One of my most memorable experiences occurred when I returned to finish my undergrad degree in my late forties. Navigating the language and requirements of the online enrollment process left me feeling powerless, frozen with the inability to comprehend what was expected of me. Without lines to get into, there was no friendly conversation that could help me bluff my way through. By the time I figured out the process, all that remained open for my science elective was one geology lecture course. Why had it not filled up? Was it the course? The professor? Was I about to sign up for something everyone else was smart enough to walk away from? I know nothing about rocks, nor am I at all sure I want to!

My fingers hovered above the Enter key; my self-conversation told me I was making a huge mistake. My already shaky confidence ebbed away with every second I hesitated. My options were limited by my lack of understanding. I felt restrained by my inadequate knowledge of the unfamiliar terrain. Reality can be a frightening destination when its streets are paved with bewilderment, delusion, and fear.

Fortunately, mine was a short-lived panic. The first day of class, I entered an auditorium with 300-plus other students. Three cups of coffee floated in me, a futile attempt to drown my insecurities. I can always leave, I told myself. You cannot be arrested for dropping a course.

At the front of the room was an instructor with Arnold Schwarzenegger’s accent, Liam Neeson’s face, and the manic wit and timing of Robin Williams. Within days, I was hooked. At the end of each class, he wished us all a “Gneiss Day.” He amazed us with his familiarity with rocks. Rocks! A glance at the syllabi informed us that we were there to learn why “Schist happens.” With his eccentric geological humor, terms like sediment, seepage, and seismicity quickly became part of our vernacular. At semester’s end, geology was the course I missed most.

I will always be appreciative that my fears were put to rest in such a surprising way. More surprising though was how fertile seeds of empathy were planted within me through this entire experience. It is very intimidating for someone nearing the half-century mark to enter a classroom filled with twenty-somethings. Turns out, I easily understood my younger colleagues: their music, dress, and angst mirrored those of my own three children. I bartered with them shamelessly. To teach them how to be more productive with their time, I shared my finely honed time management skills that years of disciplined focus on the job had taught me. In turn, I craved their easy familiarity with the keyboard and the library’s digital frontier. One relative quipped that I spent an inordinate amount of time in the college’s library. You bet I did! College libraries, those once-hallowed walls of study, now house coffee shops. From a private cubicle, I could quietly observe other students. This eventually boosted my confidence level enough to sign up for graduate school.

My old notebooks now serve as visual reminders: somewhere, at all times, someone is facing a challenge.

Nowhere is that challenge more acute than for immigrants and their new hosts. For immigrants, learning a new language, acquiring confidence in an alien culture, and stamping out constant anxiety in a new country has to be terrifying. For hosts, the anxiety also comes from assimilation. Regard us all with kindness. Offer all of us hope. Empathy is not overrated.

Who is an immigrant? No matter what gender, ethnicity, or age, an immigrant is a human being coming into a place that is not home. That life-changing movement unquestionably brings with it alarm, uncertainty, and an unnamed force that wants to strangle the hope from your tentative future.

For an immigrant, tangible fear is a pestilence, a common weed. It thrives in any environment, taking over like an invasive species. To survive, it can even assault its host because fear can easily manifest into anger. When watered with self-doubt, it assumes super powers. It has to be eradicated; it must be supplanted with something tougher.

Empathy is that tougher thing. Empathy can attack fear’s root system. Empathy is the most valuable ally to offer someone who is running scared every minute of their life. Empathy asks us to walk a mile in another’s shoes. To empathize is a valuable journey for both host and immigrant.

Let’s return to the geology classroom for the applicable lessons from the study of plate tectonics. The metaphorical possibilities existing between this theory and immigration are limitless. The term tectonics comes from the Greek, pertaining to building, which ideally is what immigration should do for individuals, communities, and countries. Host countries, the destination of refugees, migrants, or émigrés, will be in flux. How does one maintain or rebuild a healthy community when new arrivals place stress on its current capacity for change? And any nation that gives up its citizens, whatever the reasons, has to rebuild with those who remain. The materials are now more scarce and less varied. Plate tectonics describes the motion of plates in the Earth’s lithosphere, which consists of the crust and mantle. The Earth’s crust is rigid and unyielding; its mantle more liquid and fluid. Again, an easy rhetorical leap that parallels the ebb and flow of change that is associated with every aspect of immigration.

The concept of continental drift is rich with veins of rhetorical language waiting to be mined. If one subscribes to the theory of Pangaea, which assumes that our planet once consisted of a super-continent surrounded by a super-ocean, then you must accept that once we were one big homeland. Apparently, even our supposed solid ground has been shifting and drifting over epochs and eras. Survival demands that one accepts the hypothesis that nothing remains static; staying still is a death sentence. Immigration can be similarly framed as a life-or-death choice. The geological language of upheaval, shattering, calving, accretion, permeability, and violent movement is migration writ large onto our personal landscapes.

Plate tectonics also asserts that there are three types of movement: Convergence, which is identified with collisions that produce volcanoes, earthquakes, and mountain ranges; divergence, which is characterized by plates that move away from one another, initially producing rifts that become valleys and form islands; and transform movements that neither create nor destroy, but are primarily horizontal movements producing slips in the opposite direction from what one expects. Einstein, it has been noted, asserted that “nothing happens until something moves.” Whether we initiate the movement, are moved upon, or are the product of ancestral movements, motion is obviously necessary, even if it’s earth-shattering. A change is gonna come…sooner or later. No evidence exists to prove that Sam Cooke and Einstein “rocked” together. But I bet they would have.

Regardless of the type, any movement is disruptive. And whenever a person or family is forced to move, as one bids farewell to familiar places, expect confusion. Confusion is compounded by the inability to alter one’s circumstances. Take another step on that empathetic journey and imagine fearing the loss of everything you hold most dear. Fear of losing all you possess, fear of losing your loved ones, and fear of losing your life—all fears that cannot be simply prayed away. Will we be separated? Will I find work? Are the rumors true that the government there is just as bad, maybe worse? Will my children adjust? What will the norms and expectations be in this new place? What will happen if peculiar languages, odd traditions, and strange beliefs fly into the face of all we’ve been taught? Will we be welcomed, ignored, or even worse, persecuted further and confronted by different enemies? As water wears down rock, the obstacles faced by immigrants and their hosts are unquestionably erosive. No one will ever be the same as before.

Imagine walking into a new job or marrying into a new family. That same strangeness is the immigrant’s new environment no matter what conditions brought them to it. How does one overcome the aftershocks so adaptation can occur? Can one potentially even thrive? Are some humans born with a peculiar strain of flint and granite in their makeup, or does steely determination take root only after acid rain-showers of abrasive words and policies wear a person down? Time and pressure can reduce rocks to rubble or into valuable gemstones. What might similar forces do to the human spirit? Do we converge with, diverge from, or traverse through the rifts brought about by changes in our habitats? Do we descend into a valley of despondency or conquer the mountaintops? Decisions await; action is demanded. Is there never any rest for the weary traveler?

Disorientation also happens to those who find their secure, familiar worlds disrupted by the introduction of something new. Introduce strangers into a community and the status quo has been upset, the equilibrium disturbed. We are suddenly compelled to rethink old paradigms. Will we move away from this new diversity that has invaded our space? Will we form islands unto ourselves – or force “the others” to isolate themselves so as not to “infect” us? Science has demonstrated that divergent cultures must adapt and adjust to survive. Otherwise, losses are inevitable, forever mourned and never forgotten. What if instead, we try sharing, allowing symbiosis to become the new normal? Might we then find ourselves celebrating this new thing that has bubbled up to replace the old?

Social scientists tell us that in the process of perception, we unconsciously make choices about incoming data. We select, organize, interpret, and negotiate the meaning of what we see, hear, and feel. We filter our selections through our personal schemata, developed individually through life experiences and cultures, among other variables. Interestingly, it is narrative that obliges us to constantly “negotiate” our interpretations. Telling, listening, and repeating stories is arguably a life-affirming aspect of immigration. Whether we are telling or listening, and whether we are immigrants, the progeny of immigrants, or native observers, we can all benefit from the stories we share and hear. What has more potential to move us than the poignant stories of those who have emigrated, or of the people who have received immigrants? Think of the anger, hurt, wisdom, catharsis, and empathetic possibilities these narratives contain.

