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Issue 71 (September - October 2009)

Issue 71 (September - October 2009)

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Articles

Need For a Bit More Quiet Lament

31 August 2009 | The Fountain | Issue 71 (September - October 2009)

In the face of so many things happening around us, we have two options: either to ignore them, or to take action. Nevertheless, taking action does not always entail outward mobilization. A prophetic tradition narrates that believers should change with their hands whatever wrong they come across; if…

'Ibada, 'Ubudiya, and 'Ubuda (Worship, Servanthood, and Deep Devotion)

31 August 2009 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 71 (September - October 2009)

‘Ibada, ‘Ubudiya, and ‘Ubuda (Worship, Servanthood, and Deep Devotion)Although some view worship, servanthood, and devotion as synonymous, most Sufi scholars and masters say that these words have different meanings and connotations. ‘Ibada (worship) means fulfilling God’s commands in one’s daily l…

Cries of Silence

31 August 2009 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 71 (September - October 2009)

For many years now, cries of silence have clamored above my voice. So many times have I been frustrated to the point that I was going to condemn the tyranny, spit in the face of the tyrant, answer back the slanderer, and choke silent the assailant. “Enough!” comes to the tip of my tongue to shout a…

Mathematics and the Universe

31 August 2009 | Ali Kemal Unver | Issue 71 (September - October 2009)

People have very different attitudes to mathematics. While some love it, some find it very difficult and some even hate it. Even though it is true that mathematics is built on an axiomatic foundation, a strong case can be made for the ultimate foundation of mathematics being its beauty. Richard Fey…

The Amazing Story of Hearing

31 August 2009 | Hamdi Sener | Issue 71 (September - October 2009)

He has granted you from all that you ask Him. Were you to attempt to count God's blessings, you could not compute them. But for sure, humankind is much prone to wrongdoing (sins and errors of judgment) and to ingratitude. (Ibrahim 14:34) Today a large part of modern science focuses on understa…

How Lungfish are Protected from the Sun

31 August 2009 | Erdal Budak | Issue 71 (September - October 2009)

Water means purity, beauty, and life; it would be unrealistic to talk about life if water did not exist. Though it is widely known that water is a colorless and odorless substance with no taste, the existence of water as one of the outward reasons for life is undervalued.

Coping with Life's Problems: Western and Islamic Perspectives

31 August 2009 | Taufik Mohammad | Issue 71 (September - October 2009)

God burdens no soul except within its capacity… (Al-Baqarah, 2:286) This verse is not strange to any Muslim. God has promised that He will never burden a person with difficulties beyond his or her capacity. This is supported by other verses in Surah Al-Inshirah (94:5–6), where it is said that…

Need a Third Eye?

31 August 2009 | Yasin Ceran | Issue 71 (September - October 2009)

“For he who has but one tool, the hammer, the whole world looks like a nail.” Since the time of Copernicus, natural philosophers have commonly assumed there is a real, physical world that exists prior to and independent of the human mind, and they have set themselves the task of penetrating “b…

Did Jesus Have Brothers or Sisters?

31 August 2009 | Ahmet Cetinkaya | Issue 71 (September - October 2009)

The pregnancy of Mary, the greatest example of purity, was a miracle of God and a wonder of divine creation, and the birth of Jesus, peace be upon him, was the result of this miraculous command. The Qur’an stresses the fact that Mary protected her dignity and chastity and that she had never been in…

Romania: A Land of Peace

31 August 2009 | Victor Nitelea | Issue 71 (September - October 2009)

While undertaking a larger study on the biases and commonplaces in Romanian popular history, we encountered several deep-rooted preconceived ideas of the image of the Turk amidst the largest section of the Romanian people. We must point out clearly that ours was not a study of history, but rather a…

The Tale of a Photon

31 August 2009 | Kaptan Murat Celebi | Issue 71 (September - October 2009)

I do not know where I should start to explain my life story. Perhaps the best way is to start from the time I was brought to this life. I am a particle of light, a photon. The place I was created was extremely hot-approximately 15 million degrees C by your measure. My present place is the center of…

Connection, Always and Everywhere

31 August 2009 | Hamza Aydin | Issue 71 (September - October 2009)

“… there is a stable order in the world as well as a well-established connection, constant norms and fundamental laws. In this sense, the world is analogous to a clock or a well-designed machine. Every single wheel, every single screw, every single nail not only has a role in order of a machine a…

Inspiring Story

31 August 2009 | Seth Mette | Issue 71 (September - October 2009)

from the memoirs of an inventor that lived long, long ago I especially love when the spider webs shine with the sunrise. The little water beads on them make an extraordinary scene in the early morning. Talking about spiders, how they make their webs is also another beauty. It still blows my mi…

Action and Coincidence

31 August 2009 | Nizamettin Yildiz | Issue 71 (September - October 2009)

It is not easy for people living today to believe that every object, every law and every incident in the universe is planned in a very detailed way. However, it is a fact that there is a seen and unseen algebraic reality to everything moving in the universe. This situation amazes the distinguished…

Can I Be Your Baggage?

31 August 2009 | Abdullah Aymaz | Issue 71 (September - October 2009)

A significant international conference was held in Melbourne, Australia on the 15th and 16th of July 2009. The conference, “From Dialogue to Collaboration: the Vision of Gulen” was hosted by the Australian Catholic University and co-organized with Monash University, ACU National and the Australian…

A Climate of Tolerance in Rwanda after Genocide

31 August 2009 | Bagasra Omar- Pace D.gene | Issue 71 (September - October 2009)

Since the beginning of civilization, humankind has engaged in various conflicts all over the world. History offers many examples of internal conflict in countries as well as wars between them. Sometimes a conflict has occurred between practicing and non-practicing believers of a particular religion…

The Abyss of Modern Thought

31 August 2009 | Mustafa Torun | Issue 71 (September - October 2009)

Without attributing any value to previous eras, modern thought claims that the only true knowledge is its own, that is, knowledge that is based on rationalism and positivism. According to this view, physics and metaphysics should be separated; the only sphere which human beings can measure and cont…

It's me, Peter, your Tongue!

31 August 2009 | Irfan Yilmaz | Issue 71 (September - October 2009)

Peter, until now I have been speaking on your behalf, telling people of your wishes, happiness, likes, and dislikes. I have been expressing the feelings in your heart and the thoughts in your mind. Now, let me speak about myself this time. Do not think that I am jealous of my fellow organs. On the…

Who are the people the Qur'anic verses 2:18 and 2:171 refer to?

31 August 2009 | Hikmet Isik | Issue 71 (September - October 2009)

Q: Who are the people the Qur’anic verses 2:18 and 2:171 refer to? A: “They are utterly deaf, dumb, and blind; they can no longer recover.” (Al-Baqarah, 2:18) “They are deaf, dumb and blind, and so they have no understanding of (what is said to them).” (Al-Baqarah, 2:171) One of the above v…

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