning, memory, sensations, dreaming, fantasy, imagination, and creativity. Although ultradian performance rhythms follow a 90-120-minute activity cycle followed by a 20-minute rejuvenation, they shift easily to help us adapt to changing demands and circumstances. Thus we can skip a rejuvenation period and keep performing if necessary.

However, repeated neglect of the need for rejuvenation and chronic overactivity lead to stress by distorting our normal ultradian/circadian rhythms of activity and rest. The 20-munite break ameliorates stress-related symptoms by enabling our natural mind-body rhythms to normalize themselves. In other words, the 20-minute trough of our rest-activity cycle is a natural period for physical and psychological rejuvenation and healing from the wear and tear of everyday life. This is why Rossi calls it the ultradian healing response (UHR). The UHR also may be the hidden common factor in most holistic approaches to mind-body healing such as relaxation response, meditation, imagery, biofeedback, hypnosis, spiritual rituals as in Sufism and Yoga, laying on of hands as in holistic healing approaches, and the daily prayers in Islam. All such approaches require that the subject take a break for about 20 minutes to maximize his or her healing. The important elements of the ultradian healing response are:

1. Cutting off or minimizing input to the brain. This can be achieved by closing the eyes or looking steadily at fixed places.

2. Changing the activitys nature or simply taking a rest.

3. Allowing our consciousness to diverge and not trying to concentrate on the things we were thinking on before the break.

Other steps, such as washing parts of the body (e.g., ablutions made by Muslims before praying), moving parts of the body, stretching, or lying on a comfortable couch may help increase the UHRs healing effects. The afternoon nap can be considered a special case of UHR. Almost everyone experiences an after-lunch dip in performance. For many cultures, early afternoon signals siesta time. An afternoon nap may help reinforce the bodys self-healing mechanisms and make the rest of the afternoon as productive as the morning, writes Mednick et al.

In Muslim culture, asserts Nursi, a short afternoon nap was a tradition reinforced by Prophet Muhammad. Manycreative people nap during this time and often awaken refreshed and full of new ideas. Winston Churchill, prime minister of England during WWII, probably said it best: You must sleep sometime between lunch and dinner, and no half-way measures… When we use coffee and other stimulants to eliminate signals from our body, we may achieve a temporary mental alertness. But we also loose the opportunity to replenish our mental faculties depleted resources. The need for a break does not go away; instead, it either returns more strongly in the next period or we experience stress during the rest of the day.

Conclusion

Self-management lies at the heart of successful time management. When we conduct ourselves well with respect to time, we make the best use of our time. However, in the face of such adversities as lack of energy, interruptions, tendencies to diverge, and unimportant but appealing activities, it sometimes becomes difficult to control ourselves and focus on the right activity. A good understanding of how our body works makes this task easier. When we work in synchrony with our hormonal biorhythms and maximize our inherent potential, we optimize our achievements within the 24-hours allotted to us each day.

References

• Mednick, Sara et al. The Restorative Effect of Naps on Perceptual Deterioration. Nature Neuroscience, published online on May 28, 2002.
• Morgenstern, Julie. Time Management from the Inside Out. Henry Holt & Co.: 2000.
• Nursi, Said. The Flashes. Kaynak.earthlink.net /~rossi/ultradia.htm. search.ebi.eb.com/ebi/article/0,6101,33284,00.html (diabetes).
• Smolensky, Michael et al. The Body Clock Guide to Better Health. Henry Holt & Co.: 2000. Taylor Harold. Making Time Work for You. Dell: 2000.
• www.antidepressantsfacts.com/pinealstory2.htm (pinol: 1995. Rossi, Ernest. The Twenty Minute Break: The Ultradian Healing Response. Zeig, Tucker & Co.: 1991. Online at: http://homeine). www.cnn.com/HEALTH/9901/09/wakeup.call (Lubeck).
• www.growth-hormones.net/ (growth hormones). www.stanleykrippner.com/papers/Ayahuasca.htm (DMT).

In general, social theories do not work in an absolutely deterministic manner due to the human factor. This is true of the fact that religions offer peace to society. Among these side factors are various social and historical engagements, possible misunderstandings and misinterpretations inherited from the past, and so on.

In this article, I analyze two religions: one is a religion of love and peace, and the other is a religion of love and mercy. However, many unfortunate events have taken place between them. For the purpose of this paper, I have set all such events aside on the grounds that every historical event should be evaluated in light of its original circumstances. Therefore, it would not be fair to judge the past using todayas arguments. We can probably just say: Those who believe (in the Quran), who follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Sabians, Christians, Magians, and polytheists, God will judge between them on the Day of Judgment, for God is witness of all things (22:17) The only benefit from recalling these events might be to discover the mistakes made in history so that they can be avoided in the future.

Given the above and now that we are in the Age of Information, followers of both religions should review their knowledge and think carefully about whether existing misunderstandings are based on something other than the written sources, especially the holy books of both religions. Prophet Muhammad once said: People are the enemy of what they do not know.a So, do we really know each other well? If not, what does such ignorance lead to? Do those who have sharp critiques of another religion even know its fundamentals? Unfortunately, none of these and similar questions have a positive answer.

