Though less known than drug addictions, status addiction can cause serious harm to individuals and society.

One of the essential mistakes some people who attain a certain status in our time make is their failure to see how transitory worldly positions are; they act as if this world is permanent. Why do some people’s characters change when they are promoted to a certain position? Why do some character flaws surface after gaining a certain status? It is known that the human carnal soul has different forms of weakness, and is inclined to develop certain forms of worldly addictions, and love of status is one of them. When a person comes to a high position, he or she often gains a different mood with the new power and means they’ve obtained. Sometimes, this means maintaining one’s internal balance – and sometimes it means losing that balance. The latter situation might stem from negative feelings that had, until then, been suppressed.

Some people develop an addiction to substances that stimulate their sense of reward. In time, psychological addiction is accompanied by the biological addiction, and the dose demanded for satisfaction increases. If it is not achieved, feelings of deprivation can arise, and from this, crises surface. . Consequently, the person becomes totally addicted. Addiction for status develops in the same pattern. The only difference is that what causes the addiction is not a chemical substance, but the status itself.

The person is virtually drugged with the effects of power and the opportunities in hand, along with the respect and interest shown by others. Therefore, one does not only fear losing the opportunities, but also this respect and interest. The person does whatever one can in order to make things continue as they are. Similar to a drug addict who resorts to illegal means for the sake of finding drugs, the person will use any means to retain power. What matters is only the continuity of the position and the status possessed.

After one chair, the status-addict looks for the next chair like a drug addict craving drugs. As the body develops a tolerance for narcotic substances, and the person seeks higher doses, the status-addict looks for an increase in interest and respect from others. The least degree of indifference or being normal treatment makes the status-lover lose their temper. For this reason, he does not like to keep around those who fail to show excessive respect and who make occasional warnings about his behavior. He continually looks for people to behave like servants at his beck and call. In the end, the status-lover will be surrounded by flatterers instead of sound advisers, who might bring him to his senses. This only adds to his pleasure more, as he needs higher doses for satisfaction.

People with good qualifications, whom appear to be potential rivals, evoke a great disturbance in status-addicts. Such individuals are quickly destroyed, before they can prove themselves. Therefore, both the addict’s position is retained and the ones who might discover their mistakes are handled. Status-addicts sometimes make unjust decisions and enforce them for the sake of intimidation. He is the most successful and rightful person, because his own potential and intelligence come before everything. Consultation and meetings are routine tasks to let pass. The status-addict does not accept anybody’s opinion but his own, does not listen to different ideas, and uses meetings as shows of power to satisfy his ego. After some time, this dizzying mood causes serious mistakes. However, as nobody to bring them to their senses remains, the consequences are grim.

The treatment process for status-addicts requires balancing the heart and mind, and also activating the spiritual dynamics. Otherwise, the person totally goes astray, both materially and spiritually. The egotistic behavior of the status-addict harms the addict, first of all, and also harms those around them.

All worldly positions are temporary, and being aware of this might be helpful in treating status-addiction. God Almighty will call people to account for all of the blessings He gave. There are other people who are more talented, or who have better capacities, than we do. Graveyards are full of people who once assumed that everything depended on them. When one is dismissed from a certain position, the extremeness of that person’s reaction is in direct proportion with the degree of addiction. All that matters here is a person’s continuing one’s relation with God, not upsetting the balance of the heart, not forgetting that this world is temporary, and giving this world and the next as much value as they deserve.

Homo economicus

Pioneered by Adam Smith, one of the founders of capitalism, the idea of homo-economicus is used as a base to construct theories on consumption and investment. In his famous book The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith emphasizes the importance of self interest in human behaviors and describes the self-interest as the key driver of social prosperity. An economic agent has been constructed as a representative one which typifies the economic behavior of a typical person in the society and it is assumed that this agent systematically behaves rationally when deciding on any issue, especially the economic issues. If we define rationality, from the economics standpoint, as an act that aims for the maximum possible degree of acquirements with given limited resources, this constructed agent will be rational by behaving in favor of his/her own self-interest, hence he/she will always be optimizing.

Are we really rational?

In fact, the core belief in the idea of homo-economicus that homo-sapiens, the wise man, acts selfishly is a realistic assumption as self-interest is an important part of the innate human nature and an important intrinsic motive. We always want the best for ourselves and this motive is not exactly greed, but an intrinsic motivation to behave on one’s interest. But, it is also true that not everyone is rational in the society and not all behaviors are considered rational in an economic sense. To test whether the individuals make rational choices or not, Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky conducted numerous experiments to test the human rationality and they reached this conclusion that human behaviors are not as rational as predicted by the homo-economicus assumption, instead they found that depending on how the question is framed or how things are measured people can make different choices. Also, they observed that not all behaviors are utility maximizing, sometimes people act altruistically, and sometimes people have the tendency to stay in the status quo. An interesting result of their experiment is that, when people make decisions, they emotionally value losses twice as much as they value an equivalent gain. In an experiment, they ask the subjects the following question:

Would you accept this gamble?
– 50% chance to win $150
– 50% chance to lose $100

They realized that, even though the expected value of gain in the above gamble (50% x $150= $75) is higher than the expected value of loss (50% x $100= $50), there are fewer takers of the gamble. Instead of showing their other experiment results, we can easily look at some of the marketing tricks to have an idea about the irrational choices we make in our daily life.
In a marketing strategy called Decoy marketing, marketers observe a boost in their sales of an expensive offer when they offer a similar item that is inferior in quality but about the same price of the expensive item. In his book Predictably Irrational Don Areily conducts an experiment using magazine subscription offers where subjects were offered two alternative subscription choices to The Economist magazine, one print only subscription (the inferior option which serves to make the combined offer look like a better value) and one internet and print subscription and they observe huge jump in sales due to the decoying effect.

In another experiment in Predictably Irrational, the author shows that people would walk 15 minutes to save $7 on an $18 item but wouldn’t take the same 15-minute trip to save the same amount on a $455 item. In fact, it is the same amount of savings, and a rational person is expected to behave consistently at each case.

The current financial turmoil is a typical example for how people can make irrational decisions. Currently, the world is experiencing a catastrophic financial and economic meltdown started at the subprime mortgage markets in United States and spread out to other financial markets. Some people claim that the irrational behavior of sophisticated investors was the root cause of the recent meltdown. To get a better understanding of the issue, we need to look at the balance of greed and fear in the investors’ behavior. While greed leads to overconfidence in the economy and excessive risk taking, the fear in the market leads to inactivity in the market and excessive aversion to risk. When investors make a decision about whether buying a stock, bond or any sophisticated security, they are expected to evaluate the expected reward versus the risk of possible expected loss. As predicted in Kahneman and Tversky study, the wisdom in the Wall Street is that “Fear always trumps greed.” Neuroscientists describe the situation when greed dominates the fear as a “moral meltdown,” and this is the situation where human brain loses control of reward and loss comparison and completely ignores risks. Take the trading in collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) which was perceived as one of major problems that leads to the recent financial crises. Since the security was rated excellent by the rating agencies and all losses were insured by AIG insurance company, the investors observed too much reward opportunities while no weight was given to the risk of a collapse in the market. That is the point when greed dominates fear in the market and fear fails to balance greed in the normal investor’s brain. In the aftermath of the financial collapse, what we see right now is just the opposite of what was the case in the buildup of the financial bubble. Now, both investors and bankers are in a mode of excessive fear where negative news significantly decrease the stock prices and instead of providing credit to the markets, investors sit on a huge pile of cash.

