I only care about myself. Whether the rest of the world collapses or not does not concern me, is the idea reflected by such events. This attitude of indifferent haughtiness leads to the following result: A world in which I have no welfare must be destroyed or If I am not loved, no one else can be loved. Our welfare level today has been unable to stop other peoples suffering, for we have not noticed what they experienced in the past. Such people were as glad at this tragedy as if they had taken revenge themselves, in the true sense of the word, while watching the tears and shock of the rich. We have just realized that the world is small, and that violence impacts everyone.

Terrorism is an absolute threat to all civilizations. As there is still no commonly accepted definition of terrorism, any state’s reaction to it will not lessen the threat it poses; on the contrary, it actually might strengthen it. The future of the world rests upon reaching a just response to this horrible tragedy and discussing the matter comprehensively. The fact that politics has gone clerical and that religion has become politicized makes some global events of the modern world more global.

The September 11th tragedy shows that terrorism is able to span regional and continental borders. This obliges the entire world to unify itself in order to face this challenge. To this end, we need to deal primarily with social problems and poverty, close the economic gap, and prevent strong countries from oppressing weaker ones. In the face of our world’s real contradictions, there is no second alternative to stopping terrorism, which constantly produces the most cruel incidents. In order to benefit from Earth’s riches, we must channel human consciousness, science, and technology properly so that they may serve good instead of evil; so that they may serve humanity’s collective development instead of destruction. Globalization can absolve itself only if it solves our world’s global problems.

As a relatively new and exciting science, chaos science grew very slowly during its infancy. Yet in the last decade, due to active research in many areas, it has became one of the hottest topics in academia as well as the popular science press. Many books have been published, and millions of Internet pages have been designed full of fractal pictures.1 Given that chaos is associated with disorder or confusion in a system or condition, why does it continue to attract so many people?

History of chaos

To understand chaos, one first has to understand the Newtonian worldview. Sir Isaac Newton’s (1642-1727) development of the calculus and laws of classical mechanics began a scientific revolution in seventeenth-century Europe that caused all subsequent scientists to view nature from a profoundly different perspective. Now that they finally could determine the dynamics of bodies by simple equations, they believed that they had found the ultimate eternal rules that shape the universe.

French physicist Pierre-Simon Laplace (1749-1827), who based his work upon Newton’s work, is credited with the following famous quotation (often referred to as Laplace’s Demon): ‘We may regard the present state of the universe as the effect of its past and the cause of its future. An intellect which at any given moment knew all of the forces that animate nature and the mutual positions of the beings that compose it, if this intellect were vast enough to submit the data to analysis, could condense into a single formula the movement of the greatest bodies of the universe and that of the lightest atom; for such an intellect nothing could be uncertain and the future just like the past would be present before its eyes.’2

Laplace’s Demon states the idea of determinism, that the past completely determines the future. One can clearly see why determinism was so attractive to scientists at that time. However, in Laplace’s word everything was predetermined: no chance, no choice, no uncertainty. A solid, inevitable destiny had frozen the events in every corner of the past and is continuously spreading out to the future to do same there. Determinism apparently invokes the idea that whole universe is like a clock. God set it in motion at the beginning of creation and then removed Himself, for everything had been planed before. The ideas that there was no place for free will and that God could not interfere killed the belief in a soul and, consequently, in spirituality. Philosophers and scientists have discussed this for many years. Determinism affected many philosophies and triggered the major ideological movements of during eighteenth century, especially in Europe.

Toward the end of the 1800s, mathematicians and scientists began encountering some very difficult equations, some of which we know today are unsolvable. The most troublesome are various nonlinear differential equations. Even though it looks like such a simple and totally deterministic system, the problem of three bodies attracting each other with purely gravitational forces (e.g., the sun, Earth, and moon triple) turns out to be missing an exact solution. At first, such problems were cast-off as special cases and largely ignored.

One reason for this also might come from the fascinating world of quantum mechanics, which dazzled even the great physicists, and the lack of fast computers at that time. When these equations finally were studied in detail, a fundamental change that would ultimately overthrow determinism began to occur in mathematics and science. An indication of the science that would be come to be known as ‘chaos’ began to appear.

Why does chaos interest people?

In contrast to its common usage, chaos does not actually mean disorder or confusion. By definition, it should occur in well-defined orderly systems. However, most natural physical systems often can exhibit an unpredictable or intractable behavior in the long run, even though the system is defined by clear-cut orderly mechanisms. In this sense, chaos can be defined as unpredictability rather than disorder.

For example, meteorologists use 12 sets of well-defined equations to forecast the weather. They relate such atmospheric parameters as pressure, temperature, flow speed, and time to each other. One can make a computer program that calculates the parameters’ final values by taking any initial conditions as the run’s starting point. In principle, therefore, if we know the initial temperature, pressure, and time values that describe today’s weather conditions, it is possible to derive tomorrow’s weather conditions by running a computer program, which is nothing more than a chain reaction of numerical iterations.