Therefore, in an effort to help diminish this lack of knowledge, this article provides some brief explanations about how the Quran sees Christianity. There are many other related verses and arguments in the Sunnah as well, but those will be dealt with in a later article. For the purposes of this article, the Quran is sufficient.

Christianity and Christians

Is Christianity a Divine Religion? This question has an immediate answer: Yes! According to the Quran, Christianity is a religion from God and all religions from the Divine Source are the same. The only differences are some modifications made by God according to the prevailing conditions of a particular age. The name of this religion is Islam, and Prophet Muhammad brought its final version: He has established the same religion for you as that which He enjoined upon Noah–which We have sent by inspiration to you–and that We enjoined upon Abraham, Moses, and Jesus (42:13). Other verses, such as 4:136 and 2:213, point this out in a wider approach.

That is why the Quran most of the time carefully distinguishes unbelievers from followers of the holy scriptures, although there is no agreement on all points of these beliefs. The fact that it calls them the People of the Booka is important.

Remarkably, the Quran sometimes refers to People of the Book (Jews and Christians) or previous scriptures as supporting the Messenger, and sometimes declares itself a reference for verifying previous scriptures. In fact, both show that the Quran somehow accreditsa Christianity. We read, respectively: They say, ˜Why does he not bring to us a sign from his Lord? Has there not come to them a clear evidence of what is in the previous books? (20:133; see also 6:114, 10:94, 13:43, 29:47, 28:52) and He has revealed to you the Book with truth, verifying that which is before it, and revealed the Torah and the Gospels aforetime, guidance for the people (3:3; see also 35:31).

In the following verse, the Quran gives special importance to Christianity: Behold! God said: O Jesus, I will take you and raise you to Myself, and clear you (of the falsehoods) of those who blaspheme. I will make your followers superior to those who reject faith, until the Day of Resurrection. Then shall you all return unto Me, and I will judge between you about that which you dispute (3:33). In 22:40, the Quran mentions churches as being among those places in which the name of God is commemorated.

Christians and their relations with Muslims. The following verses state the basic characteristics of Christians in general, which can be summarized as being trustworthy, adoring God during the night, being lowly before God, not taking a small price for the communications of God, not behaving proudly, being strong believers and crying on account of the truth, having Compassion and Mercy in their hearts, and so on.

We read in the Quran: Among the People of the Book are some such that if you entrust one (of them) with a heap of wealth, he shall pay it back to you (3:75); They are not all alike. Of the People of the Book there is an upright party. They recite Godas communications in the nighttime and adore (Him) (3:113); and Most surely, among the People of the Book are those who believe in God and (in) that which has been revealed to you and to them, being lowly before God; they do not take a small price for the communications of God. These have their reward with their Lord. Surely God is quick in reckoning (3:199; see also 29:47).

The Quran also states: When they hear what has been revealed to the Apostle, you will see their eyes overflowing with tears on account of the truth that they recognize. They say: Our Lord, we believe, so write us down with the witnesses (of truth). And why should we not believe in God and in the truth that has come to us, while we earnestly desire that our Lord should cause us to enter with the good people?a Therefore God rewarded them, on account of what they said, with gardens in which rivers flow to abide in therein. This is the reward of those who do good (to others) (5:83-85); and bestowed on Jesus, son of Mary the Gospel, and We ordained compassion and mercy in the hearts of his followers (57:27).

A Muslim man or women is forbidden to marry an unbeliever and to eat the meat of any animal that has not been sacrificed in Godas name. However, the following verse cancels that restriction for the People of the Book: This day (all) the good things are allowed to you. The food of those who have been given the Book is lawful for you and your food is lawful for them, and chaste believing women and the chaste from among those who were given the Book before you (are lawful for you) (5:5).

This obviously means that God wants Muslims to become closer to Christians in their social life. But more importantly, and in addition to issues of marriage or food, Muslims are asked to be nice to them at all times: Do not dispute with the People of the Book except by what is best, except for those of them who act unjustly (29:46). Can their status as People of the Book be one reason why Muslims are told to be nice to them? You will find the most violent of people in enmity towards believers [to be] the Jews and the polytheists, and you will find the nearest in friendship to believers [to be] those who say: We are Christians.a This is because there are priests and monks among them, and because they do not behave proudlya (5:82; see also 13.36).

Who is saved: Christians or Muslims? The above discussion naturally may lead one to a desire to know who will be in heaven. However, we are not at a position to really answer this question, for heaven belongs to God and its people are His people. Thus, talking about who will and will not be in heaven does not seem to be a respectful behavior toward God: Whatever is in the heavens and Earth is Godas, and We enjoined those who were given the Book before you and you too to be careful of (your duty to) God. If you do not believe, surely whatever is in the heavens and in Earth is Godas. God is Self-sufficient, worthy of [all] praise. (4:131).