If the excessive greed and overconfidence in the economy results in catastrophic events, should we ask investors to be less greedy? According to the Adam Smith, all humans have sympathy for the rich and famous. We can even find this in Holy Scriptures as well. There is always a sympathy for, and envy of, the rich. Hence, asking people to act against their innate nature may not be a wise decision but we should also keep in mind that this inherent human tendency can lead to moral corruption in the society. What we need is the balance of fear and greed in our behaviors and if one dominates the other, there will be misery for the whole.

Devrim Bulut holds a PhD degree in economics. Having taught at several universities in the United States for the last 5 years, he conducts research on market irrationality.

What is microfinance?

As defined by the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), microfinance is “the supply of loans, savings, and other basic financial services to the poor.”¹ Muhammad Yunus provides a much more detailed definition of microfinance to ensure its distinction from other kinds of credit. He gives the goal of microfinance credit as “creating self-employment for income-generating activities and housing for the poor, as opposed to consumption.”² Microfinance, as a concept, was first introduced in the late 1970s by Yunus in Bangladesh through Grameen Bank. To ensure the utilization of the idle capacity of skills among the poor, microfinance credits typically offer tiny loans to individuals ranging from $40–$50 to a couple of thousand dollars. The borrowers are asked to repay the loans within a brief period in order to secure future loans. According to Gary Gardner, worldwide the average microcredit size is $1,026.³ The credits usually come with a fairly high interest rate. At the lower end, we see annual interest rates of 20–30%; at the higher end, the rate can go as high as 60–70% per annum in certain cases.

The need for microfinance

Microfinance addresses, it appears, a moral necessity more than anything else. By empowering the poor through credit extension, this innovative idea of microfinance tackles a serious drawback of the contemporary economic system, that is, the exclusion of the poor from the financial system. The working of modern economies prevents people without assets from securing loans in commercial banks. The rationale is simple; the poor person does not have savings, assets for collateral, or a credit profile. For the lender, the risks associated with the loaned-out credit are disproportionately high in relation to the profit in the ongoing interest rates; the expense of conducting the high-risk financing of businesses run by poor people exceeds the potential returns. Yet, for underutilized or idle economic capacity to be realized, an economic agent needs to assume the risk associated with extending credit to people on low incomes.

Traditionally, poor people have developed informal mechanisms to address their credit needs, such as securing loans from their family networks. Yet, these mechanisms cannot always provide the amount and flexibility needed in dire economic conditions such as an emergency. According to some accounts, there are around 7,000 “microlenders,” or microfinance institutions (MFIs), worldwide reaching out to more than 100 million borrowers.⁴ How did these institutions emerge? The answer is high interest rates. As mentioned above, there are many financial actors lending at rates well above current interest rates because of the higher default risk. Based on this new financing system, new business models developed throughout the world demonstrating that poor people did not necessarily mean risk-prone investment. An interesting aspect of microfinance is the predominance of women as borrowers rather than men. Almost 90% of actual borrowers are women, a fact attributed to the better “repayment performance” of women. This is a deliberate policy on the part of microcredit programs. This reliable repayment performance coupled with women’s tendency to invest the additional income to the benefit of the family⁵ ensures the achievement of several positive outcomes which will be discussed in the following section.

The success of microfinance to date

Microfinancing theory has two broad goals. One of them is the realization of long-term economic development in less developed countries. Investigating and measuring the accomplishment of this goal is beyond the scope of this article; instead, I will focus on the second goal and the level of its achievement in order to evaluate the concept. The second goal, which is improvement in the daily lives of poor people, is also more directly related to the lives of individuals and may give us a better idea about the benefits of microfinancing. If the institution of microfinancing targets poor people and their economic prospects, then we should be able to see tangible evidence of improvement in that area. Proponents of the idea postulate that microfinancing benefits the immediate borrowers economically, but also has wider implications for the household as a whole. The eradication of poverty is one of the celebrated successes of microfinancing at the individual level. According to Littlefield et al., the project has recorded significant improvement in the earnings of microfinancing borrowers as opposed to non-borrowers. For example, in Bolivia two thirds of borrowers experienced an increase in their income. Similarly, in Indonesia the increase in income was about 13% for borrowers and a mere 3% for non-borrowers.6 Various studies demonstrate that among borrowers of microfinance loans about 50% have actually risen above the poverty threshold, an important statistic by any measure.⁷

Another success of the microfinancing program has been the improvement in children’s education. According to the research, education is one of the areas where we can observe the spillover effects of the increased income; extra income is likely to be spent on the education of children. In Bangladesh, the educational achievement of children aged from 11–14 years (whose families took microfinance loans) has doubled to surpass the control group (the children of non-borrowers) by almost 80%. A different study finds that in 1996 the schooling rate among the daughters of borrowers was almost 100% as opposed 60% among the children of non-borrowers; similarly among boys, 81% of the children of microfinancing borrowers went to school as compared to 54% of the rest.⁸ In health care, Littlefield et al. also report noteworthy improvement in immunization, breast-feeding practices, and rehydration therapy for children with diarrhea in countries like Ghana, Bolivia, and Bangladesh.⁹ According to recent literature on economic development, better educational and health care opportunities as part of human development initiatives underlie the new, long-term economic development process. In this regard, it is important to recognize the great potential that microfinance can offer for the future of developing countries.¹⁰

Drawbacks of microfinance

Nonetheless, microfinancing raises important questions with respect to its application and the heavy burden it places on the borrowers. Microfinancing particularly faces two urgent issues undermining its popularity worldwide. The first of these issues concerns microfinance institutions (MFIs). In recent years, MFIs have begun to experience financial difficulties, in particular, high delinquency rates. In contrast to the high repayment rates of the early period of microfinancing, MFIs are having increasing difficulty in sustaining their financial solvency. The early 2000s saw Grameen Bank experiencing serious repayment problems; 19% of its overall loans are one year overdue and about 10% are delinquent as defined by the bank itself. In a similar vein, Nimal Fernando, a consultant for CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), reports liquidity and delinquency problems Asian MFIs faced in the 1990s and 2000s.¹¹ Because of high interest rates, borrowers fail to pay off the principal of the loan, and the accumulating interest. Taking the necessary steps to ensure financial sustainability of MFIs, however, comes with a trade-off; the borrowers will have to confront tighter measures on their loans in the form of higher interest rates, shorter due dates for repayment, or limited uses for the loan.¹²

The second problem facing microfinancing surfaced in the form of increased commercialization. MFIs have increasingly gained a commercial nature with investment banks obtaining a larger share of the microcredit sector. The justification for commercialization of microfinance is that increased capital allows financing to reach a larger pool of poor borrowers, enabling them to engage in a wider spectrum of economic activities. No doubt the increased pool of available funds has contributed to the increase in the number of borrowers in the last decade or so. However, this new interest in microfinancing poses problems in addition to its advantages. The surge in commercialization is in large part due to the potential for high returns in the sector. Higher returns for MFIs come at the expense of the poor borrowers across the world in the form of higher interest rates. This outcome is intimately related to the delinquency rates of MFIs. Higher interest rates imply lower repayment performance and longer repayment terms.¹³ The commercialization of microfinance is exemplified by the recent case of Compartamos, a microfinance institution in Mexico. In the words of Jonathan Lewis, “Compartamos is without question an impressive…bottom line success story, a veritable poster child for commercializing microfinance.”¹⁴ But this focus on the lender’s “bottom line” has not proved to be a guarantee of success or satisfaction for the borrower, as we shall see.

