Prompted by that visit, it seemed useful to explore what Rumi had written about the subject of faith and reason because of the importance of the topic in the Catholic religious tradition which has always recognized a potential for tension about the role of reason in one’s faith. This tension has usually been resolved in the insight that the expression of faith in God cannot diminish the importance of human reason in providing a conceptual framework by which that faith can be expressed and shared with others. However, the more one delves into Rumi’s life and his mystical poetry it becomes clear that for him, the issue of faith and reason is incomplete unless one includes the central theme of love.

Rumi’s poetry and parables are not a product of academic theological reflection but emerge from a deeply felt experience of God’s presence and God’s love in his life. I was curious to know what role human reason might play in Rumi’s thought and writings and whether he thought purely rational reflection and discourse about God is valuable. I propose to show in this essay that for Rumi, human reason is valuable in the search for God. Reason cannot be ignored, but it has only an instrumental value in one’s faith and relationship with God. The starting point for my argument is Rumi’s view of human knowledge.

Knowledge in general: Two perspectives

A. The need for knowledge:

According to Rumi, the human person cannot reach the final goal of human existence, which is union with God, without adequate knowledge. Perfect union with God however will be fully achieved only in the afterlife when knowledge will recede in importance. According to the biographer Cihan Okuyucu, for Rumi, the mind is like a torch and knowledge is its light. But he adds that for Rumi there is an even stronger light for the mind and that is love. (Okuyucu, 2007, p. 79)

B. Autonomy:

Regarding the use of one’s mind, Rumi has great respect for the autonomy of the individual’s mind. Rumi urges each of us to pursue our own insights and not to depend simply on what others have said. He explains by using this metaphor: Does a mountain produce any sound on its own? The answer is no. Whatever sounds we hear in the mountains are echoes of voices made by others. So too the person who does not set out to learn and understand on his own is simply an echo chamber. But “…if your words begin to flow from a source within, only then you will fly with your own wings” (Masnawi 6: 175 quoted in Okuyucu 2007, p. 84).

Knowledge ultimately is only an instrumental value. It is one of the necessary means for attaining full human “maturity,” not the sole necessary means.

Further, not all knowledge is equally valuable. It depends in great part on the character of the person who claims to have knowledge. Rumi illustrates this by recounting the story of an arrogant scholar and an uneducated sailor on board a ship. The scholar berated the sailor for what he had done with his life, for essentially wasting it because the sailor was unlettered. Later a fierce storm arose and the ship began to founder. The sailor asked the anxious scholar if he knew how to swim. The latter replied no. “Too bad” commented the sailor, “it looks like you may lose your life despite all your knowledge” (Masnawi 1:112 quoted in Okuyucu 2007, p. 79). The story illustrates that knowledge must be tempered with humility if one is to reach full maturity. This is profound advice for anyone who studies philosophy or theology or any academic discipline for that matter. Knowledge therefore can be a mixed blessing, but it can also be a fine instrument in assisting the individual to become what God wants that person to be. With this understanding of the role of knowledge in general, the next focus is the role of reason in gaining knowledge.

An important practical role for reason

Reason has an important practical or regulatory role for Rumi. One of its primary functions is to serve as master of “carnal” desires. It is disputed, but I believe that Rumi offers a dualistic vision of the human person which is not unlike that of Plato’s body and soul. According to Rumi, the rational side of human nature must conquer and control the carnal. Rumi says that there is an opposition between body and spirit, a kind of warfare in which the body prevails in most people. But in Prophets and saints, reason triumphs. He urges his followers to let reason gain the upper hand. (Chittick, 1983, p. 34) The following lines express the struggle between reason and the carnal self:

The (carnal) nature desires to take revenge on its adversary: reason is an iron chain upon the flesh.
It comes and prevents it (the flesh) and restrains it: reason is like a police-inspector controlling its good and evil (actions).
Reason that is allied to Faith is like a just police-inspector; it is the guardian and magistrate of the city of the heart. (Masnawi: 2181 quoted in Can, 2005, p. 182)

Rumi’s vision is that a person who uses reason wisely, that is in its regulatory role, will discover the true path to human fulfillment in God. (Can, 2005 p. 182) The words of the poem The Sunrise Ruby, illustrate this theme:

The Sunrise Ruby
In the early morning hour,
just before dawn, lover and beloved wake
and take a drink of water.
She asks, “Do you love me or yourself more?
Really, tell the absolute truth.”
He says, “There’s nothing left of me.
I’m like a ruby held up to the sunrise.
Is it still a stone, or a world
made of redness? It has no resistance
to sunlight.”
This is how Hallaj said, I am God,
and told the truth!
The ruby and the sunrise are one.
Be courageous and discipline yourself.
Completely become hearing and ear,
and wear this sun-ruby as an earring.
Work. Keep digging your well.
Don’t think about getting off from work.
Water is there somewhere.
Submit to a daily practice.
Your loyalty to that
is a ring on the door.
Keep knocking, and the joy inside
will eventually open a window
and look out to see who’s there.
(Rumi, The Essential Rumi Coleman Barks retrieved from http://www.khamush.com/sufism/hallaj.html)

The limits of reason and the existence of God

Rumi is sometimes puzzling in his views on the value of reason in grappling with the existence of God. He seems satisfied that human reason can know God’s existence (yet reason cannot reveal the nature of God) but he doesn’t engage in any rigorous defense of that position. (Okuyucu, 2007, pp. 93-94). Instead, he proposes parables as guides for his readers’ own reflection, creating a convergence of probabilities, to use the happy phrase of John Henry Newman. In one such parable, he recounts the story of an atheistic philosopher (the choice of a philosopher as atheist is revealing) and a doctor. The philosopher was feeling ill and so consulted a doctor for help. The doctor asked what the philosopher wanted and the latter replied that he sought health. To that the doctor replied: “Tell me what it is and I’ll get it for you.” The philosopher was perplexed and admitted that he could not tell the doctor what health was (Okuyucu, 2007, p. 93).

Rumi is saying that like the philosopher, we can know that health exists, but we struggle to understand what it is. So too with God’s existence. We can know that God exists, but we will never understand the nature of God. Moreover, knowing that God exists through rational proof will not sustain a lasting faith or faithful union. Reason can bring a person only so far and then that person has to move beyond the limits of reason and simply abandon themselves to God. Rumi uses the example of going to a tailor shop for new clothes. Your mind can get you to the threshold of the shop, but once there, you need to let the tailor do his work (Furuzanfar 168, quoted in Okuyucu, 2007, p. 94). There comes a time when reason is of no further use, even though it helps control the carnal self, raises us above the animals to the level of humanity, and provides a path to faith.

Rejection of reason

Having lauded reason’s role in achieving human enrichment and fulfillment, Rumi startles the reader by advising us to abandon reason as a mischief maker. “Sell reason and mind and buy excitement,” he says. What you call reason and intellect are a guess and an illusion but excitement is insight. Sacrifice reason in the presence of Mustafa (the Prophet of Islam) and say “God is enough for me” (Masnawi 1408 quoted in Can, 2005, pp.184-185).

In a wonderfully descriptive phrase reminiscent of how Nietzsche can startle his reader, Rumi writes in the Divan: “I grabbed reason by its ear and said: ‘O reason! Get out. Today I am saved from you. O reason, take your hand off me. Today I attained insanity, and held on to it” (Divan-i Kabir no. 1185 quoted in Can, 2005, p. 186). Ultimately, the ability to reason which we have been discussing shows itself to be only a faculty of a material mind. Rumi had indeed praised this material mind, which provides us with many benefits, and distinguishes us from the animals. But to finally attain God, we have to follow another path, the path of love. The poem Secret Places illustrates this point:

Secret Places

Lovers find secret places
inside this violent world
where they make transactions
with beauty.
Reason says, Nonsense.
I have walked and measured the walls here.
There are no places like that.
Love says, There are.
Reason sets up a market
and begins doing business.
Love has more hidden work.
Hallaj steps away from the pulpit
And climbs the stairs of the gallows.
Lovers fell a truth inside themselves
That rational people keep denying.
It is reasonable to say, Surrender
Is just an idea that keeps people
From leading their lives.
Love responds, No. This thinking
Is what is dangerous.
Using language obscures
What Shams came to give.
Every day the sun rises
Out of low word-clouds
Into burning silence.
(Rumi, 2007, p. 48)

The right path

There is another path, not the one illuminated by reason, which we must follow in order to attain union with God, who is the purpose of human existence. There is a “spiritual reason” superior to “material reason” (Ibid., p. 187). In fact, calling this faculty reason is really only a metaphor for a mystical love and understanding of God. There is an even stronger light for the mind than material reason and that is love (Okuyucu op. cit., p. 79). Elsewhere Rumi says, “May the people with reason be far from the lovers of God… If someone with reason comes to our assembly, do not let him in, but if a lover of God comes, welcome him and say, ‘Welcome’… Love shies away from the light of reason. It is a very bad thing to become old at a young age” (Divan-i Kabir 172 quoted in Can, op. cit., p. 186).

What does Rumi mean by Love?

Since my religious tradition maintains that we are truth seekers by nature, it behooved me to ask what Rumi means by “love”. There are several ways to understand the term. It is something that has to be experienced to be understood (Chittick op. cit., p. 194). The experience to which Rumi refers however is that of a Sufi mystic in ecstasy, and thus love ultimately is ineffable, it proves to be beyond words. Despite this caution, we can try to frame some meaning for the term.