However, in practice, initial conditions cannot be measured exactly and so contain a degree of uncertainty. But since the system’s governing laws are known, one may estimate the effect of errors on future results. Hence, instead of giving the exact results, one can provide an approximate range of possibilities. This range can still be very useful, provided that the deviations do not stray too far from the actual values. In addition, knowing how the error grows in the system might help us understand and control the systems. But if we apply these error estimates to weather forecast equations, we will encounter a large problem, for errors grow exponentially in such systems. Even a tiny deviation at the beginning can create huge deviations from the actual values. It also can provide unrelated or nonsensical results.

An example of chaotic systems

This numerical behavior was first observed by the meteorologist Edward Lorenz, a pioneer in modern chaos work. Fascinated by the results he obtained, in the early 1960s he gave an interesting metaphor to explain the situation of high sensitivity to initial conditions: A butterfly’s slight wing movement (i.e., a little deviation from the initial conditions) can change the future in a way that causes some chain reaction that ultimately result in a hurricane.

Such systems that exhibit a very high sensitivity to initial conditions are called chaotic systems. Chaos comes from the mathematical properties hidden in the equations defining the system, and such unpredictability cannot be removed. Even if the measurements’ quality could be improved by minimizing errors, chaos never disappears from a chaotic system.

One may suppose that chaos occurs in complicated systems, such as weather forecast systems having 12 sets of equations. But even much simpler systems, such as billiards, can exhibit a very high degree chaos. A usual billiard system consists of many balls and a rectangular shaped table. I challenge master billiard players by requesting them to play the game in a stadium-shaped table. I am sure that they will find it difficult to do so, because such billiard tables would be chaotic systems.

If a system is defined as chaotic, this does not necessarily mean that its behavior is totally undefined all the time. As in stadium billiards, a ball has to be inside the billiards, so it should be somewhere on the table, even though sometimes we cannot foretell its exact position because of chaos. Besides, if you send the ball with a velocity perpendicular to a straight side, it will bounce back and forth between the two sides forever. Therefore, depending on which initial conditions are taken, chaotic systems also can show characteristics of regular motion.

A 3-body problem (in general n-body problems) such as the sun, Earth, and moon system, is a chaotic system. But since we can predict the motions of these celestial objects with great precision for many years in the future, why do we call this system chaotic? This triple system possesses a very special set of conditions: distance between bodies, their masses, and their velocities. These parameters cause it to exhibit near-regular behavior. It is analogous to the example of stadium billiards given above, for this triple system bounces back and forth between the table’s sides.

Conditions for chaos

Chaos also can be caused by other factors than just uncertainties measured in the initial conditions. Scientists generally define hypothetical systems by isolating them from the outside world in order to simplify them as much as possible. However, as even objects in the real world that are far apart interact with each other, no system in the real world can be isolated. Given this, a closed (isolated) system might be defined as a fluctuating approximation to its real counterpart, which is changing in an unpredictable manner all the time. In short, even though we would know the exact initial conditions, the actual system could be chaotic due to changes in the approximate system. In this sense, many physical systems have an inclination toward being chaotic.

Due to its maximum complexity, the universe is the largest chaotic system. Observable regular patterns in special parts of that system repeat themselves in time. While the rest of the flows are unpredictable, they are not totally irregular, abrupt, or disordered. Just like whirls in a flowing river, they are in a kind of free motion searching for convenient conditions in which to give birth to organized structures.

The future of chaos

Chaos gives today’s scientist a new worldview, for Newton’s concrete, cold, and deterministic one has been shaken by the uncertainty principle of quantum mechanics. No one ever thought that the Newtonian worldview could be replaced. However, now scientists are more likely to be open to chance and choice than their predecessors. The question is whether chaos theory will cause large revolutions in how we understand the universe. However, the existing excitement, expanding research and growing number of articles, and its numerous applications from economy to biology, seem to indicate that a surprise improvement might not be so far off. ‘

Footnotes

1. Fractal: A geometric pattern that is repeated at ever smaller scales to produce irregular shapes and surfaces that cannot be represented by classical geometry. Fractals are used especially in computer modeling of irregular patterns and structures in nature.
2. ‘Chaos and Fractals: Laplace’s Demon.’ Online at: www.pha.jhu.edu/ ldb/seminar/laplace.html. 

On September 11th, in the first year of the new millennium, all humanity appeared vulnerable against attacks launched by fanatics. Invisible terrorism can show itself anytime and anywhere’in five-star hotels, fantastic malls equipped with modern high tech monitoring devices, airports, or even beneath an isolated table.

What kind of strategies can solve this messy problem? In the opinion of some commentators whose hasty and careless comments create sensational speculations, the time of the ‘clash of civilization’ prophecy, which has been forgotten for 15 years, has arrived. Although sensational, these comments are far from depicting reality, because terrorism cannot be linked with any civilization, especially with Islamic civilization. To which civilization did Attila, who threatened Rome, belong?

