After a caterpillar undergoes metamorphosis, a mature Monarch butterfly lives for approximately six weeks under normal conditions. But as we will see, there is one exception to this rule.

These butterflies, with a wing span of 8-10 centimeters, live in Canada and the Northern USA and they migrate to South America during their migratory season. They increase their body weight by consuming flower nectar before starting the journey, to prepare for the 5000 km long route ahead of them. During this journey, they change direction many times because of rain storms and extreme weather, but they are never lost.

Towards the end of August, Monarch butterflies begin their journey from North America to the Oyamel forests in Mexico. They fly around 80 km a day, reaching speeds up to 20 km/hour. Though most generations only live for six weeks, these butterflies live for months. After an arduous journey of 8 to 10 weeks, they arrive at the 3000 meter high mountains in November and December. The Mexican mountains make an ideal place for these animals. Butterflies hibernate in this region for four months, from December to March, and survive on their fat reserves.

While this north to south journey is completed by one generation, the return journey takes four generations to complete. With the onset of spring, Monarch butterflies start feasting on honey nectar to get the energy to head back north. Around mid-March, they start to migrate northward, headed back to their birthplace. Meanwhile, having reached maturity, they reproduce. Each member of this generation lays around 700 eggs in suitable places between March and April, and then dies near mid May.

Female butterflies lay their eggs near the leaves of poisonous plants. Hatching larvae feed on these leaves. These neurotoxic plant leaves serve as a protection against predators. This poison is found to remain in the tissues of the insect even after it becomes a mature butterfly and is not harmful to it. The protection is necessary, for monarch butterflies have charming colors that attract many other animals. Thus some birds try to prey on them, only to fail each time. Because of the neurotoxin, these birds become stunned as soon as they touch their beaks to the butterfly.

It takes about a month for an egg to mature to an adult butterfly. Thus, the first generation comes to existence on the journey home. Like a programmed machine, this generation continues their parents’ journey north. They leave their eggs, for the second generation, during April and May, and then die in mid-June.

The second generation also continues the northward journey of their parents. They lay their eggs during May and June, and then die around mid-July.

Third generation Monarchs, however, arrive in Canada around June or July. The females of this generation lay their final eggs in mid-July and die during August. As a result, the fourth generation reaches maturity in a month, thus completing the annual tour. The fourth generation begins migrating south, towards the mountains of Mexico, at the end of the same month and hibernates there. This final generation lives six months more than the other generations, long enough to lay their eggs during spring. Without this character, the final generation Monarch butterflies would have died before spring, and would thus be unable to reach adulthood to lay eggs.

The migration to Mexico of a butterfly with such a delicate muscle structure confounded scientists for a long time. It is a fascinating, extraordinary event for millions of butterflies that, unlike migratory birds, lack a complicated nervous system. Yet despite this, they are able to pinpoint, and meet, in an area of around 1000 square kilometers.

An ultimate version of the global positioning (GPS) system as invented by the scientists is blessed as a birth-right to Monarch butterflies. Biologist Steven Reppert and his team from Massachusetts University have uncovered very interesting facts while studying butterfly antennae. When butterflies were placed in a flight simulator type of device with their antennae cut, they changed their direction after flying a while. Migrating butterflies with their antennae continued to move Southwest, however butterflies without their antennae flew in different directions. Not only did butterflies lose their navigational skills without their antennae but also had problems with their daily, time-dependent navigation.

Is it sufficient to explain this phenomenon by instinct only?

Pinar Celik has a PhD in medicine. She is a freelance writer from Turkey.

References

• Zhan S, Merlin C, Boore JL, Reppert SM. “The Monarch Butterfly Genome Yields Insights into Long-Distance Migration”. Cell 147 (5): 1171–85. 2011
• Davis, A.K. “Wing color of monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) in eastern North America across life stages: migrants are ‘redder’ than breeding and overwintering stages”. Psyche: 1–5. 2009
• Merlin, C; Gegear, RJ; Reppert, SM. “Antennal circadian clocks coordinate sun compass orientation in migratory monarch butterflies”. Science 325 (5948): 1700–1704. 2009
• Kyriacou, CP. “Unraveling Traveling”. Science 325 (5948): 1629–1630. 2009

A system of education without a clearly defined target and purpose will only serve to confuse future generations. We have to be careful that our youth is taught the proper material in an effective manner to ensure that they are actually learning rather than simply becoming conduits of data.

The social structure of a nation is closely related to the importance it places on the education of its populace. The education of the current generation is especially crucial as they will become the educators of following generations and will share with their students the knowledge they have acquired as part of their own education and experiences. It is vital for the society and morality of a society that its values are transmitted to its younger generation in the process of their learning experience. Value transmission is best possible in a successful marriage, which thus makes family an important educational institution, a vital one for the continued existence of a nation. Those nations which fail to establish the institution of marriage on sound and essential values without regard to the spiritual and moral condition of their society are doomed to extinction.

The development of individuals is strongly influenced by other individuals, dominant customs and traditions, and more importantly by their parents. Similarly governments have a strong influence and authority over the different parts of its populace.

