What I would like to say in this paper is from a glocal perspective even though the case study I will offer at the end is local. That does not mean that I believe that Ireland is the centre of the universe, though for three decades at the end of the twentieth century we had that tragic privilege. An introverted narrative is negative, be it Irish, British, American, Canadian or wherever. My Irish case study is informed and underpinned by global perspective and is therefore, I hope, a glocal story. I would also like to explore two key components of peacebuilding which education can address, indeed I believe, must address, if humanity is to live at peace on the planet as well as with the planet.

PEACEBUILDING THROUGH EDUCATION

In June of this year Aung San Sui Kyi visited Europe. She is a woman who has suffered greatly, remains committed to non-violence, and is a champion for democracy in her own Burma. She reminds us that peacebuilding is about building democracy, which is essential to sustainable peace.

Just over two decades ago many of us sat glued to the television screen. The image is indelible, that of Nelson Mandela finally emerging from his Robben Island prison compound. He walked to freedom to lead, with others, the transformation of apartheid South Africa into a Rainbow Nation. It’s still a work in progress. Mandela has reminded us that peace building is the creation of a pluralist, participative democracy. Peace building is pro-democracy and it is about actively creating rainbow nations and societies, pluralist, participative democracies – at least! Education has a crucial role to play in all of this.

Education for pluralist democracy

Democracy is developing. There is no finished product and there is no one model to be imposed universally irrespective of contexts and cultures. It is not a flawless system either. Winston Churchill once said, “Democracy is the worst of political systems, except for all the others.” Democracy is about freedom. What the promise of freedom and potential for democracy does induce is an almost universal abhorrence of tyranny. Dictatorships, totalitarian regimes and fascist states do not last and do not satisfy the deepest longings and needs for freedom and participative belonging. Whatever past history, newly liberated nations usually move towards democracy. In 1918 when Czechoslovakia was born, its President said, “Our whole history inclines us towards the democratic Powers.” That was repeated in 1989-91 by leaders of all the countries of the ex-Soviet bloc (Norman 1997, 131).

Education for pluralist democracy as part of peace building needs to engage history. Democracy has a lineage, a family tree and young people and adults should be aware of it.

The Greeks invented politics and it began with our city states. The polis needed governance and there was a recognition of a public good, a shared public interest and common concerns, and over these issues there could be argument, debate, discussion, decision and policy making. The assembly of citizens was known as the ecclesia, though it was far from being fully participative. It was only for wealthy males, people of power, excluded women and certainly had no place for slaves and lower classes. Athenian democracy lasted for 185 years. It had limited participation and Plato even thought that democracy meant the rule of the incompetent. Democracy was forgotten for a millennium.

European democracy owes more perhaps to the democratic practices of the Viking world. Popular assemblies enter European history in the 9th century in Sweden and Denmark. Iceland’s national assembly came into being in 930 CE. Long before England had such a democratic assembly, it existed in the Manx assembly, the Isle of Man, a small island between Britain and Ireland with a Viking history. The Manx Tynwald or assembly is also 9th century. Wherever the Vikings went, Nordic democracy went with them.

In the modern era the two great shapers of democracy were the French Revolution and the American Revolution. Any education in pluralist democracy needs to be aware of these seismic events. The history of the 18th-19th century Europe was a history of wars and conflict, and absolutist monarchies and imperial powers. The first political revolution of a new time in European history happened outside of Europe and it led to the dissolution of the first British Empire. It began in 1773 with the Boston Tea Party and a decade later at the Paris Peace Conference American Independence was recognised. Now the people of North America “could work out their problems virtually untroubled by foreign intervention, a blessing to much that was to follow” (Roberts 1997, 347). Popular sovereignty was embodied in the opening words of the Constitution, “We the People.” All governments derive their just powers from the assent of the governed. The American Revolution was a landmark in world history.

Then followed the French Revolution and by 1789, notwithstanding the Terror, great reforms were achieved.

The formal abolition of feudalism, legal privilege and theocratic absolutism, and the organisation of society on individualist and secular foundations were the heart of the principles of ’89 distilled in a Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen… legal equality and legal protection of individual rights, the separation of Church and State and religious toleration were their institutional expression. The derivation of authority from popular sovereignty acting through a unified National Assembly, before whose legislation no privilege of locality or group could stand… (Roberts 1997, 353-354).

Modern democracy is born and by 1900 the principle of democracy was an idea, albeit still resented in some parts of Europe, whose time had come. An education process needs to engage with the historical development of democracy. We may have little consensus about its essence and it remains flawed in practice. “We the People” may even be impossible, strictly speaking, in practice. But democracy as a theory of governance and the ordering of the public good has promoted “all the virtues, from freedom, justice and equality to the rule of law, the respect for human rights, and the promotion of political pluralism and of civil society” (Davies 1997, 131).

Democracy is not amoral. It implies a need to be underpinned by a value system. Values and ethics are the foundation of democracy at work. Peace building is an ethical task, it needs democracy and the values and ethics that underpin democracy. Democracy involves pluralism and freedom, it also requires tolerance or respect. The education process needs to draw the distinction between passive tolerance and active tolerance. The former is the tolerance of indifference. The latter is “The attitude of one who positively co-lives with the other because one respects the other and accepts the multi-faceted richness of reality” (Boff 2011, 8-9). At the heart of any education for democracy is justice, especially justice as distributive and restorative. Democracy is for human, social flourishing. And distributive and restorative justice are core to peace building.

Education for global citizenship

Yale historian, Jay Winter, believes that a new kind of vision emerged at the end of the dark 20th century after the momentous events of the late 1980s and early ’90s. It is a vision set in the framework of globalisation which aims to create a new kind of politics called the “politics of global citizenship.” It has also been described as “globalisation – from – below.”

