THE FOUNTAİN --A MAGAZINE OF SCIENTIFIC AND SPIRITUAL THOUGHT-- NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2011

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They are now breathing with vigor,“Our day will soon come,” they murmur.Counting the moments or the happy uture,They are sending hope into our souls!

44304

FREEDOM OF

RELIGION

Earthquake

Predıctıons

HUMANITY:

OUR UNIQUE

DIMENSIONS

ESTABLISHING A CULTUREOF COEXISTENCE AND

MUTUAL UNDERSTANDINGInternational Conference, Abuja, Nigeria



84NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2011

TABLE OF CONTENTS /////

ARTS & CULTURE

10

14

17

2122 4

Lead Article

> > >

Humanity: OurUnique Dimensions

M. Fethullah Gülen

PsychologyDelay o Gratication and Spirituality Zekeriya Ozsoy

PerspectiesIn Wonderland Beste Nigar

PhilosophyAn Occasionalist Picture o the Unierse Nazi Muhtaroglu

Poem

In the Gardens o Loe You BloomedSevim Hancioglu

PsychologyDierent Approaches to Interpersonal Conf ictOsman Senkaya

ReligionForgieness: a Prophetic Example Fatih Harpci

A Moment For Ref ectionLost Mirkena Ozer

Religion

The Freedom o Religion, the Concept o War and Gulen Ahmet Kurucan

DialogueTalking ToleranceGertrud Mueller Nelson

PoemMy Sadness Barbara Koerth

Media

Misinormation in the Age o Globalization Kaan Kerem

Biology

The Unsoled Mystery: Symmetric Growth Hamza Aydin

Geology

Earthquake Predictions Meryem Saygili

EnironmentHidden Danger in the Waters Bahadir Can Gumussulu

MathematicsThe Idea o Innite Ali Sebetci

ScienceQuantum Worlds Halil I. Demir

See-Think-BelievEIt’s Me Peter, Your Blood Iran Yilmaz

Science Square1. Immune System at Training in the Gut

2. Cancer Meets Memory3. Designing Perect Plastic4. The Key to Long Lie?

SCIENCE

BELIEf

Emerald Hills o the HeartRida (Resignation) - 2

Q&ATwo Assurances and Two Fears

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ISSUE

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51

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he Fountain is co-sponsoring an international conerence in

Abuja, Nigeria, November 18-19. The theme is “Establish-

ing a Culture o Coexistence and Mutual Understanding: Ex-

ploring Fethullah Gülen’s Thought and Action.” The coner-

ence will eature academics rom teen dierent countries.

We remember Arica today with recent amines and

drought, especially in Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya, worst

in the last sixty years. I one is not watching only wild lie documentaries, Aricais one large portion o the old world, home or diverse cultures, a continent rich

with natural resources, and this last one has been the major reason why it has

become a large battleeld or many centuries.

igeria is the most populous country o Arica (seventh in the world), with

over 250 ethnicities, over 500 dierent languages spoken (one o the countries

with highest linguistic diversity). Nevertheless, Nigeria has also been the stage

or tribal warare and strie, and bitter incidents o some recent bloodshed still

linger in our memories. In this respect, the theme o the conerence ts per-

ectly well in this country, where there are seventeen schools, a university, and

a recently established dialogue oundation inspired by Fethullah Gülen.

What other orms o engagement can we oer other than education anddialogue or peaceul engagement? What can be a more lucrative investment

or a peaceul uture than the one made in education and dialogue? With

awareness o this need and commitment to serving all humanity, regardless o

race, color, religion, or nationality, growing numbers o volunteers o education

and dialogue are establishing schools, hospitals, dialogue centers, and relie

organizations all over the world. Humble but selfess eorts o these volunteers

who are inspired rom thinkers like Fethullah Gülen are now yielding ruits o

dialogue in more than 130 countries where children o warring nations are edu-

cated side by side, members o dierent religions enjoy the same meal, and

pray or a peaceul uture.

he current issue o The Fountain oers essays refecting this culture o co-existence. The lead article expounds on the unique qualities o being human,

reminding us the “know thysel” principle o Socrates, or “the one who has

perceived the secrets o his or her own sel has also known God.”