A nation that effectively utilizes their resources is closely aligned with the thoughts, concepts, and culture of the individuals who make up the society and with the prudence, foresight, and sincere devotion of those in power. The administrators that are responsible for the level of care given to individuals and their efforts toward becoming a social entity will be an indication of how closely aligned they are with the prophetic principle that “All of you are shepherds, and all of you are responsible for those under your care” and that “being glad with making others’ happy instead of self concerns.”

Those who are responsible for educating future generations – no matter under what title they do it – should never forget the importance of this. As members of society we try to do whatever it takes to ensure the best possible future for our children by doing everything in our power and overcoming any and all difficulties so that our children are not deprived of anything as we try to prepare a world like Paradise for them. Will it not be a waste of all our efforts if we fail to elevate them to the level of morality and virtue, the capital of true value, if we cannot elevate them to a state of satisfaction, having acquired consciousness and culture? The nations who obtain this capital will have gained a mysterious key to the treasures of the world. On the contrary, the masses that have not elevated to the level of such a cultivation and understanding will lose their first struggle for social life in the future and be knocked out at the first round.

If the new generations’ minds are equipped with the sciences of their time and their hearts are not lit up with breezes from beyond and if they are provided with an ample education, with all their needs fulfilled and all opportunities available for them to succeed then they can look forward to a bright future. These future generations will be able to stand up to every kind of obstacle in the struggle of life, they will be able to overcome – material or spiritual – every kind of difficulty and will never give in to despair. All the hardships that we will have encountered along the way in providing our children with a better education will have been worth it.

As for the unfortunate ones who are deprived of this consciousness will waste away the inheritance they received from their fathers, spiritually as well, they will lead an unstable and pessimistic life, and then perish between the ferocious teeth of misery.

The authorities today, who are at the crossroads of elevating their children to the level of humanity or leaving them to be beasts in human form, have to think the responsibility on their shoulders heavier than mountains and find more profound and consistent cures against the decays brought by years-long neglects. Otherwise, the unfortunate generations who lost the most precious ores of their being in the unknown seas for thousands of times through different erosions will completely lose their ability to germinate and they will become completely barren, never be able to find existence with their own essence, and never reach the glory of the past again.

Turkey is currently the sixth largest market for electricity in Europe and this demand for energy has made Turkey one of the fastest growing global markets for fuel. The expected energy demand for Turkey by 2020 is expected to be 570 GWh (giga watts per hour) (Demirbas 2005, 615). Today, Turkey pays approximately $50 billion a year to other countries for their high quality oil, gas and coal. If nothing is done to develop alternative sources of energy, it is expected that the cost to import fuel from other countries will cost Turkey a staggering $100 billion in 2020. Fortunately, in 2005, Turkey passed a Renewable Energy Law to bring the country more in line with European Union regulations and standards to meet the growing electricity demand and to diversify sources of energy.

Wind power

Turkey could potentially meet all its total energy needs solely from the use of wind energy. The most attractive sites for wind energy utilization and generation are the Marmara, South East Anatolian and Aegean regions. The first wind energy farm was established in Izmir, Turkey in February 1998 with a 1.5 MW capacity (Hepbasli and Ozgener, 2004). On the other hand, the U.S. started harvesting wind power 17 years before Turkey. We need to keep in mind that the U.S. is on a grand scale when compared to Turkey. It is interesting to see the trends for the usage of wind energy between these two countries. The current electricity production from wind for Turkey is about 433 MW (Megawatts) as compared to 35,000 MW for U.S. While Turkey is targeting to achieve a quarter of its potential, 20,000 MW by 2020, the U.S. is intending to reach 90% of its potential and reach 10×108 MW (Table 1) by 2020.

Table 1: Wind power: Turkey and U.S.

Solar power

In terms of the potential of solar power, both Turkey and the U.S. are amongst the most propitious countries in the world by having a range of 175- 200 watts per square meter per day (David Wheeler, Global Developments for Future Blog, comment posted on February 19, 2008).

The most advantageous region in Turkey for the harvesting of solar energy is its Southwest due to its geographic location in the Mediterranean. It is quite common to come across solar panels on top of the roofs in Southwestern Turkey. Photovoltaic (PV) systems are currently limited in use in Turkey but they are on the rise. In Silifke, located south central Anatolia (about 200 km away from Adana), a PV system is currently being used to power irrigation pumps. In order to encourage investors to invest their money into the development of solar power in Turkey the government subsidies need be increased and include the current 5.5 euro-cents/KWh feed-in-tariff.

The most common places where you would see heavy solar power usage for everything from day and night lighting to heating the pool in Turkey are in Eco-homes (left), and Solar cities (right).

Source: http://www.qurbaa.com/images/eko-evleri.jpg

Source: www.solartek.com.tr/tr/index.asp?ID=34

*The hot water heating system installations cover about 10 Million m2 surface.

What is interesting to note is that currently Turkey is amongst the top five countries in the world in the amount of solar power used to heat their water.