What did you carry with you from the old country?
That which a suitcase could not contain and thieves could not steal. Stories.

We repeat our immigration stories because they contain explosive power. Time cannot hold our myths hostage. Storylines are embedded in the DNA of every nomad who has ever yearned for a place to stop and rest: for a year, a decade, or a lifetime. How else to explain how we sanctify the places that house our hieroglyphics, cave drawings, covenants, literature, and poetry? Art imitates life; art helps us to traverse an unfamiliar landscape.

Assimilation, integration, xenophobia, employment, security, and education are the vocabulary words for these oft-repeated tales. Seismic changes in culture force both immigrant and host to negotiate and re-negotiate their positions before reaching… what? Just as convergence causes volcanic activity and earthquakes, some results are catastrophic and the dangers ever-present. Mountains can also be formed. Solid, dependable markers on the landscape, these mountains connote stability.

What will the end be? War, uneasy truces, or broken treaties which prevent others from putting down roots and calling a new place home? Or peace, acceptance, and assimilation, all arguably better ways to discover new boundaries? Why can’t we choose stories defined by courage, compassion, and fairness, instead of division?

Make no mistake: like geology, immigration will always be transformative, and it may very well emerge as either something to be embraced or annihilated. In a perfect world, that which eventually surfaces could be a valuable creation, an amalgam of cultures that incorporates, not destroys, the original. Legitimate concerns can be the catalysts for positive change, taking us in directions we could not foresee. The best of all possible scenarios might be to accept immigration as a natural phenomenon, one which allows our curiosity about the other to seek out commonalities rather than highlight differences. When that which is unfamiliar is fused into something unexpected and new, might that not result in something worth keeping? Think Halloween meets Dias de los Muertos, tacos piled high with kimchee and Sriracha, or meditative mantras inserted into the Book of Common Prayer. When one reads about movements that bring together warring factions, now working cooperatively to bring about peace, other possibilities begin to appear on the horizon. For example, look at groups involved in the Israeli-Palestinian peace movement. What was once deemed impossible has now become achievable because both parties realized that mutually assured destruction was not acceptable. Are movements the parents of human tectonic shifts, or the progeny?

This astonishing new thing that might form between immigrants and hosts could conceivably be that which propels us all on a positive path forward. Physics theory reveals that explosive energy comes from both fission and fusion. The first is a result of division; the latter requires a merger. Harnessing combined energy might be the best kind of transformative action to work towards if we are to solve many of our immigration issues. For some, at this moment, this is perhaps a bridge too far. But long term, to ensure our mutual survival, this could be our only salvation. When walls crumble, we are left with sediment, rubble and dust. This is no less true of the walls we’ve constructed in our minds than it is of walls made of stone. What forms next?

If you can stand one last geological reference, rejuvenation in a stream is generally the result of a process known as uplift. Its distinguishing feature is “a youthful topography on a landscape that was previously worn down to a base level.” That surely is the hope of immigrants everywhere: to arrive in a new place and to be uplifted with hope. Hope is necessary for the host countries as well, who should feel revived, rather than repulsed, by the changes immigration brings. For the sake of our planet, perhaps our next move should be a collective grasping at Dickinson’s “thing with feathers that perches in the soul.” What a tectonic shift that would be, the Earth vibrating with the hope of all humanity uplifted together.

Human clinical trials have occurred throughout history, particularly in the fields of medicine and psychology. When comparing different periods, it is evident that over time, society has set more rigid and condition-based standards on what type of tests can be applied on people, as well as the necessary qualifications of the testers themselves. However, the issue itself has always been controversial, and the standards are constantly changing on the basis of legal, religious, and moral arguments. It is common sense that forcing someone to partake in a clinical study against their will, performing experiments on subjects without their knowledge of it, instigating unnecessary pain and torture, or not allowing someone to withdraw from the experiment, are unacceptable and morally, legally, and religiously unjustifiable. But such easy answers make it seem that there are strict regulations that are implemented when human clinical trials are carried out, and that there is an organized system that determines such issues. The reality is, even these “common sense” ground rules can be compromised in various situations where infringing upon one or more of the rules is pivotal to the success of the experiment.

There is a blatant discrepancy between the protocol that is implemented when handling vulnerable people, such as the mentally disabled, certain prisoners, or children, and those who are actually capable of making conscious decisions for themselves. Vulnerable people can be characterized by their inability to comprehend or, in some cases have a say in, the conditions they are subject to and the repercussions of a particular action that is carried out upon or on behalf of them. For instance, a child is considered “vulnerable” because he or she doesn’t have the experience or comprehension necessary to make a decision for him or herself, which leaves the responsibility up to the parent or legal guardian.

Another example is a prisoner of war, whose self-autonomy is completely lost. A prisoner can be forced or bribed (usually with certain ration privileges, or in some cases even freedom) into participating in experimental trials. Certain events, such as the Syphilis Studies in the 1930s, Nazi experiments of the mid 1940s, and the Willowbrook Study in the 1960s, where vulnerable people were exploited and subject to various trials, triggered the application of moral and legal restrictions that are recognized as “Ethical Milestones” (Henry 2012).

In a proper trial, the subjects involved in particular experiments would be informed of the treatments they were undergoing and would not be exposed to unbearable or unconsented agony. The trials themselves would provide a significant benefit to the greater good, and the patients would not be exposed to highly risky and life-compromising situations. Unfortunately, all of these basic humanitarian considerations were neglected in the aforementioned scenarios, as well as in many other instances when vulnerable people have been exploited.

The Syphilis Study

This study took place between 1932 and 1972 and was administered by the Public Health Service, with connections to the Tuskegee Institute. The “Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male” aimed to analyze the natural development of untreated syphilis in underprivileged black males. The PHS would oversee the injection of the syphilis virus into the males, who were told that they were being tested for “bad blood” and were provided free medical exams, meals, and burial insurance as compensation for participating in the procedure (CDCP 2016). Essentially, the subjects were completely unaware that they were becoming hosts for the disease, and were thus unaware that they needed proper treatment. The researchers went as far as not offering penicillin, the primary treatment at the time for syphilis, to the subjects, as they wanted to monitor the long-term effects of the disease and accumulate the highest possible amount of information for their study.

The Study was (rightfully) deemed “ethically unjustified,” and a series of class-action legal disputes ensued. The Tuskegee Syphilis Study is a prime example of unwarranted and unpardonable human clinical trials. Not only did it take advantage of a vulnerable population, which was in this case an impoverished racial minority, but it also failed to provide basic information, treatment, and awareness to its subjects, who were under the assumption that they were receiving medical assistance rather than medical injustice.

The Syphilis Study shamelessly infringed upon basic human rights, and caused a legal uproar, as evidenced by the title of a newspaper article, “Regulation Urged in Human Testing” (New York Times, Hicks, 1973). It violated the fundamental principle that each individual has the right to maintain his or her own life and well-being, and must thus be made aware of every, and any, procedure carried out on them by any sort of authority.

Nazi experiments

Two other major events shocked many people and led to stricter rules regulating tests on human subjects. They were the Nazi experiments and the Willowbrook State School experiments. In both of these tragic occurrences, all moral values and humanity were abandoned as malignant officials executed a variety of painful, invasive, and unwarranted measures on highly exposed and susceptible groups of people.

Everyone is aware of the horrors of the Holocaust, the mass genocide committed by the Nazis against millions of Jews, mentally disabled people, homosexuals, gypsies, and other minorities who were viewed as a threat to the purity of the “perfect Aryan race.” Fewer people are aware that the Holocaust also involved millions of brutal and inhumane experiments on people, with no justifiable scientific goal in mind. The primary aspiration of the Nazi physicians was to research and develop the tools, genes, and treatments necessary to ensure the advancement of the Aryan race and the sterilization of the supposedly “subordinate” races.