First, God is love but that does not exhaust who God is. God is the source of all love, just as He is the source of everything. Second, love is the divine creative force which permeates the universe (rather like the role of the Holy Spirit in Christian theology). Rumi says:

Love is an infinite ocean whose skies are a bubble of foam.
Know that it is the waves of Love which make the wheel of the
Heavens turn; without Love the world would be inanimate.
How is an inorganic thing transformed into a plant?
How are the plants sacrificed to become gifted with spirit?
How is the spirit sacrificed for the Breath, of which only a
Whiff was enough to impregnate Mary?
Each atom is intoxicated with this Perfection and hastens
Toward it … Their haste says implicitly: “Glory be to God.”
(Masnawi, V 3843 quoted in de Vitray-Meyerovitch, 1987, p. 102)

Third, love also is understood as that force which is strong enough to forge the union of two individuals, whether that “one” is the union of God and a creature or the union of two human creatures. The unitive power of love between friends is illustrated in the following verse:

Your soul is so close to mine
That what you dream, I know. …
I know everything you think of: your heart is so close to mine!
(Divan–i Kabir quoted in de Vitray-Meyerovitch, 1987, p. 106)

The ultimate goal of the union of friends is to achieve union or oneness with the ultimate being, God. “Love is that flame which when it rises, burns everything, only God remains” (de Vitray-Meyerovitch 1987, p. 101). “Love is the attribute of God, who has no need of anyone. To be in love with other than Him is metaphorical love” (Can 2005, p. 150). Thus we come to understand that the love of friendship is transient and must open the way to the unitive love with God that is eternal. Union with the ultimate beloved, God, is every person’s goal, their “maturity.” We all share the same “spark of the divine.”

In the 11th century, St. Anselm’s coined the phrase fides quaerens intellectum, (faith seeking understanding) which means that it is natural for a person of faith to continue to seek understanding of that faith through reason. If we were to use a similar Latin phrase about Rumi, it would be amor donans intellectum (Love providing understanding). By that we mean that in the last analysis, only love can create and give the faithful one true understanding. For Rumi, the simple faithful love of God trumps all efforts of reason to understand God or to articulate the elements of one’s faith. The final path to God is not through the mind but through the heart. It is a very challenging lesson for anyone of faith to contemplate.

Donald Casey is an associate professor at the departments of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Felician College

References

• Can, Sefik. 2005. Fundamentals of Rumi’s Thought, New Jersey: The Light.
• Chittick, William C. 2005. The Sufi Doctrine of Rumi, Bloomington: World Wisdom.
• Chittick, William C. 1983. The Sufi Path of Love, Albany: State University of New York Press.
• de Vitray-Meyerovitch, Eva. 1987. Rumi and Sufism, Sausalito: The Post Apollo Press.
• Gülen, M. Fethullah. 2006. Love and Tolerance, New Jersey: The Light.
• Okuyucu, Cihan. 2007. Rumi, Biography and Message, New Jersey: The Light.
• Rumi. 2007. Bridge to the Soul, trans. Coleman Barks, New York: Harper One.
• Rumi, The Essential Rumi, trans. Coleman Barks. Retrieved from http://www.khamush.com/sufism/hallaj.html
• Rumi. The Mathnawî-yé Ma`nawî, Rhymed Couplets of Deep Spiritual Meaning of Jalaluddin Rumi. trans. Ibrahim Gamard. Retrieved from http://www.dar-al-masnavi.org/n-I-0109.html
• Rumi. 2002. The Soul of Rumi, trans. Coleman Barks, New York: Harper One.
• Schimmel, Annemarie. 1992. Islam: An Introduction, Albany: State University of New York Press.

Africa has many fresh water sources such as Lake Tanganyika, Lake Victoria, the Zambezi, Nile, and Juba Rivers. Theoretically, Africans should be able to at least, adequately sustain healthy life with this amount of water (Whiteford & Whiteford, 2005). On the other hand, several issues affect the water sources making them either inaccessible, or dangerous to use. Diseases form and spread all through Africa, deteriorating life due to deficient amounts of clean water (Whiteford & Whiteford, 2005).

The reason for the water problems majorly involves dams and deforestation, along with pollution. Firstly, dams provide irrigation and hydropower, but hidden underneath these benefits are the massive and long-term detriments of destroying the well-known system of flood-plain agriculture and deforestation due to incomplete dam projects. Flood-plain agriculture is the classic system of agriculture that was mainly used along the Nile River as well as several other rivers in Africa. These traditional systems of agriculture depend on the annual floods in order to fertilize and water their crops. Water, as well as the silt that once functioned as fertilizer, are now built up behind the dams and are unusable. Secondly, deforestation dries up the land even more because interception and transpiration from trees stop, causing more forest fires and destruction of habitats. Deforested land becomes a dried up desert absolutely unusable by all habitats, especially humans (Jobin, 1999). Thirdly, pollution caused by poor sanitation techniques, in addition to industrial and chemical pollution are major reasons for the decline of life in Africa. Poor sanitation techniques lead to human and animal feces infest water, leading to increase in diseases related to water. The industrialization and urbanization in some parts of Africa leads to high levels of modern environmental health hazards. This results in other severe health problems indirectly related to water. For example, in the Nairobi River Basin in Kenya, there were effluent concentrations of elements such as nickel, copper, and lead, which were 60, 600, and 120 times higher than recommended (Nweke and Sanders, 2009). Another major cause of chemical pollution all across Africa is the use of pesticides in agriculture which have been detected in streams and rivers in different regions. These pesticides contaminate soil, water, air, and food sources, posing serious health threats to Africa’s populations. Endosulfans, as well as more dangerous organochlorines, such as DDE and DDT have recurrently been detected at water sources near agricultural areas in South Africa. This contamination has been confirmed to regularly exceed the “European drinking water standard of 0.1 g/L” (Nweke & Sanders, 2009). This contamination not only poisons potential sources of food, but it also destroys habitats which all have a chain reaction pertaining to the sustainability in Africa. In summary, these factors influence the water quantity and quality in Africa. It also negatively affects people’s habits regarding water usage. If people realize they have little water, they ration it ineffectively. For instance, they will take up water usage reducing habits such as not washing hands, clothes, food products, dishes, themselves, etc. leading to less hygiene and increasing the likelihood of getting disease. If there is plenty of water but it is contaminated, the pollutants in the water source will cause diseases. Therefore, due to poor water management in Africa, diseases related to water have been severely affected.

Water-related diseases differ from waterborne diseases in that the disease is not directly caused by the water consumed. Instead, the vector of the disease uses water as a breeding ground from which the vector then emerges. Common water-related diseases include malaria, yellow fever, schistosomiasis or bilharzia, and onchocerciasis or river blindness (Whiteford & Whiteford, 2005).

Schistosomiasis, also known as bilharzia, is a disease that is highly prevalent along the Nile River as well as all other fresh water resources throughout Africa caused by parasitic worms and snails (Jobin, 1999). The most common parasitic worms that cause bilharzia in humans are Schistosoma mansoni, D. haematobium, and S. japonicium (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010). Infection occurs when the larval stage of schistosomes search for a human host while swimming in the water. After parasitizing the human circulatory system by penetrating the skin of an individual in contaminated water, they reproduce in the human gut or bladder by laying their eggs there (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010; Jobin, 1999). These eggs pass out of the body by means of human waste and reach aquatic habitats of snails (Jobin, 1999). After the eggs hatch, they develop into larvae which penetrate the snail, developing further and “multiplying by astronomical factors” (Jobin, 1999, p. 66). The parasite larvae then leave the snail continuing the reproduction cycle. As written by Jobin (1999), “bilharzia is a debilitating disease which can cause early death of persons parasitized by large numbers of worms” (p. 68).

Symptoms of bilharzia include developing a rash or itchy skin within days of infection. Within 1-2 months of the infection, symptoms such as fever, chills, cough, and muscle aches may also appear, but people tend to have no symptoms at this early phase. The eggs that travel in the body can also cause inflammation and scarring. As reported by CDC (2010), infected children may “develop anemia, malnutrition, and learning difficulties.” All of these symptoms are reactions of the body to the eggs produced, and not by the worms themselves. Treating schistosomiasis is essentially effortless; you must take a pill 1-2 days (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010).

Since the health care systems in some African countries are shoddy, and the majority of these populations cannot afford treatment or drugs, prevention is the most efficient technique to fight disease throughout the continent (Falola & Heaton, 2007). Bilharzia can easily be prevented in Africa by avoiding swimming in fresh water sources, health education, drugs, focal application of biocides to kill snails, and improved water supply and sanitation are also required to stop the spread of the infection. Using feces and urine contaminated water is a major cause of spread of the disease due to the nature of the parasite’s reproductive system, but another equally important issue is intensifying agriculture. Increased agriculture results in runoff with high concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorous, which act as a fertilizer (Peace, 2006). These compounds trigger an increase in aquatic weeds, the ideal habitat for snails, which causes increased bilharzia transmission. In addition, since people wanted to clean the water sources from the weeds, they would manually try to clean the water supply, without taking any precautions. This exacerbated the situation by exposing themselves to the disease (Jobin, 1999).

An example of the relationship between agriculture along with irrigation, and bilharzia as well as malaria transmission can be seen in the Gezira-Managil Irrigation System in Sudan. In 1925, when the irrigation system was first constructed, the overall agricultural intensity increased by 300%, this was because the natural system had been altered with. Naturally, the water should have dried out by April-May, but instead it ran 100% of the time. The Gezira-Managil Irrigation system became the main source of income in Sudan, producing 3/4 of the gross national cotton production. By 1970, the proliferation of agricultural pests, aquatic weeds, snails, mosquitoes and silt in the canal lead to the decline of the agricultural system. As a result, cotton was infested by the white-fly, pathogenic viruses and bacteria multiplied in the water making it unusable. Malaria mosquito populations increased, attacking at night and increasing transmission of disease, since there were no longer dry seasons to destroy their habitat. Similarly, bilharzia snails increased since the unnatural, man-made system had constructed an exceptionally ideal habitat for them, attacking during the day as people waded in the waters, and intensified the transmission of the disease. People who worked on the fields and near the irrigation system got infected, not being able to work on the nearly non-existent cotton fields. The country’s gross income changed from approximately US $228 million to US $76 million by 1981. There was no longer any money, which meant no more facilities for community water supplies and sanitation, increasing disease and unemployment, resulting in even less money in a seemingly endless cycle (Jobin, 1999).