Hydropower

According to the Idaho National Laboratory, approximately 6,000 MWs is the gross power potential of U.S. hydropower, of which only about 16 percent can be developed with economical feasibility. About 76 percent of this potential has already been developed, and the remaining portion is to be developed by 2020. On the other hand, Turkey has a somewhat different scenario where the gross hydropower potential is 435 MW, of which only 29% is economical feasible for development and only 35% of that potential has been developed to this date (Yuksek et al. 2007).

After Turkey declared its support for the Kyoto Protocol, it has given a big push for renewable sources of energy, especially wind and hydropower. With the required regulations passed after Kyoto, and with the more recent Copenhagen Accord, Turkey has adapted rigorous development plans for its hydropower potential. The total number of current hydropower projects is over 350, and it is estimated that Turkey can meet up to 46% of the energy demand in 2020 from hydropower resources (Yuksek et al. 2007).

Lifestyles

One of the most important issues for environmental consciousness is energy efficiency. Saving energy is a way of life, not just a part of it.

The automobile has become an integral part of American life with vehicles outnumbering licensed drivers: 254 million cars and 194 million licensed drives. In Turkey the latest statistics showed that there are only 23 million licensed drivers as compared to the 16 million cars on the road. These statistics proves that people living in Turkey tend to more commonly use alternative means of travel, such as the public transportation system, rather than driving their own cars, especially in the larger cities such as Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Konya and Bursa. In Istanbul there are even designated lanes along the highway for buses. Although buses, subway, and streetcars are among the preferred ways of transportation since their network pretty much covers everywhere, however, the big cities are still experiencing heavy traffic on the streets due to passenger cars.

The good news is that in Turkey the vast majority of the fleet of taxis and buses have been converted to Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) form, saving energy and money.

Environment awareness amongst the populace is also on the rise as well. Having young minds working on the cultural practices that need to be changed for a sustainable future requires both courage and time. To this end, Turkey has devoted the week of January 11th to raise the awareness for energy efficiency. Turkish schools celebrate this week by educating students from all ages in terms of matters governing energy and efficiency.

Rain water catchment systems, have always been part of the architectural design for buildings, however, the water collected from the roof was basically drained down to the garden and was not very practical. With the young generation raising awareness to not waste this precious resource, people have created better designs to capture and find a better use for the rain water.

Rain gutter designs are quite different in Turkey in comparison to the U.S. as well; instead of having them on the side of the curbs, they are designed as screens along the streets. Some cities have canals that bring melted snow and rain water to the middle of the city from the mountains in the vicinity. This water is then used for irrigation purposes.

According to the 2004 statistical figures of the Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT) 34 million tons of municipal waste and 17.5 million tons of industrial waste are produced in Turkey annually. The amount of wastes produced per person in Turkey reaches up to 1 kg (2.2 lbs) daily, of which 34% is food waste. This figure is very small in comparison to waste generation in the United States. The average waste generation in the U.S. is 3.5 kg (7 lbs) per person per day. It is believed that the cultural habits and practices of a people can affect the energy efficiency and minimize waste generation in their country. The practices in Turkey include but are not limited to using the produce when it is abundant and preserving it for later use either by drying fruits and vegetables, creating pastes (such as tomato paste), making marmalade and jams, as well as canning fruits and vegetables and pickling vegetables.

When it comes to our garbage, waste prevention – rather than waste management – is the best way to reduce environmental stress (Brown 2008, 7). It might come as a shock to some, but the most common drink in Turkey, black tea, is still today served in reusable glass cups (below). This differs in the U.S. where 16 billion paper cups are used for coffee on average in 2006, resulting in 253 million pounds of waste (Hillary Feldman, About My Planet Blog, comment posted on May 29, 2008). We need to adapt to thinking in terms of “Waste equals food” as Paul Bierman-Lytle, an architect working for the American engineering firm CH2M Hill, described the concept that waste from one system should provide food for another, whether an industrial system or an ecosystem.

Having said all the above, some of the highlights from Turkey’s future plans include the following: accelerating expansion in renewable sources of energy, aligning Turkey with the European Union regarding renewable sources of energy, using the Multilateral Clean Tech Fund – according to the World Bank, Turkey is the first to receive that fund in 2009 – reduce greenhouse gas emissions, subsidize investors and investments in renewable energy resources, reduce waste generation and improve waste recovery with the help of research and development on these issues.

As humans, although we might see ourselves losing the battle of “Saving the Earth” today, however, we still have the chance to turn things around before it is too late.

I believe if we all work hand in hand to raise global citizens, who can understand and value common humanity, we can get us to work together toward a sustainable future.

Fethiye Ozis is a Lecturer, Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at University of Southern California.