The most notorious doctor was Dr. Josef Mengele, at Auschwitz. He conducted a series of torturous procedures on primarily identical twins. During his assessments, he would specifically request twins and perform procedures like drawing enough blood that the children would bleed to death, injecting chloroform into their hearts, vivisecting their bodies, injecting chemicals into their eyes in hopes of changing their eye color (most likely to potentially achieve the highly sought-after Aryan blue eyes), sex change operations, incestuous impregnations, and even isolation endurance.

Perhaps the most gruesome and barbaric of all the procedures was the experiments on conjoining twins, where Dr. Mengele would sew the twins’ heads or limbs together to see how they would function. In other cases, he would attempt to separate pairs that were naturally conjoined (Bulow 2015).

Willowbrook experiments

In the case of the Willowbrook studies, a mental institution authorized the deliberate infection of their patients with Hepatitis to assess the growth and effects of the disease and to identify the effects of certain factors that prevent or slow the disease’s progression. Many of the subjects were disabled children, who were given “milkshakes laced with a live hepatitis virus” (Slepian 2012), and were either directly injected with the disease or fed fecal extracts of already afflicted patients. The majority of the parents and guardians who provided a written consent “didn’t know what they were signing” (Slepian 2012) because the document did not explicitly state that the children would be deliberately afflicted.

Further ethical questions were raised when it came out that the institution already had an extremely high number of patients getting the disease, and “P.I. Krugman argued that the risk was minimal – not greater than the children’s normal risk” (Henry 2012). Although the children would have most likely caught the disease anyway, it is essential to consider the possibility that some of the patients would have been otherwise immune to the factors that contributed to the spread of the ailment within the institution – and of course that it was still completely unjustifiable to have run such an unsanitary and deleterious institution in the first place, with no proper care given to the patients who were initially infected. Furthermore, that the parents were not made aware of the circumstances and were coerced into signing a document they couldn’t comprehend whilst being responsible for their child’s health was a severe moral infringement. It was, and is, completely unacceptable. The children under Willowbrook’s care obviously were not in a condition to take care of and make judgments for themselves, and for these “qualified” and “compassionate” officials to take advantage of innocent children and their families is beyond the ethical premises of human experimentation.

Modern scientific research

Unlike previous epochs in history, modern scientific research values preserving the liberties and safety of individuals involved in human experimentation trials. Several pieces of legislation and restrictions have been embedded into the process of implementing human studies at an assortment of facilities, ranging from universities to private clinics. Although there may still be cases where experiment administrators disregard the set humanitarian codes of human trial conduct, in general, people have been significantly more attentive to violations of any liberties during trials.

The basis of this morality can be found in the Hippocratic Oath, which asserts that medical practitioners have an “ethical responsibility” to the advancement of their research and the subject involved in their research. A sample of the classical text clearly indicates the personal realization and obligation that a physician must assess before conducting an experiment: “I will apply dietic measures for the benefit of the sick according to my ability and judgment; I will keep them from harm and injustice” (Tyson 2001; originally written by Hippocrates). The Oath has even been modernized by medical professionals in the industry to adhere to the vastly different available technologies; the modern version of the Oath includes guidelines like, “I will remember that I do not treat a fever chart, a cancerous growth, but a sick human being, whose illness may affect the person’s family and economic stability” (Lasagna 1964).

The Nuremberg Code is one of the primary pieces of legislation regulating experimental administrators and the morality of their procedures on human subjects. The Code blatantly outlines the strict regulations of involving people in the aims of scientific research. For instance, it makes statements like, “The voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential”; “The experiment should be as such to yield fruitful results for the good of society unprocurable by other methods or means of study”; and “The experiment should be so conducted as to avoid all unnecessary physical and mental suffering and injury” (Mitscherlich 1947). Other smaller milestones in legislation include the Food and Drug Act (1938), the Helsinki Declaration signed by the United States (1964), and the National Research Act Title II Public Law 93-348 (1974).           

In summation, the constant ethical dilemma that many scientists are facing is the age-old problem of whether to sacrifice an individual’s well-being for the greater good, and whether that individual can be pushed beyond his or her limits in order to achieve the maximum result from the experiment. As the multiple historical instances and established legal and ethical guidelines presented in this article indicate, under any and all circumstances, the human subject must be considered before the fruit of the trial. Human experimentation is only truly ethical when the patient’s physical and mental state are protected, necessary preparations are made and scientifically qualified examiners are present, the experiment is only being conducted for the greater benefit of society, and there is no other possible form of experimentation (i.e. with animals). The patient may halt the experiment at any time and must be completely informed and aware of what the procedure will instigate.

When it comes to vulnerable people, like the mentally disabled, who are unable to make conscious decisions for themselves, they must have competent, experienced, and empathetic authorities to make decisions for them when it comes to their involvement in human clinical trials. However, the same ethical guidelines that are stated in the Nuremberg Code should be applied to the handicapped patient, and in some situations, even more legal restrictions should apply to the trial conductors and the people who are in charge of making decisions for the vulnerable individual. When it comes to children, the parents must be made aware of all of the procedures that will occur, they must ensure the comfort and safety of their child, they must consult with numerous scientific and legal authorities to ensure that they are not overstepping their boundaries, and the trial must be monitored by public officials and qualified experts to ensure the child’s safety. When it comes to prisoners, the trials must only be conducted on those who are either on death row or are serving life sentences with no possibility of parole; furthermore, the same guidelines listed in the Nuremberg Code must be applied, and the prisoners must not be compelled, guilted, or coerced into participation.

As long as a patient’s liberty, protection, and safety are assured and all legal, moral, and scientific principles and regulations are implemented, human experimentation is ethically justifiable and can even prove to be a great asset to modern technology and medicine.

References

• Henry, David (Ph.D.). Hardy, Goldman, Bhatia. 2012. “Human Subjects Research with Vulnerable Populations”. University of Illinois at Chicago, Institute for Health Research and Policy, School of Public Health. http://www.ihrp.uic.edu/files/Vulnerability_IHRP_041012.pdf
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2016. “The Tuskegee Timeline”. U.S. Public Health Service Syphilis Study at Tuskegee. http://www.cdc.gov/tuskegee/timeline.htm
• Hicks, N. 1973. “Regulation Urged in Human Testing; Panel Calls for Controls on Federally Aided Research Need for Protection Cited”. New York Times, pg. 30. http://www.ihrp.uic.edu/files/Vulnerability_IHRP_041012.pdf (I received the headline from a previous source, I couldn’t find the actual publication because it was published too long ago).
• The Nuremberg Code (1947) In: Mitscherlich A, Mielke F. Doctors of infamy: the story of the Nazi medical crimes. New York: Schuman, 1949: xxiii-xxv.
  Tyson, P. 2001. “The Hippocratic Oath Today”. NOVA. PBS Thirteen, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/hippocratic-oath-today.html
• Lasagna, L. 1964. “Hippocratic Oath: The Modern Version”. School of Medicine at Tufts University. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/hippocratic-oath-today.html
• Sparks, J. 2002. “Timeline of Laws Related to the Protection of Human Subjects”. Office of History in the National Institutes of Health. https://history.nih.gov/about/timelines_laws_human.html
• Bulow, L. 2015-17. “The Angel of Death: Josef Mengele”. The Holocaust: Crimes, Heroes, and Villains. http://auschwitz.dk/Mengele.htm.
• Slepian, S. 2012. “Recalling the horrors of Staten Island’s Willowbrook State School”. SILive News. http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/04/recalling_willowbrooks_horrors.html

“At the beginning of the empire, the tax rates were low and the revenues were high. At the end of the empire, the tax rates were high and the revenues were low.”

Former US President Ronald Reagan proudly referred to Ibn Khaldun’s above quote in an article for the International Herald Tribune in 1993 titled, “Excuse me Mr. Clinton, I must have misheard you” (February 21, 1993, p. 4). Reagan did not quote Ibn Khaldun first time in 1993. Actually he quoted him many years earlier, at the beginning of his term in the White House, as a support to his economy politics, so called Reaganomics. Although, some historians [1] saw no connection between Reaganomics and Ibn Khaldun’s theories, Reagan caught people’s attention with his reference to this notable, but mostly forgotten (at least in the West), scholar. The name was foreign to many ears, and for many Americans, it was the first time they had heard of him.