“Dierent Approaches to Interpersonal Confict” stresses on how vital it is

to be amiliar with “confict-related behavioral tendencies” or it “might help

in the development o strategies or interpersonal, intercultural confict resolu-

tion or prevention.”

Also in this issue Dr. Kurucan explains Islam’s stance or issues like ree-

dom o practicing and teaching one’s religion, and in what conditions Islam

allows war, i it does, in cases o violation o this right.

www.ountainmagazine.comALD /////

CULTURE Of COEXISTENCE



The Fountain Magazine November / December 20114

LEAD ARTICLE

M. Fethullah Gülen

HUMANITY:OUR UNIQUE DIMENSIONS

he human is unique. We

are sel-conscious and

can exercise sel-control.

Ironically, too many ne-

glect this unique ability.

How many individu-

als can we count who de-

velop a habit o requent

sel-criticism? How many

do we know who exam-

ine themselves yet again

each and every day: weaknesses

and strengths, internal chasms

and power centers, losses andgains? How many do we know who

take the time to reect on the state

o their soul in a down-to-earth

manner? The unique capacity o

humanity is this sel-examination,

which is akin to the way a consci-

entious, qualifed, and sensible

physician would treat a patient.

How many do we know who en-

gage regularly in this sel-exami-

nation, not because o a temporary

admiration or idle curiosity, andnot in the sense o degrading one-

sel by poking into one’s vices, but

or the sake o exploring one’s sel

and increasing discernment?

“Know thysel.” This loty say-

ing o Socrates is well-known at

centers o learning throughout

the world, including many Suf

schools where it was reinterpret-

ed with a mystical dimension:

the one who has perceived the

secrets o his or her own sel hasalso known God. How many can

we count who appreciatively inter-

preted and lived up to this saying?

I do not think we can count many.

Yet those who are insufciently

sel-aware or who have narrow

horizons also cannot know about

other people or things, perhaps

with the exception o some sur-

ace and inconsistent knowledge.

Covering the entire earth rom one

end to the other with an eye o re-ection—the awesome rise o the

mountains, rivers cascading or in-

fnity, lights and depths o the sky

more magical than the most en-

chanting harmony that oer a new

parade every night, eternal colors

glittering rom behind all these

lace curtains—these can fnd their

true meanings and values onlyi they can be processed through

the prism o the knowledge o

the divine inherently ound in

the human. Otherwise, all exis-

tence, each component o which

is a combination o materialized

speech and meaningul words in-

terwoven in the Hidden Tablet,

would not only become meaning-

less, but turn into chaos.

Since the frst day humans ap-

peared on earth, we have studiedourselves: sometimes superfcially

and at other times prooundly,

sometimes crudely and at other

times subtly, sometimes rom a

bird’s eye view and at other times

microscopically. The human is in-

comparable: material and soulul,

physical and spiritual, emotional

and rational. Yet what a bundle

o contradictory and oten oppos-

ing attributes! as sweet as honey,

yet disgusting as slime; vast andopen to eternity, yet constrained

T “I am a lowly creature”

you say O man

Only i you knew…”

M. Aki



5 The Fountain Magazine November / December 2011

and narrowed with stupidity; welcoming with humility, yet rejecting with

pride and arrogance; transparent and secure, yet mischievous and treach-

erous; altruistic, seless, and supportive, yet selfsh and ego-centered;

peaceul, air, and merciul, yet wild, aggressive, and cruel; sincere, di-

rect, and speaking rom the heart, yet ake, hypocritical, and attering;

prudent, ingenious, and with a solid perspective, yet short-sighted, ool-

ish, and clownish. Whatever attributes we may eature, they are all hu-

man! These dierences and contrarieties do not reect our true essence,

nor do they relate to so-called inner instincts, instinctual protection, or

some natural inclination to reproduction—as some used to suppose. It

also is by no means right to relate these to the existentialist approach o

being whatever one wants to be, as i humanity were infnitely malleable.