References

• – About My Planet Blog, http://www.aboutmyplanet.com/environment/paper-unsustainable/
• – Brown, Lester R. Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization, W.W. Norton & Company
• – Center for Global Development Blog, http://blogs.cgdev.org/globaldevelopment
• – Demirbas, A. “Competition Potential of Wind Power Plants” Energy Sources, Part A: Recovery, Utilization, and Environmental Effects, Volume 27, Issue 7 May 2005, p 605 – 612.
• – DIE (State Statistics Institute). Statistics of Turkey in 2003. 2004. DIE. Turkey.
• – Hepbasli, A.; Ozgener, O. “A review on the development of wind energy in Turkey” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Volume 8, Issue 3, June 2004, p 257-276.
• – Omer Yuksek, Murat Kankal, Murat Ihsan Komurcu, Hizir Onsoy, and Adem Akpinar. 2007. The Importance of Hydropower plants in Turkey’s Energy Planning.Paper presented at the international Congress on River Basin Management, March 22-24, in Antalya, Turkey
• – Turk Medya Adana, CNN Turk http://www.turkmedya.com/V1/Pg/detail/NewID/131268/CatID/6/CityName/Adana/ TownID/2/Header/gunes_enerjisi_tarimda_kullanildi.html

Only in the light of faith can people, by realizing their essential nature with all its dimensions and the existential aims of creation, penetrate the inner reality of existence. Lack of belief is a suffocating dungeon. In the view of unbelievers, existence began with chaos, developed in the frightening uncertainties of coincidences, and is speeding toward a terrible end. In this uncertain movement of existence, there is no breath of compassion to relieve them, no place of security to embrace them in our human desires, and not even a piece of ground on which they can step.

Believers who know their origin and destination, as well as their responsibilities, see everything clearly and so travel to their destination in utmost security. During their sojourn here, they carefully study existence and what lies behind it. They examine things and events over and over again, try to establish a connection with their surroundings, use the studies of others, and fill in the gaps of their knowledge and experience with untiring research and hope.

Believers have an inexhaustible source of power on which they can rely during their travel: Strength and power belong to God alone. This phrase is a power source, and those who obtain it feel no need for another. Believers who have equipped themselves with it direct their lives toward God in the hope of securing Divine approval. Their abiding optimism enables them to overcome every obstacle and challenge all kinds of worldly opposition.

The second quality is to overflow with love. People whose hearts are content with belief in and knowledge of God feel, in proportion to the extent of their belief and knowledge, a deep love for humanity and creation. They spend their lives in the colorful fluctuations of universal ecstasy, rapture, and spiritual pleasure.

There can be no permanent movement, especially that related to the Hereafter, without love. The Divine love we feel in order to gain God’s approval is a boundless and mysterious source of power. Those who want to be worthy of it should make as much use of it as possible.

We need to look into the origin of existence from the perspective of the Qur’an and the Sunna. Our origin, place in the universe, the Divine purpose for our creation, and the way we should live and our final destination, as described in the Qur’an and the Sunna, are in such harmony with our thoughts, feelings, and aspirations that we cannot help but be filled with wonder and admiration.

For people of understanding, these two pure sources are a spring of love and enthusiasm, a means to ecstasy. Those who have recourse to them with pure intention and petitions of need are not refused, and those who take refuge in them gain immortality. Indeed, by combining the love and enthusiasm of those personages with modern methods and styles, we will penetrate into the ever-fresh essence of the Qur’an and arrive at a universal metaphysics.

To turn to sciences with a sensible synthesis of mind, logic and consciousness is the third quality. This turning, which also will provide a direction for the general inclination of humanity, which is lost among obscure hypotheses, will be a significant step in our liberation.

As pointed out by Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, ‘in the future reason, logic, science, and eloquence will be more influential in human life.’1 He also pointed out that ‘since truth-seeking scholars and the science of eloquence agree that each Qur’anic verse contains guidance and instruction, it follows that verses relating the Prophets’ miracles, the most brilliant of all verses, should not be considered mere historical events. Rather, they comprise numerous indications of guidance. By relating these miracles, the Qur’an shows the ultimate goal of scientific and technological developments, and specifies their final aims, toward which it urges humanity.’2 In fact, we no longer have any other way of escaping from the cloudy atmosphere of illusions enveloping us, or any other way to reach truths and, more importantly, the most manifest Truth. To achieve this, we must become unique representatives of scientific knowledge combined with religious spirit.

Since we have been unable to assign a true direction to science, and thus confused revealed knowledge with scientific theories and sometimes scientific knowledge with philosophy, serious confusion has appeared in scientific thought and scientists have lost considerable esteem. One result is that the younger generations became alienated from their society.

The fourth characteristic of this righteous generation is to review and re-evaluate the established views of humanity, life, and the universe. The following points should be considered in this respect: First, the universe is a book written by God for us to study over and over again. Humanity is a transparent index of all the worlds, a being that can discover the depths of existence. Life is the manifestation of the meanings filtered from that index and book, and reflected by Divine Expression throughout the universe. If humanity, life, and the universe are three aspects of a single truth, each having a genuine color of its own, then a partial approach to them shows our disrespect for humanity in particular, and for creation in general, as such an approach demolishes the harmonious composition of reality. Humanity must study, understand, and obey the Divine Revelation derived from Gods Attribute of Speech. Therefore, we must perceive all things and events to which God gives existence through His Knowledge, Will, and Power. Being the manifestation of the Divine Attribute of Speech, the glorious Quran is the spirit of existence and the sole means of happiness in this world and the Hereafter. The Book of the Universe is the embodiment of this spirit, and an account of the branches of science originating in it. Thus it is a very important dynamic of both worlds, direct in relation to this life and indirect with respect to the other. For this reason, people who understand both of these books and apply their principles in their lives will be rewarded, while those who do not will meet the consequences of their neglect. Second, our humanity lies in our feelings, thoughts, and character, which also determine our esteem in the sight of the Creator and the created. Sublime human attributes, depth of thought and feeling, and a sound character are valued by everybody. Those who adulterate their faith and conviction with irreligious thoughts and cause distrust to emerge in their characters will not receive Gods support and help nor preserve their esteem and dignity among people. We should not forget that God Almighty and people evaluate people according to their human character, and that those without human values cannot perform great feats even if they appear to be good believers. On the other hand, those distinguished with laudable virtues and a sound character cannot always fail despite their apparent weakness in conforming their lives to religious principles. Third, an Islamic goal can be achieved only through Islamic means and methods. Muslims must pursue Islamic goals and adopt Islamic methods to attain them.