There are many factors that act as obstacles in the way of African well-being. The most prevalent type of disease in Africa is waterborne and water-related. Sheik-Mohamed & Velema (1999) report that “major causes of mortality and morbidity seem to be preventable infectious diseases.” Govender et al. (2011) similarly state that “diarrheal diseases are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in low- and middle-income countries” and that these diarrheal diseases can be prevented simply through improved water quality. Every 8 seconds a child dies from a disease related to having either unclean or not enough water. Diseases linked to water kill more 5 million people each year – ten times the amount of people killed in wars (Whiteford & Whiteford, 2005). These statistics are outrageous. Every human should have the right to have clean water. Every human should have the right to live in a healthy environment and be in good health.

References

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2010, November 2).
• Schistosomiasis: General Information. Retrieved October 2011, from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/schistosomiasis/gen_info/faqs.html
• Falola, T., & Heaton, M. M. (Eds.). (2007). HIV/AIDS, Illness, and African Well-Being. Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press.
• Govender, T., Barnes, J. M., & Pieper, C. H. (2011). Contribution of water pollution from inadequate sanitation and housing quality to diarrheal disease in low-cost housing settlements of Cape Town, South Africa. American Journal of Public Health , 101 (7), e4-e9.
• Jobin, W. (1999). Dams and Disease. London, UK: E & FN Spon.
• Nweke, O. C., & Sanders, W. H. (2009). Modern environmental health hazards: a public health issue of increasing significance in Africa. Environmental Health Perspectives , 117 (6), 863-870.
• Sheik-Mohamed, A., & Velema, J. P. (1999). Where health care has no access: the nomadic population of sub-Saharan Africa. Tropical Medicine and International Health , 4 (10), 695-707.
• Whiteford, L., & Whiteford, S. (2005). Globalization, Water and Health. Santa Fe, New Mexico: School of American Reasearch Press.

The heart is the home of God, clean it of others than Him,
So that the All-Merciful may descend into His home at night.

The couplet above, recorded by Ibrahim Haqqi of Erzurum in his Ma’rifetname (Book of Knowledge), expresses the intention of obtaining true love and His pleasure, and tells how to realize it. It concisely describes the way between decision and resolution and from resolution to destination. The only way to obtain peace of mind and be at rest without going to extremes and being exposed to spiritual trouble and pain is to seek the love and pleasure of God, and then order one’s life around this aim. Rumi says:

A heart devoid of the Friend and seeking Him cannot be freed from trouble and pain. [As for] a head in which there is no love of the Friend, do not attempt to find any meaning and value in it, for it consists of bones and skin.

Those who have set their hearts on Him and have decided to reach Him never neglect to follow a way toward Him and to meet the necessities of traveling on it. [1] Even if they turn their eyes from Him for a single moment to look to others, they sigh for a whole lifetime. How unfortunate is the one who lives unaware of a way leading to Him. What a great loss, impossible to compensate, it is to fall and get stuck on the way after taking it.

Decision first appears and develops in the heart, grows firmer and stronger as a feeling, and then becomes a very powerful drive directing one toward his or her destination. In this context, decision signifies an intention and resembles a seed sown in the heart’s soil. If the one who has this intention or seed in his or her heart receives help from God Almighty, the seed germinates and grows into an elaborate, fruitful tree. After a few steps traveled in decision, one finds resolution, which is defined as being determined to do something, steadfast in one’s pursuit, and consciously fulfilling all responsibilities undertaken. Resolution is the first step toward the “heavens” of reliance and surrender. The Qur’an describes this step and the final point to be reached: When you are resolved, rely on (or put your trust in) God (3:159). If this first step can be taken through reliance on and submission to God, then the road becomes level and easy to walk on, and one travels it as if flying through the air.

Decision and resolution are two important dimensions or functions of willpower. Every traveler who intends to make a long journey must stop at the station of decision and resolution to receive the permit or visa, given by God, in order to progress to higher stations. Only after this does the journey truly begin. One who has taken the wings of decision and resolution feels attracted toward the goal and, no longer advancing by his or her own power, is taken to it. A friend of God says: Whoever overflows with the desire to meet with God, despite his inability to fulfill the requirements of the way leading to his goal, God Himself comes to him. God then becomes his or her eyes with which to see, ears with which to hear, and tongue with which to speak.

For the traveler who flies along on the wings of decision and resolution, meeting with God means finding subsistence in or through annihilation. For those with whom God wills and desires to meet, it means subsistence within subsistence, [2] and they suffer no trouble or pain in the “virtuous circle,” [3] where they encounter good after good. In this circle pain changes into pleasure, and wrath or chastisement are manifested as favors. One who has reached this point always utters in pleasure: Whatever comes from You, whether it be a favor or punishment, is good. With a cup of resignation in one’s hand, he or she sips whatever comes from God, the Truth, as if it were the water of Paradise.

Notes

1. There is more than one way to God. It is said that there are as many ways or paths to God as there are breaths of people. Such a statement is said to express the differences in people’s temperaments and moods. In addition, spiritual orders use different rituals to help their initiates make progress on the spiritual path.
2. This phrase denotes the concept of compound subsistence, defined as a “firmer subsistence” and as “being well-versed or grounded in subsistence.”
3. This is the opposite of the “vicious circle” that so many people encounter in their daily lives.

As recounted in the Qur’an (14: 34–41), Abraham left his wife Hagar and son Ishmael in the valley of Mecca on God’s command. There was the Ka’ba there, but it had been destroyed in time. When Ishmael was young, Abraham re-constructed the Ka’ba together with him. Because of the sanctity of the Ka’ba, people began to settle around it, and this is how Mecca appeared as a town and a center of pilgrimage and trade connecting merchants on caravans from Syria and Jordan, all the way to Abyssinia (Ethiopia). Organized in tribes, Mecca suffered from racial fanaticism and feudal warfare for centuries, leaving women without a value as they could not take part in wars.

In a larger context, the Byzantium and Persian Empires were in constant conflict and intermittently fought for over sixty years, which exhausted their respective peoples. There was a desperate need for a message that prioritized peace over war, a message that celebrated freedoms and rights for everyone regardless of color, race, or gender. And came the Prophet from Mecca, who taught and promised all of these. He was not alone in his mission, and his closest Companion was Abu Bakr.

Also called As-siddiq (“The Upright” in Arabic), Abu Bakr was approximately two years younger than the Prophet. Before embracing Islam, he was known as Abdul Ka’ba (the servant of Ka’ba), then the Prophet changed his name to Abdullah (the servant of God).

Among the youth, frolics, dissipations and frivolities were very common behaviors, but Abu Bakr was completely different. He had a very disciplined life. Once he was asked if he had drunk wine in his days of ignorance. He said he had never touched the wine because he had wanted to keep his reputation and respectability. This shows that he enjoyed a good reputation and respectability even before Islam (Ibn al-Athir, 1280).

He did not receive a formal education as many other Arab men, but he was a keen observer; he was continually observing what was going on around him. He had a very good memory. He could recite verses if he heard them only once. He attended poetical events (Ibn al-Athir, 1280).

Abu Bakr traveled to different countries including Abyssinia, Yemen, and Syria. These business trips brought him wealth, experience and broadened his outlook on life. He became one of the richest businessmen of Mecca. Accordingly, his social importance increased among people. He was hardworking, generous, friendly, truthful, committed. He had a lot of influence among his friends and acquaintances. As a trader, he was always fair, he never deceived people. He would visit the sick; he gave alms to the poor (at-Tabarî, 1987). One day the Prophet asked his people, “Is there anyone here who visited a sick one today?” Abu Bakr said, “I did.” “Is there anyone who fasted today?” Abu Bakr said, “I did.” “Is there anyone who participated in a funeral?” Abu Bakr said, “I did.” “Is there anyone who assisted someone who was poor?” Abu Bakr said, “I did.” Then the Prophet said, “Whoever does these four deeds in one day is counted among the people of heaven.”

While Abu Bakr was still young, he volunteered for an office which decided the blood money for the killed or injured. It was like a judge or magistrate’s office. He always satisfied both sides with his fair decisions. (at-Tabarî, 1987).

When God’s message was revealed to Muhammad, the first man to believe in him was Abu Bakr. On the day that he stated his belief, he gave his decision quickly and without hesitation showing he had complete trust in Muhammad. The Prophet admired his acceptance of Islam with the words, “Except Abu Bakr, everyone I have invited to Islam has experienced some period of hesitation. But Abu Bakr accepted my invitation without any hesitation” (Bukhari, 870). In fact, Abu Bakr had always doubted the validity of idolatry and had no enthusiasm for worshiping idols.

When Islam began to spread in Mecca, Meccan polytheists inflicted torture and intimidation on the believers, forcing many of them to immigrate to Abyssinia. Yet, Abu Bakr did not leave. He preferred to stay with the Prophet to support him in his time of need. And he was going to be the company to the Prophet in the Hijrah, his historic journey to Medina, which would transform the course of history forever.

Later when the battles of Badr and Uhud took place between Muslims and the Arab pagans, Abu Bakr, along with a few other companions, was entrusted with the Prophet’s safety. When Mecca was at last subdued in 630 AD, all the tribes of Arabia were convinced that Muhammad was a messenger sent to them by God. They stopped resisting and sent delegates to Medina proclaiming their allegiance to him. While he was busy receiving delegates, he entrusted Abu Bakr to preside over the pilgrims. This incident proved of vital importance later when a caliph was chosen after the death of the Prophet (Ibnal-Kathir, Isma’il, 1932).

His leadership

The Prophet made a pilgrimage two years after the conquest of Mecca. This would be called the “Farewell Pilgrimage,” as the Prophet became ill on his return to Medina and died two weeks after the illness. During the last days of his illness, he could not lead the prayers in the Mosque. He gave instructions to his wife Aisha to tell her father Abu Bakr to lead the prayers. This was taken by the Muslims as another sign to choose Abu Bakr to be their caliph after the Prophet’s departure (Ibn Hisham, 1992).