Since the days of the Roman Empire, war has been a part of politics. Now, terrorism has become a part of politics. Terrorist actions, from the frequent hijacking of planes to the bloody actions of representatives of the ETA (the Basque separatist movement in Spain) and of the IRA in Northern Ireland, are committed for political reasons. In terms of the global community’s reaction, other terrorist actions do not reach the level of the events of September 11th.

It is too early to comment on the results of this global campaign against terrorism. Furthermore, it is questionable whether the United Nations can develop judicial or other types of sanctions to end terrorism.

As always, the only hope is the military and political alliance of powerful states. The only thing can be said now is that nothing will be the same after the events of September 11th.

Each living system is programmed to realize the outer world and act in a conscious way to survive and reproduce. Realizing the outer world is achieved by the sensory organs or sensory cells receipt of stimuli. Sounds with a particular frequency and intensity are important stimuli used for interspecies communication. Many species have been endowed with an auditory system to sense, process, and recognize sounds signals”an invaluable gift. Sounds having a certain rhythm, harmony, and melody, or sounds created by a composition of words with rhythm, harmony, and melody, is called music.

Sound produced by living creatures or lifeless objects can have rhythm and harmony. People who listen to this sound and sense its rhythm and harmony call this the music of nature. If they cannot sense anything, they call it noise. Recognizing sound as music or noise depends on the rhythm, pitches, and melodic contour, as well as the persons mental state and understanding. Sounds like a blowing wind, flowing water, or chirping birds are signs of a live and active universe. Believers in God realize that these beautiful sounds reflect Gods Names and Attributes, and that Gods re-creation reflects the Divine manifestation. For nonbelievers, they are sounds of nature that offer relaxation and integrate one with nature.

Music is an aesthetic way of communicating that uses rhythm and beauty to carry messages to ones soul in an effective way. Music can be produced consciously by people as well as produced by nature. More than an effective tool of communication, music is used for entertainment and relaxation. It also is the backbone of a huge job market and commercial sector.

Human natures sensitivity to rhythm, melody, and meaningful sounds and its functions have been the subjects of various research projects. Specifically, research conducted in biomusicology analyzes how music affects living systems. Today, the effects of music on human development, learning, and mental health, starting from the prenatal stage, is subject to various research projects.

For many years, it was known that music had a universal language, for every culture has developed its own music. Why is this? Research conducted in biomusicology shows that music has positive effects on humanitys survival and reproduction. According to Prof. Bjorn Merkur from Mid Sweden Universitys Institute for Biomusicology, music is a positive factor in survival and reproduction for many species. It also is an expression of the order and balance that makes life possible.

Many species distinguish and know each other from the sounds they produce. In the mating session, individuals of the same species find each other easily with the help of the sounds they produce. For some birds and mammals, individuals with a superior talent in producing musical sounds have an advantage in mating. Music having such functions in nature has a special place in the human soul, which is equipped with many different senses.

Education starts in the womb

Researchers have known for many years that infants can sense and recognize music. But when can an infants nervous system and brain start to sense, process, and remember musical stimuli? Growing evidence shows that during the last three months of pregnancy, a mothers womb gains some functionality that makes music with a certain rhythm a positive factor in the process of biological development. Previously, researchers assumed that preverbal infants mental capabilities were not developing that much until they started to develop verbal capabilities.

This assumption was clearly wrong, for preverbal infants inhabit a world of intense feelings and actively try to perceive sounds and recognize the sounds internal rhythms and melodies. This behavior starts in the prenatal stages. Today we know that 5-month-old infants can discriminate between differences in frequencies that are much less than the difference between two adjacent notes on the musical scale. Also, 8-to-11-month-old infants perceive and remember melodic contours. Infants have surprising adult-like capabilities in the way that they perceive and attend to musical stimuli.

In the Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology (December 1999), the researcher wanted to know if music really helped children become more aware of their surroundings and have better accuracy when it came to judging distance and space. The resulting data were quite surprising. Students who completed their schoolwork outside of class and had their parents attend music classes regularly placed well above the control group in tests involving cognitive skills (e.g., memory, verbal, non-verbal reasoning, and some mathematics). The researchers concluded that the cause of this was a more intense care-giver and child relationship. This shows that children can score higher on IQ tests based on regular training and experience. Genes alone are not the only factor that affects the level of intelligence.

The more quality time parents spent with their children (attending music classes together), the more successful the children were in their studies. Members of the control group, whose parents were not encouraged to spend time with their children, were not as successful. In fact, the negative effect of not spending enough time with children and causing a poor child relationship is worse than the negative effects of being in a single-parent or low-income household or having poorly educated parents.

In another research, 66 children were given such pre-tests as the Stanford-Binet IQ test and a test for measuring musical skills. The students in the experimental group attended a 75-minute music class for 30 weeks. When the tests were repeated at the end of the 30 weeks, children in the experimental group achieved significantly better results in tests for measuring nonverbal reasoning and creative thinking over the control group. The two groups achieved similar results in tests measuring vocabulary skills. In addition to the music classes, children spending more quality time with their parents increased their scores in a standard IQ test from 50 to 87 percent, whereas children who did not spend much time with their parents increased only to 78 percent.