Global citizens are emerging out of an array of transnational social forces animated by environmental concerns, human rights, hostility to patriarchy, and the vision of humane community based on the unity of diverse cultures seeking an end to poverty, oppression, humiliation, and collective violence. (Winter 2006, 169-170)

A new kind of political consciousness is developing which is transnational and is flowing across national borders. It is a glocal movement holding together the local and global. “Global citizenship is a political project helping people to imagine a different kind of world.” Citizenship is not tied to the state, it is “participation in a transnational set of struggles for dignity and justice” (Winter 2006, 170). The nation state is no longer primary. We are no longer just Irish, American, Turkish or Indian citizens but global citizens, in a different and larger solidarity on environmental rights, women’s rights and human rights. Transnational citizenship is about all of these glocal justice issues none of which is limited by national boundaries. Community now is in the local and the global.

Perhaps this began for many of us as children when we put our name and address on the inside page of a school text book. Name, street, town/city, Ireland, Europe, The World, The Universe! It is now the reality in a globalised world. Transnationalism and global citizenship may still have an unmapped future, but like modern democracy at the beginning of the 20th century this new local – global reality is and will shape who we are in the 21st century. It will be a peace building project stretching us well beyond any introverted narrative. Citizenship education now needs to be global for all ages, and it is not only an alternative to introverted narratives, but also to economic globalisation as the sole determinative factor for human and environmental life on the planet.

A GLOCAL CASE STUDY

I currently work on an initiative called Ethical and Shared Remembering. It is an initiative which will respond to the centenaries of events that occurred in Ireland between 1912-1922 and shaped the rest of the 20th century for the people in Ireland. It was a decade of enormous political change ending with the partition of Ireland, and it was also a decade of brutal violence.

How the centenaries will be handled between 1912-1922 will shape the decades ahead for better or worse. Ethical remembering is an approach that is critical in relation to the militarisation of politics and the violence that was so deeply embedded in culture and practice. Shared remembering is an approach that encourages the protagonists in all their complexity to engage with each other as human beings and to understand better each other’s perspectives on this crucial Irish decade and its legacy. The legacy has left many issues unresolved which have been re-played in the more recen phase of violence and conflict in Ireland. Some of these issues are; nationalism, nation-state, faith and politics, faith and violence, class and labour relations, feminism and equality issues, trauma and peace building. These constitute for any educational programme a generational peace building agenda which needs to be set in a global or glocal context.

There are multiple Irish narratives from this decade. Not only will this initiative try to recover them, especially the alternative, repressed or forgotten narratives, but the events of 100 years ago will be carefully set in the larger global, at least European context of that time. The memory of the Irish narrative(s) has often been introverted, but this community education initiative will seek to provide a larger and more critical perspective on a century ago by placing the events in a more global context. Early 20th century imperialism and the catastrophe of the Great War, provide a larger and rather different perspective.

The framework for an educational exploration will not only include global contextualisation but also narrative hospitality. This is about generosity of spirit and openness to engage with multiple narratives, especially those of one’s sectarian tradition or narrative perspective. Narrative hospitality will also include narrative pluralism and narrative flexibility. These latter two approaches will encourage an openness to recognise that there are multiple histories and diversities of interpretation of historical events and never a fixed or final norm. It is openness to realise that history is a plethora of interpretations, little of which may be about what actually happened even if ever that can be fully known.

Another educational framework will be integrative complexity. This is also getting beyond mono-narrative or mono-truth, simplism or fundamentalist politics or religion. Integrative complexity (IC) is a way of seeing history, culture, politics, faith, the world in all their diversity and complexity and integrating or weaving together the complexities of personal, communal and historical existence, and to see this complexity in the other.

Key to this project will be the development of critical thinking skills in a community where there has been, through the dynamics of violence and conflict, a culture which is unquestioning. The latter has often been understood as being disloyal or unpatriotic. Few people have thought for themselves and this educational methodology will engage with critical reflection on matters of history, politics, religion and cultural identity without reducing their complexity.

Essential to the educational exploration of the past will be future visioning. This is not just about a 2030 vision for Ireland. It is about transcending local nationalist politics of whatever shade and visioning a common good. It will also be about global citizenship, a transnational vision that will require the imaginative creation of a larger identity myth, beyond introversion, and glocal in perspective and complexity. Not only will the initiative encourage the development of an ethical vision for future society but will also unpack the need for ethical leadership in a society where the moral authority of the major institutions has collapsed. The initiative is being delivered through community education programmes, dialogue events, training resources and materials and a series of in-depth publications, and also the use of the arts. The community of ethical and shared remembering will include people from the community development and community relations sector, education, youth, the faith sector, politicians, ex-prisoners, commemorative groups and institutions. This is an initiative which we hope will make a positive contribution through education to peace building as a glocal task.

References

1. Davies, Norman. 1997. Europe: A History, London: Pimlico.
2. Roberts, J.M. 1997. The Penguin History of Europe, London: Penguin Books.
3. Boff, Leonardo. 2011. Virtues: For Another Possible World, Oregon: Cascade Books.
4. Winter, Jay 2006. Dreams of Peace and Freedom: Utopian Moments in the 20th Century, New Haven and London: Yale University Press. The extended quotation is from Richard Falk.

The media continues to influence our lives with an ever growing capacity, for it is no longer solely in print form and thus commands a much larger potential of accessibility in a much shorter span of time and space. For many, the print edition still offers the best experience of the news but with a much smaller frequency, velocity, and flexibility. Such an influence that comes along with the amount of exposure and yet instant mutability of new media forms brings up concerns about the “values” that set the main guidelines for this power and change in media outlets. This was our main topic of discussion this past March and April in Singapore, Jakarta, Melbourne, Sydney, Kuala Lumpur, and Shah Alam. We are thankful to local organizers in these cities for their cooperation. We are especially indebted to Professor Radhi al-Mabuk from the University of Iowa and Professor Jon Pahl from The Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, who generously spent their time with us during this tour and gave presentations in each of these cities on our behalf. You will find in this issue brief notes and photos from the “Media and Values” panels, in addition to two other The Fountain Talks events in Austin, TX and Manhattan, NY. We would like to offer our appreciation to the local organizers of these events. For more information, please visit www.fountainmagazine.com.