When the Prophet died in 632 AD, many people, among whom was ‘Umar bin al-Khattab, were shocked and refused to believe that he died. But Abu Bakr, steadfast as usual, addressed the bewildered masses and convinced them that Muhammad was no more than a Prophet like other Prophets who had died before him, and that there was no reason why they should not acknowledge his death. After much debate, in which both sides—the Medinans and the Meccans—expressed their opinions elaborately and freely, Abu Bakr was unanimously accepted to be the first Caliph. Soon there was a public meeting in the Mosque, and people from near and far flocked there to swear their oath of allegiance to Abu Bakr (Ibn Hisham, 1992).

The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, categorically rejected racism and tribalism. He also put an end to tribal wars. Sir William Muir makes the following comment:

The first peculiarity, then, which attracts our attention is the subdivision of the Arabs into innumerable bodies… each independent of the others: restless and often at war amongst themselves; and even when united by blood or by interest, ever ready on some significant cause to separate and give way to an implacable hostility. Thus at the era of Islam the retrospect of Arabian history exhibits, as in the kaleidoscope, an ever-varying state of combination and repulsion, such as had hitherto rendered abortive any attempt at a general union… The problem had yet to be solved, by what force these tribes could be subdued or drawn to one common center; and it was solved by Muhammad (Muir,1988).

Instead of tribalism and tribal attachment, the Prophet Muhammad instituted virtue and God-consciousness. He also instituted allegiance or public consent. People were free to elect their administrator. So after the Prophet’s death, his followers came together and discussed among themselves who would be their new leader. Since the one who would lead the newly-established Muslim community would succeed the Prophet in his leadership in all things except Prophethood, he was named the Successor. The Caliph means the one who succeeds. So the leaders of the Muslim community after the Prophet’s death were called Caliph.

1- The Wars of Apostasy

Abu Bakr had to struggle with apostates and false prophets. What elements caused the wars of apostasy? First, the death of the Prophet was a great shock to Muslims. For the first time in the lives of both the Meccans and the Medinans, they were united around a single religion. Their centuries-old customs and feudal or tribal values and understandings were abolished. Their absorption of the new system would not be easy. They accepted this system in the footsteps of the Prophet Muhammad. So his death was a great shock. Adoption of the new system was difficult especially for the newly-converted desert tribes. Some of them left the new religion and followed false prophets who appeared among them and called them back to their old customs.

Secondly, Islam instituted zakat (alms-giving or charity). It was collected from the rich and spent for the well-being of the poor and for the wayfarers left without money to complete their travel. It was also used for those who cannot pay their debts, and for those who strive in “God’s cause”. Some desert tribes refused to pay it after the Prophet’s death. This signaled their revolt against the new administration in Medina.

Thirdly, the influence of the Romans from the north and the Persians and the Abyssinians from the east and the south encouraged the distant tribes to return back to their own beliefs and customs. (As?m, 1981).

Abu Bakr succeeded in putting down the rebellions and re-instituted unity in Arabia. His good reputation among people, his character, and his wise measures were influential in surpassing the rebellions and re-instituting the unity. He sent military units against the revolting tribes. In the end, those tribes gave up their disobedience.

2- Usame’s punitive expedition

The changes brought about by the Muslims in Arabia drew the attention of the Roman (Byzantium) Empire. In order to prevent their growing strength, they sent armies. During the time of the Prophet, Roman and Muslim armies fought in Muta, on the border of Jordan. No side could overpower the other in this first encounter. One year before the Prophet’s death, Romans organized another powerful army. On hearing this, the Prophet left Medina with his army and went as far as Tabuk, in the far north of Arabia. However, the Prophet’s illness caused this army to stay in Madina without departing. After his death, due to the news of rebellions in some desert tribes, some Muslims wanted to cancel this expedition. But Abu Bakr, as the newly-chosen Caliph, firmly opposed the idea, saying: “I will never cancel anything initiated by the Prophet”. The curious thing about this army was that it was made up of mostly the early Companions of the Prophet, but its leader was Usame ibn Zayd, who was only 18 years old. During the lifetime of the Prophet, his old Companions objected, but they were given a heated sermon in which both Usame and his father were praised as competent leaders (At-Tabarî, 1987).

3- Compilation of the Qur’an

1200 Muslims were killed in the battle called Aqraba, among them were many who were committing the Qur’an to memory. Umar ibn al Khattab, whose brother Zayd was among the dead, thought deeply of what might happen if wars continued and more such people were killed. He reached the conclusion that if the Qur’an was to be preserved, it ought to be compiled into one volume. At that time, it was scattered among the companions of the Prophet, with each preserving certain portions of it. Methods of preservation differed. Some had it written on parchment; others on palm branches stripped of leaves; a third group was written on bones; and a fourth on stone tablets; a large number also memorized it by heart. If many of those who had memorized it were killed, then a part of the Holy Book might disappear. So Umar went to the caliph, who was then sitting in the Prophet’s grand Mosque. He discussed his idea with him, but Abu Bakr rejected it because it was not something done by the Prophet. A lengthy debate followed, after which Abu Bakr was convinced that Umar was right (Ezzati, 1978).

Abu Bakr’s compilation of the Qur’an is regarded by many as his most significant legacy. It was even more significant than the wars of apostasy and the conquest of Iraq and Syria. Ali ibn Abi Talib used to say: “May God have mercy upon Abu Bakr! He is worthy of being superbly rewarded because he was unique in compiling the Qur’an” (Ibn Hajar, 1988).

Harun Gultekin is a teacher at Pioneer Academy of Science, New Jersey.

References

• Al-Bukhari, Muhammad. 870. SahihBukhari. Haidth no: 4/1701.
• at-Tabarî. 1987. Abu Ja’far Muhammad ibn Jarir, Tarikh al-Umamwa al-Muluk, Beirut.
• Cevdet, Ahmed (Pa?a). 1976. K?sas-? Enbiya ve Tavarih-i Hulefa, Bedir Publishing, Istanbul.
• Ezzati, Abul-Fazl. 1978. An Introduction to the History of the Spread of Islam, London, News and Media Ltd.
• Ibn al-Athir. 1280. Usd al-ghaba fi ma’rifat al-sahaba, Cairo.
• Ibn al-Kathir, Abu’l-Fida’ Isma’il. 1932. al-Bidayahwa’n-Nihayah, Vol. 14, Beirut.
• Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani. 1988. Al-Isabah fi Tamyiz as-Sahabah, Daru’l-Bayan, Cairo.
• Ibn Hisham. 1992. al-Sirah an-Nabawiya, Dar al- Fikr, Beirut.
• Köksal, M. Asim. 1981. ?slâmTarihi, ?amil Publishing, Istanbul.
• Muir, Sir William. 1988. Life of Muhammad, Osnabrück: Biblio.

The door to room 153 opened and a blond-haired, blue-eyed boy walked out alone. His eyes went immediately to the spot where he knew she would be waiting. “Mommy!” he squealed, and a smile brighter than sunshine burst across his young face. His lanky legs kicked out at a slightly odd angle as he ran towards the one person he had been waiting to see since 8:30 am that morning.

As he got near, he shed his backpack. As Mom welcomed him into her arms, the hug nearly knocked her over. “I missed you, Mommy!”

This is how you will find me at 2:30 pm every school day of the year. My name is Kimberly Parker. I am a mother of three children. My oldest son, Cooper, has autism.

When Cooper was born, I ended my career as a Sales & Marketing Director to remain home with him. I embraced this plan, as it allowed me freedom to not only spend oodles of time with our son, but also gave me time to work on creative projects, particularly writing, that I had abandoned in my climb up the corporate pyramid.

When Cooper was 16 months old, we realized he had significantly stunted language development. Specialists were seen, and we soon knew that the challenges we faced had a name: autism.

Fast forward 5+ years. Our family now consists of Cooper, age 8; Benjamin, age 6; and Kacey, age 4. My husband and I have worked hard to keep our heads above water while meeting our family’s needs, and our extended family and friends help us tremendously.

Even with all of the help, I know my son better than anyone else on this planet knows him. I say this not to sound prideful – it is a matter of fact. My husband is a wonderful father, however, since I am the person who is with Cooper the most, out of sheer desperation I have had to learn to understand my son by merely looking into his eyes. His language processing challenges make it difficult for him to understand things in the way typically developing children do.

Most parents of children with autism are in a similar position. They are the experts in dealing with their children. Because our day-to-day functioning depends upon it, we parents have to learn how to build relationships with our children. These relationships serve as the foundation for everything else that happens.

The problem is that the thousands of children who have autism will, one day, grow to be adults with autism.

I’d be a liar if I said that the question, “What will happen to my son when I die?” does not at times keep me awake at night. Does anyone know him better than I? Is anyone in a deeper relationship with him? Does anyone love him more than my husband and I do? When the loving, knowledgeable caregivers of these children pass away (which inevitably will happen), is our society prepared to care for people who are unable to fully care for themselves? It isn’t right now, but it can be.

Never mind 72 hours, 72 years would probably not be enough to fully prepare my son to face the world without the mother to whom he is attached. However, I believe that in 72 hours, I can ignite a fire that can help prepare the world for my son.

Many schools have begun to implement programs to teach kids about the various disorders and disabilities which are increasing in alarming numbers. Each school year Cooper’s classmates learn, to some degree, how to function in the classroom with a peer who has special needs. At the beginning of the year, teachers talk to his peers about autism. Kids learn that Cooper has challenges, and they are told that they must be accepting and helpful friends to him.

This is a good beginning. But it is only a beginning.

Is it enough to teach them how to co-exist in a world with people who think differently, who communicate differently, and who have extraordinary needs?

I don’t believe so.

