Humans take up residence in all kinds of environments ranging from sprawling metropolises to some of the most remote corners of the globe that are largely devoid of our modern luxuries. Oftentimes though, we emigrate to other societies for a variety of reasons; curiosity, financial profit, for the sake of adventure, service, to spread one’s beliefs, or to learn about others. Richard Nelson, a white man that taught in one of Los Angeles’ toughest African American schools, is one of those people that left his home behind to learn more about himself and overcome his subconscious prejudices. His article “My White Experience in the Black Community” is an emotional and gripping memoir that can help all of us open our hearts to others.

In worst case scenarios, people flee from their homes to avoid persecution, enmity, exclusion, or even ethnic cleansing. Many Turks have had to flee their home country of Turkey, often via illegal and unsafe practices, with the hope of escaping a brutal dictatorship that no one wanted them to call Turkey their home. Zain Hussain recounts his emotional and life changing encounter with Turkish refugees on his volunteer trip to Greece.

Some of Earth’s most beautiful islands and oceans are home for other creatures, such as Pacific Golden Plovers and Loggerhead Sea Turtles. Despite lacking free will or methodology, they utilize a variety of complex systems to consistently find their way home even if it means travelling hundreds of miles across giant swaths of lands or water. These natural phenomena are astounding and still perplex scientists to this day.

Even the most microscopic creatures find homes for themselves, whether in our bodies or in the bodies of other animals. One such creature, though we would definitely consider it not welcome in our systems, is the trypanosome, a lethal parasite that is a scourge across much of Africa. Such parasites travel through a variety of hosts including worms, eggs, snails, birds, and flies to eventually end up within our bloodstreams.

Sight is one of the most miraculous things for which we can never be thankful enough. Our eyes serve as windows connecting our inner life with the outer world. In “Retina the Mind-Boggler,” Dr. Serranur explains the intricacies of the eye’s physiology. Despite many theories and scientific advances, we still don’t completely know how sight works. Scientists do know that the retina plays a crucial role in this very complex structure – so important, in fact, not every eye surgeon dares touch it.

Stem cell research has expanded our understanding of biology and medicine to once-unimaginable levels. Among the treatments for which the initial findings are promising are paralysis, Parkinson’s, diabetes, and even blindness. Despite these groundbreaking discoveries, many are not sure about how far we should go in genetic programming. Dr. Yorulmaz elaborates on this dilemma in “Embryonic Stem Cells.”

The question of how to handle refugees has been a critical issue throughout human history. Despite many regulations, international legal conventions, and technological progress, refugees still pose intractable questions to governments around the world. Last summer, when Dr. Sophia Pandya was visiting Greece to observe the situation of refugees there, the country suffered one of the deadliest wildfires of the twenty-first century, in which a hundred people died and more than a thousand buildings were destroyed. Greece has been the crossroads for many refugees, including, yes, many Turkish citizens, especially in the last few years. The Erdoğan regime’s clampdown on the Hizmet Movement and many others who oppose his autocracy has forced tens of thousands of Turkish citizens to flee their homes and seek asylum in Europe, the US, and elsewhere. Hundreds of thousands of people have been detained in these purges; thousands more are waiting their turn, as their freedom to travel has been illegally curtailed by the Turkish government. What is their crime? Association with a group that opposes autocracy and supports democracy. For many fleeing injustice, Greece has become the last chance for freedom. What Dr. Pandya saw there was representative of what the Hizmet Movement has been doing for decades: Turkish refugees reached out to victims of the wildfires and distributed food and other aid. This was their way of responding to the hospitality of Greek people, who opened their homes to refugees when, as described in this issue’s lead article, they were forced to flee “dark-spirited night demons who were overwhelmed by hatred, rancor, and enmity, and dejected souls growling with wrath.”