No. It is true that the human is specially created to become almost

anything across a wide-ranging spectrum. Human nature changes rom

darkness to light, with infnite colors in between; it is a unique potential

o humanity to rise infnitely to the highest o all and to all to the hor-

rendous lowest o the low. The uniqueness o humanity is that we areimplanted with seeds o spirituality and carnality. How we express our-

selves—what color we reect—depends on whether we are directed to an

eternal prophetic goal, or not; whether we mine and appreciate the hu-

man ore in our soul, or not; whether we claim our potential power, or not;

whether we dive deeply into the heart to disclose its spiritual depths, or

not; whether we decide correctly when to exercise our human willpow-

er, or not; whether we discern the secrets behind the conscious, or not;

whether we turn our emotions to the beyond, or not; and whether we be-

come aware o how the mechanism o conscience operates, or not.

Seekers o a lie in the vast ocean o their souls and in the depths o

their hearts, who always remain centered on their conscience, will rise

to a level “higher than angels.” O course they may stumble at times. O course they can be hampered by the thorns ound in one corner o their

nature. Conversely, captives who live in the shackles o their body, corpo-

reality, and social conventions are submerged deeper as i in a whirlpool

and dragged down to a level “lower than a beast.” For them, the human

is a “thinking animal” which is a victim o this lie that is programmed

according to a digestion-circulation-excretion system. Humanity is in this

view no dierent than a reservoir o libido that is never satisfed and yet

grows sickened in its own excess.

O course, the body, corporeality, and society do have signifcant

roles to play in our lives, but humanity also is equipped with a potential

much superior to any o these. Indeed, that potential has the capacity to

overcome anything in this world. Humans possess an inner dynamism toovercome both themselves and all the worlds. I we can turn our inherent

powers and possibilities to the true source o all powers and possibilities,

then we can surpass transient qualities; we can enrich all the decaying

and crumbling pieces o existence with priceless meaning and nature,

and make them qualifed or eternity.

Today we can harness thunderbolts and put them in humanity’s ser-

vice. We can observe the minutest particles in the atomic world and the

planets millions o years away. We can cover unathomable distances

with our eelings, thoughts, imagination, discoveries, and inventions.

Nevertheless, we ail to realize our true uniqueness when we all into sav-

agery, selfshness, lawlessness, ambition, indierence, sel-indulgence,

and lethargy. Despite our transcendent capacity, we are acing this cursebecause o a alse interpretation o ourselves.

The uniqueness o humanity is

that we are implanted with seedso spirituality and carnality. How

we express ourselves—what color

we reect—depends on whether

we are directed to an eternal

prophetic goal, or not; whether we

mine and appreciate the human

ore in our soul, or not



The physical properties

o our bodies are mostly

determined during the

embryonic stage. The

development o this

main structure contin-

ues until we are 16–18

years o age without

losing its symmetry. It

is amazing, or instancethat our ears have a

BIOLOGY

Hamza Aydin

Even though we understand how our arms and legs de-

velop, the question o how the coordination and controlo the development o symmetric organs is maintained

has still to be answered.

similar shape and size, thus symmetrical, just as our arms are the

same length, with perhaps only a slight dierence (0.2%). The buds

o the upper extremities (arms and hands) start developing during

the 26th or 27th day o embryonic lie, while the lower extremities

(legs and eet) start during the 28th or 29th day. The developmental

processes o the buds o the upper extremities and lower extremities

are independent rom one another. No signalization which causes

the extremity buds to develop in a synchronized manner has yet

been discovered during research. Symmetric growth is observable

in many organs, including the fngers on our let and right hands.Even though we understand how our arms and legs develop, the

The impeccable genetic

programs o dierent

growth plaques on thetwo sides o the body

leads to the ormation o

the arms and legs, as i

they have been molded in

a actory.

T

is a Freelance Writer with a PhD in biology




question o how the coordination

and control o the development o

symmetric organs is maintained

has still to be answered.

The miracle o lie appears in the

orm o a baby which developsrom a ertilized ovule (zygote)

ollowing millions o other events.

This series o events, which is

almost always the same or every

etus, can be grouped as repro-

duction, dierentiation, and de-

velopment. The zygote completes

its development in the womb;

postnatal growth can continue

until 20 years o age. Even though

every event during the baby’s

development seems to take placewith chaotic reactions, harmony

and order are there or us to dis-

cover. One o these astonishing

events is the perectly symmetric

growth o the etus/baby. Most

organs in the human body appear

in pairs and are symmetric. Babies

are born with 300 bones; however,

some bones later use with other

bones, leaving only 208 bones

in the adult human. It is still a

mystery how long bones such as

the humerus, radius, ulna, emur,

and tibia are able to grow on both

sides o the human body in a sym-

metrical manner.