Both of these problems, the lack of financial sustainability of MFIs and the commercialization of microfinancing, point to a serious issue at the very foundation of microfinancing: interest-based credits. As we know too well from the current financial and economic crisis, an uncontrolled interest-based economic system is likely to harm the poor rather than the rich who actually own the financial assets. The major burden of “saving” the economic system falls on the shoulders of lower economic groups. Interest-based microfinancing, seen in this light, has a negative effect on the microfinancing system in two ways. Firstly, borrowers try to catch up with interest payments while at the same time putting in an effort to make the best use of the limited amount of credit. As Businessweek put it, the loans from MFIs rival traditional “pawnshops and loan sharks.”¹⁵ In the case of Compartamos, for example, the effective interest rate paid by the borrowers goes as high as 100% annually. Unable to run their business as expected, borrowers defer payment of their loans, which results in higher interest payments. Particularly in a crisis environment, low business volumes are more likely to cause delays in repayments and increases in interest rates, a vicious cycle harmful for the poor. Under such circumstances, the possibility of added economic value is minimized.

Secondly, the interest-based mechanics of microfinancing, and by association its commercialization, have become an effective mechanism for integrating the poor into the global financial system. “Unbankable” until the 1970s, the poor have now been made de facto captives of the financial system. Although the original idea was to help the poor in ways unexplored so far and to make microfinancing “a tool of nonprofit economic development,”¹⁶ neither of these goals has been realized in the long term because of the heavy interest burden of microfinance formulation. In a slight reformulation, the question of the high interest rates is not whether they prevent microloans from working, but rather how they affect the working of the system. What happens is that the loans obtained by borrowers are directed to more urgent uses to “smooth consumption” in the short term, instead of being invested in potentially profitable business activities, which is stated as the chief goal of the microfinancing system. High interest rates change the pattern of loan consumption by borrowers; high interest rates preclude the chances of profitable entrepreneurial activity. Even if the loan is employed for business purposes, at the time of repayment the profits cannot match the interest¹⁷ and this eventually leads to the use of loans for consumption needs.

Conclusion

The contemporary capitalist global economic system has benefits and harms in proportion to the individual’s wealth, usually favoring the rich over the poor. Microfinance began with the hope of offering a helping hand to those outside and on the margins of the global economic system. The goal is an exalted one, suggesting respect and increased economic opportunity for the poor. Yet, the practice of microfinance seems to set it far from its moral foundations. Increased commercialization accompanied by exorbitant interest rates only reinforces the working of the global economic system to benefit the wealthier and harm the poor. Unless the fundamentals of microfinancing are transformed to not-for-profit bases, in the long term we may see this potentially valuable institution simply withering away to another form of aggressive capitalism. I would like to conclude with a quotation from Bediüzzaman Said Nursi pointing to two fundamental problems of our contemporary society:

… [T]he following two attitudes or approaches are the causes of all revolutions and social upheavals, as well as the root of all moral failings: … “I do not care if others die of hunger so long as my stomach is full,” and “You must bear the costs of my ease-you must work so that I may eat.”¹⁸

Microfinancing in its current formulation stands strangely where these two problems meet. On the one hand, it is an effort at minimizing the suffering of others by the extension of finance opportunities. On the other hand, those others carry the burden of this help, making the wealthy wealthier. In this regard, Bediüzzaman’s statement is intimately related to the way microfinancing, a potentially valuable initiative in itself, has become an instrument of the rich used against the poor through its dependence on commercialization and interest.

A. Kadir Yildirim is a PhD candidate in political science at the Ohio State University. He can be reached at yildirim.10@osu.edu.

Notes

1. Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) website, http://www.cgap.org, accessed 12/26/2008.
2. Muhammad Yunus, 2007, “What is Microcredit?”
3. Gary Gardner, 2008, “Microfinance Surging,” Worldwatch Institute.
4. Daniel Pearl and Michael M. Phillips, November 27, 2001, “Grameen Bank, Which Pioneered Loans For the Poor, Has Hit a Repayment Snag,” Wall Street Journal; Gary Gardner, 2008, “Microfinance Surging,” Worldwatch Institute.
5. Elizabeth Littlefield, Jonathan Morduch, and Syed Hashemi, 2003, “Is Microfinance an Effective strategy to reach the Millennium Development Goals?” Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), p. 7
6. Ibid, p. 3.
7. See “Role of Microcredit in Poverty Alleviation,” 2005, First Quarterly Report of State Bank of Pakistan, 2004–2005 for data on India; see Global Development Research Center’s “Data Snapshots on Microfinance,” http://www.gdrc.org/icm/index.html, accessed 02/07/2009 for data on Bangladesh.
8. A.M.R. Chowdhury and A. Bhuiya, 2001, “Do Poverty Alleviation Programmes Reduce Inequity in Health: Lessons from Bangladesh,” in Poverty Inequity and Health, ed. D. Leon and G. Walt (Oxford: Oxford UP).
9. Ibid, p. 6.
10. See World Development Report 2006 by World Bank; and, A.Kadir Yildirim, 2008, “Economic Development via Human Development,” The Fountain, Issue 62 (March–April).
11. Pearl and Phillips, “Grameen Bank, Which Pioneered Loans For the Poor, Has Hit a Repayment Snag”; Nimal A. Fernando, 2008, “Managing Microfinance Risks: Some Observations and Suggestions,” Asian Development Bank.
12. Viktor Berglind and Arizo Karimi, 2007, “Repayment Performance in Microfinance: A Theoretical Analysis,” University Essay from Uppsala University.
13. Ibid, p. 11;
14. Lewis’ study on the case of Compartamos is instructive on the benefits of commercialization for MFIs. Jonathan C. Lewis, 2007, “What Would Leland Stanford Do?” Microcredit Enterprises.
15. Businessweek, December 13, 2007, “The Ugly Side of Microfinancing.”
16. Ibid.
17. See James Surowiecki, “What Microloans Miss,” The New Yorker, 17 March 2008 for a discussion on the impact of high interest rates in microfinancing industry.
18. Bediüzzaman Said Nursi, The Words, New Jersey: Tughra Books, 2005, The Twenty-fifth Word, p. 427.

Once you realize these things about you and the life that you are living, then it really sounds outrageous when people think they have made a good work of art or they have great taste in art. Could it not be that all people have the same taste but only each individual’s perception is different, as opposed to all people having the same level of perception but different taste?

Most people think that taste is something subjective, that is, everybody has their own taste and that is the end of it. There is nothing more to discuss about taste. Hence, there is no such thing as good taste or bad. Everybody has things they like and things they do not, but no one can say that their taste is any better than someone else’s. Thus, we are all tempted to accept the unquestionable character of taste as the truth since almost everybody agrees on it. Although the majority view is often considered acceptable as a way of ascertaining the truth, there are quite a few examples that show that is just not correct. This article is about one of those examples.