“An Ardent Prayer” leads the current issue. It is the prayer of a painful heart filled with sorrow for our weakness in responding to the blessings bestowed on us; a heart that is concerned with the troubles of our society and yet hopeful for the divine mercy as he prays to be treated not according to our distance from Him, rather in light of His proximity to all of His creation.

“My Treasure Jars” comes from a lifetime resident of the Appalachian Mountains. Belinda Sturgill shares with us a very thoughtful piece on what a woman, a mother, and a grandmother can leave behind as a legacy to her family, to her nation, and to humanity. This is an award-winning essay from The Fountain Essay Contest of 2010.

Our interview with Dr. Priya Natarajan from Yale University is another “treasure jar” in this issue. She describes her job as “building a story line for the universe.” Who else other than a cosmologist could dare to offer such a description of her work? Or perhaps we should put the question the other way around: who on the face of this earth does not want to learn the story line of the universe?

There is explicit information in the divine scriptures that the Great Flood did take place, and that it was a divine message to humanity. About these two points, most of the members of the three Abrahamic religions, and even members of many other faiths, do not have a problem at all. But if we want to draw detailed information about the flood, then we see many topics of discussion: was it a local or global flood? What were the number and kinds of animals in the ark? What was the size of the ark? What was the date of the event? And so on.

In the Qur’an, we are not given all of the details of the flood event. In fact, we should not expect to find all of the details in the revelation, because its primary goal is to inculcate love and respect of God in people, not to teach them science or history. So, from a religious perspective, details such as whether the flood was local or global, whether the ark was powered or not, etc., are irrelevant. What matters is that human beings are not left to their own in this life, and that they have a responsibility towards their Creator. What is more, if dealing with such undisclosed details is diverting us from the main point, this means we are being blinded by what we think we know; not illuminated. Maybe, this is why we are not given in the Qur’an those details. So, one needs to be careful in this regard.

However, keeping the mentioned warnings in mind, for a person eager to discover other signs of God that are invisible at first glance, the doors of study are wide open. Accordingly, when scholars set out to make a complete picture of the Great Flood based on the information from the revelation, at times they rationally fill in the missing details, or interpret already existing ones. And this is exactly where the discussions start.

In this article, it is our intention to make a brief analysis of the Islamic sources on this issue. In doing this, Qur’anic verses [1] and the exegesis of these verses by three prominent Muslim scholars from the classical and modern era (Hamdi Yazir, Fahr al-Din al-Razi, and Ibn Kathir) are going to be our main references. Then, with the knowledge and comprehension of a contemporary mind, the suggestions of these scholars are going to be scrutinized, again based on the information from the Qur’an [2]. Our aim is to show that there is still room for discovery in the story of the Great Flood, that there probably are other signs of God not revealed so far.

Before we begin, we also would like to underline what is not our intention. Just as in the case of a miraculous feeding of hundreds of people from a bowl of food, it is nonsense to discuss what quantum mechanical processes might have led to such a result, it is similarly futile to try to entirely explain the Great Flood in a cause-effect chain. If something is a miracle, it means that God performs it out of the confines of His practice [3] (what we call as “God’s customs” are referred to as “cause-effect chain” by some scientists). But if it is not a miracle, such as the presence of the little amount of food initially in the miracle of abundance, then it can be scrutinized in terms of God’s customs. Therefore, while discussing the Great Flood, we need to keep in mind this criterion to distinguish between its miraculous and customary parts.

Another point that is not intended is to shake the reliability of scholars in religious matters. Those scholars had not only the best and sincerest of intentions to understand the revelation, but also the fear of God lest they misrepresent the content of the revelation. So, the discussion in this article should not invalidate the reliability of the scholars in essential matters of faith, since our discussion is focused on secondary issues rather than primary ones.

Having outlined what is intended and what is not, let’s start.

Persisting questions

Based on different combinations of interpretations of the existing information from the Qur’an, you could derive several variances of the Great Flood. In this article, we are going to briefly question the prevailing flood scenario suggested by scholars.

Was it a local or a global flood?

There is still debate about whether the flood was local or global. Let’s analyze the two cases, starting with the global scenario. When we say global, it is not necessarily a flood that is covering the entire surface of the earth, but rather the majority of it, and also it affected the entirety of humanity. Conversely, a local flood is one that affects a minor part of the earth and only a part of humanity. In this regard, the prayer of the Prophet Noah calling for the destruction of the unbelievers is taken by some scholars as a sign for a global flood.

Noah also said: “My Lord! Do not leave on the earth any from among the unbelievers dwelling therein.” (Noah 71:26)

One can say that his prayer does not necessarily point to its fulfillment, and this is a fair objection. But, when Noah prayed for the salvation of his unbelieving son, a relatively minor issue, he was corrected at once, and we are informed about it in the Qur’an:

Noah called out to his Lord, saying: “O my Lord, my son was of my family, and Your promise is surely true, and You are the Most Just of Judges.” (God) said: “O Noah he is not of your family. He is one of unrighteous conduct. So do not ask of Me what you have no knowledge of. I admonish you so that you do not behave as one among the ignorant.” (Noah) said: “O my Lord! I seek refuge in You, lest I should ask of You what I have no knowledge of. And unless You forgive me and have mercy on me, I will indeed be among the losers.” (Hud 11:45–47)

One would think that if God is telling us a correction to a minor issue, He would certainly let us know about a correction to a major issue. The fact that such a correction is missing can be understood as the fulfillment of the prayer. So, in this regard, the Qur’an contains information that can lead to a global flood scenario [4].