Mechanisms that controlgrowth in organs

In vertebrates, both internal de-

velopmental programs and the

external actors which stimulate

or inhibit growth play a role in the

ultimate size o an organ. But therelative eects o these two mech-

anisms can vary signifcantly in

dierent organs. When pieces o

spleen rom an embryo that is at

a later stage o growth are trans-

planted to a newly developing

embryo, each new piece grows,

but not to the size o the original

spleen. The total weight o all

the transplanted spleen pieces is

equal to a normal spleen’s weight.When the spleen reaches a certain

weight, growth inhibiting actors

are secreted, which stimulate

negative eedback mechanisms

that limit growth. When a spleen

reaches a certain size, the den-

sity o the inhibiting actors in-

creases simultaneously, halting

growth. Growth in the liver is

controlled by extracellular actors

(various substances in the blood,

hormones, vitamins, minerals,etc.). When a section is cut o o





the liver, the section continues

growing and developing until it

reaches the size o the original

liver. The thymus has a growth

process that is executed by a cel-

lular genetic program. When sec-

tions o a thymus taken rom theembryonic period are injected into

developing mouse embryos, every

section grows until it reaches the

ultimate size.

More evidence o cellular growth

programs was acquired via an

experiment that was carried out

with the salamander genus Am-

bystoma. When the leg bud o

the larger species was injected

into the smaller species, it would

at frst grow slowly, but then itwould reach the normal size o its

own species (the larger species).

Distinguishing growth and symmetryrom one another

Both the arms and legs have long

bones. A long bone consists o two

parts (diaphysis and epiphysis).

The diaphysis is the middle (core)

part o the long bone. It consists

o hard bone tissue, and is like a

tube. The hyaline cartilage-covered

joint orms the epiphysis o the longbone. In a growing bone, there is

a growth plate (epiphysis plaque)

made o hyaline cartilage; this is

located between the diaphysis and

the epiphysis. The epiphysis plaque

causes the bone to grow longer;

when growth is complete, the epi-

physis plaque ossifes (becomes

bone). In other words, growth

stops. There are some clues that

show the existence o positive eed-

back mechanisms which controlthe symmetric and balanced devel-

opment o the arms and legs while

the etus is still growing. The arms

and legs grow due to the develop-

ment and growth o the plaques

located at opposite ends o the long

bone. The ultimate size o the arms

and legs are proportional to the

size o the fnger bones (phalanx)

and the metacarpus. According to

current knowledge, growth in our

arms and legs is only controlled byinternal growth programs and the

active growth o the plaques. We

do not yet know the mechanism

through which how much the bone

must grow and symmetrically with

the organ (the other arm or leg) on

the other side o the body. But even

i this is discovered in the uture, wewill continue to appreciate the per-

ect and miraculous aspect o this

phenomenon.

In addition, in growth-plaque

transplant experiments, the de-

velopment o the transplanted

growth plaque is dependent only

on the age and size o the donor.

Growth plaques cause the bone to

grow, but the plaques themselves

remain the same size or years.

The cartilage cells they produce(chondrocytes) exchange places

with the bone cells (osteocytes)

in harmony and without destroy-

ing the length o the bone. Cells

rom dierent areas o the growth

plaque act dierently. Stem cells

are ound on the upper section,

near the epiphysis. Immediately

above them is an area where cells

reproduce very quickly. At the

bottom o the epiphysis, the

cartilage cells grow up to 4 to 10times larger than their normal size

(hypertrophy). Cell reproduction

here is mostly due to hypertrophic

chondrocytes. The chondrocytes

die and break up, then change

places with the bone tissue. The

dynamic process o these events

in the growth plaque repels it

rom the bone area, and as a re-

sult, the bone grows longer.

Sustained symmetry despite cell se-

quence and speed o reproductionThe rapid growth rate in the legs

and arms during the embryonic

period continues to increase until

the child is three years o age. This

growth rate slows down until the

individual reaches adolescence.