As Gods approval cannot be obtained without sincerity and a pure intention, Islam cannot be served and Muslims cannot be directed toward their real targets through diabolic means and methods. The generation that will be responsible for bringing justice and happiness to the world should be able to think freely and respect freedom of thought. This is the fifth quality of the righteous generation.

Freedom is a significant dimension of human free will and a key to the mysteries of human identity. The Muslim world has been under internal and external pressure for centuries. The resulting restrictions placed on our feelings, thoughts, culture, and education have made it almost impossible for anyone to maintain his or her human faculties, let alone realize a renewal and development. In such a climate, one in which it is difficult to live as a common man or woman with human values, a person of true greatness cannot be raised. Only people with weak characters, inactive dispositions, palsied brains, and paralyzed feelings grow in such climates. If this is so, we should realize the need to be more tolerant and more altruistic when we move toward a better future. Today more than anything else, we need magnanimous hearts and open, profound minds that respect free thinking, are open to science and scientific research, and can perceive the harmony between the Quran and the Divine laws of the universe and life. This requires the existence of a community in which geniuses can flourish. In the past, a single genius could lead a nation toward high objectives. But today, when everything has taken on an incredibly elaborate form and specialization has gained prominence, counsel and collective consciousness have replaced geniuses. This is the sixth point, which should be given due consideration by the generation that aims to give a better shape to the world.

Finally, as the seventh quality this generation should be equipped with mathematical thought, as this implies comprehension of the enigmatic connection between creation and mathematical laws, and the discovery of the mysterious world of numbers. Without mathematics, the mutual relations between humanity and things cannot be perceived. Like a source of light, mathematics illuminates our way from the universe to life, and shows us the depths of the world of possibilities beyond human imagination, thus enabling us to attain our ideals. To obtain a full perception of existence, we should follow mathematical laws in all fields: from physics to mathematics, from matter to energy, from body to soul, and from law to spiritual training. This implies that we need to adopt both spiritual training and scientific research. The West has used so-called mystical movements to compensate for a true system of spiritual training. But Muslims have no need to search for a foreign system to quench their thirst for spiritual satisfaction. Everything a person needs to design his or her life on sound foundations is found in Islam, provided that one understands Islam in its pristine purity and original comprehensiveness. Lastly, to understand the concept of art that righteous people should have, we should have a much more developed intellectual capacity, refined feelings, and sensitivity.

Footnotes

1. Said Nusi, The Words: The Re-construction of Islamic Thought and Belief (Rutherford, NJ, The Light, Inc., 2002), vii. 2. Ibid., 195.

Much later, the 1990s generation was on everybody’s tongue. A generation that developed a relationship with a computer joystick, that can assume any identity from James Bond to the Queen of England in a virtual that expanded from kick-boxing to strategy games that can think and act in very limit ed areas, Internet geeks whose connection to life is united by the interactive means offered, and that is indifferent to social and even familial problems.

However, there is another generational in between, a generation that inherited the elders’ knowledge. This generation more or less knows equality, social justice, freedom of ideas and speech. Although it does not believe that “we are no more a hunting society,” its members are so cowed that they can be labeled at most a small gear of the System.

This generation is surrounded by new needs and modern solutions put to them, is being mechanized and is aware of what this means. Hence, a generation in deep suffering… It is contaminated, but aware of how it happened. It is living in a house full of furniture, yet aware of the “humiliation” this represents. It is working, yet aware of how “success” becomes an idol that enslaves people. It believes in heaven, is aware of its expulsion, and has not yet lost the hope of heaven, yet it is scared to confront hell and trapped in a dilemma. Again a generation in deep suffering.

What can stop this suffering? Who is the other thief in “set a thief to catch a thief,” that famous proverb? Love, or else an enormous experience that makes you feel alive? How about a fist that reminds you of your veins and the blood they contain? But please you first!

Fight Club starts with scenes from the life of a yuppie. From this introduction we understand the extent of his boredom. He makes “profitable” inspections for an automotive company and suffers insomnia due to statistics, numbers, and routines. The truth is that Norton, our protagonist whom we see with a gun pointed to his mouth, flashbacks the story for us.