If we consider the local flood scenario, first of all, we see that it, too, has support from revelation. According to a verse in the Qur’an, Noah was not a global prophet, but was only sent to his people (Noah 71:1). If the flood came due to his situation among his people, only those who are in his community should be affected. Thus, it was a local flood.

Another detail supporting the local flood idea is the way Noah was consoled by God before they went out of the ark after the flood.

He was told: “O Noah! Get you down in peace and safety from Us, and with blessings upon you and upon the communities who are with you. Communities – We will provide for them to enjoy themselves for a term and then there will visit them from Us a painful punishment.” (Hud 11:48)

Looking at this verse, Razi concludes that Noah was worried about how they are going to survive after all that happened. And so, God consoled Noah telling him to go out in peace and abundance. Such peace and abundance would not be possible in a place that was totally devastated by the flood. Aside from this, the same verse has a reference that can be interpreted as the sign of other communities on the earth after the flood. These clues altogether support a local flood scenario.

How about the animals in the ark?

Information from the Qur’an about the gathering of the animals is as follows:

Until the time when Our command came and the boiler started boiling over, We said: “Embark in it a pair of each kind, and your family, except those against whom Our sentence has already been passed, and those who believe.” And those who believed with him were few. Noah said, “Board it! In God’s Name be its course and its mooring. Surely my Lord is All-Forgiving, All-Compassionate.” (Hud 11:40-41)

There are several questions, however, about the involvement of the animals in this story. These questions are mainly due to the assumption that there were thousands of animals on board.

If we assume that there were thousands of species on board, the first question is “how did thousands of species get together?” Is it just an obvious miracle that Noah calls the animals, and suddenly all of the animals start rushing to the ark? If we assume that they were somehow collected, how is it possible that animals which live in totally opposite climate conditions could survive in the ship? What kind of an ark can contain hundreds of thousands of different animals on board? How about their food, was the ark big enough to contain sufficient food to feed thousands of animals for a long time? Considering the small number of believers on the ark, how were the animals cared for? Were the animals free to wander around in the ark? How come they did not create terror in there or devastate it? How were hygiene conditions met while all those creatures coexisted in the same place with humans?

Contrary to the number of questions listed above, there is no information in the Qur’an about the state of the travelers while on board. Can the absence of such information point to something else that we are missing, for example another miraculous event while in the ark that can answer our questions?

Was the ark a sail-type or was it powered?

Some contemporary Islamic scholars claim that it was powered by a kind of steam engine. This conclusion is arrived through the Qur’anic phrase “farat-tannur” (Hud 11:40–41), which means “a boiler that is boiling over.” But this conclusion of the Muslim scholars also entails several questions.

A ship does not need an engine if it is only meant to float. As long as it has hydrodynamic stability and structural strength, it can do the job. Let’s say the engine is needed to maneuver the ship according to a predetermined route. However, there is no clue in the divine descriptions for the presence of such a route. Furthermore, one verse in the Qur’an clearly reports that the route of the ark is up to God (Hud 11, 41). Then, why is the engine needed in the first place, even if it did really exist?

As a result, we are left with this mind-intriguing phrase “farat-tannur,” which needs a meaningful explanation. Whether Noah’s ark was powered or not is still uncertain.

What is the clear sign for all worlds?

In the Qur’an, we are told that “it is a sign for all worlds – ayatan lil alemin” (Ankabut 29:14–15) [5]. Scholars tell us that the pronoun it could either refer to the ark or to the flood. However, the things that are attributed to a “sign” in the Qur’an are obvious things. If we assume that the clear sign for all is the ark, then it must be available to us for it to become a sign. So, it is unlikely that the sign mentioned in the verse is the ark.

On the other hand, the pronoun it could refer to the flood story as the clear sign for all, which is currently more plausible than the ark being the sign. But, there are several other destruction stories in the Qur’an which could potentially be a clear sign for all. What makes Noah’s story so special aside from the others so that only it is mentioned as “a sign for all,” and a separate chapter in the Qur’an is reserved for it? This question becomes even more pronounced if the flood was only a local one. How come a local flood involving limited number of people is so distinct from the other destruction stories, and can become a clear sign for all until the end of time?

What is the water of the sky, and where is it coming from?

The start of the flood-related events is explained in the Qur’an as follows:

So We opened the gates of the sky, with water outpouring; and We caused the earth to gush forth with springs, so the waters combined for a matter already ordained. (Qamar 54:11–12).

There are several curiosity-arousing points in this explanation, some of which are mentioned below.

The distinctive explanations for the two waters given in the verse bring the question whether this rain water could be an unusual one [6, 7]. Curious enough, the literal translation of the quoted verse says “the water met,” not “waters combined.” Some scholars say that such singular mentioning is due to the fact that water is a single entity whether its origin is a spring or rain. However, if we consider the water of the sky as something other than regular water, then the verse becomes literally explicit, because it is actually only the water of the earth that is meeting something from the sky. According to the rules of interpreting the Qur’an, such literally explicit and rational meaning is preferable over an interpreted one.

Second, the gates of the sky are told to be opened by the coming of the water, not “the water is let go by the gates.” Along the same lines, in the Qur’an, the explanation of the events of the end of times involves an opening of the sky. Could gates of the sky have anything to do with events other than just rain?

An interim solution

A scenario suggested by Islamic scholars that can resolve several of the questions stated so far assumes that the humanity at the time of Noah was not much populated, and was a single tribe [8]. Thus, a local flood that threatens the small human population does not necessitate the gathering of all of the animals on the earth. Instead, only animals sufficient to sustain the life in the immediate aftermath of the flood are gathered in the ark. The people around Noah would step on land and make their living from these animals, and as time goes by, the rest of the animals elsewhere on the earth would re-populate the once-flooded regions.