If you are part of the big majority of people that thinks there is no such thing as good taste, you should also think that there is no such thing as good art. I can imagine if I was giving a talk about this article and presenting this exact same argument, there would be fifty hands going up objecting: “That can’t be true; there is Mona Lisa, there is Tortoise Trainer, there is this, and there is that.” But then, whoever did not like Mona Lisa or Tortoise Trainer would just have worse taste than yours, or anybody else who liked it might have better taste for that matter. Hence, we arrive at the conclusion that if there is no good taste, then there is no good art. If we follow the argument further, then there is no good artist.

Suppose you are making a painting or writing a poem, what do you think would be guiding you throughout the whole process? The inevitable answer to this question must be “taste” because each stroke of your brush or each line you add is a decision made by you with the help of your taste. Every move you make is a result of your conscious or subconscious thought that it would make your piece better. But then, if you think that there is no place for a concept of being better in art, you should not be able to make any moves. Not only that, by the same token a brand new blank canvas would be just as good as the ceiling of the Hagia Sophia. What is more, by saving a lot of time and energy, you are doing even better with the blank canvas than the guy who painted the ceiling of Hagia Sophia.

Probably you are thinking that the author of these lines has really lost it now! And maybe, you are thinking that it is about time to move on to the next article. But hold on a second!

I think I may have a solution to this nonsense. If Da Vinci was in Robinson Crusoe’s place, he would still draw the Mona Lisa on that island, but surely, he would be happier if thousands of people came to see it every day. So, there is more to art than pure taste; art has people who appreciate it. It could be argued that an artist enjoys his piece for two possible reasons. First, just because he likes what he does; second, there is an audience who will appreciate what he does.

But before appreciation come attention and interest. People must pay attention or need to have an interest before they understand or even think about something. Only after that do they recognize something is beautiful, and after that comes the appreciation.

Attention and interest are two very broad terms. There are so many different things that attract my attention or interest me, often without me knowing it. Sometimes the rhyme of a poem is so soothing and pleasant that I do not even know, when I read it the first time, that I have actually fallen in love with it. I realize this when I figure out that I have learned the whole thing after a few recitations without expending any special effort to memorize it. It is as if, all of a sudden, I start hearing the constant relaxing whistle of a tall reed in my ears along with the wind. It is a great pleasure to fall asleep in the ambiance of that reed. The bed is no different than a throne for me at that moment.

Once I discover such a lone reed with a soothing melody, I visit her from time to time when I get really tired and need some rest. Then, on one of those visits, just before I fall asleep, I see a ray of a different color through the leaves of the reed; one which I had not noticed before. It is an irreplaceable touch. Surely the poet must have hidden it among the leaves and the branches only for his loyal visitors. Exhilarated by the discovery of this beauty, I start telling the fellows in the shade around me about it. I hear you saying now, “Oh! I thought you were alone under the tree.” No, no! That is impossible. If there is a reed, there will always be fellows under the shade, some for the whistle, some for the colors, some for something you do not know, but there will be always some people enjoying it.

I tell you the little story about me and the poet just to make a point about the type of art that intrigues us. Some art lies in the background quietly, some shakes our very souls and makes us tremble. Some gets carved into our brains immediately, whereas some types challenge our intelligence. In all of those different kinds of good art there is a very essential thing in common. It is the common things that the audience shares.

Although poetry is a type of art with a very broad audience, we can always imagine some people who would have no interest in it at all. Maybe a better example would be a type of beauty that would interest absolutely everybody in this world. Is there anything like that? There are tons of things like that. Who would not like a nightingale singing near dawn, or a warm breeze on the cheek, the harmony of different tones of green in a broad forest, human faces, and the like. Let us focus, for example, on that last one. All of us find human faces interesting, right? I believe that it is encoded in our DNA. A parallel to this is the obsessive compulsion of sculptors to make human faces all the time. Or, think about the number of people whose faces you know but not their names and vice versa. Which number is bigger do you think?

If you are not convinced by these arguments or think that maybe I am biased due to the conditions that I developed in, let us put the same question to babies, who are not biased, at least not just yet! Let us see what they have got to say about this. If you are worried that we cannot really understand what they are saying, there is some help from the psychologists. “In 1961, the psychologist Robert Fantz devised an ingenious method to find out about babies and faces. He designed a stand in which, on the bottom level, the baby lies on his back, looking up. A few feet above is a display area where the experimenter puts two large cards, each containing a design-a white circle, a yellow circle, a bull’s eye, or a simple sketch of face. The researcher, peering down through a tiny peephole, can watch the movement of the baby’s eyes and time how long they are directed at one or the other of each pair of patterns. Fantz found that at two months babies looked twice as long at a bull’s eye as at a circle of solid color, and twice as long at a sketch of a face as at a bull’s eye. Evidently, even a two-month-old can distinguish major differences and direct his gaze toward what he finds more interesting.”¹

With this in mind, we are compelled to acknowledge that the human face appeals to an innate common taste in all humans, either because it is beautiful in itself or because it contains most, if not all, of the things that are to “the common taste” of all humans. Then we can conclude that, as humans, our design is such that we are at least able to appreciate the same things.

Finally, we are in a position to define good art. Good art is such that it passes from its creator and reaches a lot of people who enjoy gazing upon it. Good art attracts attention and interest from a lot of people with different characteristics from different cultures and regardless of all their differences, the essential thing is they all have the same aptitude to enjoy the same thing in various different ways. In other words, good art is a manifestation of unity in multiplicity.

_______________________

1. Hunt, M., The Story of Psychology, pp. 366, Anchor Books, 1993

“Why is my child not interested in learning?” “What makes my child not want to go to school? Why does my child say learning is boring?” “Why is he/she showing higher results in one subject than in another?” “Why does he/she no longer enjoy English?” These are just some of the questions which arise with concerned parents when their children demonstrate a lack of interest in studying both at home or at school. Some parents have opted for home schooling, others have their children join breakfast clubs, sports clubs or after-school creative clubs as a means to enhance their child’s thinking and stimulate interest in them for learning. God Almighty urges us in chapters of the Holy Qur’an to spread knowledge and not to conceal it.

He also speaks of children in numerous verses with regards to their upbringing and welfare. The first verse which was revealed to the Prophet pronounced powerfully “IQRA” meaning “READ”; this again emphasizes the power of knowledge for a human being to attain success in both worlds. It was narrated by Ibn Masud “The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, would take care of us by preaching at a suitable time so that we would not become weary. He abstained from pestering us with religious talk and knowledge all the time.”1 The Prophet said, “The pen has been lifted from three: the child until he reaches puberty, the insane until he is cured and the one who is sleeping until he awakens.”2 We are commanded to be mild and loving towards children. Give instructions gently to make things easy. It takes time for the child to understand what you’re saying and to respond correctly.