The narrator, while seeking a cure for his long-lasting insomnia finds himself in a solidarity organization for the fatally ill. Marla, who attends every therapy session just as he does, disturbs him like him, she also is actually not “dying.” This irritates the narrator, who bad been the only healthy man present. Thus, even though he feels good, his problems recur.

We now begin to observe his metamorphosis, which starts with a chance encounter with the imposing, charismatic, and intelligent Tyler Durden on a plane that led to the start of the Fight Club. But what a club! A club with two rules: 1) You don’t talk about the Fight Club, and 2) You don’t talk about the Fight Club.

Tyler says that self-destruction, rather than self-improvement, might be the answer. Hence, every meeting is full of bloodshed, the fighting people are actually friends, and every punch means happiness for them!

The club’s very name, the close fighting scenes, and the phenomenon of ‘relief/purification” based on mutual consent seemingly gives the impression that Fight Club sanctifies violence. On the contrary, as in Seven and Game, David Fincher presents us with an ironic and hence indirect criticism of the System.

Tyler Durden, a sort of externalized inner soul of the narrator, utters things that are hard to disagree with, such as “You’ll get used to consuming more than you need. Then your belongings will eventually own you,`”, “You are not a beautiful and unique snow-flake” ,“If you have nothing to lose, you won’t be scared to lose,” and “You are not your job. You are not how much you have in the bank. You are not the contents of your wallet. You are not your khakis.”

Durden is asking for the television generation’s rage, and hence is trapped by the surmise of being a rock star or a CEO. But he is not offering a solution; be is merely promising a few hours of liberation from the “cowshed.”

The docile, quiet, and harmonious members of the lower class behave as they wish and discharge on the only property where the right of imposition is left to them, at least for a few hours. However, it does not stay there.

The action spreads to the streets, and deliberately harms the temples of consumption and the System’s key points. The goal is liberating individuals who spend their days under supervision and store unhappiness at night while “watching” other people’s lives, making them feel alive by peculiar experiences up to and including death! Yet it is only after you have lost everything that you are free to do anything. Fight Club represents that kind of freedom.

These relief scenes that are easily transformed into purification ceremonies, as well as the “liberating actions” thesis, evolved into a hegemony that even refuses the identities of its members. The fact that Tyler’s tyranny is a bad replica of the “great corrupt System” is accentuated by Fincher’s ingenious irony.

Let me tell you about Tyler. He had a plan. They trusted him. Tyler said that whatever they own end up owning them. The difference between the goals of the director and the characters becomes apparent. Moreover, Fincher fictionalizes group therapy and the modern psychiatry behind it as a “world of escapism.” The plump man in a group therapy session, a method peculiar to modern society, symbolizes modern times, which advises chemicals for every happiness and ideal.

Fight Club is an inexplicable movie… According to one reviewer: “Even if it was not such an effective satire, it is worth seeing just for its astonishing visual style.”1 It is a dark movie that can be viewed from many angles: revolutionary violence to social personality disorders, the relation between men who see themselves as the “waste of the world” and women who “raise them,” and individual-group identification.

However, I assume it probably will reach the generation that grew up at the “wrong time.” It will occupy a bright place in cinema’s scale, and will be talked about just like Seven, with its cast, story, surprises, and astounding camera. Fight Club is one of 1999’s best films. However, remember the warning: “Restricted: Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.”

Footnotes

1. Michael Skeet, “Fight Club: An effective, incisive movie.” See: http://infoculture. cbc.ca/archives/filmtv/filmtv_10191999_ fightclub.phtml

References

• Aksiyon, 263 (December 1999).
• http://www.foxmovies.com/fightclub/
• http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hV&id=1800018964&cf=info
• http://infoculture.cbc.ca/archives/filmtv/filmtv_10191999_fightclub.phtml

We live in the darkest of nights until they appear on our horizon with radiant faces promising the breaking of dawn. Once they have appeared on our horizon, this land of the wretched and the miserable, resembling a gloomy graveyard, will begin to be cheered by flowers of every kind. If our hopes are not blighted by a poisonous wind, this land, changing into a flower-garden through the reviving water that generation brings, will be a place of happiness and spiritual recreation’ for all the world’s people, a place of peace, harmony and serenity. The world of the future will be so enlightened by their light that the moon and the sun will be dim in comparison. In their enlightened ethos, the universe will be studied as a meaningful book and the music of brotherhood will be played everywhere. Art and literature will be refined of coarseness and vulgarities of all kinds and find their practitioners.

This world will indeed be built anew when they sound the note of revival, and those who fell into a kind of winter sleep will wake up. The music of despair composed by Satan and played by some indolent persons will stop; people will be exhilarated with melodies of hope and activity which they compose and play.

The awaited generation are successors to the mission of the master of the Prophets, and therefore have inherited the loyalty and faithfulness of Adam, the resolve and steadfastness of Noah, the devotion and gentleness of Abraham, the valour and dynamism of Moses, the forbearance and compassion of Jesus. When found together in a group, these qualities are such a great source of power that those who have them will inevitably seize the ‘reins’ of the world, provided they remain loyal to the covenant God has made with them.