However, this local flood story brings with it some problems. If it was a local flood, and if the ark was only large enough to contain a few believers and a few animals, where is the greatness of the Great Flood, where is the clear sign for all worlds? What is the big deal with the water of the sky and earth, if it suffices to have a local flood, which can even be achieved with regular rains? Why did God explicitly give the instructions for the construction of the ark to Noah, if it is a local flood that people could survive by a regular ark?

Conclusion

The discussion presented in this article shows the gist of the debates surrounding the idea of the Great Flood. Yet, despite hundreds of years of study, there is no satisfactory scenario that can answer all these, and possible other, questions. In any case, what we know for sure is that whether it is a global flood or a global warming, we should not wait for clear signs to appear in order for us to obey the Lord of the worlds; because when they appear, it may be too late.

Sermed Ogretim has a PhD in Aerospace Engineering and is currently working as a postdoctoral fellow at West Virginia University. He has a special interest in psychological fiction.

Notes

1 The translations of the Qur’anic verses are taken from Ali Unal’s The Qur’an with Annotated Interpretation in Modern English, The Light Inc., NJ, USA, 2006.

2 For certain points in the discussion, we are going to provide supplementary information from the Old Testament that is in agreement with the Qur’an.

3 Erdin, M., “Are Religion and Science Compatible,” The Fountain, Issue 49, Jan.-Mar. 2005.

4 According to the Old Testament, the flood was global and was large enough to cover the entire surface of the earth, including the high mountains (Genesis 7, 11-20).

5 “Ayeten lil alemin” is only mentioned twice in the Qur’an. The first one is about Mary and Jesus’s miraculous birth from her (Anbiya 21:91), and the second is this one about the Great Flood. The phrase ayeten lil alemin is usually translated as “sign for all people”; but all people can only be a subset of what alemin really means. A similar phrase, rahmatan lil-alemin, is used for Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, in the Qur’an (Anbiya 21:107). Hamdi Yazir interprets this phrase as “mercy for all existence.” Ali Unal interprets the same phrase as “unequalled mercy for all the worlds.” So, it is fair in the context of the Great Flood to scrutinize the meaning of “sign for all people/worlds.”

6 It is curious that both in the Old Testament and in the Qur’an, water of the sky is distinctly mentioned aside the water of the earth. In the Old Testament, we are first told about the creation of the water of the sky (Genesis 1:6-8). When the time of the flood comes, the windows of the sky open (Genesis 7:11), and the flood is realized by the cooperation of the water of the skies and earth.

7 Two independent references to this end are a verse from the Qur’an and a hadith, given here respectively: “His (God’s) throne on water” Hud (11:7), “heaven is a sea whose waves have calmed” (Tirmidhi, Tafsir al-Surah 57/1; Musnad, 2/370). In both of these instances, the implicit or explicit use of the concept of water cannot be the water we drink.

8 Yazir, H., Exegesis of the chapter Hud, Hak Dini Kur’an Dili, Vol. 4.

Gulen is deeply and unequivocally Islamic. The first three chapters of the book, by the editors and Mohammed Abu-Nimer, introduce his approach to peacebuilding. They analyze his ideas through various modern lenses as within a tradition from Rumi, Al Ghazali, and Said Nursi, while also showing that the specific approaches he takes to peacebuilding arise from a thorough reading of the contemporary globalized world. Because these approaches are predicated on faith, the initiatives are heuristic. The movement into a caring engagement with the world is a movement of faith, marked by openness to discovery and so by an expectation of change. The object is not simply to change others, but to be changed with others, and so to move into and discover more of the just and caring social condition desired by Allah.

Part 2 takes a closer look at Gulen’s reading of the globalized world and his deliberate transgression of the kinds of borders which are a product of modernism and fail to meet human realities or to orient us to global perspectives. In a fascinating essay, Klas Grinell brings Gulen’s thinking into association with wider, postmodern debates. Borders, he points out, are associated with fixed identities which do not accord with our realities “in the multi-layered present” (68). Accordingly, crossing the border into the territory of the “other” perhaps does not characterize Gulen’s aspiration because it seems to accept existing stereotypes and fails to leave room for the large areas of overlapping territory. Grinell changes the metaphor, seeing Gulen rather as on the border in the sense proposed by the Argentinian Mignolo:

Border thinking . . . is thinking and knowledge produced from the borders of colonial modernity, knowledge that recognizes the colonizing aspects of what has been seen as true knowledge in mainstream modernity, and uses local resources to confront and alter that knowledge in order to know the particularities of life lived in that setting better. (75)

Irina Vainovski-Mihai pursues some of the implications of dialogue, which requires an open awareness of the other. She concludes that “the dialogical approach may transform the experience of the other into an experience of the self” (96). As Karina Korostelina suggests, though, that self embodies the creative tension in a dual identity, between “one component connected to a religious identity and another component that reflects membership in a secular nation” (104). The borders involved are different and shifting, finding resolution in a much more sophisticated and tolerant sense of the self. That, taken with Gulen’s view of globalization outlined by Richard Penaskovic as more than economic and ideological, as referring “to connectivity and interdependence in all areas of life: cultural, ecological, economic, political, religious, social, and technological” (126), makes hostility manifestly problematic and is conducive to peace.