During the astest growth period,

which is rom adolescence to the

early 20s, the growth rate rapidly

increases. For example, most peo-

ple who grow between 30 and 37.5

cm during the frst two years o lie can grow between another 7.5

and 10 cm every year during ado-

lescence. At the onset o adoles-

cence, rapid growth due to a sud-

den change in the volume o cells

is observed. Ater adolescence a

sudden alling o in the speed o

growth can be observed due to theeect o hormones on the growth

plaques in the spine and other

long bones. The growth plaque

now uses with the neighboring

cells and growth stops. However,

the using o the growth plaque

is the result o the cessation

o growth, not the cause. Ater

growth stops, the growth plaques

begin to disappear. When the

reproduction potential o the car-

tilage cells in the growth plaquehas been exhausted, the growth

plaque begins to disappear.

Growth plaques in dierent

bones can trigger growth at vari-

ous rates; these rates can dier

as much as seven times. In act,

growth plaques on dierent

ends o a bone can have dierent

growth rates, provided that this

rate is consistent with the genetic

program. The number o cells on

the growth line is 40 times morethan in other areas. The number

o cells produced here can exceed

10,000 cells per day. For symmet-

ric growth between the arms and

legs to be sustained, the number

o cells in the growth plaque must

be the same or very close. Experi-

ments carried out on rats show

that eight cartilage cells leave the

growth plaque to exchange places

with cells above them every day. It

can be said that the growth o thebone is caused by the increase o

cells in the growth plaque (which

sustains its size). The growth rate

caused by the growth plaque can

be calculated by multiplying the

growth plaque’s cell production

rate by the average length o all o

its cells. Dierent growth plaques

provide dierent growth rates.

This dierence can be caused by

the dierence in the size o the

growth plaques, the dierencein cell production rates, and/or



9The Fountain Magazine November / December 2011

the dierence in the hypertrophy

(growth) rate o every cell. The up-

per growth plaque in the tibia o

mice generates 16,400 cells every

day; the average lie span o these

cells is around 30 hours. Can suchharmonious, symmetric, and

equivalent growth in the arms and

legs—despite the large number

and variety o cells—be the work

o pure coincidence, mindless na-

ture, or unconscious molecules?

Do hormones play a role?

The main molecular players that

organize longitudinal growth in

bones during childhood are the

growth hormone, the thyroidhormone, and corticoids. The

sex hormones (androgens and

estrogens) are programmed to

inuence growth during ado-

lescence. Estrogen is the main

determiner o characteristics re-

lated to increased height and an

increase in bone quality, as well

as adolescent-related physiology.

These hormones are in charge o

coordinating growth throughout

the body. It is or this reason orwomen, ater the menopause, the

production in estrogen decreases

and osteoporosis and brittle

bones can occur. According to the

current view, cartilage cells have

a certain genetic reproduction

potential, and when this potential

fnishes, growth stops. The growth

rate during the embryonic period

is 20 times higher than that o

mid-childhood. The growth rate

drops greatly during mid-child-hood. I we exclude the noticeable

increase during adolescence, the

cells responsible or growth have

begun to age. The bones on op-

posite sides o the body stay about

the same size, despite all o these

changes in growth rates. Circulat-ing hormones and neuroendocri-

nal actors are believed to play

important roles in maintaining

symmetric growth. But there is no

conclusive evidence to support

this belie. Even though one can

think o actors such as pressure,

tension, and sports as helping

control harmonious and sym-

metric growth o bones, no proo

has been attained rom controlled

experiments. As a person ages, agradual decrease in growth can be

observed. Even i a growth plaque

is placed into another organism,

be it young or old, the growth rate

o the bone does not change. This

shows that symmetric growth in

long bones is controlled by a pro-

gram that is operated by internal

actors, which is also compatible

with the genetic program. When

chemical-based medication is giv-

en to postpone growth, ater themedication has been eliminated,

the growth plaques grow aster

or a short period to compensate

or the lost time. These fndings

show that timing and the location

and circumstances o the cell are

critical parameters or reproduc-

tion. I the cartilage stem cells in

the growth plaque have a certain

reproduction potential, then it is

clear that cartilage cell reproduc-

tion stops when growth comesto an end. I growth inhibiting

actors slowly accumulate in the

growth plaque, this might cause a

deceleration o growth over time.

Another possibility is some sort

o “meter” in the unconscious

and mindless stem cells, whichkeeps track o the number o cell

divisions and thus controls aging.