Indeed, not only the dizzying development of modern technology our contemporary age rush towards the luxurious and prosperous life that is promised, toppling our inherited values; in addition, with a determined sense of destruction – which can be more suitably called “social delirium” – and with a sense of disloyalty, a manifest war is waged against our collective system of belief, traditions, customs, cultural and religious dynamics, a system that has been passed down to us from a glorious past. In so doing, they divorce the soul of our society from God and His Messenger, and from its history as well; compelling us to live through years of separation, one after another. In the meantime, a great many inept souls in an impetuous rush for identity bustle from one delirium to another, while many others crumble into the void for the sake of a pure nothing. During this term it was essentially the destiny of our society to spend each day in search for a new direction, each morning turning towards a new niche. Masses, in a confusion of tides between taboos, rushed hither and thither spending their lives chasing vanities, while months and years became wasted and spilt into nothingness. In the meantime, that traditional holy privacy of the family has been smashed into pieces for the sake of a fantasy and our homes have virtually been transformed into arenas of clashing contrarieties. Our homes, which are softer and warmer than the birds’ nests, have been rendered into inns and hotel rooms for short stopovers and swift migrations. Those who imagined living in these unfortunate shelters are always longing for genuine and permanent happiness; they effervesce with the pleasures of ephemeral amusements and lead their lives as the victims of their bodies, serving a life-sentence in the narrow confines of corporeality with feeble willpowers, unbelieving hearts, starving souls, bleak horizons, and shaken hopes.

Those who became suitors for alien unlawful qualities instead of adopting positive aspects in terms of science and technology, those who have trampled upon their own ethical values, through the mendacity of nothingness within abundance have displayed a different form of mendicancy at each doorstep, disappearing into the deadly whirlpools of their sad lot, having become enslaved to their soulless ambitions. It all happened at the same time, when they dreamt of ruling the entire world in a very near future, setting up interstellar travel agencies, solving the secrets of existence, elongating the lifespan of humankind with unnamed inventions, even providing a cure for death, attaining the absolute satisfaction after overcoming the pangs of their passions, and bringing in new profundities to the current amusements and pleasures of the life they lead. Nowadays there are a myriad of people who are intoxicated by the enchantment of these false dreams and this plenitude, closing their eyes tightly to the sun of reality, striving to lead a life in the candlelight they kindled within their delusion. However, neither is it so easy to base life upon whims and illusions, nor is this extremely long journey that awaits humankind so trivial as to be weathered with a false candle. God knows that in a very near future, when the strings of their hopes have become completely unraveled through an unknown cause, their expectations will scatter all around like beads from a rosary, and all along the itinerary everything will be invaded by unexpected things, distances will be reversed, dreams will collapse, all whims and illusions will be blocked under ruins and then, when neither any of those pretentious inventions or those pompous philosophies nor those rose-colored hopes will remain, they will not remain equal to commemorative archaic artifacts exhibited in the museums.

I wonder if we should pity, scold, or sit down and weep for the condition of these unfortunate ones who have been rendered lonely between existence and non-existence, who cannot receive remitting news from any aspect of existence, having been distracted and delayed by alienation and separation at a certain junction that is intersected by so many paths.

Contrary to these unfortunate ones whose hearts are filled with fog and smoke, whose willpowers have been paralyzed by various contrarieties and those who think keeping on walking around the whirlpools of death is walking towards life, in the same arena are the souls whose eyes of the heart watch the beyond, whose emotions froth and bubble with the ecstasy of turning towards the Truth (Haqq); their hands are opened up to God with the entire treasures of their bosoms and souls, like rain-laden clouds, lying in wait for breezes into which they will pour themselves, the feeling of chastity in their hearts is apparent in all the lines on their faces; respect for humankind and the feeling of freedom is the most prominent color of their attitude; their manners and expressions are enchanting to the extent of arousing the feeling of eternity in each heart; every behavior is a discourse reflecting their relation with the Truth sans letters or words; their human relations are extremely warm and sincere, like that of spiritual beings; their homes, schools, and garrisons are virtually like temples, while their temples are a sacred fountain serving the river of Paradise (kawthar) through their most profound mysterious Divine nature – souls busy in waiting.

These souls, with bowls of offerings in their hands, in the excitement of awaiting the turning of pure consciences towards themselves as a means of opportunity, without indulging in expectation of return, support and influence, roam above the heads of everyone, like the clouds; pouring down as rain and flowing everywhere; cracking open like the soil and opening their bosoms to the sprouts, sometimes above heads, sometimes under the feet, forgetting to live for their own behalf, they are busy with the passion of letting live while they roam around, blowing resurrection everywhere. Indeed, the world they will carve and shape and the historical inheritance they will bequeath to future generations will bring smiles to the faces of both this society and future generations. Such a formation, which will eternalize our love and fervor with a fresh revival and ignite our willpowers in the name of constructing the future, will be the final fruit of the effervescing love that is like gushing springs, the exhilaration of worship abreast with the pleasures of Paradise and the determination, hope, and faith that will voice our existence with the songs of eternity, the launch-pad and quay of sailing to infinity.