But remember a child is not accountable for their actions so be patient while they respond to you in their own time. Children differ from one another in intelligence and comprehension. Some can be corrected by a mere stern glance and others need to be scolded firmly. But we should never stop following the advice of the Prophet Muhammad who said “Those who do not show mercy to our young are not from us.”3 A child is won with tenderness, mildness, and love. Let us now look at some of the reasons why our children may display a lack of interest in learning. Sometimes the reasons can be obvious; maybe the parents do not have the time to interact with homework tasks and the children struggle without this assistance, or maybe there is far too many distractions in the environment, so the child finds it hard to concentrate. But there can also be hidden pressures; perhaps the child does not like a particular subject, or finds it difficult to understand it, or does not enjoy writing or arithmetic. Some times a change of routine or a new teacher can affect the child, peer pressure or lack of confidence can also result in a lack of interest in studying at school or at home. The important question is how do we, as parents or education workers, draw the child’s attention to learning and generate joy and satisfaction in them? The early years of a child’s life are of utmost importance and play a crucial role in determining every child’s future. Brain research has confirmed that the experiences children undergo in the first five years of life form vital connections in the brain. These connections lay the foundation for all later learning and social/emotional development. Children develop at individual rates; therefore, variations in development are to be expected. Professional education workers come in contact with children from a variety of linguistic and cultural backgrounds. This includes children who are learning a language that is different to their native language. New guidelines provide extra activities to meet these children’s needs. Sometimes boys perform less well than girls and a survey report back in July of 2003 by the Office for Standards in Education in

Britain published two reports on methods schools can use to raise achievement among boys. They found that macho peer pressure remains a key reason why boys underperform in comparison to girls in nearly all subjects, except for maths and science. They also found that boys were more affected than girls by how interesting the lessons are. Teachers who were best at motivating boys were those who used humor and real life situations. Children with extra special needs and those who have a short concentration span will not settle at one activity for more than 5 to 10 minutes. Their needs are different from other children, and thus there are curriculum guidelines that help them with appropriate learning. Spending time with your child through the process of playing or completing homework is a key opportunity for interaction and establishes confidence and motivation for the child to learn; we must not forget that children are learning all the time and not just at schools. Tips to encourage motivation Therefore, the following top ten tips are useful in encouraging motivation in your child:

1. Nurture your child’s interest by providing opportunities for them to explore and learn about their interests, be they dinosaurs, stars, or flowers.

2. Expose your child to new ideas and areas by participating in community programs and not just school programs. It is important not to single out traditionally female activities or male activities, as it is the child’s interests that are important.

3. Attempt using short term goals and rewards since sometimes a child becomes overwhelmed by a large task. It is not that the task is difficult in itself, but the child may feel nervous, fearful or confused, resulting in a need for more time or input to understand the concept better. A child will sometimes abandon a task they even begin to try, so it is best to help your child break the task down into a series of smaller tasks. Also allow children to set their own weekly targets which they can reward themselves for completing.

4. Help your child learn to arrange time as when they start to go to school some may learn quickly and easily at different levels or stages of learning, but others may not. However later on, they will need to know how to independently set time aside to complete certain tasks.

5. Praise your child’s efforts since some children have trouble connecting personal effort to achievement. To help a child succeed, efforts should be praised at every success and the praise should be specific. So rather than saying “you could have done that better,” you could say “you tried your best and worked hard.”

6. Help your child take control; underachievers sometimes see achievement as something that isbeyond their control and this makes them feel as if all their efforts are pointless. The child needs to understand the role personal responsibility plays through success.

7. Keep a positive attitude about school because children need to see that their parents value education. Even if a child’s problems in school are a result of a problem with the schools or the teacher, you need to be careful about what you say and when.

8. Help your child make a connection between their schoolwork and their interests. Sometimes children lack motivation because they cannot make a connection between the work they are being asked to do and their goals and interests. For example, a child who wants to be an astronaut should know that maths and science are important in these jobs. However, under-motivated children generally do not focus on anything but the present. They cannot plan ahead for the near future, so rarely reflect on adult life or ambitions.

9. Turn homework into games as most children love a challenge, particularly with a familiar person whom they trust. Sometimes, dull homework can be turned into something excited like a challenging game. Checking children’s work shows them you care about it. Another creative approach to homework is to link it to an interest or encourage them to mark it for themselves.

10. Adults should keep in mind that motivation is not always about school achievement and that it is important to note that some children are highly motivated to achieve goals, even if the goals are unrelated to school. Remember achievement is NOT motivation. It is therefore very important to know that while you may get your child to get the homework done, he or she may never be truly motivated to do it. So what is the difference between the two; what is motivation? Motivation is a temporal and dynamic state that should not be confused with personality or emotion. Motivation is having the desire and the willingness to do something. A motivated person can be aiming at a long–term goal, such as becoming a professional writer, or a more short-term goal like learning how to spell a particular word. Attention from a pupil is necessary and essential for learning and this gives a student a feeling of self worth and makes them want to exert effort. If a teacher can secure the interest of the pupil and the student does the work assigned, and if the work holds their attention, the interest is maintained. There are two kinds of interest, the positive and the negative. When a student has a positive interest in learning, they are getting value because there is something they want to obtain. But if they only have a negative interest, they may still learn a small portion of what is being taught, but not as much as if they were to have a positive interest. The student needs to have a desire of their own to learn and learning should be a result of this, not of outside pressure. They will strive to learn if their interest is positive. If a child is interested in a subject, a wise teacher or parent can make use of this interest. They can work towards maintaining this motivation for learning. But before an adult can hold a child’s interest, they need to have an understanding of how the interest is obtained and how purposes that cause an appetite for learning develop in individuals. A person’s daily life, their character and their personality all determine their drive for learning. This interest can lead them to take action and want to acquire knowledge. There is also a need for a desire to be active; if a person is lazy, they will not have desires or urges to learn. A student also needs to have a desire for approval from their parents, teachers and peers. They need to have a desire to have a feeling of accomplishment, as this will lead them to seek more and more knowledge. They need to feel proud about their personal accomplishments.

We have not been able to mention all the desires that lead to motivation and learning here, but we have touched upon a few of the primary desires. Some parents may feel they do not know the best way to keep their child motivated with the same joy and satisfaction away from school and at home. Parents can worry over this, but it is comforting to know that a simple activity, such as a trip to the park or library or a small activity such as cooking or planting with your child can be interactive, fun, enjoyable and always a creative part of learning. Talking to your child’s teacher or other parents in similar situations is always encouraging and you may pick up tips for new steps that will help bring enthusiasm to your child’s education. At the present time we are fortunate to have easy and affordable resources and free websites which help parents to understand this topic better and which provide step-by-step guidelines on how to generate the joy of learning in kids. The curriculum in schools is continuously reviewed and updated to be a friendly and interesting framework of teaching and learning, with interaction between teachers and students across the globe.

Notes

1. Muslim 1:68.
2. Tirmidhi, Hudud, 1; Nasai, Hudud, 17.
3. Tirmidhi, Birr, 15.

“WE HAVE TO FACE THE FACT THAT EITHER ALL OF US ARE GOING TO DIE TOGETHER OR WE ARE GOING TO LEARN TO LIVE TOGETHER AND IF WE ARE TO LIVE TOGETHER THEN WE MUST TALK.”

The word “dialogue” derives from two roots: “dia,” which means “through,” and “logos,” which means “the word,” or more specifically, “the meaning of the word.” Thus the image one gets is of a river of meaning flowing around and through those who are participating in the dialogue.