Kids don’t simply need to learn how to tolerate one another – they must to learn how to build relationships with one another. Those who are different do not need to be merely acknowledged as different – they need people to come alongside them, people who will seek to understand the depths of their individuality.

When a child with autism is alone on the playground – it isn’t enough that other kids refrain from bullying him. Can even one child dare to come close and seek to engage him? And when that doesn’t work, will the child be content to sit near him and just share the same breathing space – because he or she understands that for a person with autism, simply having someone nearby can be enough to foster feelings of acceptance?

My vision is to see a system implemented in our schools in which children learn how to be intentional about building better relationships. We can empower and equip kids to care for their peers in a way that goes way beyond tolerance. No matter what their age, kids can learn skills at a level they can understand. Intentionally building upon these skills throughout their education will not only build a better world for kids with autism – it will build a better world for everyone.

There are experts who have dedicated their lives to helping autistic children and their parents learn to build relationships with each other. There are others who have developed peer-to-peer training sessions for school use. I believe we can take the knowledge from these experts, combine them into a complete program, and teach these skills in our schools so that parents are not the only ones who hold the key to their child’s relationships.

In my 72 hours, if given the resources, I would engage three experts: Dr. Steve Gutstein (Relationship Development Intervention specialist for children with autism), Dr. Gordon Neufeld (expert in attachment and anti-bullying) and Heather McCracken (founder of Friend 2 Friend Learning Society). They have each developed materials that address different components of this problem. However, if these experts came together, I believe a complete, life-changing strategy could be designed and presented to educators.

In 72 hours, I would seek for the four of us to spend a day brainstorming what this plan could entail, and then gather as many educators as possible to cast a vision and ignite a fire: from parents and teachers to University Education Department Heads to U.S. State Educators to the Canadian Minister of Education and all the way to the U.S. Secretary of Education. This fire would move them to action to see a new type of preparation brought into schools. Not for the sake of another program or something “to-do,” but for the sake of building a society of people who know how to love selflessly, to prepare them for life together.

With myself as the parent-champion, my son at my side, and Dr. Gutstein, Dr. Neufeld and Mrs. McCracken to speak about the psychological benefits and technical aspects, we could introduce them to a new way to do “tolerance” in the form of attachment and relationship building in peers.

Imagine…

The 72-hour period was filled with a whirlwind of activity. Along with the field experts, Mom and son spoke powerfully to hundreds of people, presenting a radical vision. They shed light on the magnitude of the problem that autistic children and adults everywhere encounter. They also began an awakening of the need to prepare for a world to come. They saw faces light up with passion and high-level educators commit to not letting the dream of a selfless society fade.

As Mom hugged her son for what she knew would be the last time, her heart was not heavy – it was full of hope. Surrounding them were hundreds of outstretched arms which she knew would take her place in helping this little boy for the rest of his life. And as she said her final “I love you,” she knew that her life had been well-lived.

In 2004, Kim’s son was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. She writes to equip others to better understand autism and the families who love the autistic. She enjoys connecting with parents facing the seemingly insurmountable challenges of autism and helping them find joy. She is also a Christian author and speaker. Her first published book is called Radical Love…Forever Changed. You can follow Kim’s blog or connect with her at www.SimplyCreativeWriting.com.

Especially after the 1950s, divergent thinking has been studied a lot by psychologists. Innovations, discoveries and novelties have been associated with divergent thinking which intrigued the scholars in the fields of management, military and advertisement, as well as psychology and education. However, we lack studies that link the concept of divergent thinking to religious texts. One basic contribution of employing divergent thinking to religious texts would be to broaden the understanding of the texts and to seek alternative perspectives. Such endeavor seems consistent with the consideration that religion (hence, religious texts) is an everlasting source of wisdom and inspiration, and if so, why is it confined to the early interpretations? Why not become seekers of original interpreters of religious texts and discover the unveiled aspects of it? This article will discuss the perspective from psychology and religious texts to find an answer for these questions in the case of Islam.

Among the several views on divergent thinking, a brief psychological framework that can be applied to religious texts would be helpful. This framework was conceptualized by Donald Campbell (1960). According to this, in order for original ideas to appear, the initial task would be thinking in various ways. This phase is called “blind variation.” Think of the question “List possible uses of a brick.” Possible answers to such prompts would be “build a wall,” “break into pieces,” “step on it to reach something” or “use as a pillow.” Among those responses, the first one (“build a wall”) would be a conventional response while the second, third and fourth responses are non-conventional or original ideas. However, the fourth one “use as a pillow” does not seem to be an appropriate or useful response even though it is original. Therefore, appropriateness and originality may not go hand in hand and such original but non-useful and inappropriate ideas should be filtered out. This phase is called “selective retention” which makes the process of divergent thinking more valid and a functional way of idea generation. When we apply this two-stage method of idea generation to the field of theology, verse(s) of the spiritual texts could be regarded as prompts to ponder systematically.

Two basic approaches to religions should be recalled here. One school of thought, known as orthodoxy, refers to adherence to traditional and established views on the texts. Because of the persistence on the traditional views, orthodoxy was regarded in relation to dogmatism and accused of lacking originality (Shedd, 1893). Heterodoxy implies a departure from the established and traditional views of orthodoxy. Apparently, this article does not favor a strict orthodoxy as it does not add new perspectives to our understanding of the religions. On the other hand, the extent of departure which is not at odds with the general framework of a given religion is of interest. Given the two aspects of divergent thinking (blind variation and selective retention) discussed above, generation of original ideas and novel inspirations from the religious texts can be theoretically achieved without deviating from the given frameworks of the religions.

Divergent thinking for religious texts

If one thinks of religious texts of the monotheistic religions, Biblical Judaism goes back to 4th century BCE; Christianity has a history of more than two millennium. Islam, being the recent religion, has a history of 15 centuries. The texts are obviously old and for an academic field of study, there is an enormous amount of knowledge accumulated throughout the centuries by many scholars. On the other hand, those deeply rooted traditions have created their own ways of understanding which contributed to the convergence and contraction of the interpretations. Even though converging perspectives might yield more accurate interpretations, it is still possible that many subtle or alternative aspects of religious texts have probably been ignored or not yet discovered.

As time goes by, the discrepancy between the interpretation of human beings and the original texts have increased with excessive amounts of the interpretations masking the divine message of the original texts. Interpretations converged and shrank even more since new generations were simply taught what the early generations have understood instead of being encouraged to generate new meanings. The natural transmission of religious knowledge survived for centuries. Yet, it is possible to put forward that convergent thinking has been overwhelmingly weighted in the field of theology as in other fields for the purpose of finding the single best interpretation of religious texts. We owe current level of knowledge to those scholars with a divergent mind who intervened in the process of religious thinking and teaching, and enlarged the horizons of religious thought.

As a matter of fact, older interpretations of religious texts may not always be compatible with the problems and needs of contemporary life. Since the life conditions and the intellectual climate (or zeitgeist) have dramatically changed and today’s intellectuals are educated in a different mindset which separate religious thought and scientific/philosophical issues into two distinct categories, arguments of theologians have become less convincing than they used to be. Critically, this insufficiency has been attributed to the religion itself such as “opiate of the masses” rather than the religious scholars who are unable to reproduce the religious thinking in contemporary ages without removing it from its fundamentals or simply attempting to reform it. For a theologian who believes in the idea that the role and mission of religion never ends and the religion is able to guide human beings eternally, being satisfied with the traditional views and taken-for-granted interpretations should not suffice. Indeed, the attempt to inquire new ways of interpretations of the scriptures does not necessarily negate the previous interpretations because they had validity under certain conditions in the past, and can explain today to a considerable degree. In other words, employment of divergent thinking in understanding the texts should aim to enrich and widen perspectives of the individuals rather than replacing the current views and reforming the religions.

The contribution of divergent thinking to religions can be seen in the works of scholars who came up with divergent interpretations to the texts. Richness in their interpretations without imposing necessarily one unique truth provides the readers with room for elaborating on the texts and interpretations. This attitude helps people to diverge their thinking and even go beyond what they literally see in the texts.

Some examples

There are many examples of divergent interpretation in the works of Said Nursi who is a prominent twentieth century Muslim scholar. One of the foremost features of Nursi is his approach to questions, verses of Qur’an and hadiths (collection of writings that document the sayings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him) in multiple ways. For example, Nursi has shown several ways to interpret one hadith about cosmology:

People asked the Prophet what the earth rests upon. He replied that the earth rests upon a fish and another time upon an ox. This hadith has been discredited given the cosmology knowledge of human beings when it is taken literally. However, alternative explanations of the hadith show how some allegoric statements in the religious texts can be understood. His first interpretation was about the angels created by God who are responsible for every creation in the universe called as “commissioned angels.”

Two angels were created for the earth. Their names were “thawr” (meaning ox) and ‘hut’ (meaning fish). With that in mind, this verse means that the earth would not survive if these angels did not take care of it.

Another interpretation was related to the way people make their living. Especially in the past, people were making their living through farming and hunting. Ox represents the farming and fish represents hunting. The third interpretation is based on the different answers given at different times. According to this interpretation, the earth was on particular cosmological position or horoscope. Nursi also argued that this kind of response is legitimate because people at that time would not understand the complexity of the cosmology and the Prophet told them the truth in a way they would understand.

Another such example that Nursi interprets by going beyond its literal meaning is the verse about Moses (peace be upon him):

Again (remember) when Moses (on an occasion when his people were without water in the desert) beseeched water for his people, so We told him: “Strike the rock with your staff!” (As soon as he struck) there gushed forth from it twelve springs. Each tribe knew their drinking place. Eat and drink of that which God has provided, and do not go about acting wickedly on earth, causing disorder and corruption. (Qur’an 2:60)

According to Nursi, this verse prophesized the discovery of sounding underground to get water. This explanation is legitimate given the context that the solution is suggested “miraculously” after the people asked help from Moses for their need for water.