In short, just as there are lights descending upon us continuously, the foul-smelling smoke is rising at the same time. What can one say about this as the Divine decree has always occurred in this way – we pray it does not last long – but from this time onward it seems to continue in the same.

Everything flows; water, history, stars, men and thought;
Double are the troughs; radiance flows from one, and filth from the other.
Bunched together in the same stream are large and small, and the universe;
Watch that cloud rising, just out of spite for descending water!
Necip Fazil

In my view, with its wonderful people, welcoming nature, and geographical features, this realm is no different than a hallway to the heavens. Once upon a time in its golden age this realm used to be perceived as a trajectory to the highest gardens of Paradise, and its value was worth the entire world. In those days, travelers from faraway lands would visit this realm, and once they sipped its dazzling flavor and felt inside the heavenliness in its aura their spirits were raised, and on departure they comforted their hearts with a promise of a revisit.

The inhabitants of this realm were more intimately connected with physical phenomena than we are today; they were in close embrace with all existence, and were like brothers and sisters to nature. Their homes, villages, and towns were in harmony with nature from all aspects; they were spacious and heart-expanding, and their surroundings were like a botanic garden. With their celestial horizons, crystal-clear sentiments, and otherworldly spirits these homes, villages, and towns made people living there feel as if Paradise was only one step away. This was why people considered their graves an important station on this journey of a single step. They decorated their cemeteries with the colors and patterns of their angelic horizons, for they believed the cemetery was the first point of arrival in the Afterlife. They transformed this splendid area, which appears horrific to the materialistic mind’s eye, into a pleasant resort.

When we were ourselves, our homes, streets, and walkways exchanged warm glances with their inhabitants; their demeanor was so meaningful that those who could observe them from the angle of their spirit could feel as if these places were intoning things that were unique to our realm. Almost everyone in this realm was intoxicated with a kind of music originating in their heart and refined in their beliefs, dreams, and subconscious. Every moment thrilled them with a different breeze of meanings and they were overjoyed.

There were occasional occurrences of frustration and sorrow, but they did not last for long. Such moments were immediately followed by the victory of this realm’s unique character, texture, and ever-enchanting nature that would overcome all the tumult in people’s conscience and convert the darkest autumns into the brightest springs. Our days and nights were always cordial, our months and years were all resplendent.

Every day started with a new beauty as the cries of spring were heard everywhere; the morning breeze brought the scent of Prophet Joseph’s shirt and rivers overflowed from the life-giving spring of Prophet Job . . . a kind of joy from the afterlife was being tasted in this realm. As the days were illumined with the rays from the sun, so were our hearts lit with the light from beyond the heavens. Like sunflowers, the eyes of the heart were vigilant for this light, our souls lived on a schedule adjusted according to the prayer times-the propitious times of the day-and hearts would beat with its excitement. Each portion of the day would then become like a new festival; each week, month, and year would come and pass in unique colors, caressing the heads of these fortunate people and reminding them every season that they were strolling on the walkways of Paradise. Every morning in the lands of this privileged community was like a kind of Resurrection; every noon rose with a new touch of heat; a cool breeze was felt everywhere in the afternoon; the music of silence was heard in the depths of the heart every evening . . . the entire day offered a feast of scenery through its windows opened to the beyond. Enchanted by this profundity and color, even the ones with hearts harder than rocks would soften like silk.

The generations of those days were blessed with glowing hearts and an affectionate setting. Unyielding security and peace ruled everywhere. Mobs, anarchy, tyranny, deep state, unsolved murders . . . these crimes that we experience so much today were unknown to those generations. They were foreign words, for order, harmony, justice, and mercy prevailed in their realm.

Ambition, jealousy, ill-gotten gains, illegal hoards, bribery, nepotism, swindling, cheating, embezzlement . . . these crimes were out of the question. Indeed, some of them only existed in the dictionary, for the auspicious people of those days were exceptionally contented with what they possessed, stayed away from what was forbidden, and fixed on what was lawful, and they pursued a life in justice.

Occurrences of enmity, feelings of murder and revenge, mischief and corrupt plots, passion for authority were the rarest things, for the people’s mindset was directed towards a serious dialogue effort, a philosophy of tolerance, an ethics based on love and compassion.