Those who consider themselves to have some kind of guarantee, who try to restrict the ways to heaven according to their own will, or letting everybody have a place in it ahead of time may be at fault. We probably can talk about being saved if it is clearly stated in the scriptures. I think both Muslims and Christians agree that unbelievers will receive an everlasting punishment on the Day of Judgment.

So, everyone should consider seriously what the Quran says: (As for) those who believe and do good, We will make them enter into gardens beneath which rivers flow, to abide therein forever. (This is) Godas promise, (which is) true. Who is truer of word than God? (This) shall not be in accordance with your vain desires or those of the People of the Book. Whoever does evil will be requited with it and, besides God, such people will not find for themselves a guardian or a helper. Whoever does good deeds, whether male or female, and he (or she) is a believer–they will enter the garden and will not be dealt with unjustly in any way (4:122-24). Clearly, these verses are talking about both Muslims and Christians, but not in accordance with their desires.

Probably the problem becomes one of determining what are good deeds. Fortunately, good deeds are defined in almost exactly the same way in both religions. The verse: Turning your face to East or West can be read as calling yourself Muslim or Christiana: It is not righteousness that you turn your faces toward the East and the West, but righteousness that one should believe in God, the Last Day, the angels, the Book, and the Prophets; give away wealth out of love for Him to near relatives, orphans, the needy, wayfarers, beggars, for (the emancipation of) captives, and observe the prayers and pay the poor-rate. Those who keep their promise after they have made one, and those who are patient in times of distress, affliction, and conflict–these are the ones who are true (to themselves) and who guard (against evil) (2:177).

The following verses address Christians directly: If the People of the Book had believed and guarded (against evil), We would have covered their evil deeds and have made them enter gardens of bliss (5:65) and Those who believe, or who are Jews, Christians, and Sabians–whoever believes in God and the Last Day and does good, will have their reward from their Lord. There is no fear for them, nor shall they grieve (2:62; see also 5:69).

How is the Bible mentioned? It is widely accepted in the Muslim world, along with some historical evidence, that the words of the Torah, the Bible, and the Psalms do not have the same miraculous nature of those of the Quran. This is because they have been translated repeatedly, with the result that many alien words gradually became part of the original text. Also, the words of commentators and sometimes their misguided interpretations were confused with their verses. In addition, distortions conceived by ignorant and hostile people were incorporated into them. Over time, the amount of corruption and alteration in those Books has continued to grow.

Nevertheless, there is still some evidence that the Bible or the Torah, both of which are mentioned in the Quran, mostly refers to those existing at the time of Prophet Muhammad. As for the Torah, the Quran states in a verse revealed after a group of Jews asked the Prophet a question and then disobeyed his decision: How do they make you a judge and they have the Torah, wherein is Godas judgment? Yet they turn back after that. These are not the believersa And We sent after them in their footsteps Jesus, son of Mary, verifying what was before him of the Torah. And We gave him the Gospel, in which was guidance and light, and verifying what was before it of the Torah, and [serving as] a guidance and an admonition for those who guard (against evil) (5:43-44, 56; see also 5:27, 7:157).

As the Gospel verified the Torah, the Quran verifies both (3:3; see also 9:111). Likewise, the following verse also encourages followers of the book to read the Book as it should be read: Those to whom We have given the Book read it as it ought to be read, they believe in it. Those who do not believe in it are the losers (2:121).

Suggested Reading List

• Gulen, M. Fethullah. The Infinite Light. London: Kaynak A.S., 1996 (Online at www.fgulen.com). Gulen, Essentials of the Islamic Faith is also a good source of related information.
• Hasan, Ahmad (trans.). Sunan Abu Dawud, book 36 (Online at www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah).
• Khan, M. Muhsin (trans.). Sahih Bukhari, books 55 and 56 (Online at www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah).
• Nursi, Bediuzzaman Said. Risale-i Nur Collection: The Letters. The Nineteenth Letter: Sixteenth Sign.a Konak-Izmir, Turkey: Kaynak AS, 1998. (Online at www.nur.org or www.risale-inur.com). Related topics are discussed throughout the entire collection.
• Siddiqui, Abdul Hamid (trans.). Sahih Muslim, books 30, 31, and 41 (Online at www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah).

This world and its pleasures are a heavy burden. No one (except the corrupt in spirit) is contented with it. Rather than suffering from dependence on almost the whole universe, being needy of all means and causes, and appealing to contending deaf, dumb, and blind masters, people should seek refuge in a single, All-Hearing, and All-Seeing Master. If they place their trust in Him, He is enough for them.

Fourth truth

Know, O ego, that the scientific inventions woven around your head, the lines of conscious artistry connected to you, and the things put in your hands stretched out in neediness all demonstrate that your Creator, Maker, and Helper hears your sighs of destitution and your cries for help. Having mercy on you, He gratifies all your needs. Seeing that the Creator and Maker answers your tiniest cells’ calls for help, why should He ”the All-Hearing, All-Seeing” not answer your call for help?¹

Know, O spacious cell called ego or selfhood and built up of lesser cells. Say: O God! O Lord! O my Creator! O my Fashioner! O my Owner! O my Master! O my Guardian! Yours is the dominion (of all things) and to You is all praise! I am a guest in this body, Your property that You have entrusted to me.

