Issue 117 (May - June 2017)

Many past civilizations believed – and in fact many still believe – that a solar eclipse was an omen of a great event, be it for evil or good.Some believed the eclipse happened because a deity swallowed the sun. Others blamed beasts, wolves, and even frogs for the sun’s temporary vanishing. Babylon…

Never despair, keep your willpower alive If you can, be a source of hope for all Our society is currently being challenged by a spiral of problems – problems of a rare kind. We are troubled by countless incitements. We are faced with depravation, contempt for values, decadence that leads to de…

Religion has been an important part of human civilization. Anthropologists have theorized that after hunter-gatherers settled down and began farming and forming communities the need to reduce tensions between people required some form of religion (Mann, 2011). Another theory postulates that it was…

We are taught that there are four basic tastes. But what taste best describes chicken soup, mushrooms, or pastrami? An NPR story recently explored how the line between specific tastes is actually quite blurry – and how some tastes don’t fit neatly into any of the four classic definitions: Auguste…

On July 15, 2016, while President Erdoğan was vacationing in the Mediterranean coastal town of Marmaris, Istanbul and Ankara were shaken by an attempted coup d’état carried out by certain members of the Turkish armed forces.  About seven years before that, in May 2009, I received an award at the I…

Located in the modern-day West African nation of Mali, the city of Timbuktu was once a bustling Islamic metropolitan center well known to traders and academics throughout Africa and the Middle East. While the city still exists as the capital of the Tombouctou region, it has fallen mightily in terms…

We have a good deal of literature on herbal medicine, which is even recognized, within a certain frame, in Western medicine. However, most people thinking of herbal medicine think of herbs – perhaps logically! But when we look at the giant pharmacy that is nature, which has been equipped with vario…

Literally meaning the state of being a foreigner, homelessness, loneliness, separation, and being a stranger in one’s own land, ghurba (separation) has been defined in the language of Sufism as renouncing the world with the charms to which one feels attachment on the way to the All-True, All-Desire…

The Biblical book of Exodus tells of being a stranger in a strange land. It has universal resonance. To fully grasp the experience of terra incognita, recall a time you entered a place you’d never before gone. Think back to the inner dialogue that ensued, because it is there, at the intersection of…

Taking risks is an inevitable necessity when trying to achieve a breakthrough in modern science, technology, or human understanding. A moral dilemma, however, emerges when the risks threaten human lives and well-being. One must ask: can the well-being of one human be sacrificed in order to achieve…

“At the beginning of the empire, the tax rates were low and the revenues were high. At the end of the empire, the tax rates were high and the revenues were low.” Former US President Ronald Reagan proudly referred to Ibn Khaldun’s above quote in an article for the International Herald Tribune i…

Question: “Love should be learned from Satan and obedience from Adam.” What does this statement, which is originally attributed to Hallaj al-Mansur, mean? Hallaj al-Mansur was inspired by the philosophy of Unity of Being (wahdat al-wujud), which he followed. When looking at his words we can unders…

At the acute-care, big city hospital where I trained as a Muslim chaplain, I was called to support a family who had been visiting their loved one, when he suddenly died. To personalize the patient, I will call him, “Mr. Griffin.” When I entered the room, the patient’s wife and adult son were stand…

Many scientists have been conducting studies examining the natural world for clues that will hopefully improve human flight engineering. One of the studies they launched explored the miraculous design of dragonflies. Dragonflies are insects of the Odonata order. They’re distinctive from other insec…

Human beings have made significant developments in technology. Better designs are emerging by the day. The dizzying speed of development hasn’t just brought serious technological progress, but serious competition – which has, in turn, begat even more progress. Old, inefficient models are being repl…

Stem cells as an arthritis vaccine Brunger JM et al. Genome Engineering of Stem Cells for Autonomously Regulated, Closed-Loop Delivery of Biologic Drugs. Stem Cell Reports, April 2017. Arthritis is an ancient disease that is associated with swelling and inflammation of the joints. It often result…