Nursi, as a divergent thinker, viewed the miracles in the Qur’an in a different way than others. In classical view, the extraordinary events that take place in Qur’an were indicative of the strength that God has granted some special people in history. Nursi did not restrict those verses within this view. According to him, those verses conveyed a more critical message for us as well as their message in their own contexts. The extraordinary events that happened in the past also indicate the ultimate level human beings can arrive at by working hard on sciences. This message of the miracles is the possibility that other people who work hard on understanding the rules of the nature designed by God could also achieve what have been wondrously achieved before. Therefore, those miracles that the Qur’an mentioned are not some stories that should solely bewilder, but call human beings to go beyond their limited knowledge and discover the further facts. If every technology that we take for granted was some sort of a miracle in the past, why not chase the new “miracles” by thinking outside of the box? As a result, the miracles in the Qur’an are more than the stories of unexplainable events. Such subtle messages however, are read only by divergent minds that transcend the cursory meanings.

There are many examples which scientific advances uncovered alternative interpretations of texts. The Fountain readers are very lucky to brainstorm novel interpretations. One example of divergent explanations about the verses of Holy Qur’an is the description of creation of iron. In one issue several years back Nuh Gedik (2006) brought an interesting comment on the 25th verse of Sura Hadid: “…And We sent down Iron, in which is great might, as well as many benefits for mankind….” Scholars used to interpret “sending down” the iron as one of the God-sent blessings coming from above, His supreme treasure consisting of everything. “Sending down” is taken as metaphorical, reflecting the relationship (status) between human beings and God, rather than its literal meaning. Even though this interpretation might be correct, Gedik argued that being “physically sent down from the sky miraculously points out to a very important scientific fact that was discovered only very recently” (Gedik, 2006).

According to Gedik, supernova explosions that create very high energy and heat can allow a heavy element like iron to form. According to this scenario, formation of iron can be attributed to supernova explosions that occur in Space and “sent down” on earth rather than the scenario that presumes iron resides under the soil as a consequence of some chemical reactions. While these two scenarios do not necessarily conflict, the former and more recent one gives birth to another interpretation.

The same verse inspired other divergent minds too. Salih S. Duran (2009) explained another mechanism that results in the “sending down” of iron. According to this argument, desert sands in varied magnitude travels on the air and are hanged on the atmosphere where the miraculous chemical reactions that reduce Fe+3 to Fe+2 are fulfilled with the help of water vapor and sun. Eventually, resultant iron materials are descended to earth with the rains. Those two novel explanations are neither the best nor the ultimate perspectives, but are worth considering while reading the Qur’an.

Limitations

More examples can be found, but a critical question still remains to be answered: Can we come up with any interpretation for the verses? Are there limitations to interpret the verses? The answer for these questions lies in the perspective that is provided in the beginning of this article where I discussed the processes of blind variation and selective retention. Religions (specifically Islam in the scope of this article) have basic belief systems and the understanding of the verses and hadiths have to be understood in accordance with this basic structure. For this reason, some original interpretations may not be the valid interpretations. In fact, Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, warned “Whoever explains the Qur’an according to his [wrong] personal opinion shall take his place in Hell.” Some experts who focused on the outward meanings of the Qur’an have argued that this hadith prohibits personal interpretations at all, and understanding and interpreting Qur’an should merely rely on early interpretations like those of Ibn Abbas and other exegetes. Quasam (1982) outlined Al-Gazali’s theory regarding the recitation and interpretation of the Qur’an where he objected to the interpretation of this hadith as evidence negating the attempts to make new interpretations. He argued that Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, also said that “Surely the Qur’an has an outward aspect, inward aspect, a limit and a prelude.” If there is an inward aspect, how can we achieve to learn it? Assuming that early interpretations have covered all possible meanings contradicts with the presence of inward aspect. If the outward meaning is clear and enough, and there is no need to seek anything new in it, why did Ali, the fourth caliph, say “If I so will I can certainly load seventy camels with the exegesis of the Opening Sura (chapter) of the Book” while this chapter is very short? Then the question is, how can we reconcile those hadiths which seem to conflict with each other?

Al-Gazali argued that this hadith actually prohibits the interpretations which aim to adduce arguments that favor interpreters’ own purposes or passions whether it is a valid purpose or not. With such incentive, the interpretation is simply corrupt rather than a personal effort to understand the Qur’an. A second reason is to prohibit those who try to interpret the Qur’an without any fundamental knowledge of the Qur’an and Arabic language which are necessary for the outward aspects. Therefore, this hadith should be seen as a warning for the appropriateness of the interpretations. Now, the nature of divergent thinking as suggested by Campbell (1960) should be recalled. Even though developing several meanings of the religious texts corresponding to blind variation is critical, it should be tested within the overall framework of the religions which is the criterion for the stage of selective retention.

To conclude, divergent thinking is one of the promising abilities of human intellect that many fields like education, psychology, management and military have utilized. However, the need for divergent thinkers is increased in the era which people cannot appreciate the intellectual depth in religious texts. Different and legitimate interpretations of religious texts will reform people’s minds regarding the potential in the old texts for our civilization and intellectual life. Contributions of Islamic scholars like Said Nursi should encourage other divergent minds for new inspirations and state-of-art perspectives.

Zekeriya Ozsoy is doctoral student studying educational psychology. For correspondence with the author: ozsoyzekeriya@gmail.com.

References

• Quasem, A. M. 1982. The recitation and interpretation of the Qurān. Al-Ghazālī’s theory. London: Kegan Paul International
• Duran, S. S. 2009. Iron: A boon that comes with desert sands. [Turkish-Col kumuyla gelen nimet: Demir]. Sizinti, 369, 454-457.
• Guilford, J. P. 1950. Creativity. American Psychologist. 5, 444-454.
• Gedik, N. 2006. Supernova Explosions and a Miracle of the Qur’an. Fountain, 54,
• Shedd, W.G.T. 1893. Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy. New York: Scribner’s Sons.
• At-Tirmidhi, Sunan, Tafsir, 1.

Multiple factors shape thought, but communication is especially heavy-handed. Communication not only restructures the contents of the mind,; it re-configures the brain’s very neurological patterns (Rotman 2008: 51-52). Brian Rotman explains four ways people communicate selfhood: self-pointing, a spoken “I,” an alphabetically written “I,” and “self-enunciation within contemporary media” (Rotman 2008: xxxiii). The written “I” is the only disembodied method, but this separation subliminally trickles beneath conscious awareness. Writing has been a major component of communicating theological concepts because writing has been the easiest form of mass communication for centuries. Theologians 1,000 years ago probably did not ponder the disembodiment of writing any more than landing spaceships on the moon. Television – which mediates communication through bodies – was not on their radar. But contemporary theologians have options. Gunther Kress is clear that, “The former constellation of medium of book and mode of writing is giving way… to the new constellation of medium of screen and mode of image” (Kress 2003: 9). These moving constellations have forced a fundamental shift in the way social brains engage thought. Theology that fails to take this into account will find itself hopelessly outmoded and no longer equipped to engage the study of God in fresh situations.

This article addresses the cognitive and neurological effects stemming from shifts in “culturally mediated systems of external memory” (Rotman 52) – such as writing and images – and how theological communication could expand in response. Writing reinforces left-brain, systematic, and linear thought (Armstrong 1995: 115). Images, on the other hand, encourage more right-brain, intuitive, and spatial reasoning. It would be simplistic to hold that writing is only mediated through the right hemisphere and images only through the left, but communicative modes create lateral biases. Theological minds emerge, – not only from the “linear, logical, detail-oriented left hemisphere”, – but from embodied, whole brains. The first section of this paper shows writing’s left-brain bias. The second section turns a corner by examining emotion as altered body states and how this leads to a right-brain bias. Visual mediums are the most direct way to communicate right-brain thoughts, so the last step is to show how visual mediums could add a holistic, embodied element to theology.

WRITING AND A DISEMBODIED, LEFT-BRAIN BIAS

Writing forces neurons to march in line with time (Kress 2003: 2). The left hemisphere attributes meaning to words and strings those words together to form sentences, paragraphs, and full discourses (Hogue 2003: 87). In a sentence, one… word… follows… another, so the brain follows a preset “reading path” (Kress 2003: 3). A dog bit Karen means something entirely different than Karen bit a dog. Reading paths necessitate choices about which words make the most sense in which temporal order (Kress 2003: 3), so writing creates “the subliminal appeal of reducing wholes to constituent parts” (Jahandarie 1999: 57-58). It entrenches linear (temporal) neurological patterns through the repetitive, reductive decision-making (Jahandarie 1999: 54).

This leads to what could be called: alphabetic reasoning. Daniel Siegel explains that the left hemisphere is responsible for “more slowly acting, linear, sequentially active, temporal (time-dependent) processes. Verbal meanings of words… are a primary mode of processing for the left side” (Siegel 2001: 179). The left-brain deals in “monosemantic ‘packets’… which are then processed in a slower, linear mode” (Siegel 179). Writing strengthens linear thought patterns in the left hemisphere. Siegel holds that, “Repeated activation of specific neuronal pathways reinforces the strength of connections between groups of neurons” (p. 194), so neurons fire in similar patterns in the future (p. 24). The brain functions like a malleable muscle, but writing only exercises the left-brain. The brain is sculpted like a bodybuilder who only lifts with one arm. That arm ripples, but the other atrophies. Plastic makes perfect.

The “linear, logical,” and “linguistically-based” left-hemisphere (p. 161) evaluates the contents of written words through syllogistic reasoning (p. 197), prejudicing the brain to evaluate their contents through the brain’s semantic operator. The semantic operator deals with “propositional representations – symbols of external or internal facts that can be… assessed as ‘true’ or ‘false’” (p. 35 [emphasis mine]). In alphabetic reasoning, ideas are filtered into categories of: right or wrong, – fact or fiction. Then, alphabetic reasoning reinforces the brain’s quest for causation through sequencing. Reading paths communicate meaning through cause-effect relationships, so the ensuing left-brain thought patterns in the semantic operator create a syllogistic lens. Wholes are eliminated in the effort to snap details into linear, cause-effect relationships. Meaning is confined to these necessary but limited ways of processing information.