O selfhood! Why do you claim to own that which you will never own? Give up this false claim that throws you into acute pain. Consider the emotions of pity and affection, which are among the spirit’s exhilarating embellishments: If they were left to your pretended ownership, they would harm and torment the spirit.

For example, the misfortune and calamities striking you or others would cause you to remain in continual pain and go so far as to blame Destiny for them. However, when you see a soldier who has lost his horse or whose residence has been burnt down by mistake working directly under a king, you do not feel much pity for the soldier. If you consider that both the horse and residence belong to the king, you will see that their disappearance does not cause a significant decrease in his property. Nor does the soldier worry about it”indeed, inasmuch as he is poor, it is highly probable that out of pity the king will compensate his losses with something better. In the same way, God is the All-Compassionate and always treats His servants with utmost compassion.² Therefore, compassion for creatures as creatures of God exhilarates the spirit. By contrast, pity arising from supposing that everything owns itself continually suffocates and distresses the spirit.

One with a sound viewpoint based on belief in Divine Unity sees every living being’s body as resembling a hired captain on a king’s ship being controlled by that king, who controls his property as he wills. This viewpoint does not allow one to see an ant or a honeybee as contending with attacking causes. Rather, according to it, the ant controls an earthly vehicle while the other controls an aircraft, the reins of which are in the hands of the Power of an All-Powerful One. Causes do not have much weight in the sight of either animal, which depend on the True Owner (of all things).

By saying: Surely we are God’s and surely we are returning to Him (2:156), when struck by misfortune, one means: All property is God’s and I am under His command, journeying to Him. My relation with my body, which is His property, is like that of a soldier holding something belonging to the king. When robbers attack him, he states: I am responsible for guarding this property entrusted to me. However, I am unable to guard it now. Like this property, I also belong to the king and am going to him. When those with such a viewpoint see a fellow struck with misfortune or suffer personal misfortune, they are relieved of continual distress. Otherwise, they are constantly weighed down with pain and distress.

Footnotes

1. For example, a person equipped with the limited powers of sight, hearing, and learning may conclude that the Creator must be All-Seeing, All-Hearing, and All-Knowing. One’s poverty, helplessness, and mortality may lead one to discover that the Creator is Absolutely Wealthy, Powerful, and Permanent. (Tr.)
2. The best analogy applicable to certain aspects of the relation with God and the creation is that between a monarch and his subjects. Since many immaterial truths, especially those pertaining to the Divine Being, are abstract and difficult to understand, Divine Scriptures usually use parables, metaphors, similes, and analogies. For example, God is sometimes introduced like a monarch or king, having a throne and armies. Another reason why Said Nursi used such analogies may be that he wrote this book in the 1910s, when there was still a sultanate in Anatolia. (Tr.)

Adapted from Bediuzzaman’s Epitomes of Light (Mathnawi al-Nuriya)

Our article on biorhythms and time management gives us a better understanding of how our body functions and what we can do to help it perform at its highest level. Becoming better managers of our time allows us to achieve our goals quicker and with less frustration. As a result, w can have more time to pursue the joys of life, such as enjoying our family, friends, and the beauties of nature.

Although it is a cliché to say that our children are our future, it nevertheless is true. One article explores ways to handle gifted children so that their full potential can be realized. The author asserts that this is not discrimination and does not disadvantage other children; rather, it is meeting the needs of those who will bring us the greatest benefit in the future.

Several articles deal with topics that people usually do not join together: religion and the environment, Sufism and quantum physics, and music as a tool for healing. Many people seem to be taking a renewed interest in nature. This is a positive development, especially for those who were raised on the idea that nature is dead matter that can be manipulated by people for their own benefit, instead of a display of Divine Mercy and Compassion that we are to benefit from as well as to enjoy.

Recent discoveries in physics have confirmed the Sufi view that the universe is essentially based on nothing but relationships between the infinite parts of creation. This begs the following question: If everything consists only of relationships, who or what holds it together? But even more importantly, who originally created the relationships? Modern science remains unable to answer this question, even though it has engaged the minds of humanity’s greatest philosophers and religious figures since the dawn of time.

Questions have been raised in various circles about the suitability of the latest literary sensation, Harry Potter, for children. This book is just the latest in a series of popular children’s books, television programs, and movies that deal with magic: Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Aladdin, Lord of the Rings, and many others. This genre of entertainment has a unique worldview: The replacement of an ordered universe run by God with a world that people with God-like powers can manipulate the laws of nature at will; the existence of people with special powers that make them superior to others instead of recognizing that all people are created equal and dependent upon God; and that such people can perform ‘miracles”exactly like those given by God to His Messengers and Prophets to confirm their status. Are these the types of ideas upon which we want our children to form their worldview?

Several of our shorter articles deal with individual reactions to the events of September 11th. Many people still find it hard to comprehend such a terrible tragedy. Let us hope that they soon find the wisdom to go beyond their anger and fear and begin to ask themselves and others why such a horrific event took place and how similar ones can be avoided in the future.