Who was Ibn Khaldun, really? Was he an economist? According to many accounts, he came up with many economic concepts 400 years before Adam Smith. Ibn Khaldun was the inspiration behind the concept popularly known as the “Laffer Curve.” Nevertheless, he was not an economist, per se.

Was he a historian? The famous historian Arnold Toynbee declared that Ibn Khaldun’s book, Muqaddimah, is the greatest book of its kind. But still others contend that he was mainly a philosopher and a political scientist.

Today, the consensus among scholars is that Ibn Khaldun was all of those things, yet today, he is primarily known for being the founder of sociology. In fact, Ibn Khaldun’s own accounts confirm this view. In his ground-breaking book, Muqaddimah, often translated as “Prolegomenon,” he declared that he had established a new science. In his own words:

“It should be known that the discussion of this topic is something new, extraordinary, and highly useful. Penetrating research has shown the way to it.” (Baali 1988)

This article is a tribute to Ibn Khaldun, the great fourteenth-century Muslim scholar. It briefly introduces his life and the sociological perspective of his contributions, specifically his ideas on luxury and its impact on the weakening of asabiyyah, or group solidarity. This is one of the most important concepts in his writings and is regarded as the seed of his famous cyclical theory of the rise and fall of the nations.

Ibn Khaldun

Abd al-rahman ibn Muhammad, generally known as Ibn Khaldun (the name came from a remote ancestor), was born in Tunis (North Africa) on May 27, 1332, to an upper class family who had fled from Seville, in 1248, to escape the Christian conquest of Andalusia. His family had witnessed the rise and fall of Muslim power in southern Spain.

As a privileged child, Ibn Khaldun had a thorough education in Aristotelian physics and philosophy, as well as mathematics, religion, geography, and poetry. His teachers were prominent scholars of their time. In the fourteenth century, in an era of unrest and political instability, he began his carrier as a seal bearer and then became a political official. He worked as a statesman, ambassador, and jurist in cities from Fez to Granada.

In 1375, growing exhausted of the politics of his time, Ibn Khaldun confined himself to the Salama Fort, near Constantine, for four years. From this seclusion, he emerged having written one of the greatest studies on history, his magnum opus, Muqaddimah: An Introduction to History.

Drawing on both his personal experiences and the regional history of North Africa, he identified a cyclical pattern of the rise and fall of civilizations, and he then analyzed the factors contributing to such patterns. He studied the dynamics of group relationships and argued that asabiyyah, or group solidarity, is vital to political power and to the ascent of a new civilization. He maintained that the sedentary lifestyles of urban city life introduce luxurious habits into people’s lives, thus gradually causing a deterioration in the asabiyyah and creating the conditions for civilizational collapse. According to Ibn Khaldun, a particularly strong ruler can delay this destruction; nevertheless, the asabiyyah will decay – generally within five generations – as events inherently follow a cyclical process. Every nation contains within itself the seed of its own destruction.

Possessing a keen eye for human behavior and a rare capacity for organizing his observations, Ibn Khaldun changed history by merely recording events and telling stories which could explain and predict human behavior. His methods grew from his belief that scientific research requires: (1) accurate observations; (2) logical and objective methods; (3) gathering data from the present and the past; (4) careful recording; and (5) the courage of careful description and reporting (Faghirzadeh 1982). Unlike most writers before him, he emphasized societal, economical, psychological, and environmental factors that governed events. This revolutionary approach laid the foundations for a new science: Ilm Umran (the science of society), as Ibn Khaldun called it in Muqaddimah. Explaining societal factors almost five centuries before nineteenth century classical social thinkers such as Comte, Marx, Durkheim, and Weber, he is considered the forerunner of sociology. And his profound insights and observations about the society in which he lived still inspire the sociological studies of our times.

Having written his book, Ibn Khaldun grew tired of seclusion, went to Cairo, and adopted a teaching role at Al-Azhar University. His reputation had preceded him there: Al-Azhar was crowded with students and many distinguished scholars who came to listen to his theories on social phenomena. While he was in Cairo, he learned the devastating news that his entire family had been lost in a shipwreck as they were coming from Tunis to join him. Except for his pilgrimage to Mecca in 1387, and a few trips to Damascus, he remained in Cairo for the remainder of his life, serving as a chief justice. He died in 1406 at the age of seventy-four, shortly after his sixth nomination for the judgeship.

He continued to write until the end of his life. Alongside Muqaddimah, the other volumes in Kitab al-Ibar, his book on world history, dealt with the history of Arabs, Persians, Europeans, Romans, Jews, and Greeks. In the last volume of his book, he initiated a new tradition by writing an analytical autobiography, known as Al-Tasrif.

Over the last two centuries, following the first complete French translation of the Muqaddimah by de Slane in 1863, Ibn Khaldun has been discovered by scholars in the West and acknowledged as one of the great thinkers of the Muslim world. Yet it was Franz Rosenthal’s first English translation in 1958 that allowed the Muqaddimah to achieve the most acclaim in the United States and abroad.

Asabiyyah and the cyclical pattern

Let’s look closer at asabiyyah. Derived from the Arabic root asab (to bind), the concept of asabiyyah is one of the most significant concepts in Ibn Khaldun’s writings. Although some suggested keeping the Arabic term, because it cannot be translated adequately, the English translation “group solidarity” comes close in meaning to the original term. Asabiyyah, in Khaldunian terminology, then, is a social bond of cohesion that is used to measure the stability and strength of social groups. The solidarity among group members is mainly due to the constant cooperation and interdependence of its members. In this respect, an individual’s identity is fused into the group of which he or she is a member, and they thus become “one of the others” (Ibn Khaldun 1967, 277).

According to Ibn Khaldun, this bond, asabiyyah, is the most important factor in the development of a society or a civilization from a nomadic tribe to a state. He argued that asabiyyah is strongest in the nomadic phase, and decreases as a civilization advances. The concept of asabiyyah fit under his general scheme of the cyclical process and the rise and fall of civilizations.

From his perspective, every cycle has 5 stages: 1) invasion; 2) summit; 3) tolerance; 4) tyranny; and 5) decadence (decline). In other words, every society is created, approaches perfection, declines, and is replaced by another society. It is a strong sense of asabiyyah that leads to conquest, then to the sedentary urban life; it is, finally, a taste for luxury that leads to societal collapse. Thus, nomads, who once had a strong solidarity among themselves and were known for their bravery and hard-work become less brave, less hard-working, and far more individualistic urban city dwellers under the influence of luxurious habits. Ibn Khaldun summarized the whole process as follows in Muqaddimah:

As a result, the toughness of desert life is lost. Group feeling and courage weaken. Members of the tribe revel in the well-being that God has given them. Their children and offspring grow up too proud to look after themselves or to attend to their own needs. They have disdain also for all the other things that are necessary in connection with group feeling…. Their group feeling and courage decrease in the next generations. Eventually group feeling is altogether destroyed. … It will be swallowed up by other nations. (Ibn Khaldun 1967, 107)

Ibn Khaldun placed emphasis on the power of religion to keep asabiyyah strong in a society. In his view, religion is not merely a set of moral laws, but determines all relations in a society. He maintained that if piety is replaced by ambition, and if the latter takes over human behavior in a society, then the treacherous desire to gain wealth will permeate people’s hearts. This will make a society and its people capricious, hence the corruption and eventual decline. As an example, he pointed to the time of Harun al-Rashid, and how after it passed, pleasure-seeking and corruption destroyed the strong asabiyyah of earlier Islamic civilization. They had abandoned the path of piety.

Luxury and the cyclical process

Luxury constituted a fundamental theme in the sociology of Ibn Khaldun, for to him it was the main factor distinguishing urban city life from nomadic life. He maintained that luxury in the cities follows certain economic factors. In cities, surplus labor is available to produce luxuries; thus, city people have higher incomes than people in rural areas, and this leads to higher standards of living in housing, clothing, etc.

Although a luxurious lifestyle initially causes prosperity in the city and adds to the civilization’s strength, Ibn Khaldun argued that such luxurious customs eventually become drawbacks. They create many demands and impose so many needs that the individual cannot earn enough to satisfy them. Furthermore, as a result of the additional taxes imposed by the government on such goods, the price of the various goods increases, and this in turn contributes to the cost of living, which consequently reduces the majority of people in the city to poverty. Thus, luxury increases the expenses of both the people and the state and leads, according to Ibn Khaldun, to the bankruptcy of the state.