The overall effects of music

Some hormones in the human body have a relationship with listening to music. Hormones produced by the body or a process that affects the body also affect the brain. Listening to music can reduce or increase the levels of cortisol (the stress hormone), depending on the musics type and attributes. This was proven in an experiment conducted by measuring the levels of cortisol before and after listening to music. Based on this, it would be helpful to listen to stress-reducing music in stressed and depressing environments or occasions.

Music can play an important role in relaxing and balancing the hormone levels of chronically depressed adolescents. Chronically depressed adults typically display stable right frontal EEG activation. Music can alter a depressed persons mood state and reduce cortisol levels. For example, 20 minutes of music affects the brains activities and reduces the level of cortisol.

Healthy individuals select music without knowing what effects it will have on their body and brain. If some type of music increases ones heart or breath rate, he or she can decide on how long and which type of music to listen in order to change the levels of the stress hormones. How this would affect a person who continues to listen to that kind of music on a regular basis is an open research topic.

When the chosen music has the desired sound and rhythm that matches the listeners personality, he or she can more comfortably release the bioenergy produced by his or her souls inner beauty. Music education offers insights into such subjects as learning theory, a childs brain development, child relationships, mental health, and the relationship between learning skills and the readiness to learn.

Conclusion

As part of the redefinition of a human being, we should reevaluate the concept of music, which greatly affects human psychology, mood states, and body and brain activities. Music education can provide people with such skills as collaborative working, careful listening, productivity, coordination, improved vocabulary, and analytical reasoning. The effects of music depend greatly on its type and attributes, as well as on the listeners mood and mental state. Like everything else, humanity is entrusted with using the concept of music to bring out and develop what is good and beautiful in human beings, instead of using it only for entertainment. Thus we need researchers in diverse fields to come up with new inventions and new syntheses.

References

• Bilhartz, Terry D., Rick A. Bruhn, and Judith E. Olson. Psychology: The Effect of Early Music Training on Child Cognitive Development. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology 2, no. 4 (December 1999): 615-36.
• Field, T. et al. Music Shifts Frontal EEG in Depressed Adolescents. Adolescence 33, no. 129 (1998): 109-16.
• Weinberger, N. M. The Musical Infant. Musica: The Music & Science Information Computer Archive 1, no. 1 (spring 1994).
• Why Do We Have Music? Musica (winter 1999).

Russia is very well aware of the existence of some groups that claim to attack for the sake of Islam. However, I see that most Islamic societies do not agree with such self-proclaimed Muslim’s claims that they are representing them. These groups manipulate Islam either slightly or extensively in order to insert themselves within its perfect world, sometimes with various ethnic motivations. Osama bin Laden, a Saudi, is undoubtedly seeking support from Muslims and portraying himself to the world as a Muslim leader. But has any group ever acknowledged him as such a leader? In addition, I have not yet seen any clear evidence that men linked with Islam are behind the tragic events in New York and Washington.

This might be either a very well-planned campaign or an immediate reaction of the American media, which is very used to accusing all Muslims in the world. I do not perceive Islam as a religion of violence. Although we in Russia suffer in Chechnya and Moscow from bomb attacks, I do not think Islam is the underlying reason behind most of these terrorist activities. We have concrete evidence that bombings and other acts of violence have been committed by Chechens; however, I do not believe that Islam can be blamed for them.

The September 11th tragedy was an act of violence, a type with which we have been familiarized by American movies. It also can be argued that these movies involve scenes that inspire such attacks to be organized. Moreover, time and again America has produced protesting generations, especially at times of crisis like the wars in Korea and Vietnam. We might hear anti-war voices arising from among those Americans who will call attention to America’s responsibility and that this attack was a provocation.

If we can unite our power to this cause, we can move successfully against terrorism. It is also important to locate the only superpower at a more appropriate status, both for the good of itself and for humanity in general.

America is certainly a great nation, and it will overcome this crisis. However, I am concerned with the possibility that its leaders might make things even worse in the rest of the world.

Personally, I think that Americans do not understand and know too much about history. This might be because they are a young nation or because they consist of many different peoples. They do not have outstanding historians. However, the problems of Europe and Asia are always deeply rooted in the past. Unfortunately, I have not yet met any American who is well informed about the reasons of these events and from where they are arising. Americans react immediately, sometimes deprived of the consciousness that history is not only the past but also the future. We must teach history and learn from it.

A: Some critics of Islam have reviled the Prophet as a self-indulgent libertine. They have accused him of character failings that are hardly compatible with being of average virtue, let alone with being a Prophet and God’s last Messenger, as well as the best model for humanity to follow. However, based on the easily available scores of biographies and well-authenticated accounts of his sayings and actions, it is quite clear that he lived the most strictly disciplined life, and that his marriages were part of the numerous burdens he bore as God’s last Messenger.