Americas gifted population

America has approximately 3 million gifted students, a number that represents 6 percent of its entire student population. The Council for Exceptional Children for the U.S. Office of Education reported that 39 states have legislation on gifted and talented education. These states generally define giftedness in terms of intellectual ability, creativity, leadership, and artistic talent (Zettel 1980).

Mitchell (1984) has reported that most states select gifted and talented students through multiple criteria. However, many school districts still use intelligence tests as the key identifier. Intelligence is measured through established IQ tests, and identifying the gifted is based on those scores. The population of gifted individuals is referred to as moderately gifted (IQ range 130-144), highly gifted (IQ range 145-159), and exceptionally gifted (IQ >160) (Clark 2002). However, using test scores alone is not sufficient to identify the great potential of highly creative students, for other factors need to be considered.

Giftedness traits

If a child displays outstanding traits, it is likely that he or she is gifted. In a study by Rogers (1986), the following characteristics distinguished the 38 gifted from the 42 average third and fourth graders: a brisk learning ability, an excellent memory, a long attention span, perfectionism, a fondness for older buddies, a broad vocabulary, a sense of humor, an interest in books, a knack in puzzles and mazes, maturity, inquisitiveness, perseverance, and intense observation.

Other factors that set gifted students apart from their peers are a rich memory, curiosity, reflectivity, and an openness to experiences. Resnick (1997) identifies six types of gifted students. The challenging student is creative and rebellious. The successful gifted student achieves most of the time and prefers to conform to the environment. The underground type is shy and lacks self-confidence. The gifted dropout student is angry and explosive. The autonomous student is intrinsically motivated and passionate. The sixth type consist of the double-labeled students who are both gifted and disabled and sometimes labeled as having ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) due to their lack of focus.

Modified programs

Gifted students learn faster, understand more complex issues, and have distinctive emotional needs. So, regular school programs must be modified to accommodate their needs. Gifted students should be provided with acceleration options and various forms of enrichment that broaden the conventional school curriculum.

Organizing a comprehensive program to satisfy gifted and talented students is a complex task. Schools should create such opportunities as acceleration, enrichment, self-paced classes, or advanced classes. Staff members should be educated to identify and provide an appropriate curriculum for gifted students. Differentiated Educational Plans (DEPs), which briefly describe the modified content, activities, and assessment planned for such students and his or her group should be filed for each student.

Once the DEPs have been implemented, students should be encouraged to move through content areas at their own pace. If they master a particular unit, they need to be provided with more advanced learning activities, as opposed to more of the same activity. In other words, burdening gifted students with more trigonometry homework or drills, just because they can do it and need to be kept engaged, is not considered to be part of acceleration or enrichment.

Two very helpful strategies in running optional activities toward enrichment and acceleration are compacting and contracts.

Compacting. Students are provided with enrichment and spend less time working on skills they have already mastered in the regular curriculum. For example, a seventh grade student who has a grade equivalence of above 8 in math is usually uninterested in math classes. The teacher can provide him or her with challenging puzzles, competition questions (such as Math Counts or International Math Olympiads), math project samples, and help the students develop advanced and versatile skills separately from their peers.

Contracts. Students and teachers agree on what students will learn, how they will learn it, how long it will take them to learn it, and how they will be evaluated. A science teacher and a student might agree on a cycle of 6-week periods when the student will complete and present a science project or a portfolio. Contracts should include a calendar, written student and teacher roles, a scoring guide (a rubric), and a product format. Students and parents must join the teacher in the decision-making process while outlining this contract (Parke 1989).

Compacting and contracts do not stop students from attending regular classes. Depending on the student’s characteristics, availability on campus, reports from teachers, and the curricula, a student, for example, might stay in regular science and social studies classes, spend half of his or her time working independently in language arts, and not attend regular math classes at all so that he or she can work with the school Math Olympiad team.

Before each campus decides which format will best serve their students’ needs, they should decide what is applicable and feasible. Special magnet schools, pull-out programs, a gifted school within a school, resource rooms, flexible grouping provision based on definite needs, and mainstreaming are some of the available alternatives (Daniel and Cox 1988).

When gifted students are taught in a traditional slow-paced classroom and subjected to an inadequate curriculum, they do not apply themselves, have low stimuli, and even drop out. If schools do not allow gifted and talented students to flourish, their achievement and motivation will fade in a relatively short period of time. Parents of gifted students may choose to enroll their children in alternative programs, such as home schooling or other gifted and talented schools.

Grouping

Rogers (1991) believes that gifted and talented students should spend the greater part of their school day with others of corresponding abilities and interests. Gifted students benefit from learning together and need to be placed with similar students in their areas of strength so that they can understand their learning differences in gifted classes.

Grouping gifted students cannot be considered elitism or a violation of equity in education. It is an erroneous belief that all students are best assisted in heterogeneous learning environments. There are many grouping methods in which average and below-average students may benefit as well as the gifted do. Rogers (1991) suggests many strategies and grouping options. He recommends a cluster grouping of students if schools cannot maintain a full-time gifted program.