Ibn Khaldun argued that luxury not only weakens the state economically, but also causes other physical, moral, social, and political disadvantages. Physically, it makes people weak and less immune to diseases, especially “when a drought or famine comes upon them” (Ibn Khaldun 1967, 177-182). Morally, luxury is destructive in the sense that it convinces people to value material comfort above all else and prefer their individual interests over the interests of others. Luxurious practices become indispensable. Desiring and obtaining luxuries eventually results in a degradation of the soul and breeds dishonesty and other immoral behaviors.

Moreover, it also destroys asabiyyah in the group since the pursuit of material comfort becomes the essential aim of most individuals. As a result of the disintegration of the group feeling, the group becomes easy prey for the next conqueror. The state’s leaders become increasingly lax and less disciplined, while also becoming more concerned with maintaining their power and lifestyle. Their ties to the peripheral group loosen, and asabiyyah turns into individualism and factionalism, and thus their political power diminishes. Under these conditions, they are susceptible to political disintegration, especially by the groups at the periphery. Thus, conditions for a new conqueror are ready and the cycle begins anew. Through this center-periphery model, Ibn Khaldun explained how each civilization has within itself the seeds of its own downfall.

Conclusion

Some may consider Ibn Khaldun’s approach to be a very deterministic perspective on history, and others may find nomadic invasions irrelevant to our age. His idea is obviously a theory, and every age and society have their unique social dynamics. What history is teaching us is that no civilization lasts forever, and certain aspects like group solidarity, religion, obsession with pleasure, and luxury do have roles in the ebbs and flows of nations. However, these dynamics and aspects have manifested in different ways across different times and cultures. Today, nations and cultures are interacting in different ways: through travel, the internet, immigration, etc. Ibn Khaldun’s theories do give us a perspective on how we can observe, contribute to, and be prepared for these ever-changing dynamics.

Note

[1] Daniel Snell, a professor of history at the University of Oklahoma was one of them. For his criticism, see, http://www.nytimes.com/1993/03/07/opinion/l-reading-reagan-s-favorite-arabic-sage-943993.html.

References

Baali, Fuad. 1988. Society, State and Urbanism: Ibn Khaldun’s Sociological Thought. State University of New York Press, Albany.

Faghirzadeh, Saleh. 1982. Sociology of Sociology: In Search of Ibn Khaldun’s Sociology Then and Now. The Soroush Press, Tehran.

Ibn Khaldun, The Muqaddimah: An Introduction to History. Translation by Franz Rosenthal. 1967. Princeton University Press. Vol I

When I entered the room, the patient’s wife and adult son were standing in a corner with a nurse, staring at the deceased, wearing grim and shocked faces. It was the oddest thing, because he died while actively getting out of bed to go to the bathroom. His wife looked at me, feeling the need to explain, and said, “He just said he had to go to the bathroom. That was all he said, and he started to get up.”  

One leg was already off the bed, not quite touching the floor. Mr. Griffin was wearing boxer shorts and a tee-shirt. He looked to be in his 50s. The whole length of his body was uncovered, revealing a tall, thin frame. He was lying on his side, on the edge of the bed, with one arm bent at the elbow, hand splayed, as if using it to push off.

Suspended in mid-air, Mr. Griffin was positioned like an action figure, basically half off the bed. I was inclined to run to catch him, before he fell. His facial expression was frozen, but not in surprise. Rather, his eyes were wide open, lips parted, and intent for his destination. But Mr. Griffin had been caught unaware in the act of dying and stopped by the instant of his death.

I asked the nurse to please place the man in a more relaxed position and cover him, while I escorted the family from the room to comfort them.

My grandfather, who lived into his nineties, would always say, “I’m not going to die one second before my time on earth is up.” As a Muslim, he was informed by the Qur’an, which states, not unlike the Bible, that every living thing has an appointed time on earth, known only to the Creator.

The image of Mr. Griffin sometimes visits me when I am praying. Usually, it’s a time when I feel rushed to get my prayer over with (and get back to my friends), or at a time when I realize, regrettably, that I am praying by rote.  My next thought forms the question: Why am I rushing, when this could be my last breath or action?

My witness of Mr. Griffin in death has given me an indisputable piece of empirical evidence that my next breath is not guaranteed.

For a believer (no matter what religion), being in prayer is a sacred space and an opportunity to become aware of God’s presence. God-consciousness intensifies a sense of inner peace, and I would certainly prefer to die in this state of mind than get caught unaware.

Being God-conscious is the counterpoint to praying by rote, which is a state of ungratifying unconsciousness. I recognize that in this unconscious state, I take everything about my existence for granted, including the movement of my hands and legs, my breathing, and even whatever or whoever is waiting for me, when I am finished my obligation.

In fact, for those God-conscious people who have worked hard to establish prayer in life, the mindlessness of praying by rote defeats the whole purpose of taking time out to pray. . For those trying to establish prayer in their life, praying by rote is counter-productive and , actually makes it harder to establish daily prayers.

I should point out that praying by rote is not synonymous with praying by force of habit. Good habits are hard to form, require self-discipline, and are more akin to achievements. Self-discipline is one of the fruits of recognizing our self-worth. Taking time out (five times a day for a Muslim) to create a sacred space from the routine of another mindless, busy day is a discipline of mindfulness gained, similar to meditation, which has an appeal for similar reasons.

In Islam, however, prayer is something more than meditation. For being and fulfilling an obligation, it brings with it the inner peace of self-satisfaction. In addition to the satisfaction of self-discipline, prayer has a sacred purpose and brings with it the promise of a greater, unimagined reward in the hereafter.

Since my visit to Mr. Griffin, I am more immune to praying by rote. Carving out the time in my day and praying in a sacred space gives me an opportunity to occupy my mind, not in a superficial way, but in deep reflection. As I reflect on the existence of an All-loving, All-just, All-powerful, All-forgiving, and All-knowing Supreme power, I find myself listening to the rhythm of my breathing. Furthermore, as I enter into a state of pious mindfulness known in Islam as the Arabic word, “taqwa,” I pray for this precious God-consciousness to stay with me, because I know that it increases my appreciation for everything and everyone in my daily life.

The dragonfly’s four wings allow it to deploy significant amounts of airflow through these wings, generating the lift necessary to keep itself balanced while striking its prey. This combination of airflow and the complex maneuvers the dragonfly can make have astonished researchers. A dragonfly can make complicated maneuvers even while approaching its prey at a speed of 60 km/h. It can also suspend itself in the air.

According to Akiko Mizutani’s observations, “while chasing its prey, dragonflies shadow their enemies in complex maneuvers that military fighter pilots can only dream of.”. This statement highlights the fact that dragonflies are one of the most agile and maneuverable insects in the world. Dragonflies were, in fact, designed to be very talented predators that intelligently utilize their agility and speed. 

A dragonfly’s wings enable its speed and agility. All four wings are transparent, very strong, and flexible, and they have wingspans of up to 16 cm (about 6 inches). The front and rear pairs, however, have been designed with different shapes. According to research carried out at Cornell University by Z. Jane Wang, professor of theoretical and applied mechanics, a dragonfly uses drag to support its weight. A lot of research done on airplanes has focused on minimizing drag, which decreases in-flight efficiency. Since the slender, elegant dragonfly uses a lot of aerodynamic drag to carry its weight, the insect holds the potential for deep insight into a complex detail of flight.

Dr Chahl said, “If we could have an aircraft… which could do some of the things that a dragonfly can do, then we would have something that nobody has, or is predicted to have, for some time” (www.abc.net.au/news/stories).

The US military has recognized the amazing implications this could have for developing technologies — from the ability of fighter aircraft to approach the enemy undetected, just like a dragonfly, to greater maneuverability, to enhanced helicopter logistics. The scientists who believe the insect’s flight control could have applications in new planes and helicopters must realize that replicating the complex design of a dragonfly for flight controls demands a highly intelligent designer and producer. It’s not a coincidence that the very first helicopter, designed by Westland Aircraft Company, was named Dragonfly. The helicopter was a rough and very simplified imitation of a dragonfly.