The world is to be saved by that ‘golden’ generation who represent the Divine Mercy, from all the disasters, intellectual, spiritual, social and political, with which it has long been afflicted. The world will come back, through their efforts, to its ‘primordial’ pattern, on which God created it, and be purified of all kinds of deviation and ignorance, so that people may rise to ‘the highest of the high’ on the ladder of belief, knowledge and love, supported against the heavens by the Divine Message.

Humankind have never been so wretched as they are today. They have lost all their values: the ‘table of art and literature is vandalized’ by drunks; thought is capital wasted in the hands of people suffering from intellectual poverty; science is a plaything of materialism; and the products of science are tools used in the name of unbelief. Amid such disorder and bewilderment, the people neither know their destination in the world nor the direction to follow to reach that destination.

In order to awaken the people and guide them to the truth, the awaited generation those young people who implant hope in our hearts, enlighten our minds and quicken our souls, will suffer with the sufferings of humankind and ‘water’ all the ‘barren lands’ with the tears they shed over centuries-old miseries. They will visit every corner of the world, leaving no-one not called upon, and pour out their reviving inspirations into the souls of the dumb-struck people. Having so long awaited those holy ones, sound-minded, saintly and trustworthy, who have dedicated themselves to humankind, the people will at last feel able to wing their way into the depths of the heavens and reach eternity.

O long-awaited generation. Rise, for the love of the Creator to your sacred task, and replace the darkness choking us with the light of your love, hope and nobility! Rise and force back the `monsters` of the age to their dens! Even if the world unites against you in the form of a terrible bomb; even if they upset your plans and systems; even if they make concerted attacks upon you from all sides, you will never quake; rather, with undiminished hope, you will continue to pave the way for the happy future. You will, like the Prophet Solomon, ride the winds and bring rain to the barren lands in order to change them into flower gardens. You will put an end to injustice all over the world and run to the aid of the oppressed; be so forbearing towards people that there wil1 be no soul you have not embraced, no vengeance or rancour you have not removed.

O you who have been waiting for centuries; look! Darkness is disappearing from your horizon and different melodies are being heard from beyond it. Those melodies, reaching us in the early hours of the ‘morning’ will spread throughout the world in the coming days. If you suspect that this is ‘false dawn’-though it is not really-do not be grieved as a false dawn promises the ‘true dawn’.

Rejoice and sing the praises of the happy future! Let your souls overflow with the glad-tidings of that future, and let your eyes be filled with tears of happiness! I hope that your centuries-old longings are about to come to an end, and you are at the mysterious door opening to a spiritual world. Now you should bow before your Lord humbly, acknowledging your innate powerlessness, then set out for eternity with love, zeal and energy, so that you may deserve His help and exhilarating company during your journey, and watch the beauties displayed by Him.

When you reach, in such spirituality, the door of the Eternal World, the angels will welcome you, saying, ‘Peace be upon you! Well have you done! Enter you here, to dwell therein forever!’ You will respond to this welcome with gratitude and say: ‘Praise be to God, who has truly fulfilled His promise to us, and given us the earth to inherit, and that we may dwell in Paradise wherever we desire.!

In Islam, asking questions is considered a legal obligation where knowledge of the obligatory duties is the issue; and it is, correspondingly, considered a virtue in the case of knowledge of the supererogatory observances. It is encouraged in the Qur’an which orders us to: Ask those who recite the Book before you (Yunus, O: 94), and Ask the people of remembrance if you do not know; with the clear signs and the Scriptures. (al-Nahl 16.43-44). The Messenger, upon him be peace, said: ‘A good question is half of knowledge’. The Companions of the Prophet and the generation that followed them encouraged those around them to ask as many questions as possible. The jurist and ascetic, Sufyan al-Thawri would leave any town where its people did not ask him questions. He would say, ‘This is a town where knowledge dies.’ Al-Shibli, the great scholar of Baghdad, if no question was put to him in his teaching circle would recite: And the word shall fall upon them because of their wrongdoing; they do not speak (al-Nahl, 27.85).

I was once fortunate enough to attend a teaching session where many questions were put to Fethullah Gulen. Lawyers asked him about certain legal practices in the light of Islam. Doctors asked him about foetal development as described in the Qur’an. Since that day, I have been waiting for the publication of this book. It has answered many questions put to me by Muslims who are keen to practise their religion hut still cannot address certain controversial issues. A good example of this is ‘Why did God not endow his servants equally? Why did he create some of them blind, disabled or afflicted in other ways?’

His answer begins with a statement of his own certainty. God is Sovereign. He is the Lord of earthly and spiritual dominions. He wills and creates whatever in them and however He pleases. After quoting the relevant verses, he does what very few scholars are able to do. He explains in simple terms our relationship with the Creator. ‘It is God who created every cell of every tissue of every thing and the whole of inanimate creation besides. It is God who bestows our human nature upon us. We have given nothing to God but He has given us everything without our deserving it. What claim or right have we therefore over anything’?’ With this approach, he makes the reader think. If we have given nothing to God, how can we impute injustice to Him. Injustice comes from not giving what is due. Is it right for the person who has been given a body with one arm to complain about not being given a second’? He makes the reader think about his or her own situation. There are creatures around us who are in some ways inferior or superior, yet we would not want to change places with them. He inspires gratefulness.