The reasons for his multiple marriages vary. However, all of them were related to his role as leader of the Muslim community, and his responsibility to guide the new Muslims toward the norms and values of Islam.

Q: Can you be more specific?

A: When Muhammad was 25, before he was called to his future mission, he married Khadija, his first wife. Given the surrounding cultural environment, not to mention the climate and such other considerations as his youth, it is remarkable that he enjoyed a reputation for perfect chastity, integrity, and trustworthiness. As soon as he was called to Prophethood, he acquired enemies who did not hesitate to raise false calumnies against him, but not once did any of them dare invent something unbelievable about him. Khadija was 15 years his senior.

This marriage was very high and exceptional in the eyes of the Prophet and God. For 23 years, their life was a period of uninterrupted contentment in perfect fidelity. In the eighth year of Prophethood, however, she passed away, leaving the Prophet as the sole parent of their children for 4 or 5 years. Even his enemies are forced to admit that, during these years, they can find no flaw in his moral character. The Prophet took no other wife during Khadija’s lifetime, although public opinion would have allowed him to do so. When he began marrying other women, he was already past 55, when very little real interest and desire for marriage remains.

Q: How could a Prophet be polygamous?

A: People often ask how a Prophet can have more than one wife. This question is usually asked by those people who know next to nothing about Islam; their question is based either on genuine ignorance or the desire to spread doubt among believers.

Many of those who reproach the Prophet’s polygamous family life are usually involved in casual relations and liaisons with numerous sexual partners. Considering themselves free, they engage in what most societies consider to be immoral behavior. One wonders why believers of other religions attack the Prophet for his multiple marriages. Have they forgotten that the great Hebrew patriarchs, considered Prophets in the Bible and in the Qur’an and revered by Jews, Christians, and Muslims as exemplars of moral excellence, all practiced polygamy? Moreover, as in the case of Prophet Solomon, they had far more wives than Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace. One wonders if they are moved more by their anti-Islam bias than genuine concern or interest.

Polygamy did not originate with the Muslims. Furthermore, in the case of the Prophet this practice has far more significance than people generally realize. In a sense, the Prophet had to be polygamous to transmit his Sunna (the statutes and norms of Islamic law). As Islam covers every part of one’s life, private spousal relations cannot remain untouched. Therefore, there must be women who can guide other women in these matters. There is no room for the allusive language of hints and innuendoes. The chaste and virtuous women of the Prophet’s household were responsible for explaining the norms and rules of such private spheres to other Muslims.

Q: How did the Prophet select his wives?

Some of the Prophet’s marriages were contracted for specific reasons:

Since his wives were young, middle-aged, and old, the requirements and norms of Islamic law could be exemplified in relation to their different life stages and experiences. These were learned and applied first within the Prophet’s household, and then passed on to other Muslims by his wives.

* Each wife was from a different clan or tribe, which allowed the Prophet to establish bonds of kinship and affinity throughout the rapidly expanding Muslim community. This also enabled a profound attachment to him to spread among all Muslims, thereby creating and securing equality and brotherhood in a most practical way and on the basis of religion.

* Each wife, both during and after the Prophet’s life, proved to be of great benefit and service to the cause of Islam. They conveyed his message and interpreted it to their clans: the outer and inward experience, and the qualities, manners, and faith of the man whose life was the embodiment of the Qur’an-Islam in practice. In this way, all Muslims learned about the Qur’an, hadith, Qur’anic interpretation and commentary, and Islamic jurisprudence, and so became fully aware of Islam’s essence and spirit.

* Through his marriages, the Prophet established ties of kinship throughout Arabia. This gave him the freedom to move and be accepted as a member in each family. Since they regarded him as one of their own, they felt they could go to him in person and ask him directly about this life and the Hereafter. The tribes also benefited collectively from their proximity to him: they considered themselves fortunate and took pride in that relationship, such as the Umayyads (through Umm Habiba), the Hashimites (through Zaynab bint Jahsh), and the Bani Makhzum (through Umm Salama).

Part of that discipline was providing each wife with the most meticulously observed justice, dividing equally whatever slender resources he allowed for their subsistence, accommodation, and allowance. He also divided his time with them equally, and regarded and treated them with equal friendship and respect. The fact that all of his wives got on well with each other is no small tribute to his genius for creating peace and harmony. With each of them, he was not only a provider but also a friend and companion.

Q: If a Muslim man is allowed only four wives, why did the Prophet have eleven?

A: The number of the Prophet’s wives was a dispensation unique to him. Some of the merits and wisdom of this dispensation, as we understand them, have been explained. All other Muslims are allowed a maximum of four wives at one time. When that Revelation restricting polygamy came, the Prophet’s marriages had already been contracted. Thereafter, he married no other women.

However, turning to the Eternal Truth must not be governed merely by our own desires and whims. We must turn to God in an attitude of conscious servanthood, in utmost humility and fragility, to ask for our common needs.