These observations don’t just help our technological know-how – they help us to appreciate the incredible design that exists in nature. Looking at the dragonfly, it becomes obvious how complex nature’s systems are.  

The tiny body of a fly has a relationship and connection with most of the elements and causes in the universe; in fact, it is a summary or index of them. If it is not attributed to the Eternal, Powerful One, those elements and physical causes should be present and operate in it of their own accord. It is even required that they should be present and work in each of the cells of its eyes, which are tiny samples of its body. For if the causes or agents responsible for something’s existence are of a physical nature, they should be present in the immediate vicinity of, rather, inside their result. Therefore, attributing a fly to “natural” causes and elements requires that those causes and elements should be present and work in each of its cells. (Said Nursi, The Gleams, 23rd Gleam)

As part of these new developments, humans are discovering inspiration in the works of art hidden in nature. Although Biomimetics has recently emerged as a scientific discipline, many researchers are already switching over to it. Biomimetics is the study of the design available with all its grandeur in nature and searching for ideal solutions to human problems. These solutions are then used to develop new technologies. Basically, it aims to make progress in technology by imitating the perfection of nature.

Many examples of what has been transferred from living things to technology, in fields as diverse as robotics, optics, new materials, vehicle technology, and so on, are now all around us. Yet, all engineering designs face a basic challenge: “ensuring the highest endurance with the least amount of material.” Spending less on materials will reduce overall costs, in both the long and short term. Lightweight materials mean saving money on energy over the lifetime of a project.

Thankfully, as Biomimeticians have discovered, nature is designed to be efficient.

Research into wheat stems has shown that they have remarkable characteristics when it comes to strength. Most of us have seen wheat fields waving in a wind strong enough to topple trees. Despite carrying a relatively heavy ear of grain and being supported by a delicate stem structure, the wheat is able to withstand strong winds. It rarely breaks.

This kind of strength could be an asset in building skyscrapers. While the ratio of the height of a wheat stalk to the base diameter is 500, the tallest building in the world, the 828-meter-high Burj Khalifa, has a height to width ratio of only 5. Wheat stems may hold the key to taller, stronger, more efficient buildings.

What are the physical and geometric reasons underlying the strength of wheat stems? Can these features be imitated to inspire new designs? Not only is the material used for great stability, but the geometric features and distribution of those materials have an important effect, too. The cross-sectional area of a characteristic wheat stem is shown in Figure 2.

When the cross-sectional area of the plant is examined, the following characteristics are seen: 1) The cross-sectional area is circular, cylindrical, and empty. 2) The filled wall section is similar to a honeycomb. 3) The density of the material increases gradually from the center to the outside, while the honeycombs formed by the hexagonal cells are shrinking in size. 4) The density of the material in the outermost periphery has increased greatly and the honeycomb structure has disappeared. 5) There are areas where the material is heavily piled up in the form of small circles near the outer wall.

When studying this design, an engineer will note a few things: 1) The hollow cylindrical structures increase the cross-sectional inertia and increase the flexural resistance. 2) The honeycomb structure is important for ensuring maximum durability using minimal material. Mathematicians have proved that a honeycomb structure can enable us to divide an area into small equal pieces with the shortest length of line. Just as in beehives, this structure exhibits the most efficient use of materials possible. 3) The increase in material density from the inner radius to the outer radius is intended to increase the cross-sectional inertia of the field in the cylinder and this increases flexural resistance. 4) It is also important, in terms of flexural resistance, that the material density at the outer wall rises to the highest level. 5) The circular small areas near the outer wall are similar to iron bars placed in cement. They increase the stiffness of the stem against bending. In fact, engineers have designed more robust bars, inspired by the geometry of the wheat stem (Figure 3).

In Figure 3, the dashed curve represents the actual measurements of the wheat stem and the parabolic continuous line represents the approximate curve calculated in accordance with the actual measurements. As can be seen in the figure, there is a slight decrease in material density in the inner wall. Then the density of the material making up the outer wall increases nearly 100%. The slight increase in the material inside the inner wall can be considered a kind of reinforcement to prevent damage to this small inner area. Based on this material density range, a new material for steel rods can be produced using a porous but simpler structure.

In Figure 4, we see a cross section of cylindrical rods that are filled, hollow, and inspired by wheat stems. According to the loading analyses done with the computer-based ANSYS program, it is observed that the newly designed rod had the lowest minimum stress and lowest maximum stress (Figure 5). This shows that in the new design, the stiffness decreases and the durability increases.

While studying nature, it is important to remember that nothing is pointless. Natural structures have been perfectly calibrated, and the scholars who know how to read them can create incredible works of art. A good analysis of nature’s perfection will enrich our minds and open the door to new inventions that will make our lives easier.

Reference

• Strength of Wheat and Barley stems and Design of New Beam/Columns, Mathematical and Computational Applications, 15 (1), 1-13, 2010.

Hallaj al-Mansur was inspired by the philosophy of Unity of Being (wahdat al-wujud), which he followed. When looking at his words we can understand love in two ways. First, love is an irrevocable desire for truth and the quest to discover it. Second, love is being preoccupied with someone, expecting favor from them, and not accepting any other rivals for their affection. Selfishness and egoism can easily be sensed in this second type of love.

As a matter of fact, Satan can be said to be superior to humankind in terms of its extensiveness in time and space – at least as far as its nature is allowed to reach. Being so blessed, one could think highly of oneself. Satan thought, “I will not prefer Adam to myself.” If we call this “love,” this is the kind of love Satan possesses.

Instead of such an impaired love, a love that expects reciprocity, we should follow a love of obedience, which takes a person to perfection. This obedience refers to doing everything for the sake of God’s good pleasure and expecting nothing in return. It means remaining remote from worldly grudges, never making one’s relation to God a matter of negotiation with God, and always behaving with submission and surrender.

Hallaj was referring to these considerations, which are by all means restricted by various boundaries, when he said, “Love should be learned from Satan and obedience from Adam.”

Love is associated with one’s weakness and neediness; as such, there are some gateways in its nature that are open to abuse. Perhaps, this was the case with Satan.

Causality

For this reason, it is very important to follow the Prophetic path in regards to love, enthusiasm, and gratitude. Sometimes a person may not find the things he has been seeking. This person may consider causes as absolute values, and may say, “These causes should have given certain results.” This person doesn’t understand that there is a distinct mercy and justice in God dragging us through compulsory situations. Of course, He is not required to create a result according to our causes. The Prophetic path teaches us this truth. As Ali al-Qari said, nothing is incumbent on God, Who is All-Transcendent. In some of the covenants He condescends to make with His servant, His saying, “This is your right and this is Mine,” is characteristic of the language as it occurs in a mutual communication. Otherwise, what right do we have to try and determine the result of something with our will, all the materials of which belong to Him? Getting a result is not in our hands, nor is passing judgment on the result.

Yes, there actually is a relationship between causes and results, and within the principles of Divine practice when those causes are observed, a certain result occurs. However, people representing those causes have no right to think of the result and say “It has to be like this…”

For even if there is a connection between cause and effect, in reality, effects are not built on causes. For example, if to put forth His will, God said to people, “When you blow on the solar system, I will disperse it,” and we blew on the solar system and God dispersed it, then we thought we were the cause of this, we would be mistaken. Our blowing would not have caused the solar system to disperse.

Servanthood

It is better to follow the path of Adam’s servanthood instead of Satan’s love. For love can sometimes cause a person’s foot to slip from the true path. But obedience on the Prophetic path will never slip!

Let’s also look at Hallaj al-Mansur’s point from the perspective of a comparison between love and obedience. Actually, what made Hallaj say this was that he thought Satan had fixed his heart on God; he gave his heart to no one else. However, when he saw man between himself and God, Satan’s love prevented him from prostrating to anyone but God.

It is not possible to fully agree with these ideas. Even if it were true, there is something that Hallaj and Satan overlooked; that is the fine point of the command to obey. Adam understood this fine point, and after his lapse, he pleaded and prayed, “Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and do not have mercy on us, we will surely be among those who have lost” (A’raf 7:23).But Satan did not learn; he did not understand God’s command to bow down to Adam.