The third part of the book examines Gulen’s theology of dialogue in comparative perspective. Turan Kayaoglu’s informative essay traces the overlapping theologies of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Pope John-Paul II and Fethullah Gulen – theologies which place interfaith dialogue in the context of the core concerns of each faith. The theological leadership of these three major figures “validates, accommodates, and humanizes the ‘other’ in order to open up religious space for interfaith activities and to establish religious grounds to complement humanity’s quest for peace, tolerance, and care for God’s creation” (166). Zeki Saritoprak shows the continuity between Gulen and Ibn Khaldun, the fourteenth century Muslim sociologist, who emphasizes asabiyya or a non-racist, non-nationalist “group solidarity” around key transformative values. Forgiveness, love and compassion are values at the heart of all major religions and are essential to our full humanity. However, in the heat of social tension, they tend to provoke persecution which has to be faced with a patience that involves being true to the self one has discovered through faith. Despite the legal and spiritual persecution and exile Gulen has faced, he concludes “We are going to respect our character… As a believer, I promise that I will never shun any person, and I will not persecute those who have transgressed against me” (184). Approaching the topic from another angle, Douglas Pratt examines the historical “baggage” in Muslim-Jewish-Christian relations and some of the ways in which Gulen seeks to surmount it. I would have welcomed more attention to the persistent discursive patterns that mark that history. However, central to the notion of dialogue is acceptance that the supreme greatness of God cannot be captured in words and that truth blossoms and its implications become clear in an ongoing process of awed interpretation. For People of the Book, “The ‘book’ is ever a text requiring interpretive understanding and application” (203). Felicitously, the final chapter in this section has a strong emphasis on the hermeneutic. David B Capes places the thinking of the American Baptist, A J Conyers in dialogue with Gulen. Conyers critiques “the modern, secular doctrine of tolerance” in attempting to reclaim “the practice of Christian tolerance based upon humility, hospitality and . . . the incarnation” (207). At the same time, he explicitly recognizes the affinities between Christians and those of other faiths, including specifically “the Sufi mystics of Islam,” in this practice (not doctrine) of tolerance (209). Capes concludes with the observation that while Gulen is specific about forgiveness, there seems to be no explicit discussion of it in Conyers. Of course, Gulen’s “the road to forgiveness passes through the act of forgiving” (221) is strikingly resonant with “forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us” in the Lord’s Prayer. Capes concludes that the difference in the contexts in which the two theologians worked accounts for this apparent gap, implicitly emphasizing the need to interpret contextually.

Part four looks at the practice arising from this rich understanding of Islam. The five sets of initiatives discussed are a sample of the hundreds of innovative Gulen Movement ventures undertaken worldwide. All are undertaken by volunteers who seek to serve in lands or regions faced with conflict and very difficult social adjustment. In Gulen’s words, “Holy people” carry the “new atmosphere, new understandings and dialogue” around the world, creating “islands of peace for stability and harmony” (181). What is most remarkable to me is the humility and rigor with which the volunteers “read” the local situation to determine how best to engage with it.

Modern Cambodia, recovering from more than two decades of traumatic instability, is a striking example. The situation of the minority Cham Muslim group, impoverished, hostile to public education as assimilatory, with religious education usually separated from life needs, and a high level of illiteracy in Khmer, complicates recovery. Philipp Bruckmayr shows Gulen Movement participants supporting Cambodian NGOs which promote “the acquisition of secular knowledge” within the context of faith, and offer practical support to the Chams (234f). The emphasis on “common values rather than differences” is reflected in translation of seminal works on Islam and in cooperation and dialogue with Buddhists (235). More characteristically Gulenian is the Zaman International School of Phnom Penh, which offers excellent secular schooling within a spiritually sensitive context, and has no assimilationist motives (245).

Jonathan Lacey discusses the Turkish Irish Educational and Cultural Society, a Gulenian group in a country with a tiny, fragmented and fractious Islamic minority. It emphasizes dialogue, supports conferences, and shows hospitality in annual iftar dinners during Ramadan, but most strikingly its members accept full, responsible citizenship: “[T]hey have no intention of assimilating, but instead intend to integrate” (263). It is a vital distinction.

The importance of civil society is emphasized by Mehmet Kalyoncu. He looks at the ways in which Turks, Kurds, Arabs and Assyrian Christians have been mobilized by the Gulen Movement in Mardin “to cooperate in tackling their common problems” (275). The Gulenian school there is also a community focus, and helps build civil society organizations. The focus shifts to initiatives in Kenya and the Philippines, again based on schools which bring together the children of parties in conflict, and provide a platform for addressing local needs.

The role of the Gulen Movement in predominantly Muslim South East Asian societies where there is strong sectarianism and a divisive politicization of religion is explored by Mohamed Nawab bin Mohamed Osman. The fact that the volunteers are driven by a sense of duty to serve in places in great need underlines the appropriateness of the Turkish name of the Movement: hizmet or “service to humanity.” The service in Singapore and Indonesia involves dialogue and education with a strong emphasis on honoring and using local customs, as in the Halalbihalal ceremony in Indonesia to bring conflicted groups together in an atmosphere of trust and hospitality.

The final essay by Harun Akyol puts the Movement’s credentials to the acid test in the multiple conflict zone of northern Iraq. Fifteen successful schools and a university have been established to provide a base for thinking and interacting differently.

This book, bringing together key papers from three conferences, offers refreshingly varied, critically nuanced views of Gulen’s thinking and shows the profound impact hizmet has had on particular individuals and societies.

Review by Stanley Ridge

Stanley Ridge is Emeritus Professor of English and retired Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Western Cape, South Africa.

The starting date of a month in the Islamic lunar calendar is very important in the Islamic world as it determines the essential religious days, like the first and last days of fasting, and Muslim holidays.

The Moon

It takes about 27 days and 8 hours for the Moon to complete one revolution around the Earth. At the same time, while revolving around the Earth, the Moon rotates around itself. Because of this, we always see the same side of the Moon. In the picture below, we see the phases of the Moon. For simplicity, the sunlight is fixed, but this is not a problem as the Earth and the Moon are revolving around the sun together. The position of the Moon with the Earth according to sunlight determines how we see the Moon.