THEOLOGY AND LEFT-BRAIN BIAS

As writing has become increasingly more accessible in punctuated bursts over the past few millennia, theologians have become more and more linear and syllogistic in thought. But neurons fire in strikingly complex and highly plastic patterns (Bennett and Hacker 2008: 137). Linear rules for systematic theology are only engrained through repetition. The dark side of alphabetic reasoning is that it can produce theologians who tend to exercise linearity while alternative methods atrophy. Recall that the semantic operator can only qualify concepts as right or wrong. Linear patterns do not leave cognitive space for multiple details to be processed simultaneously. In the study of God, this cognitive capacity is absolutely necessary.

So far, I have examined several important consequences of alphabetic writing: it is inherently linear; in committing to using particular words in particular sequences it automatically eliminates other options; it coerces thought into cause-effect analysis, and it externalizes, or disembodies, thought. Of these consequences, the disembodied nature of theological writing is the most problematic.

EMOTION AS ALTERED BODY STATES

Emotions are physiological changes in a person’s body. These are mediated through combinations of gestures, postures, and behaviors (Damasio 2003: 63). External images – or stimuli – are mediated to the brain through the senses, and internal body and brain states refract the external world (Damasio 195). Marshall McLuhan writes, “The use of any medium or extension of hu/man/ity alters the patterns of interdependence among people, as it alters the ratios among our senses” (Jahandarie 51). The higher cognitive processes involved in developing theological concepts are pushed and pulled by the body’s constant emoting (Siegel 143).

The signals passing in and out of bodies generate emotion, so change signals can make emotions contagious (Siegel 143, 50). Siegel explains that, “Complex neural/bodily aspects of emotional processes are not easily translated into words. Nonverbal expressions, including those of the face, tone of voice and gestures, can transfer information about internal states more fully to the outside world than words can do” (Siegel 150). When it comes to altering the emotions correlated with belief – belief that can override higher cognitive functions – bodily gesture trumps writing.

Because this emotional processing is primarily non-conscious, people do not qualify intuition as true or false by sequencing details into rational arguments. For example, anger is typified by “dilated pupils, widened orbital area, raised eyebrows, furrowed brow, and pursed lips” (Siegel 128). The brain absorbs all of these signals at once when someone unexpectedly sees this:

Through non-conscious processing, faces can change emotions and minds in a flash.

Intuition of other people’s emotions occurs within the Mirror Neuron System (MNS). This system draws most heavily from facial expressions (Siegel 290), and it tells the viewer’s brain to respond to the viewed face in kind (Siegel 129). The MNS non-consciously indicates: whatever is happening in that person is also happening in me. This is why people constantly imitate the “motor acts, postures, and gaze of their co-citizens” (Kanwisher and Duncan 2004: 463-64). When people talk, their body language loops without their awareness as emotions harmonize. Yawning becomes contagious. When the MNS causes altered body states and facial expressions, people influence each other’s emotional-cognitive looping, and thought itself is steered.

There is scientific evidence that the entire body is engaged in understanding and remembering. James McGaugh demonstrated that the Vagus nerve – which connects the brain stem to the stomach – directly unites visceral and emotional experience with mental processing. McGaugh presented subjects with two stories containing similar amounts of data. One story had high emotional content and the other had low emotional content. People with functioning Vagus nerves recalled more data from the stories with high emotional content than from the stories with low emotional content. People with damaged Vagus nerves had identical recall from both stories. This suggests that certain types of thought are crippled by the absence of full-bodied emotion. Siegel explains that, “conceptual representations are nonverbal. They form the fundamental building blocks of our thoughts, beliefs, intentions, and aspects of our explicit memories” (Damasio 167). Written theological method is often left wanting embodied communication to close the cognitive loop.

EMBODIED COMMUNICATION AND RIGHT-BRAIN BIAS

The body’s indicators of emotion – somatic markers¬ – interface with the right hemisphere more than the left (Damasio 144, 82). The right-brain simultaneously correlates multiple details rather than sequencing them in cause-effect relationships. Siegel describes how the right-brain deals with nonverbal communications through “fast-acting, parallel (simultaneously active), holistic processes” (Damasio 179). This means that the right-brain is the default processor of metaphor and paradox. Imagistic representations in the mind do not force choice, categorization, or analysis. They exist simultaneously without being truncated by “top-down” processing as emotions ebb and flow (Siegel 165).

Kress calls this type of right-brain embodied thought “spatial reasoning,” and he places it in opposition to the “temporal reasoning” sublimated by alphabetic thought (Kress 45). Spatial reasoning portrays multiple details simultaneously, so spatial reasoning is correlational rather than sequential. This opens up possibilities for theologians by beginning with building blocks of thought before they are sequenced into categories of justified and true, fact or fiction.

The right-brain is functionally nonverbal, so its contents have to be externalized in “non-word-based ways, such as drawing a picture or pointing to a pictorial set of options” (Siegel 327). Alternative mediums, such as video and visual art, could generate entirely new forms of theological thought.

MEDIA’S ROLE IN SPATIAL REASONING

Video and visual art are viable possibilities for developing a right-brain, spatial reasoning into theological method. Jahandarie poetically explains, “Electric media are extensions of our central nervous systems and thus put us in touch with the totality of experience” (Jahandarie 99). Jahandarie overstates his case; – for example, video does not communicate through odors, for example, – but his intended meaning is helpful. New technologies make it possible to create right-brain mass communication. The MNS is 80-85% as effective at influencing emotion through video as it is in person (Kanwisher and Duncan 469), so gestures captured on video have a startlingly high ability to steer the emotional side of the cognitive loop. Emotions can be altered and details can be expressed simultaneously if theologians were to use a wider set of cognitive and communicative tools.

Rotman explains that people listen, “not to speech sounds as such… but to the movements of the body causing them; we focus on what happens between the sounds, to the dynamics of their preparatory phases, pauses, holds, accelerations, fallings away, and completions” (Rotman 23). Through the MNS, we get hunches, – not only about what another person is thinking, – but how the person is thinking and feeling. The dynamics of gesture in film add an intuitive, interpretive element to its communicative ability. In split-brain studies, the left-brain cannot even register facial expressions or emotional states (Rotman 151). While the left-brain might be incredible at reading and writing books, it is inept at spatial reasoning. Siegel writes that the left-brain’s “monosemantic ‘packets’” operate through neurological patterns and processes “quite distinct from the analogic representations seen, for example, in an artist’s painting or in a photograph,” so “the right hemisphere more fully ‘sees the world for what it is,’ whereas the left hemisphere must reduce the world much more into mentally defined, often socially constructed chunks of information” (Rotman 179). The right-brain’s holism and simultaneity could be invaluable to theologians, but it is too often dampened by the limitations of past technologies.

WHEN THEOLOGY IS EMBODIED

Siegel mentions the “theory of nonlinear dynamics of complex systems” in regard to personhood (Siegel 7). The firing of every synapse in every thought exponentially complexifies what it means to be human. Perhaps God is not only linear, either. Images are not filtered through the linear critiques applied to writing because they function differently in the brain. This does not make imagistic, spatial reasoning irrational. It makes spatial reasoning non-rational, and theologians desperately need non-rational ways to discuss a nonlinear God. Spatial mediums are not able to comprehensively encapsulate God’s personhood any more than writing, but they could generate new perspectives to better triangulate theological depth in conjunction with it.

In the syllogistic line that runs from rational to irrational, the concept of a trinity is inherently problematic. The semantic operator only deals with logical, sequential coherence, so the multiple, simultaneously existing details involved in conceptualizing the trinity do not get cognitive space. In this case, it might be advantageous to take a right-brain, imagistic approach to theology.

Depictions allow for multiple details to coexist without sequence. Images can be worth far more than 1,000 words. Imagistic reasoning allows space for entire persons to subject themselves to concepts. The “events and actions” lost in writing’s “principles and concepts” could be filled out through images (Jahandarie 17). Instead of only understanding theology in terms of right and wrong, the theologian could also trust a Vagus nerve when it communicates that an image or gesture is good or bad. The details could remain simultaneous in the right-brain without being sorted, and persons could experience theologies to a fuller degree in addition to critically evaluating them.

CONCLUSION

As neurological patterns become more spatial and less linear, theologians have the opportunity to construct new theological paradigms by diversifying their communicative tools. Creating theology through imagistic mediums would be bounded by its own “epistemological commitments,” (Kress 57) though. Critical thought is a crucial element in theological conversations, for example. This suggests that – when used in isolation – either alphabetic or imagistic methods are reductionistic. Theology has to be alphabetic, linear, and critical to be constructive, but it also needs to be imagistic, embodied, and holistic to avoid reductionistic sequencing of nonlinear concepts. The multiple natures of cognition cannot be mixed or separated. Language and experience, left-brain and right-brain thinking, knowledge and belief, are locked into cognitive loops (Eichenbaum and Bodkin 179), and it is impossible to have a one-sided loop.

The advent of new mediums makes the creation of an embodied theological method – complete with shifting neurological patterns – a mandatory opportunity. The next step is to synthesize multimodal theologies with alphabetic reasoning. A critically holistic methodology would emerge as gestalt. Full-blown theological paradigms could materialize if both hemispheres were used in conjunction. However progressive, however gestalt, and however critically holistic theological method becomes, it can never be comprehensive or complete. Theologians must do theology at all times. When necessary, they should use words.

Jonathan Camery-Hoggatt is a freelance writer in Seattle. He has MA in divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary.

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There are two main points to this question – this matter has aspects that relate both to the people of guidance who are attached to God, and to those who are not.