In comparing love and obedience, it was stated that if love is based on obedience, then it means something. If there is no obedience in love, then just as intoxication can be born from it, so, too, can hopelessness, vexation, and even rebellion. In fact, intoxication grows in proportion to the size of the love, which may lead to estrangement from God, even while one may assume he or she is on the Divine path. Worthy things can suddenly lose their value.

These results do not prove that love is unimportant. As stated in “The Emerald Hills of the Heart” series, love is very important. In fact, some have even given great importance to metaphorical love, even considering those who died for physical love as martyrs. Folk stories like Laila and Majnun, Shirin and Ferhat, and Aslı and Kerem all turned this kind of obsession into legend. However, love is meaningful only when it is endowed with the merits explained above. If these requirements are not fulfilled, then when one’s expectations from love are not fulfilled, and reunion does not take place, love can turn into resentment.

The case with Satan is – perhaps – that when he did not find reciprocation from God, he was disappointed and ruined; as such, he did not rise up again. With respect to obedience, this kind of mistake can never be made. Obedience is a heartfelt and active deed made in line with the approval of the One who must be obeyed because His wishes and desires must be obeyed. On the other hand, love affects the balance of a person. It opens the door to unbalanced behavior. In other words, it can make a person insane. In this regard, Satan is an unbalanced creature. It is mandatory to conform scrupulously to rules imposed by obedience. This is balance. Adam preferring obedience shows he was a balanced creature.

A final point: I initially mentioned, with just one sentence, that Hallaj believed in the philosophy of the Unity of Being. He and people like Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi often evaluated matters from the angle of the vastness of God’s mercy. They do this and even seek a road to salvation for Satan and the pharaohs. In this respect, their kind of interpretation is a necessity of their basic philosophy. For according to them, “Everything is He,” and Satan is a different manifestation of Him. Whereas according to me, “Everything is from Him.” Consequently, Hallaj’s saying, “Love should be learned from Satan and obedience from Adam,” should be accepted as normal in respect to his philosophy of Unity of Being.

Brunger JM et al. Genome Engineering of Stem Cells for Autonomously Regulated, Closed-Loop Delivery of Biologic Drugs. Stem Cell Reports, April 2017.

Arthritis is an ancient disease that is associated with swelling and inflammation of the joints. It often results in stiffness, pain, and restriction of movement. In most cases of arthritis, the range of necessary treatments is very limited and common pharmaceutical treatments simply relieve the symptoms. However, a new study using stem cell technology may lead to the development of an arthritis vaccine that specifically targets inflammation in joints and stops pain before it even starts. Researchers used CRISPR technology, a revolutionary gene-editing tool, to reprogram mouse stem cells to combat inflammation caused by arthritis. These newly generated stem cells are called SMART (Stem cells Modified for Autonomous Regenerative Therapy). They are designed to develop into cartilage cells that produce anti-inflammatory agents. They also end up replacing damaged cartilage, reducing chronic arthritis-related inflammation. Researchers hope to package these reprogrammed stem cells as a vaccine for arthritis, which would deliver an anti-inflammatory drug to an arthritic joint, but only when needed. Current arthritis medications are given systemically, meaning they have the potential to interfere with other parts of the body. Since SMART cells deliver the medication only to the targeted location, this will significantly reduce the systemic effects. The question is: will they be effective? In trials, SMART cells were observed to grow into cartilage tissue and even protect against inflammation over the course of a few days in mice. Further testing is still in its initial phase in mouse models. These stem cells have been engineered to fight rheumatoid arthritis.

Plastic-eating caterpillars

Bombelli P. et al. Polyethylene bio-degradation by caterpillars of the wax moth Galleria mellonella, Current Biology, April 2017.

Plastics are made of synthetic materials consisting of polymers, long strings of molecules derived from fossil fuels. Since they have a half-life of approximately 450 years, every piece of plastic that has ever been made is with us today, except for the very small amount that we’ve burned. Polyethylene, from which plastic bags are manufactured, is one of the plastic types that is the most resistant to degradation. Since stores give out more than one trillion polyethylene plastic bags every year, these indestructible plastics are accumulating all over the globe and pose serious environmental problems. Scientists have long been searching for effective and environment-friendly solutions to eliminating plastic trash. One approach is to exploit simpler organisms, as they can be adept at utilizing unusual energy sources. After a lot of trial and error, researchers found that larva of a common insect, Galleria mellonella, is able to biodegrade polyethylene. Galleria mellonella, whose larvae are also known as waxworms, was discovered to do a significant amount of damage to a plastic bag in less than an hour. The follow-up tests detected the presence of the basic building block of polyethylene, ethylene glycol, in the waxworms’ guts, demonstrating that the waxworms were indeed digesting polyethylene; they were not merely chewing it up into smaller pieces that passed through their guts unaltered. These results were initially puzzling to scientists; they couldn’t understand how waxworms were able to digest a substance that had only begun to be manufactured in the last century. The answer came from the ecology of the waxworm itself. Waxworms are a well-known pest to beekeepers, as they grow and feed on wax and honey. Since wax is a polymer with a very similar chemical structure to polyethylene, waxworms seem to already know how to digest polymer structures like plastics. Scientists still don’t know whether the polyethylene digestion is done by the waxworm itself or if it is relying upon the bacterial flora within its gut. As they learn more about the digestion mechanisms, they hope to design practical and effective biotechnological solutions for managing plastic waste, which will ultimately protect our oceans, rivers, and overall environment.

Pill for exercise?

Weiwei F et al. PPARδ Promotes Running Endurance by Preserving Glucose. Cell Metabolism, May 2017.

The benefits of exercise are well-known. Unfortunately, there are people who are obese, elderly, or mobility-limited and cannot benefit from exercise. To offer them a solution, scientists discovered a drug called GW1516 which mimics the beneficial effects of exercise, including an increased stamina and a higher rate of fat burning. While the control mice could only run 160 minutes on a treadmill, mice with the experimental drug lasted 270 minutes—about 70 percent longer. The discovery of GW1516 came from scientists’ previous knowledge of genetics. Scientists already knew that genetically activating the gene called PPAR delta enabled mice to run a lot longer than normal without getting tired. Moreover, these mice are much less likely to gain weight or become diabetic. Scientists basically designed a chemical compound that activates the PPAR delta. The research team also analyzed the wide range of physiological effects of GW1516. While the genes that break down fat for energy did more work in the mice with GW1516, genes that break down carbs for energy did less work. This is somewhat expected, as the bodies of really fit people typically burn fat, not carbs, for fuel. Despite these differences, GW1516 didn’t improve muscle mass. The only benefit seems to come from changing how the body breaks down energy. Although the initial studies have been done in mice, scientists are eager to develop clinical trials for humans as soon as possible.

Considering the limited astronomical technology these civilizations had, it would be unfair to expect our ancestors to know that an eclipse was just the moon coming between the Earth and the sun. But for believers, regardless of time or circumstance, nothing happens without a purpose. A celestial event as big as an eclipse can, at the very least, inspire a sense of awe in all of us. We are reminded how easy it is for darkness to descend upon our lives. But we are also aware that just as the eclipse doesn’t last for long, these periods of darkness will also pass. The light will return.

This issue’s lead article uses an eclipse as a metaphor for a reason. For the author, Fethullah Gülen, a real eclipse is not a celestial event, but when we are faced with weaknesses like “contempt for values, addiction to pomp and vanity, avarice and indulgence in pleasures, worldly ambitions and wishfullness for eternal life in this world, Machiavellianism … outrageous indifference, embarrassing heedlessness, being silent like in the face of sheer injustice, and closing our ears to the uproars of despots and oppressors and to the cries of innocents and victims.” Yet Gülen believes that if there are a few souls devoted to lofty ideals, who are patient and seek the Divine good pleasure, then there is always hope; and eclipses, however long they may last, will eventually end.