In enrichment clusters, advanced learning experiences and higher-level thinking skills are combined in groups of various graded members. Students and teachers learn authentically, work on real problems, and act as practicing professionals to produce a product or effect a change for a real audience. The clusters work according to an extended and flexible schedule (Renzulli 1997).

Accountability

Prosperous people are accountable to the state and are obliged to pay taxes on what they possess. In return, the state has the duty and responsibility to provide services for these people. Gifted and talented people should feel accountable to God, state, and their nation for how they use their potential (for good or bad) and the extent to which they use it (efficiently or wastefully). They should not enjoy the relaxation of saying: This is the best I can do, for their potential is dynamic and subject to improvement. Pure talent must be accompanied by industriousness, perseverance, and conscientiousness. As Thomas Edison stated: Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration. As a result, a genius is often a talented person who has simply done all of his or her homework.

On the other hand, the state, society, and educational components are responsible for buttressing gifted and talented programs and for using these students’ special abilities instead of wasting them. Gifted and talented people should be identified and helped so that they can assist others.

Another critical component of educating the gifted generation is preventing the developing a corrupt, threatening mob of talented people obsessed with selfishness, evil, or lawlessness and deprived of moral values, ethics, and good intentions. Such an outcome is even worse than wasting the gifted generation’s talents. Notorious dictators, criminals, and militants are all known to be geniuses. We are held accountable for developing a fruitful, qualified, and fully activated gifted generation, one that is decent, just, and ethical and can lead and help the world.

References

• Clark, B. Growing up Gifted. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc., 2002.
• Daniel, N. and Cox, J. Flexible Pacing for Able Learners. Reston, VA: The Council for Exceptional Children, 1988.
• Mitchell, B. An Update on Gifted and Talented Education. U.S. Roper Review 6 (1984): 161-63.
• Parke, B. N. Gifted Students in Regular Classrooms. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon, 1989.
• Renzulli, J. S. A Bird’s Eye View of the Schoolwide Enrichment Model: A Practical Plan for Total School Improvement (1997). Retrieved 25 April 2002, from www.sp.uconn.edu/~nrcgt/sem/semart07.html.
• Resnick, D. and Goodman, M. Research Review. NW Education Magazine (1997).
• Rogers, M. T. A Comparative Study of Developmental Traits of Gifted and Average Children. Ph.D. diss., University of Denver, 1986.
• Rogers, K. The Relationship of Grouping Practices to the Education of the Gifted and Talented Learner: An Executive Summary. Storrs, CT: The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented, 1991.
• Rogers, K. Grouping the Gifted and Talented. Roper Review 16, no. 1 (1993): 8-12.
• Zettel, J. Gifted and Talented Education from a Nationwide Perspective. Reston, VA: Council for Exceptional Children, 1980.

These terrorist attacks show that the perpetrators share none of the aims of Islam, such as spreading Islam peacefully. You cannot spread Islam to other people by bombing them. Is there anything in Islam which legitimizes this terrorist attack? Certainly not! Jihad is a totally different concept, and can be declared only when Islam has to be defended. But Islam does not have to be defended in America, for Islam is already acknowledged here as one of the three monotheist religions: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. This is not a superficial acknowledgment”6 million Muslims now live in America. Islam is not an imported religion, and this terrorist attack has nothing to do with American Muslims. On the contrary, it was perpetrated by outsiders having political”not religious”motivations.

The goals for which they are striving are not Islamic, but probably are related to the current political goals of certain people who manipulate Islam to legitimize their quest. I do not agree with Samuel Huntingtons well-known œclash of civilizations theory, in which Islam is approached as an enemy to the West and must be destroyed. On the other hand, the media (especially, those who supply the information and constantly oppose Islam) are striving to maintain an artificial adversarial sensitivity against Islam.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict underlies the clash of civilizations and, in a way, is the primary source of all these events. Mutual terror has been experienced throughout the 54 years of this conflict. Palestinians retaliated with counter-terror campaigns to Israel’s terror at the governmental level. This has affected millions of people not only in terms of religion but also in terms of national-political status. Israel attacks Palestinians not because they are Muslims but because they are Arab Palestinians. The fact that 20 percent of all Palestinians are Christians shows that this is not a religiously driven conflict. Nayef Hawatmeh and George Habash are leaders of Palestinian Democratic Public Front and are both Orthodox Christians. They began organizing suicidal attacks before HAMAS was even founded. The foremost significant supporters of Palestinians are Edward

Said and Albert Hourani, who are Protestant Christians and, respectively, prominent figures in literature and history.

The organizational formation of the terrorist group that launched the September 11th attacks deserves serious consideration. It seems that 60 to 70 people were actively involved; 19 of them are dead. But what about those who probably provided logistical support? How did they carry out their role unnoticed? For such an organization, there needs to be a mastermind, and I do not think that Bin Laden is the most likely candidate.

All types of terrorism, regardless of reason, are evil. While protesting terrorism, however, we should not ignore the reasons. America has to delve into the reasons and the roots of these events. It has to cast far-reaching look and search for real reasons, instead of dealing with symptoms. If America uses its power not to exercise sovereignty over others but to create a more peaceful world, this would serve its own interests. In addition, Muslims would benefit the most from it.