Our Lord is more aware of our needs and wishes than we are. Hence our petitions must be made quietly, as such courtesy is expected of those who are truly aware of this. Our Lord, closer to us than we are to ourselves, says: Pray to Me so I may respond to your prayer. This Divine encouragement to pray indicates that failing to do so causes people to feel a senseless independence and alienation from themselves.

When those who pray turn to God wholeheartedly, they express their respect to God’s continual closeness while being saved from the turmoil of their remoteness to God. In return, God makes them hear what needs to be heard, see what needs to be seen, say what needs to be said, and accomplish what needs to be accomplished.

As a result, all who feel the pleasure of faith and have become very sensitive in their duties to God remain highly aware of prayer. In fact, such people understand that worship is the purpose of their existence and so give it the importance it deserves. They conform to daily life’s material and immaterial aspects, and see a pleading heart as a sign of seeking closeness to God. In such an atmosphere of closeness, they usually feel hope and joy, as well as fear and anxiety.

Although we are fragile and weak beings with endless needs, God gives us existence, provides us with food, causes us to grow, and is aware of our every need and wish. His Mercy is so vast that we are not left to the mercy of others. Hence, our behavior must be equally and carefully gauged. As God is the Absolute Ruler of all that we have, we need to be aware of our smallness while appreciating God’s greatness and of our duty to direct our prayers only to God. When we reflect that God is closest and that our prayers will be answered, we analyze our behavior and adjust our voice levels.

We feel pleasure and awe while observing ourselves as we become conscious of God’s always ready and watching presence. Hence our petitioning through prayer is the purest form of worship. In fact, all parts of existence prays to God through the language of their innate abilities. In return, God responds to their needs from His Wisdom. God hears all and makes us aware that His response covers everything.

We must understand that God does not necessarily answer our prayer by giving that for which we ask. More often than not, we make our own window of needs narrow by thinking only of today and the present, thereby ignoring many things that are related to us. However, as God knows and sees today and tomorrow, He grants different kinds of needs with Mercy and Wisdom. When God enlightens our present situation, the future is not deprived of this light; when complimenting one person, God is not oblivious of another person.

And so when believers raise their hands to entreat their Lord, they are aware that there is a One who sees them, hears their breathing, knows all that passes through their minds, and, last but not least, gives due importance to all of their complaints and pains. In addition, they know that the One God accomplishes all acts according to His Absolute Ability and Wisdom. They are reassured of God’s actions, whenever and whatever is willed. They are convinced that all obstacles will be overcome through God’s mercy and will and, even at worst of times, breathe with security and hope. Those who turn to their Lord many times during the day and visualize reality beyond matter through the eyes and ears of their hearts can never again depart from this door.

Women in politics

I attended a lecture by Iceland’s Olof Olafsdottir, who is the head of the division for Equality between Women and Men at the Council of Europe a very long title to carry along with the heavy responsibilities that follow

The topic was women in politics in the 43 Council of Europe member states. First of all, it is worth noting that voting rights for most European women were achieved only after World War I (1919 for the US). Statistics on the percentage of women in the government are extremely astonishing,1 although the trend is rather expected. As we move toward southern and eastern Europe, the female percentage decreases. Sweden, Finland, and Norway, are at the top of the list. Half of all Swedish government officials are women. On the other hand, Italy has only 8%, the lowest among European Union member countries.

Certain countries have undertaken serious reforms to increase female participation. For instance, Spain moved up to 21% when, in the post-Franco era, women took advantage of the rebirth of democracy. France, the symbol of equality, fraternity, and liberty, recently reformed its constitution to grant equal opportunities for women to participate in politics. Even though women had the right to vote and be elected since 1949, the French government was only 27% female as of 2001.

Political systems are a major factor. If political parties and politicians have too much power, the competition is tougher. As a consequence, it is believed that women find it too difficult to deal with process as well as with the power of the positions. Turkey and France are perfect examples of this phenomenon, and so women are likely to be discouraged by the ensuing harsh power struggle.

Paternal leave for fathers

Why does the decision-maker’s gender make a difference? Many people might pose this question. The most current and concrete answer is the case of Sweden, where 50% of the decision-makers are women. A paternal leave law exists in many democratic countries. However there is a major flaw almost all cases only the mother uses her paternal leave while the father does not interrupt his career. The Swedish Parliament passed a law offering a month-long paternal leave to the father that cannot be passed on to the mother. As a result, many fathers who had used the excuse that their jobs were more important and any interruption would be considered a major reversal suddenly decided to use this opportunity to be with their new-born children!

Another major result of the high female presence in the Swedish Parliament is the seen in legislation related to prostitution: both the prostitute and the customer are punished!