Dialogue is one of the most effective means in the struggle against negative conditioning, prejudice, and fanaticism. But in order for any dialogue to be effective, certain qualities are needed: Sincerity, humility, and interest. Sincerity is needed because this is what moves the heart. Humility is needed because this is what makes one person value another. Interest is needed because it is the source of all questions.

In his book, Dialogue, the Art of Thinking, William Isaacs writes the following:

“Dialogue is altogether a very different way of talking. Generally, we think of dialogue as “better conversation,” but there is much more to it. Dialogue, as defined, is a conversation with a center, not sides. It is a way of taking the energy of our differences and channeling that energy toward something that has never been created before. It lifts us out of polarization and into a greater sense of the commonalty, and is thereby a means for accessing the intelligence and coordinated power of groups of people.”

Why dialogue?

Firstly, by engaging in dialogue with others we can reduce tensions, conflicts, and even wars.

It is known that through the ages, religious, cultural, and ethnic differences have led to misunderstanding, hostility, and conflict. The root of conflict is ignorance and ignorance is the source of prejudice. To get to know each other through dialogue is essential for the establishment of world peace.

Dialogue between a few people can produce great results. For example, Dr. Jim Miller started a form of dialogue with doctors in the Soviet Union in the 1970s. The doctors, in turn, influenced the leaders, who in turn, helped create change and worked toward ending the Cold War. Because of his work, Miller was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Another such “unsung heroine” is peace activist Margaret Gibney, a 14 year-old from civil war-torn Northern Ireland, who helped create the Wall of Peace project in Belfast. Another is Kenyan ethnographer Sultan Sornjee, founder of the African Peace Museum in Nairobi, who encourages indigenous communities to share their traditions of peace. Miller, Gibney, Sornjee, and many other unsung heroes have faced adversity but have looked beyond cultural, social, economic, and racial issues to find a solution.

Secondly, in today’s world there are over 6,000 communities and as many distinct languages. The United States has a society that is made up of more than 260 ethnic backgrounds. Such differences naturally lead to a diversity of vision, values, beliefs, practices, and expression; all of these, naturally, deserve equal respect and dignity. Through dialogue, we can promote better understanding of and creative cooperation among cultures and religions, while acknowledging and accepting their differences.

Thirdly, technology has expedited globalization and made distant countries seem like neighboring towns. Progress in communication and transport technology during the 20th century has enabled us to overcome geographical boundaries and revolutionize our way of living. The world is now linked to such an extent that a local event cannot take place without having an impact on the international community and vice versa. The world has become like a village. But this village is very diverse and includes many cultures, faiths, and traditions. The tragedy of the tsunami reminded all people just how connected we are when we were all hurt by that disaster and rushed together to help, however we could.

I conclude with the words of several people who have changed history through dialogue.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow cited the following Chinese proverb:

“A single conversation across the table with a wise man is better than ten years’ study of books.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson said:

“Conversation is the laboratory and workshop of the student.”

Eleanor Roosevelt once said:

“We have to face the fact that either all of us are going to die together or we are going to learn to live together and if we are to live together then we must talk.”

When 2001 was designated the year of dialogue by the U.N, Secretary General Kofi Annan said the following:

“I see … dialogue as a chance for people of different cultures and traditions to get to know each other better, whether they live on opposite sides of the world or on the same street.”

Fethullah Gulen, an important Muslim scholar from Turkey and an advocate for dialogue, a man whose words and deeds have inspired millions, including myself, into conducting dialogue, states:

“Civilized people solve their problems through dialogue.”

A woman was desperately looking for her lost child, hastily glancing at every child. When she finally found her lost child she embraced him with absolute relief and joy. Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, told his Companions to look at this woman and asked: “Would that woman throw her child into fire?” “No, she would not.” “By God, He is more merciful than she.” As this hadith very clearly indicates, we are born into the loving hands of our mothers and cared for by the Eternal Mercy of God. In this issue we feature “Love for Humankind,” in which a thorough definition of love is presented, as the strongest chain that binds humans one to another.

Intelligence is a great gift as long as it is used for serving the truth. When we reflect upon the creation, when we view the world around us through the eyes of wisdom, the feeling of love will blossom within our hearts spontaneously. Everything in this vast universe has been and continues to be fashioned perfectly. Even if we have never heard about what scientists call the “Golden Ratio,” we are somehow aware of the aesthetic beauty found everywhere in nature, be it a pine cone or the design of the human finger. Even within the smallest thing in nature, miracles are hidden. If we raise our gaze to the sky, the huge celestial bodies moving through space are no less amazing. One cannot help but ask how did it all begin? Where are all they heading? And more importantly, where are “we” heading?

The human mind has always been busy with questions about the universe, about death, about the meaning of life and other such subjects. We have made countless inventions and we even feel that we are coming close to the day when we will be able to make artificial intelligence that is able to think as we do. Even though we still have not been able to produce robots that think like people, we have unfortunately invented a machine which can turn our children into robots; the television, although an invention with many uses, is an invention that can also be harmful.

Our hope for the future is ever-growing. We feel the support of our readers with the increasing number of subscribers to The Fountain Magazine; we hope that with this interest, as we learn more about this world and about how this world is perceived by all of us, the interest in love, tolerance, and dialog with our fellow human beings will continue to develop.

Pre-school children and reading

Reading books to little children is one of the best ways of spending time with them. What we tell them at this period has a greater influence on them, because this is the period when their personalities are developing. It is a very remarkable fact that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) counseled Muslims to whisper the adhan and iqama in a baby’s ear as soon as he/she was born; from this we can infer that we should start talking to our child from the very first day. Today, researchers who study child development have reached the same conclusion.

As soon as our baby can differentiate colors and shapes, we can begin to communicate with him/her using books. A picture will catch a child’s attention. It is better to explain something to a child with a picture or a photograph, for it is recognized that learning is more effective with visual support. Our child will be interested in books at an early age if we show them the pictures in a book and talk about them. Such a practice is useful in terms of language development and establishing a dialogue between parents and their children, as well as making children feel that their parents love them. A further benefit in introducing books to children at an early age is that it raises their interest in books. In time, books become their close friends and reading becomes a need for them. As Victor Hugo stated, the need to read is like gunpowder, once it is ignited it does not die out.

During the pre-school period, if the parents read books to their children everyday, their child’s vocabulary will become enriched and their ability to think will improve along with their intellectual progress. In this way, children will learn to listen and to speak. They will grow up as individuals who love reading. They often ask questions when a story is being read, for children learn by asking. They should be given logical and satisfactory answers. Their questions should never be ignored or undermined. They should never be misinformed. Children are never bored by listening to the same stories over and over. This helps them to become familiar with the vocabulary and facilitates absorbing the message given in the book.

What is the benefit of books?

Books are the most important means of educating children. We transfer our culture to new generations via books. Books improve language use and teach about life. Children can get to know people through books and evaluate them. Within the plots of novels and stories, children come to recognize human behavior. Starting from this point, they learn what kind of people should be considered as friends and what type of behavior is to be avoided.