Even though garden cultivation of roses began some 5,000 years ago, possibly in China, the fossil record indicates that roses have existed for millions of years. Wherever roses are found, they become a symbol of something: love, beauty, royalty, death, war, and politics. Sometimes, they even represent famous names in history.

During the Roman Empire, roses were grown extensively in the Middle East. Those roses, the most fragrant in the world, were used to make perfume. Their strong scent also caused people to regard them as having a deep mystical significance. However, roses grown in China do not have such a scent. Perhaps this is one reason why roses are not nearly so beloved in China.

Roses seem to make their first literary appearance in the eighth century bce. In The Iliad, an epic poem of ancient Greece, Hectares body was anointed with rose oil. Roses are often mentioned in ancient Greek myths in a wide variety of different forms. For example, a white raised symbolized Aphrodites purity and innocence. Furthermore, her desire and passion for Adonis, her wounded love, was represented by a few drops of her blood changing a white rose into a red rose. In another myth, Zeus scattered roses across the land as a wedding gift to Eros and Psyche.

The Romans also embellished their myths with roses. They used roses at funerals as a sign of resurrection, for example, and Flora was the goddess of spring and flowers. Despite being credited with creating the rose, other Greek deities helped Flora give it its life, sweet scent, and beautiful shape.

Presumably, a correlation exists between ancient Greek and Roman mythology and Christianity with respect to roses. Harpcrates, who was bribed into secrecy with a white rose by Eros, became the god of silence. This was carried over into Christianity, for a rose was often carved onto a meeting rooms plastered ceilings to warn that the discussions were sub rosa (under the rose, or secret).

The rose and religion

Christians used the red rose as a symbol of Jesus passion, martyrdom, and resurrection, as well as for Marys motherhood and purity. Mary is mostly linked with the white rose. The roses design also implies the liturgy. For instance, Mary is surrounded with brilliant roses in this beautiful poem by Wordsworth (1807):

In trellised shed with clustering roses gay,
And, Mary! Oft beside our blazing fire,
When yeas of wedded life were as a day
Whose current answers to the hearts desire.(1)

Also, Mary is often reported as being accompanied by showers of fragrant rose petals. Many stained-glass window scenes of the Blessed Mother and other saints show them holding roses. Underlying all of this is the idea that fragrance is good.

In the seventh century, Prophet Muhammad is symbolized with a rose. It seems that every opening bloom points to another wonderful person in the garden of humanity. The roses reputation increased a thousandfold with the coming of the Prophet. His great personality illuminated the roses color, and his perfect morality is the source of its fragrant sense.

Farid ad-Din Attar (d. 1230), one of the greatest Sufi mystic poets of all time, wrote in his The Rose Garden:

In the rose bed, mystery glows.
The secret is hidden in the rose.(2)

Another Sufi mystic, Hazrat Inayat Khan (1882-1927), notes that just as the rose consists of many petals held together, so a Sufis soul shows many different qualities. These qualities emit fragrance in the form of a spiritual personality. As the rose has a beautiful structure, the Sufi has a fine structure, manner, dealing with others, speech, action, and so on. Just as the roses beautiful perfume penetrates the entire room, the Sufi penetrates society and helps to heal its problems.

Furthermore, the Quran honors the red rose by mentioning only it out of all flowers: When the sky is torn apart, so it was (like) a red rose like ointment. Then which of your Lords favors will you deny? (55:37-38). The beauty of a single rose is just one small creation among all of Gods bestowed bounties. The rose has a distinct shape, and whoever created it and tore the sky apart, just like we might tear apart a red rose, created it so that we could understand that the rose was created for significant reasons.

In the Islamic tradition, wearing perfume is a food for the soul and the spirit. One hadith relates that one of the Prophets favorite things was good fragrance. That is why Muslims often wear pure essence of rosewater, especially before prayers. Rosewater is also the preferred soak for the miswak (a traditional toothbrush taken from the branches of a fibrous tree).

Possessing one of the most heavenly scents, a roses essence has several aromatherapeutic benefits as well. Valerie Worwood, in her The Complete Book of Aromatherapy, writes that a roses essence is a powerful and uplifting anti-depressant, aids in digestion, and soothes frayed nerves. These benefits can be enjoyed just by sprinkling some rose water or essence on your body, adding a few drops to your bathwater, or burning the scent in an incense burner in your home.

Associating roses with religion is as old as religion itself. How nice it would be if the veneration that all Jews, Christians, and Muslims have for the rose could make all of us understand that we are bound together with each other and many others in this very way! Moreover, these three monotheistic religions trace their origins to the Middle East, the ancestral home of modern roses.

The rose in other cultures

Many other cultures feature things related to the rose. For example, different sects within Hinduism worship deities through such household and temple offerings as rose attar (perfume). Ancient Persian legends speak of a nightingale that so dearly loved the white rose that it grasped it tightly. The thorns, which pierced its breast and caused its blood to fall on the rose, turned it red. Hence, one type of rose is known as the red damask. Interestingly, Rose is one of the most popular names for girls in many languages. The Turkish word gul, for instance, means rose and smile and has many popular derivations in Turkey.