Cultural reasons for lower political participation in Muslim countries

Two related factors can account for the major gap between countries having high and low rates of women in their governments: democratic identity and culture. Efficient and older democracies have established a real democratic culture in which individuals are valued and politics is close to the people. Also, culture tends to affect the role of men and women immensely. For instance, Turkish women are very powerful in the household. The division of duties has developed according to Islamic teachings, which assigns specific social roles to men and women according to their nature. Women are more emotional, intuitive, and affectionate, and so are more fit to run the family and the household and to educate the children. Men, on the other hand, are responsible for struggling outside the house to maintain the family. Thus, in most Muslim-majority countries the percentage of women in politics is rather low. However, as the family structure is very strong, fewer social problems are observed.

Gender Equity in Qur’an

It was hard for me to accept this view until I realized that, according to the Qur’an:

– Men and women have the same spiritual human nature.

– Both genders received the divine breath, for they were created with the same human and spiritual nature.

– Both genders are dignified and are trustees of Allah on Earth.

– Woman is not blamed for humanity’s fall. Pregnancy and childbirth are not seen as punishments for eating from the forbidden tree. On the contrary, the Qur’an considers them to be grounds for love and respect due to mothers.

– Men and women have the same religious and moral duties and responsibilities, and both face the consequences of their deeds.

– The Qur’an does not state that one gender is superior to the other. Some mistakenly translate qiwamah (responsibility for the family) as superiority. The Qur’an makes it clear that the sole basis of superiority is piety and righteousness instead of gender, color, or nationality.

– The absence of women as Prophets or Messengers of Allah is due to the demands and physical suffering associated with such figures’ roles, not because of any spiritual inferiority.2

Conclusion

There is no evidence from the Qur’an to preclude women from leading a state. Islam does not forbid or discourage the education of women. On the contrary, Islam authorizes women to have careers in fields such as teaching and medicine. However, a woman’s most essential responsibility is to educate her children and raise a sound family. Raising children is a key social function, for a society’s future and efficient functioning depends on educated generations. Thus, from this perspective, a woman’s responsibility is rather significant and challenging.

I hope that those who are having a hard time with gender equality in Islam take the time to do a little research, because the most logical and convincing answers are there to be discovered.

Footnote

1. All statistics are from the 2001 Report of the Directorate General of Human Rights of the Council of Europe, Women in Politics in the Council of Europe Member States.

2. Jamal A. Badawi, Gender Equity in Islam. Online at: www.iad.org/books/GEI.html.

Who created such miraculous entities?

At present, many highly educated people and scientists maintain there should be a creator who knows and has the power to design of all these perfectly working organizations. Starting from an atom’s particles, this systemic structure consisting of atoms, molecules, macromolecules, cell organelles, cells, tissues, organs, systems, and finally a living creature exists in all ecological balances on Earth. Without seeing the impact of such a wide and large power, it is not logical to expect that all that we see in creation is the result of unconscious nature and thus conclude that everything occurred by blind happenstance.

We remain alive because millions of cells work together. Each maintains its life by being perfectly divided into units and having complex mechanisms within its structure. Each unit has unique features. When these units come together, large and unpredictable new features might occur. For example, hydrogen is flammable and oxygen is burning, but when they join together to form water, there is no fire.

A cell, which consists of electrons, protons, and neutrons, might function differently according to its location in the body. When cells are combined with each other, they form cell groups that acquire such characteristics as flexibility, movement, reproduction, and nerve transmission. We know that all such body units as cells, tissues, and organs have a perfect integrated system. And yet it is still unclear how they combine and carry out the functions necessary to make eyes, the brain, bones, muscles, and so on, all of which are composed mainly of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and phosphate.

In short, many scientists are very curious about how brain tissues can perform hundreds of different functions (e.g., hearing, thinking, and feeling) even though they are composed of atoms.

Recent discoveries

For the last two decades, scientists have been working on small molecules, DNA, RNA, and proteins, in order to shed some light to the unknown aspects of life. The Human Genome Project (HUGO) is one of the largest projects and is scheduled to be finished by 2005. Its goal is to sequence the cell’s genetic material, which presumably numbers some 100,000 genes, and explain each one’s function(s). However, so far only 10,000 to 20,000 are known. And this despite the fact that scientists have spent centuries learning how molecules are formed and what kind of force drives the atoms to form molecules!

Several famous foundations, among them Yale University, New York’s Cold Harbor Laboratory, and Germany’s Max Planc Institute, have been researching questions related to the body’s structure. For example, how did it occur in such a small living cell, even though its building mechanism and systems are far more complicated than the system, which is all around us? How are dead cells expelled and replaced by new ones without disrupting any system’s continued functioning.

In short, living creatures still hold many secret–so many, in fact, that despite recent technological advancements many unknown subjects remain. What we know may be compared to a drop of water and the ocean.

DNA and genes

Excluding blood cells, one body contains millions of cells. For instance, there are approximately 5 million white blood cells within 1 mm3 of blood. Each cell has a nucleus (its brain), and each nucleus contains genetic codes (DNA). Such genetic information as hair and eye color, bodily height, and blood group is hidden within the folded DNA and packed onto 46 human chromosomes distributed. If we could unfold the DNA package within each cell, we would get a 2-meter long DNA strain.