A child who reads about the problems in life and the ways to cope with these knows what to do when he/she encounters similar problems in real life. Books teach children to use their imagination and to love people, nature and living things. Books raise interest in inventions and technology. They teach about man’s place and his duty in the universe. The stories children read teach them that they should not step on ants, destroy bird-nests, that they should not let animals starve and so on. They make children feel in their consciences that lying, stealing, and fighting are all wrong. Children internalize values, such as being kind to people, helping them without expecting anything in return, courage, determination, modesty, being resolute and striving for success when identifying themselves with the heroes in the books they read.

Books are a means of entertainment as well. Riddles, puzzles, mind games and anecdotes contribute to the mental development of children and help them enjoy themselves.

The reason for reading:

Reading is related to the way we perceive the world and our perspective of life, universe and our self-opinion. Reading is the outcome of the urge to discover new things and our desire, as a human being to understand ourselves, the reason of our existence, our Creator and the mysteries of the universe. This must be the reason why the first order of the Qur’an is Read. People can achieve these only by reading.

How can we motivate children toward books and reading?

There is no magical way to make children love reading. Nevertheless, we can try different ways to approach this problem. We have already mentioned some methods that can be used with pre-school children. We can apply different methods for older children.

First of all, if the adults at home constantly read and share their opinions with each other about the themes or characters in the books they are reading, the children will develop an interest in reading. Reading starts with the family. Even a little child who cannot read or write, holds a book, turns its pages, looks at its pictures, asks questions about it and in the end, reading becomes as natural for him/her as eating and drinking. In short, if reading has a place in our own life, our children will read too.

We should not just present books as a means of transferring information. We should emphasize the entertaining and attractive sides of books also. Children should be made to meet books as if they were meeting a friend. Illustrated story books, novels, books of riddles, puzzles and anecdotes are usually more interesting for children. Such books warm children to reading.

We should read together with our child. Children love this. We should alter the tone of our voice when we read what different characters are saying, trying to animate the story. If the parent is the only one reading, it will be boring for the child. Sometimes the child should read to his/her parents. Some parents habitually read stories to their children before they go to sleep. This is a good method that can be used in most families.

Children should be taken to book fairs and bookshops, they should be given time to take a look at the books. They should be allowed to choose some of the books they are to read. We should be careful about choosing books suitable to their age. A book should have interesting illustrations and should be written in a language that is grammatically accurate, yet interesting.

In conclusion, if we choose the right ways, any child can love reading. However, we cannot make a child read a book by force. Even if we cannot help the children to love books, then at least we should not make them hate books. Once a person hates books, it is very difficult for them to warm to them again.

Definition of Superior Intelligence

Superior intelligence results from the rapid operation on a high level of such brain functions as the senses, feelings, thought, intuition and inspiration. These functions appear in the form of the ability to think quickly and correctly, creativity, academic aptitude, leadership and talent in the visual and applied arts.

According to research findings, a large percentage (of the order of 85%) of superior intelligence is passed on from one generation to another through heredity. At the same time, environmental factors like education are extremely important for effective usage of superior intelligence and turning it into ‘genius’.

Characteristics of Superior Intelligence

We can divide these characteristics into four main groups: (a) reasoning power; (b) emotional attributes; (c) intuition; (d) social skills.

a)Reasoning Power

Possessing a lot of knowledge and not forgetting it.

High level of comprehension. (Comprehending the whole from its part.)

An unusual level of interest and curiosity in different subjects and asking a lot of questions.

Superior usage of language, large vocabulary and high language aptitude.

Fast thinking, rapid advancement and reaching conclusions quickly.

Flexible and different thought.

Broad synthesizing ability.

The ability to see strange, unusual and different relationships.

Ability to produce original ideas and solutions.

Early and rapid development in making generalizations, feeling results, abstract thinking and creating alternatives.

Stubborn, decisive, goal-oriented and sometimes even adventurous behavior.

Working in a disciplined manner, independent and usually rebellious behavior.

Easily bored, searching for things to do, and not staying idle.

Choosing complex and mixed things and enjoying debate.

Expecting interest, liking to be honored and talking a lot.

b) Emotional Attributes

Very sensitive to others. Sensing others’ thoughts.

Strange sense of humor. (This can sometimes offend or make others uncomfortable.)

Feeling different and trying to make others aware of.

Obvious idealism at an early age.

Deep feelings, emotional Perfectionism.(Consequently not liking themselves or others.)

Showing extraordinary success in some subjects.

Great interest in the unknown and mysterious subjects.

High concentration ability, seriousness.

Paying little attention to others’ rules.

Bringing up everywhere issues he deems vital.

c) Senses and Intuitive Powers

Extreme sensibility (regarding colors, sounds, smells, etc.)

An abnormal rate of physical and intellectual advancement.

Refusing to take part in physical activities where they are not successful, and avoiding competitive physical activities.

Displaying a lot of talent in one of the fine arts. (Even with no training.)

Beginning to think about metaphysical events before others of their age group, philosophical attitudes, strange thoughts, etc.

Poetical expression, beautiful and literary statements.

Productive in subjects requiring initiative and struggle.

Inner depth and loneliness resulting from it.

Giving importance to theoretical and esthetic values.

High level of love, eagerness, desire and sincere effort.

Frequently being absorbed in thought, strong imagination.

d) Social attributes

Realizing their wishes and early personality development.

Recommending good and sound solutions to social problems.

Leadership, setting up groups, making teams and directing.

Diagnosing and understanding social problems correctly.

Showing interest in high values like social justice, beauty and truth.

Possessing virtues.

High-level sense of justice.

Self-trust and decisiveness.

Preferring older friends.

All of the characteristics listed above may not be found in each individual student with superior intelligence. It is the accepted view that these students will display a superior performance in one or more of these fields. Those with superior characteristics who are supported with a good environment and strong education can emerge as ‘geniuses’ in society years later.

Characteristics of Teachers

Personal Character

They have strong egos. They are honorable, proud and strong willed; they give value and trust to the selves. They give as much value and importance to others as they do to themselves, and they respect, support and trust others.

They have above average intelligence.

They are flexible and open to new ideas.

They are interested in intellectual, literary and cultural subjects.

They strive for more knowledge and renewal; they are obsessed with success.

They are full of love, eagerness, effort and willingness.

They have strong intuition and are sensitive and understanding.

They seek perfection and are committed to it.

They act consciously and take on responsibility.

Professional Tendencies

They guide rather than using pressure and force.

They prefer to be democratic rather than authoritarian.

They concentrate on the process more than the results.

They favour novelty and experiment rather than rules and tradition.

They act quickly to achieve specific results and can solve problems.

Rather than answering questions, they use the method of securing answers from others.

Teaching Behaviour

They develop and implement programs of their own that are flexible and emphasize the desires of the individual.

They develop a warm, welcoming and tolerant atmosphere.

They implement strategies differing from one individual to another.

They respect people’s images and support positive behavior; they respect their beliefs and values.

They keep the lesson’s intellectual level high.

They respect individualist behavior and personalities.

While being in full control of the subject matter they are handling, they don’t neglect to renew themselves and broaden their horizons.

They believe in, trust in, and co-operate with their students.