The Moon’s position does not change greatly in one day relative to that of the Earth, but the Earth’s rotation around itself changes our position a great deal. One might ask then why do we see the Moon as the same shape throughout the night. As the figures below suggest, the distance from the Moon to the Earth is much greater than the diameter of the Earth. While the closest distance of the Moon to the Earth is around 350 thousand kilometers, the diameter of the Earth is around 13 thousand kilometers. Because of this huge difference, we see almost the same shape of the Moon anywhere in the world- this “almost” will cause many problems, when we determine the dates in lunar calendar. On the other hand, the place where we see the Moon in the sky depends on our parallel on the Earth. In other words, the northern observer sees the Moon at a lower place in the sky, while the southern one sees the Moon at a higher place in the sky. This is because the Earth is round and our horizon changes if we go to the north or the south.

Now, let’s examine another point. We have just said that the Moon completes one revolution around the Earth in 27 days and 8 hours. However, the time between two New Moons is around 29 and a half days. How does this happen? The reason is not very hard to understand. While the Moon is revolving around the Earth, the Earth revolves around the Sun. Hence, when the Moon completes one full revolution around the Earth and comes to the same point from where it had started, the position of the sunlight changes and the Moon’s shape, as we perceive it, has changed.

The Moon completes one full revolution around the Earth and comes to the same point from where it had started, the position of the sunlight changes and the Moon’s shape, as we perceive it, has changed.

Now, let’s make some computations. How much does the angle of the sun change in 27 days and 8 hours? The Earth completes one revolution around the Sun in 365 days, so there are 365 days in one year. So the angle change should be about 27 days /365 days x 360 ~ 27 degrees. So, how long does it take to complete 27 degrees in the revolution of the Moon around the Earth? One complete revolution takes 27 days and 8 hours. Hence, 27 days x 27/360 ~ 2 days. So, we add 2 days to 27 days and 8 hours, we get about 29 days and a half. Therefore, in this time period, the Moon comes to the same position as the Earth according to sunlight, and we see the same shape of the Moon in the sky. When we do an exact calculation, we get 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes, and 3 seconds for the time period between two new Moons.

The Islamic lunar calendar

The earliest calendars in human history were based on the phases of the Moon. Historically, this was used by southern Europeans, as well as Jewish, Chinese, Muslim, and African civilizations. Some of these civilizations are still using semi-lunar calendars, but the Muslim calendar is the only purely lunar calendar in widespread use today. In the Qur’an, there are many references to the moon as a means of measuring time (see Rahman 55:5, Yunus 10:5; Baqara 2:189).

In a lunar calendar, a month is the period between the two consecutive new Moons. Since the exact period between two new Moons is 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes, and 3 seconds, a month in a lunar calendar is either 29 days, or 30 days, depending on the appearance of the Moon at night.

Now, let’s examine another point. We have just said that the Moon completes one revolution around the Earth in 27 days and 8 hours. However, the time between two New Moons is around 29 and a half days. How does this happen? The reason is not very hard to understand. While the Moon is revolving around the Earth, the Earth revolves around the Sun. Hence, when

The Islamic calendar was introduced in 632 by the Prophet, peace be upon him; however the beginning of the Islamic era for the count of Islamic years was considered and discussed in 639, during the time of the fourth year of the Caliphate of Umar. For the Islamic lunar calendar, the time that a month started was decided according to the following hadith. The Prophet said: “Fast when you see the Moon and break your fast when you see the next Moon. But if you cannot see it, then complete the 30th day [of fasting].” Hence, in the Islamic lunar calendar, the first day of a month is the day after the first night on which you can see the new crescent Moon. Since the Moon’s orbit around the Earth is 29 days and a half, Islamic months are either 29 or 30 days long. If there is doubt or if the new crescent Moon is not sighted due to clouds or other atmospheric conditions, then it has been agreed upon by Muslim scholars that the previous month is completed after 30 days.

The controversy

Now, let’s turn to the controversy in determining the first day of a new month in the Islamic lunar calendar. There are essentially two main issues, which are “Local vs. Non-local Sighting,” and “Naked Eye Observation vs. Astronomical Data.”

i. Local vs. non-local sighting

Since the cycles of the Moon and the sun are not completely synchronized, the new crescent Moon might not be observed everywhere in the world on the same night. As we mentioned above, the shape of the Moon is seen almost the same anywhere in the world, but not exactly same. On the same night, Spain might observe the new crescent Moon while Japan might see nothing in the sky. The only thing we can say about these observations is that if one city observes the new crescent Moon, than any city to the west of the original one should be able to observe the same on a clear night, as the Earth rotates about itself from west to east. This means the new crescent Moon can be observed on different nights in different places in the world. There are essentially two different opinions on which Moon sighting should be taken as the basis. The first opinion asserts that all Muslims in the world should begin the new month if the new crescent Moon is sighted in any Muslim country, and the second one says that the new month starts only with a local Moon sighting.

The scholars defending the non-local Moon sighting give evidence from other Islamic practices. They claim that all Muslims should start the fasting and the Eid on the same day, as many practices of Islam suggest that the unity of Muslims is important in Islam; hence Muslims should celebrate these days in unity. So, according to this view, if the Moon is sighted, for example, in Saudi Arabia, all Muslims should start fasting. This is the common opinion among the followers of the Sunni Hanbali school. On the other hand, some other Islamic scholars assert that the starting day of a month in the Islamic lunar calendar might be different depending on local observations. Those scholars derive this result from the principle of simplicity in Islam. All people should be able to perform the practices of Islam by themselves without the need of any outside input. In other words, a Muslim should be able to decide by themselves when Ramadan starts by observing the Moon. A Muslim in Brazil might not get the information of the sighting in Mecca, and this contradicts the simplicity of practices in Islam. A Muslim can determine the prayer times by observing the sun’s position in the sky, and similarly, therefore, they should be able to decide about the starting time and ending time of the fast.

So, the first controversial point in Moon sighting is about whether it is local or non-local. The second issue is about how we make the observations.

ii. Naked Eye Observation vs. Astronomical Data

We are living in the 21st century, and astronomy is a very well-developed science. Man can go to space, observe the distant galaxies, and even observe the expansion of the universe. Hence, at such a time, calculating the times of the visibility of the Moon for a given location should be very straightforward for astronomers. So, why is still there an ambiguity about the starting date of a month in the Islamic lunar calendar?