In addition, each chromosome contains small DNA units (genes). Scientists estimate that there are about 100,000 genes, each of which has a unique function, in a human genome. For instance, there are globin (the major component of hemoglobin) genes on chromosomes 11 and 16, and individual genes on the X chromosome that enable us to see colors. Another gene on the X chromosome synthesizes a dystrophine protein within our muscles, other genes on chromosome 6 control ferine metabolism, another gene on chromosome 7 controls the ion traffic, and so on.

When we look at a gene’s structure, we realize that it they only are encoded by four letters (nucleotides): adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), and timin (T). The different orders of these four nucleic acids enable the gene to encode billions of protein amino acid combinations. The smallest gene, globin, is composed of 60,000 letters; the longest gene, distrophine, is composed of 2.4 million letters. If any letter is missing or is in the wrong place within the globin gene (e.g., AATG_ letter missing or AATTC letter change instead of AATGC), the ensuing point mutation, deletion, or insertion within the original order causes serious and incurable genetic diseases.

Many mutations occur within the functional parts of the 100,000 genes; however, they are instantly (10-10 second) repaired by the DNA ‘s repair mechanism. If not, serious diseases might occur. Interestingly, not all mutations cause genetic diseases, for while one mutation could be common within one human population, it might not occur so frequently within another one. Amazingly, our genes, composed of billions of letters (but only from A, T, C, and G) and always work in a harmony and collaboration so that our body can survive in a perfect manner. Therefore, spontaneous mutations or breakdowns are instantly repaired and old cells are replaced by new ones so quickly that we are not even aware of it.

Conclusion

In sum, the Creator has given each living entity a perfect and aesthetic body that functions in a most amazing manner. The only thing we have to do is thank the Creator for His generosity. That is perhaps the easiest task for us to do.

• References
• Thomas Gelehrter-William Wilkins, Principle of Medical Genetics Scientific American (January 1998).
• http://www.genome.gov/
• http://www.dnaftb.org/dnaftb/

But you don’t know what she did to me! Why didn’t he remember our anniversary? Why weren’t my parents more loving? Sound familiar? Of course, because we have all faced these or similar problems.

Most of us grew up learning that we should try to forgive others. Dr. Luskin, director and co-founder of the Standard University Forgiveness Project, has conducted several studies on forgiveness as a source of various medical and health benefits as well.

He writes: Scientific research clearly shows that learning to forgive is good for one’s health and well-being good for mental health and according to recent data good for physical health as well gratitude, faith, and care have a positive impact on cardiovascular functioning Almost uniformly, the forgiveness studies show positive results in psychological and emotional well-being. People who are taught to forgive become less angry, more hopeful, less depressed, less anxious, less stressed, more confident, and they learn to like themselves more (pp. 77-78).

Dr. Luskin’s main point is that forgiving others helps us lead a more satisfying and fulfilling life. Each of us stores pain from unrealized goals, failed relationships, personal failures, and so on. Over time, it begins to take over our lives and thwart our quest for happiness.

His techniques rest on several foundations, among them identifying your grievance story, starting with the small hurts and working up to the big ones, practicing forgiveness, realizing that forgiveness does not necessarily involve reconciliation or acceptance, understanding that you are the only one suffering, and concluding that it is time to let go and move on.

Some of his techniques are the following:

– PERT (The Positive Emotion Refocusing Technique). Do we watch the Grievance Channel, home of such popular re-runs as I Had Rotten Parents, My Life Was Unfair, or My Parents Mistreated Me? Why are we not switching (recognizing and taking responsibility for our situation) to the Gratitude, Beauty, Forgiveness, or Love channels?

Other elements of PERT are the breath of thanks. Breathe in and out slowly, be aware that you are breathing, and give thanks that you can breathe and are alive. Then apply the heart focus, by bringing to mind a very positive memory and allow the associated feelings of peace and love to engulf you.

– Challenging unenforceable rules. As we cannot control everything and are imperfect, others will continue to disappoint us. Why get mad at them for being human? We are not perfect, so why should we expect them to be perfect? In short, we need to hope for something instead of demand something of others and ourselves.

– HEAL. Hope (for a specific outcome in a specific situation), Educate (limited control results in something unexpected), Affirm (reconnect to your goal by affirming your positive intention), and Long-term (make a long-term commitment to your long-range well-being).

Dr. Luskin recommends practicing these exercises several times a day in a secluded place. Set aside about 15 minutes for each session, and work toward becoming a forgiving person. Acknowledge your submerged anger and pain, decide how to deal with these negative feelings that are harming your emotional balance and physical health, remember how much better you felt the last time you forgave someone, and then do it. This will transform you into someone who finds it natural to forgive and thereby deprive others of their negative power over you.

In our agitated world of ever-rising expectations, this book is just what we need. As Dr. Luskin shows, a dose of realism and forgiving people’s imperfections will lead each of us toward a more fulfilling life. And isn’t that what we all want?