Autocratic rule was regarded as tyranny from ancient times; for them, despots were no different than pharaohs and were mentioned with imprecations; defaming and classifying others were works of despicable ones. People maintained a life in humility, munificence, and generosity-they acted on forgiveness and courage, breathed with sacrifice and sincerity.

In that bright era, alcoholism, drug abuse, smuggling were never as frequently committed as today. You would not see modern problems like “homeless children” or “addictions to various substances” even as entries in dictionaries. For people then behaved with their hearts, spirits, and minds in control; there were people who made intellectual efforts, sincere hearts that beat for their country and humankind.

They were the prototype people of virtue, and in their abode neither filthy affairs such as those listed above nor corruptions like sinfulness, prostitution, impertinence, and bohemian lifestyles that bring disgrace on being human, could exist. Above all, avoiding sin, and maintaining chastity, virtue, divine ethics, and accountability were their most distinct attributes and natural state of being. They were on a straight track with a clear road map in their hands; they were blessed with a humane profundity that prepared them to walk on such a broad road. They lived straight, walked straight, and became a blissful memory for the generations to come. I wonder where we are on this road.

Despite the improvements, increased age, in general, coincides with an increased incidence of both mental and physical illness. This is made worse by a weakening of social contacts and a reduction of income. Thus increasing age is also characterized by a dramatic increase in the use of health and social services. The older the person, the more likely he or she is to be admitted to hospital and the longer the stay.

The increasing demands on the hospital service have not been met by an increase in the total number of hospital beds. Medical and surgical treatments previously thought to require a three- or four-week stay in hospital are treated within a week or ten days. Also more work is now undertaken in the outpatient department on a day-care basis without overnight stay. Many medical cases previously requiring hospital care are now dealt with by the family doctor with the patient at home.

The whole concept of care has changed dramatically in recent years, and this has affected the caring approach in hospitals, residential homes and in the community. In the past, caring involved an active carer looking after a passive patient. Although it seemed quite natural to look after the sick and disabled in this way, the process produced too much dependence of the patient or client on the carer. The modern approach in health and social services is a process of enabling. Carers enable patients (or clients) to do as much as they can for themselves. This approach reduces dependence and keeps down the total level of care required.

The idea is that illness is best treated at home, if possible. The new legislation on community care, which took effect on the 1st April 1993, is based on this principle. Pain is a burden on oneself, and being removed from home and family to the strange environment of a hospital ward adds to the stress. This is especially so for the very young and the very old.

However, not all homes are the most satisfactory places in which to be ill. Many lack the basic amenities of hot and cold water, indoor lavatory, and satisfactory heating. Also there may be no relative or friend to do the caring,-to prepare food, ensure and maintain good standards of hygiene, and to offer companionship. Often the problems can be overcome to a certain extent by the use of voluntary help from religious groups and the agencies of the Health Service and local authority (e.g. community nurses, home helps, and ‘meals on wheels’).

At present only about 6% of all elderly people are in institutional care of some sort (hospitals, residential homes, and private nursing homes). Even this small percentage imposes very heavy burdens on these institutions; present resources are simply not enough to meet even a small increase in numbers. There are waiting lists for most institutions caring for the elderly.

A further 12% of the elderly are enabled to manage in their own homes, with the help of the care agencies already mentioned. The new community care programme strongly encourages such help in the home. Only a reduction in the proportion of very old people in the total population and a healthier elderly population would result in some easing of the problem.

Care on a self help / family / neighbourhood basis backed up by the provisions of the health and social services appears to deliver good results. When husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, friends and neighbours, are involved together in the process of caring for the elderly, a very good sense of community develops. Children in particular have a special responsibility towards their parents. God says in the Qur’an:

Your lord has decreed that you worship none but Him, and that you be kind to parents, whether one or both of them attain old age in your life, say not to them a word of contempt, nor repel them, but address them in terms of honour. And, out of kindness, lower to them the wing of humility and say: ‘My lord! bestow on them Your mercy even as they cherished me in childhood.’ (al-Isra,17.23-4)

26% of elderly people have no children at all and so are especially vulnerable in times of crisis. In other cases the children may exist but are so far away as to be unable to help. Regular help to the elderly is best given by relatives, neighbours, and friends-shopping, housework, house maintenance, gardening and social visits. However, statutory and voluntary services are still required to take over-or at least plug the gaps-if the task proves to be too great for the community. It is, of course, best for society if people learn to care for one another in their own homes.