Around the twelfth or thirteenth century, knights returning from the Crusades brought the rose home to Europe. By the middle of the fifteenth century, the rose was used as a symbol for the factions fighting to control England. The white rose symbolized York, and the red rose symbolized Lancaster. As a result, the conflict became known by historians as the War of the Roses. The red rose is still the emblem of England, since Lancaster won the war. Roses were in such high demand during the seventeenth century that royalty considered roses or rose water as legal tender. Both were often used as barter and for payment. Napoleons wife Josephine established an extensive collection of roses in western Paris during the 1800s.

A new interpretation

In the twentieth century, a splendid new interpretation of the rose and nightingale story was presented by Bediuzzaman Said Nursi. His famous The Words contains an addendum to the discussion on the nightingale. The nightingales small wage is the delight it experiences from gazing on smiling, beautiful roses, and the pleasure it receives from conversing with them and pouring out its woes. In other words, its sorrowful song is not a complaint arising from animal grief; rather, it is the birds thanks for the gifts of the Most Merciful.

Moreover, according to Said Nursi, every sort of being–even stars–has a nightingale. But the most excellent and noble nightingale, whose voice was the most ringing, whose recitation was the most complete, whose thanks were the most universal, who brought all beings of the heavens and Earth in the universes garden to rapture through his poetry was Prophet Muhammad, the nightingale of the luminous Quran. Here, the rose is associated with divine knowledge and wisdom.

Conclusion

Today, people prefer to buy roses for special occasions as precious gifts. As Shakespeare said, there is a meaning kept in the rose that we have to understand, just as the rose keeps its scent within itself. On Valentines Day roses express our love, on Mothers Day they tell our mothers that we remember their mercy toward us, and on Teachers Day they show a students respect for his or her teachers.

Most modern-day roses can be traced back to this symbolic ancestry. The popularity of roses seems to rise and fall according to gardening trends of the time. Gardeners realize that roses fit the lifestyle of every century. With the rise of emphasis on spirituality in the twenty-first century, roses are once again enjoying a resurgence in popularity.

Roses have a special hold upon us and, even though it is hard to capture in words, there is something about roses that evokes a response beyond the virtue of great beauty. This article has presented some historical traces of roses in several civilizations. Perhaps you will associate them with a favorite meaning or figure. So, would you like to finish the following sonnet of Shakespeare in your own way?

I have seen roses damasked, red and white,
But no such roses see I …?(3)
(the original says in her cheeks)

Footnotes

1. www.poetry.com
2. Omar Ali-Shah, tr. The Rose Garden (Gulistan) of Saadi (Reno, NV: Tractus, 1997).
3. From My Mistress Eyes Are Nothing Like The Sun, Sonnet 130, www.poets.org.

Unpreparedness played an unquestionable role in this tragedy. Even if American officials had been sufficiently informed in advance about how the attacks would occur and that the targets were the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and other sites, they would never have given the slightest credit to the idea that œAmerican pilots would launch a kamikaze attack from the air. Nor would they have increased all security measures in the area.

Take any strong country, none of which has a direct enemy. One type of enemy probably is not happy with a strong countrys policies. Another enemy would be participating in a counter-activity with a regional motivation. A third enemy would wage a direct attack on the strong country so that it would be top-listed on the global agenda. In addition, it would seek an opportunity to express its criticism to the world. A fourth enemy would organize acts of terror throughout the world in order to realize its short- and long-term political and other goals.

Terrorists aim to scare people, to obstruct the governments authorized arms, and to challenge the federal government in the political and military arenas. However, these reasons are not enough to explain what we are facing today. The modern world confronts more than ordinary internationalterrorism, for the terror we see today is new and has large dimensions. Its operational and philosophical characteristics are now under investigation.

Recently, American society has observed murders committed by students at schools, collective suicides of families, kidnappings, Timothy McVeighs Oklahoma bombing, mail bombs, poisoned letters, and so on. In my opinion, such activities cannot be coincidental and are not very favorable developments in this great country.

This most cruel and violent terrorist activity seems to have been planned to the smallest detail. Also, its perpetrators benefited from the methods of previous attacks: the psychological training of kamikaze pilots, how to hijack airplanes and use them like rockets, obtaining information about the air defense system and target weaknesses, and how the attacks would be directed were all carefully analyzed.

It is impossible to understand this tragic attack completely without a clear assessment of its perpetrators goals. Perhaps the driving motivation could be an emotional factor of punishing America for one of its acts or for being what it is today. This basic assumption was surely a significant incentive.

The perpetrators obviously wanted to create a shocking psychological effect on governmental officials as well as on the entire society, to defeat the opponents active defense power, to display international terrorism as if equipped with vast facilities, and especially to ensure that the American government changes its current policies. Another option also could be a type of adventure-seeking insanity or just a furious mob, both of which have found no place for themselves in this world but nevertheless wanted to draw the worlds attention to themselves.