In the Islamic lunar calendar, the month starts with the visibility of the Moon, not the scientific phase of the Moon. In other words, “Theoretical Visibility” is not the same as “Real Visibility.” If the Moon was a perfectly round sphere with a perfectly flat surface, if the atmospheric conditions were always very clear and did not affect our vision, or if there were no other physical conditions affecting the Moon sighting, then “Theoretical Visibility” would be the same as “Real Visibility,” and we would be able to compute the exact times when we could sight the new crescent Moon by using astronomical data. However, there is an important difference between theory and real life; hence, the problem lies in this difference. Even though the astronomical data tell you the positions of the Moon, the Earth and the Sun, the visibility of the Moon from the Earth depends on many different factors.

This difference between “Theoretical Visibility” and “Real Visibility” is the origin of the second controversy about the starting day of a month. Some Muslim scholars interpret the theoretical visibility as being sufficient to start the month, and as they determine the dates of the lunar calendar by using astronomical data, they do not bother with sighting the Moon. That is, they know the dates for Ramadan for the following 100 years, and they practice according to this calendar depending only on the astronomical data. However, some other scholars assert that people must be able to sight the new crescent Moon with the naked eye for the month to start. Since astronomical data and naked eye observation are not always in sync, some Muslims might start fasting in Ramadan on a different day from other Muslims.

Now, let’s return to the question as to why astronomical data and naked eye observation are not in sync. Scientifically, there are two main factors affecting the visibility of the Moon other than atmospheric conditions or clouds. The first one is the Moon’s altitude measured from the horizon. The second one is the age of the Moon, that is, the time after the new Moon (when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are in line). To see the Moon in the sky, it should be “high” enough above the horizon, and it should be “old” enough (the crescent should be sufficiently pronounced).

The first important factor is the Moon’s altitude above the horizon. If the thickness of the crescent is sufficient, but if it is not sufficiently above the horizon, then it cannot be seen. This happens in the month of September and October in the UK and the USA, when the Moon is in the southern hemisphere, therefore, it cannot be seen from northern hemisphere. If the Moon is above the horizon, but close to it, falling within the glare of the Sun, then it may not be visible. A crescent within an altitude of 10 degrees is usually not visible.

The second important factor is the age of the Moon. When the New Moon has moved away at least about 7 degrees and it is about 20 hours old, then it becomes visible. Until this angle becomes 7 degrees, no light of the sun reflected by the Moon can come to the Earth, because the mountains on the surface of the Moon block the sun’s light. This angle must be about 10-12 degrees for sufficient sunlight to reflect off the Moon and come to the Earth, making a thin crescent which can be seen. Sometimes, this crescent is very thin and very low on the horizon, so it will not be seen, as it fades due to the glare of the sun, even though it may remain above the horizon for 20-30 minutes after sunset. There are many other factors involved in visibility. Without going into technical details, due to other factors, even a 36 hour old Moon may not be visible. Therefore, human knowledge so far has not reached the stage at which it can inform us of the Moon’s visibility in different countries with an accuracy of minutes and seconds, but calculations can be made within a few hours difference.

So, these facts show that astronomical data provide a good means for estimating the starting day of the new month, but it cannot tell us exactly when it begins. There are some Muslim experts who are working on this problem. By using data from the past, they are trying to calculate more accurately the times of the visible Moon for all locations in the world.

On the other hand, this uncertainty of the starting day makes Muslims more aware, and keeps their attention on Ramadan and other festivities. In many countries, Muslims go to hilltops to observe the new crescent in the night, watching the Moon-sighting news on the internet, or calling their friends about it to welcome Ramadan. Hence, the uncertainty of the day causes the Muslim community to be more aware about Ramadan. There are some Muslim experts who have been working on this problem. By using data from the past, they are trying to calculate more accurately the times of the visible Moon for all locations in the world. Finally in 2006, they released an algorithm which can detect the visibility of the Moon by using astronomical data; ISNA (the Islamic Society of North America) has adopted this method to determine the starting day of the Islamic Lunar month. This algorithm makes use of several thousand controlled observations, collected over a period of 150 years in different locations of the world. Moreover, these visibility calculations have been confirmed by observations of the Moon made every month since 1993. Again, this algorithm does not depend upon purely astronomical data, but rather the observational data of the last 150 years. The researchers, Khalid Shaukat et al., used these observations, and comparing them with the astronomical data of the same time were able to attain information about the degree of the Moon and at which geographical position of the Earth the Moon became visible. For more information, please visit www.Moonsighting.com.

To sum up, we have provided an overview of the controversies about the starting day of the month in the Islamic lunar calendar. There are essentially two points of controversy which are “Local vs. Non-local Sighting,” and “Naked Eye Observation vs. Astronomical Data.” We have attempted to show that these controversies are not as simple as many people might think. So, if there are different starting days for Ramadan, or different celebration dates for Islamic holidays for different Muslim communities, we should not see this situation as a huge controversy caused over a small issue. As the Prophet Muhammad said: “The difference of opinion among my followers is a mercy.”

References

1. Dr Jamie Love, The Phases of the Moon, http://www.synapses. co.uk/astro/Moon2.html

2. Syed Khalid Shaukat, What is Islamic Calendar, http://www. Moonsighting.com/islamcal.html

3. Syed Khalid Shaukat, The Science of Moon Sighting, http:// www.ummah.net/Moonsighting/science/Moonscie.htm

4. Zahoor Niazi, The Question of Moon Sighting, http://www. Moonsighting.com/question-rooyat-hilal.mht

5. The Moon, http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/ Moon/index.shtml

6. Moon Calendars, http://www.riverocean.org.uk/lunarcalendar/ calendar.htm