Complementing the lead article, Alice Bolton writes on Ibn Khaldun’s theory that a life of luxury is enough to bring down even the strongest civilizations. Considered the first sociologist in history, Ibn Khaldun argued that group solidarity is vital to political power. He believed that the sedentary lifestyles of urban city life gradually erode a society’s togetherness, eventually leading to civilizational collapse. Bolton introduces readers to the life and influence of this remarkable social scientist, whose theories seem relevant to many nations today.

Timbuktu provides a good example of Ibn Khaldun’s theory. Located today within the borders of Mali, in West Africa, Timbuktu was once a remarkable center of learning and trade, which West Africans perceived as a cultural and economic capital equal to “Rome, Fez, and Mecca.” Adam Penale, from the University of Buffalo, shows how Timbuktu rose to the heights of a vibrant center of education, only to fall into a city of sand and dust.

One country currently facing such serious “civilizational” problems is Turkey. In this issue, Fr. Thomas Michel of Georgetown University writes on the complicated recent situation in Turkey, especially with regards to the ruling Erdoğan regime and the Hizmet Movement. Under normal circumstances The Fountain does not cover politics as we have done in the last few issues. However, over the last few years, the Erdoğan regime has banned The Fountain – as well as hundreds of other media outlets – in Turkey. This obliges us not only to defend our rights in terms of freedom of the press and free enterprise, but also to give voice to those persecuted simply for being associated with the Hizmet Movement. We hope this tyrannical regime will soon be over, and we will not need to cover such stories any more in our future issues.

Never despair, keep your willpower alive
If you can, be a source of hope for all

Our society is currently being challenged by a spiral of problems – problems of a rare kind. We are troubled by countless incitements. We are faced with depravation, contempt for values, decadence that leads to desultoriness, addiction to pomp and vanity, avarice and indulgence in pleasures, worldly ambitions and wishfullness for eternal life in this world, and – to be able to attain these ambitions – Machiavellianism that unscrupulously legitimizes all sorts of means.

While our hearts and souls are paralyzed by these devastating afflictions, there are also many other cases of baseness. They come in the form of outrageous indifference, embarrassing heedlessness, being silent like “a mute devil” in the face of sheer injustice, and closing our ears to the uproars of despots and oppressors and to the cries of innocents and victims. This level of wickedness has been rarely witnessed in history.

Notwithstanding all these concentric deviations, there have been a few dozen devotees of love who have always taken on all the risks and moved forward on their path of resurrection, even at the expense of their own lives and regardless of the bumpy road ahead. These devotees have tied their lives to the wellbeing of others and have always breathed with this lofty ideal. They say as Fuzuli said,

I can only be thankful, if the Beloved asked for my life,
What is its worth anyway, that I wouldn’t forsake it for my Beloved.

They have lived these sentiments joyfully; they rose with hope and moved with disregard for worldly ambitions. As they took refuge in the All-Patient One, they never slowed down while marching on the path of the Prophets, despite all the complicated and insecure directions, unyielding hurdles, and merciless deviations. Never deterred by these challenges, they preserved the purity of the sacred in their hearts and the glory of their ideals. Never satiated with the distances they covered, they asked for more and traveled to the four corners of the world to voice and exemplify the truth and love of the Divine.

When they first set out, they already knew compliance with the heavenly orders and checks would not be easy. They knew there would be pitfalls ahead. They knew it was not a smooth highway they had chosen, but they were reassured that with the elixir of patience their heavy burden would become light enough to carry. As painful and indigestible as patience was in the beginning, its results have been sweet as sherbet.

Patience is the elixir helping these devotees survive the vortexes of sins and carnality. With patience, they can remedy the malice of their persecutors and render ineffective the conspiracies of tricksters. Through the goggles of patience, they see everything has a due time. They have patiently accepted the fact that this is a long walk and the road will not come to an end soon. Patience has taught them to seek refuge in the infinite power of the Almighty. With patience, they have steered clear of the maddening bigotry of some fanatics who have fixated themselves on revenge, grudge, obstinacy, and envy. With patience, they have moved forward, calling others to brighten their minds with the “sunlight of knowledge” and to nourish their hearts with the “moonlight of faith.”

When faced with a pressing situation, they have hung on by always turning to, “O you who believe (believers who are people of security and trust)! Seek help (against all kinds of hardships and tribulations) through persevering patience and the Prayer; surely God is with the persevering and patient” (Qur’an 2:153). This verse has served as a fresh water spring and healed their spirit from all kinds of afflictions. What a heavenly source of life this spring has been! A new Divine favor has been born in their hearts with each sip, gracing them with eternal life. Each drop has become an ocean.

They have been fully aware that their lives are transient and their strength limited. They have disassociated themselves from their individual powers – to the extent of their good judgment – and sought refuge under the unlimited strength of the Almighty and His Willpower, by way of which their drops turn to oceans and their atoms to suns. Indeed, what doesn’t exist comes into existence, and what has no value becomes priceless, in this way. The Almighty’s favors are also dependent on the self-relinquishing ones who have turned to Him. How wonderfully the following lines by a pious one express this fact:

You do not reveal Yourself when my presence veils
My nonexistence is the condition that You reveal Your presence

These devotees of love have strived hard even during the direst of times: when time – time that has been detached from the One – has been disloyal and feelings have turned to delirium; when brute force has run amuck and pursuing a life of prophetic virtue has become extremely difficult. Through it all, they’ve continued on the path even when the future has become obscured.

They have worked to generate humble resources, and built their own fountains. They did their utmost to inspire our hopes as they expanded wide as an ocean and then evaporated to precipitate as drops of mercy. The driest deserts and thorn fields have become gardens of roses. When there was no beam of light across the horizon, and roads were concealed without signposts, they illuminated the path of those left in the dark. They have been praised everywhere as the cavaliers of light. But their efforts have never been for praise; what they have received is the expression of love and gratitude.

Ultimately, it has been Divine favor upon them. They have come to be recognized for what great conquerors were unable to achieve. But in compliance with the principle of logic, “negating a negation is an affirmation,” they have humbly renounced themselves in awareness of their impotence and poverty in relation to the Divine Majesty. The Almighty is the One who gives, and they are the honorable ones to receive.

This is how they have formulated the matter, and they have done their utmost not to assume any false pride, arrogance, extreme self-reliance, or self-praise. They have tried not to fall as low as to be disrespectful to the Most Honorable One. They have maintained their faithfulness and sincerity in being His servants by seeing His help, support, and protection behind all the grace; despite misfortunes and obstacles they have never fallen into despair, they have never been disappointed. They’ve galloped wherever the sun rises and sets, seeking to realize their ideals and to deserve the merits of being “the perfect pattern of creation” (Qur’an 95:4). Realizing their goals has been no different than racing great distances under the scorching desert sun. But their ideals have been like the cooling shade of a spring rain. These ideals have been their provisions on this hard trip, keeping them alive and motivated, and enabling them to soar to their destination. God would never leave these sincere travelers of truth abandoned on their way.

As was the case for all their predecessors, their path has been obstructed by some intolerant bigots, who have been miserably impaired by billowing feelings of envy. They have launched organized defamation campaigns and attempted to destroy whatever God enabled the cavaliers of light to achieve. This extreme malice would not even be perpetrated by the most outrageous deniers of truth. Devils have rejoiced, for this level of persecution is unacceptable in all circumstances. But it is endorsed when inflicted on these devotees.

Yet, the desire of these devotees for the Divine pleasure has made such destructive efforts ineffective; those marching on His path have devised alternative gateways to His contentment and have marched on without losing speed.

Time shrinks as they march, and the Earth, humbled under their feet, breathes life. Each spring turns into a waterfall, hopes grow firmer, and drizzles become downpours. Many surprise triumphs happen when failure seems unavoidable; murmurs of life are heard in the spiral of darkness; and many unexpected rays of light beam off celebrations in broken hearts.

“God is with the truthful,” whispers their common sense, in a quiet search for wisdom, as the following lines flow from within:

If still determined, no more despair
You overcame what was impassable before
And became a source of hope for all
Now, it’s your turn to speak, I say no more…

• Ibn Qayyim, Jawziya, Jawab al-Kafi, p. 69, 113; Nawawi, Sharh al-Sahih al-Muslim, 2/20. It is reported that the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said, “That who sees injustice and remains silent is a mute devil” (i.e. a silent partner in that injustice).