Even if would-be teachers of students with superior intelligence do not possess all the characteristics mentioned, with time and training they can acquire them. The development of a sufficient number of them will take time and commitment. Generally a certain period of professional experience, the impression made during this experience and its results can be accepted as criteria in qualifying teachers for exceptionally gifted students. Other steps to be taken in the training of teachers for this field are seminars in university educational psychology departments in order to pass on the latest developments and to make it easier for teachers to get to know their students and so guide them effectively. Also special certificate programs or masters and doctoral programs can be set up. In the USA minimum qualifications for teachers in these schools are a doctoral degree and two years of professional training.

Antarctica is the bottom of the world, the white continent, the harshest, most forbidding land on earth, where winds can reach 320 kph (200 mph) and temperatures can plunge below -85°C (-121° F). At the South Pole, the average temperature is -49° C (-56.2° F), while the highest recorded is -13.6°(7.5° F). The continent is the world’s largest stretch of inhospitable land. Precipitation is so sparse that it is classified as one of the world’s driest deserts. This ‘final frontier’ constitutes approximately 10% of the earth’s land surface; 98% of it is covered by ice, in places two miles thick. Antarctica accounts for 90% of the world’s ice and 68% of its fresh water. It is bigger than China and India combined, or Mexico and the US put together.

A closer look at the seemingly lifeless land and seascape reveals an amazing abundance of life. The continent is home to several species of seals, penguins and vegetation. The surrounding frigid seas are abundant in krill, protein rich shrimp-like crustaceans essential to the Antarctic ecosystem, which is one of the world’s most productive. Thirty-five species of penguins and other birds, six varieties of seals, twelve kinds of whale and nearly two hundred types of fish dwell there. The ice itself is permeated with algae and bacteria. The land is home to two species of flowering land plants, a grass and a pearlwort.

Antarctica contains traces of a wide variety of metals and hydrocarbons. Traces of cobalt, copper, chromium, gold, lead, molybdenum, manganese, nickel, silver, tin, titanium, uranium, as well as zinc, have been found in the continent. Geological surveys have postulated large quantities of oil and gas.

Hundreds of people live and work there all year round and no fewer than seventeen nations have established permanent bases to conduct scientific research. Each year, almost 5,000 registered tourists come to look at the peaks and penguins. A body called the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators has been established to regulate tourism. However, they have not been able to stop unregistered- visitors. An example was the German ship ‘Europe’ which landed more than 300 passengers on Deception Island and illegally visited a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) at Whaler’s Bay. Standards of safety and ecological care cannot be guaranteed. More alarming than the increased numbers of visitors to Antarctica is the more ‘commercial’ attitude they have towards it.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is responsible for most American research in the area. The NSF pays the US navy for transporting personnel and supplies and other logistical support. Demands for cutbacks in the US navy have resulted in proposals for ‘contracting out’ these services to commercial companies the market place has reached the ‘final frontier’!

Exploitation and commercialism have influenced fishing patterns Paul Rodhouse of the British Antarctic Survey indicated that commercial exploitation has led to the doubling of the catch of squid during the ten years leading up to 1992. The squid industry is notorious for its ‘boom and bust’ trends in 1972 a Japanese fishery began operating in the North Atlantic near Newfoundland and within eleven years one species of squid, illex illecebrosus had been wiped out. The industry is now turning its attention to Antarctica.

The biggest threat is to the stocks of krill. The 4cm shrimp-like kill live for up to seven years and are the staple food source for five whale species, three groups of seal and innumerable fish and birds, including penguins. They are central to the Antarctic food chain. Too little is known about the krill’s lifestyle to guarantee survival against the increase in harvesting that has been maintained since the early 1970s. The countries that are involved in this abuse of Antarctica are those who are supposed to be protecting it.

The Western nations were the first to claim Antarctica as theirs. James Cook circled Antarctica between 1772 and 1775, becoming the first man to reach the mainland. Since Amundsen and Scott arrived at the Pole one after another in 1911, seven nations have claimed sectoral sovereignty over the Antarctic Peninsula based on either exploration or geographical contiguity, namely Argentine, Chile, France, New Zealand, Britain, Norway and Australia.

With the adoption of the 1959 Antarctic Treaty, twelve countries began governing Antarctica. In addition to the seven claimant states, South Africa, Japan, USA and USSR became members of the exclusive Antarctic Club. Since the signing of the 1961 Antarctic Treaty, there have been twenty-six countries responsible for the management of the Antarctic Region and another sixteen party to it.

Internal bickering meant that an agreement to establish rules governing oil and mineral exploitation and development signed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1988 did not come into force. Through a protocol adopted in Madrid in 1991, the Antarctic Continent was declared ‘a natural reserve devoted to peace and science.’ Some nations have not been happy about this situation. The Malaysian Prime Minister, Dr Mahatir Bin Muhammad, said in 1982, that ‘all the unclaimed wealth of this earth must be regarded as the common heritage of all nations of this planet… It is now time that the United Nations focused its attention on these areas, the largest of which is the continent of Antarctica,’

This raised the interest of other Islamic countries. The Twentieth Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers meeting in Istanbul in August 1991, adopted a resolution reaffirming the need for all members of the international community, acting through the UN, to be involved in ‘all aspects relating to Antarctica’. In the same year, Indonesia asked a number of questions at the 1991 United Nations session as to the full participation of the international community in the management of Antarctica. The Pakistani delegate to the session, identifying his country’s growing interest and involvement in the region, referred to its expedition and establishment of an automatic weather station in January 1991. Pakistan became the first Muslim country to send an official expedition to Antarctica. Pakistan in 1992, established its Jinnah Antarctic Research Station.

There are obvious advantages for the Muslim countries. They have produced some of the top scientists in the field, including, Sayed El-Sayed of the A&M University, Texas, who is a respected marine ecologist studying the effects of ozone depletion on Antarctic life. In 1988, he discovered at Palmer Station, a US base on Antarctica, that high levels of ultraviolet damage the chlorophyll pigment vital for photosynthesis in phytoplankton, slowing the growth rate of marine plants as much as 30%.

The Islamic countries have significant commercial interest in Antarctica. In the long term, the Antarctic icebergs can solve the scarcity of fresh water. This is where the Antarctic icebergs, which amount to almost 70 per cent of the world’s drinkable water reserves, become an exploitable resource. There are predictions that in the 21st century, water will be the most precious natural resource. Current research shows that there is considerable economic interest in towing icebergs to the Gulf countries, Latin America and Northwestern Australia as a source of fresh water and energy (Crane, 1993).

Each year, 1.4 trillion tons of ice breaks off and melts into the Southern Ocean. If current difficulties can be overcome, icebergs will be enormous ‘mineable’ resources, even more valuable than the Antarctic’s huge amount of oil reserves. For example, an iceberg weighing 90 million tons would be worth almost $45 million. There are many reasons for the vegetation-poor Arab countries to be concerned with the Southern Oceans teeming with living resources. Krill stocks might be an important resource to help prevent widespread malnutrition in the poor Middle East and North African countries whose populations lack a protein-rich diet.

There are many issues related to Antarctica that the Islamic countries need to address. Should they continue to be left out while other nations exploit the last wilderness? Should they unite and pool their human and financial resources to seek advantages from Antarctica or should they be its guardians. The debate must begin.

REFERENCES

CRANE, D. (1993) ‘Below the tip of an iceberg’, Geographical, December, pp.14-17.