Fethullah Gulen looks, in this question and in many others, beyond the simple wording. He often sees a deeper disturbance in the questioner. He identifies, in this particular question, a misunderstanding of or unwillingness to accept the notion of Divine Providence. He explains:

God may deprive an individual of something he or she values, but grant that individual a manifold return for that loss in the Hereafter. By means of that loss, God makes you feel your need, your powerlessness, your poverty in relation to Him. In this way, He makes you turn to Him with a weightier sincerity, a fuller heart, and so makes you worthier of His Blessing and Favour. Thus, your apparent loss is in reality a gain. This is comparable to death in the way of God or martyrdom for which the return is heaven.

The martyr may he dismembered but that would not mean a loss in relation to what he has gained. This is the same for most people who suffer losses or disabilities. Most of them do not feel rejected and cast down. A few may stray from their faith, but many have their faith strengthened by these ‘misfortunes’. He warns those who may put such questions that ‘it is not correct to pretend to an exaggerated, indeed false, sympathy with the disabled as a pretext for disbelief. Far better is it, even essential, that an ardent yearning for eternal life be aroused in such people, for then they are worthy for an immense reward in eternity.’

Fethullah Gulen answers every question in such a reasoned, easy style. As a teacher, I have found this book both spiritually uplifting and practical in answering real questions put to me by enquiring minds. It is a great key to great knowledge.

The young, having been deprived of all traditional values, were crushed by the pressures of materialism. They showed no signs of purity or profundity of mind, nor depth of feeling, nor spirituality. Such a thing was not at all unexpected given that the experience and traditions cultivated over a thousand years had been sacrificed to an adulterated, cosmopolitan culture.

The most painful and heart-rending aspect of the situation is that the intelligentsia, those who were expected to guide the community, readily adapted to the new low standards. It is difficult for us to comprehend how they could prefer an adulterated culture to the traditional one so subtly formed over the centuries.

In just such conditions our young confronted the problems of coming to age! They were under great pressures resulting from the neglect of centuries. Their bewildered community had left the traditional ways, and a new force had appeared, but one that, not having suffered pangs of birth, was immature. The poor youth could not decide whom to foIlow. And how could they decide, since they had never been given good examples, and had only seen those who fled from themselves in one way or another.

In a society going astray, which had suffered a serious reverse, some went so far as to consider all ideas and traditions that had elevated their ancestors into a great nation as exhausted values. If only the young who were deprived of all the finer feelings had been able to understand what was happening around them!

That being the situation, what we should do is to uplift a generation who has been turned from their origins, and to inject new life into them.

We have no right merely to complain about them or to criticize them for not reading or thinking. They were until very recently given no help at all, although they would have welcomed such help. We may not deny that some of them show a real desire to do serious researches or to learn. Others express that hunger by reading piles of newspapers or listening to the radio or watching television for hours–to kill time or satisfy trivial desires. Also, although some of them gather around preachers to receive what there is to be received, we have, alas, been unable so far to give them anything worthwhile.

When have we guided the young to do the good and to choose the right? When have we been able to teach them to be virtuous? Do we have the ability to speak to them about a message given to make them think, study and reason? Can we be sure of the altruism of those who claim to lead and guide them to higher levels? How many men are there of stature and high standing that we can look up to, men who have renounced material and spiritual pleasures? They were waiting for a ‘Hercules’ who could say ‘I have known nothing of worldly pleasures in my life of over eighty years’, who would not change his life-style until death. We need to find soldiers of Allah who will take on the sufferings of their generation without even thinking of the pleasures of paradise. Alas, we have yet to find guides who would even give up worldly pleasures for the sake of young.

It is true that we have not been able to help the young. We have not been able to find proper schools for them, nor to teach them the right way to integrate with the universe. They have been ground down by the teeth of events and, inevitably, have stood up in rebellion against those who put them in their state of wretchedness.

As in the picture showing a beheaded Goliath, they stand before those who took away their heads, demanding only the return of their souls. For them, to regain what they have lost is the most important thing.

Who will assume the heavy responsibility of returning to them what they have lost? The home? The society or its educational institutions? Under present circumstances none of these are up to the task, albeit certain individuals deserve to be encouraged. If we fail to provide facilities for the young to enable them to build their own world in accordance with the conditions of the real world, our failure will lead on to their destruction. The present state, notably of our educational institutions, is by no means promising. Neither our system of education, which has been degenerating little by little for centuries, nor our homes which are no more than kitchens and bedrooms, nor the society in general, which has been in chaos, hold out much promise for the young.

The only way out is to develop a new understanding of science and to stimulate determination based on morality and insight, together with the cultivation of godliness. The new generation must be guided by a unity of mind, and take the true path in life, and they must regain their original, true identity. Besides, we must realize that we can only enable the young to reach such heights, and so save them from idleness and indifference, by inspiring them with idealism; by urging them to renounce merry-making in favour of the trials of ‘becoming’; by turning them away from self-indulgence and towards a love of others and of the homeland.

We salute the fortunate ones who will shoulder so heavy a responsibility.