It is the duty of the people of guidance to communicate to other people the truth as they believe, the truth they have found and had a taste of; the truth they are satisfied with or a view with which they mature with, and to guide them to peace. First and foremost, this is a debt of conscience we owe to humankind. A person who knows these truths, the content of which has been bestowed to our consciences as a divine favor, should communicate them to those who do not know and open for them the doors leading to God.

Now, let’s have look at how God has commanded about this matter: “The believers, both men and women, they are guardians, confidants and helpers of one another. They enjoin and promote what is right and good and forbid and try to prevent the evil” (Qur’an 9:71). Another verse reads: “O you who believe! There must be among you a community calling to good, and enjoining and promoting what is right and good and forbidding and trying to prevent evil (in appropriate ways). They are those who are the prosperous.” (3:104). God has always referred to those who promote what is right and good as an honorable community: “You are the best community ever brought forth for (the good of) humankind, enjoining and promoting what is right and good forbidding and trying to prevent the evil, and (this you do because) you believe in God” (Qur’an 3:110).

These divine lights considerably clarify this obligation towards humanity. This matter is clarified by many other verses and hadiths and it is so open and clear that it does not require any further interpretation or explanation. Therefore, we can gather from these verses that we are responsible for communicating the divine truths. This is such a compelling responsibility that if there was no one left on earth one day in future, then we will entertain the possibility that there might be people living in a colony near Sirius or some distant planet around some unknown star in the Hercules constellation and somewhere in the Milky Galaxy, and with an urge that is unique to human species to reach out to them, we will build colonies and cities as interim stations on our route toward them, and we will communicate our heart-felt inspirations to the people there (if any). We will intermingle and sympathize with them and we will show them the roads that will lead to God. We will say, “Say, ‘There is no god but God,’ and be saved and be prosperous,” as the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, put, and this will always be our main motto. This is our duty. On the other hand, their duty is to lend an ear to this call of ours that invites them to peace and to search for the straight path wherever they are and everywhere they go.

If we do not fulfill our duty, we will fail to comply with our obligation towards God. Then, Almighty God will ask questioningly: “You knew the truth, but you failed to communicate to other people? You knew God, but you did not introduce Him to other people? You could see the straight path, but why didn’t you show it to other people? You were aware of the light, but why didn’t you turn other people to look toward that direction?”

In the light of divine revelations, I can say that on that day, Almighty God will say to them: “Although you satisfied all of your animal drives to the full, why didn’t you search for the way which would provide you with full gratification? Even during your most troubled and distressed times, you did not think for an instant to experiment this way? In other words, you have resorted to all sorts of recipes for your worldly welfare, but why didn’t you consider making the truth which you somewhat heard about even for once?”

In the final analysis, Almighty God will hold every individual against his or her own sins. Since we are responsible only for communicating the truth to them, we will be questioned only for our faults in fulfilling this duty of ours. On the other hand, they will be questioned for failing to search for truth or lend an ear in a sincere manner to the truth, if they have already heard about it. May God save us from falling tumbling down by failing to enjoin and promote what is right and good, and forbid and try to prevent the evil while having capability to do so!

Original Article: Cranford, S.W. et al., Nature 482, 72 (2012).

Spider silk has been a symbol of durability and strength, but the role the design of a web plays or contributes to the strength was unknown. Researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology discovered that the impressive design of web and the feature of silk allow spiders to build a super-strong web under different levels of stress. The response of spider silk subjected to load was studied. They studied webs of a variety of species, including European garden spiders and orb weavers, and combined their experiments with correlated web models. At low stress, silk threads soften and extend that result in retaining web structure. At high stress, the silk threads extend and the most stretched ones break. The strength of the silk and the geometry of the web allow only one or two threads being broken under strain. Therefore, the break in the web is minimized and prevents destruction of the whole web. The localized web damage can be repaired by the spider and therefore a requirement for rebuilding the web completely is eliminated. This study shows that spider silk web is very stable even under hurricane winds. This research gives an idea to engineers to build a system that will fail only at small parts of the system under certain stress. Therefore, the system will continue to work just after repairing the destroyed parts of the system. Otherwise, the whole system may be destroyed under potential load and will have to be rebuilt. For example, when a building is exposed to large mechanical stress such as an earthquake, it may be destroyed as a whole and become dysfunctional. Applications on such systems require further research in engineering to achieve structures as stable as a spider’s web.

2- Benefits of Exercise Through a Protein

Original article: Bostrom, P. et al., Nature 481, 463 (2012).

Exercise has a number of beneficial effects in human health such as increasing cardiovascular, respiratory and metabolic capacity. Scientists at Harvard Medical School have discovered a muscle hormone, Irisin, which may be responsible for the many beneficial effects of exercise. Irisin secreted from muscle after exercise and act on white adipose tissue that stores energy. Excessive amounts of white fat cells contribute to many pathologic effects of obesity and diabetes. Irisin, however, converts white fat into the more beneficial and metabolically active brown fat, which burns more calories and produce heat instead of energy. It helps to prevent excessive glucose and fatty acid accumulation in the body. The researchers demonstrated that mildly increased Irisin levels in the blood cause an increase in energy expenditure in mice with no changes in movement or food intake. It also reduces body weight and improves glucose tolerance and obesity induced insulin resistance. This research suggests that Irisin can be a new therapeutic target in human metabolic diseases treatment. Also it could help people lose weight and fight against obesity induced problems such as diabetes and hypertension.

3- New Generation Vaccines with High Efficacy

Original Article: Avci F.Y. et al., Nature Medicine 17, 1602 (December 2011).

Most pathogenic bacteria contain complex carbohydrate structures on their surfaces. These carbohydrates are called capsular polysaccharides. “Glycoconjugate” vaccines are prepared by chemical conjugation of capsular polysaccharides with proteins. This method is the standard design for many vaccines that protect us against common diseases such as pneumonia and meningitis. One drawback with these vaccines is their limited efficacy in populations such as the elderly, children and patients with compromised immune systems. Researchers at Harvard Medical School and Rockefeller University have designed and synthesized a vaccine that is about 100 times more potent than traditional vaccines available today. Until now, the scientific community believed that the body’s professional immune cells, called T-cells, were only able to recognize vaccine’s protein molecules to generate an immune response. However, after studying how glycoconjugate vaccines stimulate immune response, the researchers found that T-cells are also able to recognize the carbohydrate molecules. In a series of elegant experiments, they demonstrated that there is a repertoire of T-cells that can recognize the carbohydrate portion of a glycoconjugate vaccine, and that these T-cells stimulate antibody producing B-cells to generate high affinity antibodies against the carbohydrates. Based on the knowledge obtained from this mechanistic study, researchers have designed a new-generation glycoconjugate vaccine and showed that this new vaccine was about 100 times more immunogenic than a vaccine made by traditional methods.

4- Producing Fuel from Waste with Bacteria

Original Article: Bokinsky, G. et al., PNAS 108, 19949 (December 2011).

It turns out, the secret for alternative source for oil might be hidden in a very common bacterium and plant, E coli and switch grass. As the world’s natural resources are quickly exhausted by humans, new energy sources or alternative energy production methods are needed. One popular way for addressing this question is promoting biofuels. Most of the biofuel source is in ethanol form, often produced from sugar that is extracted from sugarcane and corn. However the consuming of main food sources for energy sources begs a question: What if one day feeding the machines with our food sources makes food scarce? Another concern is that many countries are not using ethanol as an energy source. All these led researchers to pursue another idea: Instead of using food sources as precursor for ethanol, non-food biomass or bio-waste can be converted to precursors for biofuels by utilizing the cellulose or hemicellulose as a starting material. Human body cannot digest cellulose. Hence, cellulose is a bio-waste, which can be broken down into sugar using a mixture of enzymes and subsequently can be used for gasoline production. The enzymes for this procedure can be produced by bacteria in massive amounts. To this end, researchers genetically engineered Ecoli bacteria to consume large amount of cellulose from switch grass and convert it to sugar. Scientists achieved to produce different precursors for different fuels, including gasoline, diesel or jet fuel with bacteria. These are big steps in turning bio-waste into fuels. Imagine one day your plane will be powered with a hay of switch grass and a bottle of bacteria. Next time when you fly over a field of switch grass, you might actually be seeing the next oil well.

“I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the sea-shore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.” Isaac Newton

Perspective, or how you look at events, is pivotal for happiness in our lives. To be able to look positively and see the good behind everything is not always easy, for it entails a set of beliefs and convictions to be well nested in the heart and mind. But it is also a fact that if we are seeking happiness, there is no other way than this prescription: “The one who sees positively will think positively; one who can think positively can take pleasure out of this life,” a trendsetter saying of Bediuzzaman, the giant trendsetter scholar of the twentieth century.

The lead article “Love for Truth” in this issue opens a door to us on how to set that perspective, the one through which we can see things beautifully, and glimpse across “the great ocean of truth” in the words of Newton from the epithet. From the angle the author of the lead article stands “the whole nature or entire existence is an exhibition of beauties, a gallery of art and marvels, a promenade of pleasure and delight.” His advice is to look at this exhibition and gallery with the eyes of our hearts and with the light of faith, so that it is as if we listen to special lessons of wisdom from every being, and the world becomes a travel to Paradise.

Dr. Kristeller confirms this perspective when she mentions that cancer patients who are caught in a struggle with the thought that they are being punished are not doing well in recovery or in their quality of life. Her research on the role of spirituality in the treatment of cancer patients is worth reading.

The Fountain is rich with psychology and religious thought in this issue. Tosun and Mette are analyzing how psychology is “essentially” a useful discipline for Muslims offering a beneficial body of knowledge and why a special focus is needed for the peculiar settings of a Muslim community. Namik Top delves into character education programs in schools for achievement and to reduce violence. Ozsoy discusses how divergent thinking is significant for authentic interpretations of religious texts in order to “discover the unveiled aspects of it.” Camery-Hoggatt addresses the cognitive and neurological effects stemming from shifts in “culturally mediated systems of external memory” – such as writing and images – and how theological communication could expand in response.