The estrogen in our body has a

duty o closing down the growth

plaques and speeding up the ag-

ing o cells. However, we should

not orget that estrogen plays the

special role o closing down all o

the growth plaques at the same

time. Estrogen is one o the vis-

ible causes o ertility, growth anddevelopment, and resilience. Es-

trogen also represents emininity

and ertility at all levels.

When the signals rom uncon-

scious cells in the growth plaques

and the quite sophisticated inter-

actions among all the actors that

inuence growth, all o which re-

quire an all-encompassing knowl-

edge to be executed, are taken

into account, the impeccable ge-netic programs o dierent growth

plaques on the two sides o the

body that leads to the ormation

o the arms and legs, as i they

have been molded in a actory, is

absolutely amazing or anyone

who reects upon it.

ReerencesWolpert L. (2010).”Unsolved Mystery: Arms

and the Man: The Problem o Symmetric

Growth.” PLoS Biology . 2010 Vol. 8(9). pp 1-3

Extremity Development during the Embryonic

Period (www.visembryo.com)

Joint cartilage

New cartilage cells are produced in this area

Growth plate

Cartilage tissue passes to this side o the

growth plate or bone ormation

Bone tissue

Epiphysis

Diaphysis

Bone tissue

replaces the old

cartilage tissue

cells

Growth plate

Bone ormation is

completed



PSYCHOLOGY

Zekeriya Ozsoy

Empirical evidence demonstrates thatdelay o gratifcation is related to higher

intelligence, ability to resist temptation,

greater social responsibility, and

commitment to tasks.

is a PhD candidate in Educational Psychology




e are living in a world in

which everything changes

very quickly; throughout

the world immediacy rules.

Industrial companies want

to produce more goods in a

shorter time and aim to de-

liver their goods as rapidly

as possible; young people

want to get richer aster

and people choose the astest way to get

where they are going. With everything

happening as soon as possible, impa-

tience has now become a part o popular

culture. Just take a look at those slogans

and popular sayings: “Just do it!”, “Get it

now!”, “Immediate satisaction!” or “Buy

now!” Despite all these external incen-

tives that prioritize immediacy, humans

have a personality and character that is

relatively stable despite environmental

inuences. Psychologists have attempted

to discover which predictors can provide

inormation or the uture, indicating

some possible ways to improve the qual-

ity o our lives.

People with dierent personality

traits respond dierently to immediacy-

provoking incentives. A critical trait that

should be given particular attention is

the ability to delay gratication. Delay

o gratifcation is an interesting conceptbecause it is connected with many other

widely-accepted ideas in psychology.

Sigmund Freud (1949/1989), or example,

conceptualized human personality as be-

ing under the inuence o the id, which

represents human needs and desires, and

the superego, which resembles the social

restrictions that inuence the id. The ego

represents the mechanism that manages

the two in order to maintain psychologi-

cal health. Due to the relative consistency

o personality traits, we are able to pre-

dict human characteristics and behavior

even rom an early age.

The ability to delay gratifcation in-

dicates a special potential or deciding

what is good or onesel in the short and

long term; something that is undamen-

tal or sel-management. We have empiri-

cal evidence which demonstrates that

delay o gratifcation is related to higher

intelligence, ability to resist temptation,

greater social responsibility, and com-

mitment to tasks (see Mischel, Shoda &

Rodriguez, 1989). Contemporary social

problems such as eating disorders, drug

and alcohol abuse, impulsive and aggres-

sive behaviors, and behavioral disorders

underline the pivotal role o the ability

to delay gratifcation or a healthy, bal-

anced, and successul lie. While resist-

ing and delaying temptations is consid-

ered to be a symptom o “ego strength”

and “impulse control,” the ailure to do

so is regarded as a actor that underlies

psychopathology (Mowrer & Ullman,

1945).

In a study with orty-two sixth grad-

ers, researchers asked children to com-

plete a task (shooting a ray-gun) in a

game; this task served as a measure o

temptation allowing the observers to

W

Delay o gratication reveals an essential principle o happiness

in this world and the next





assess how the children adhered

to the rules o the game and how

they cheated. They designed the

game in such a way that unless

the child cheated and violated the

rules o the game he/she would

ail. In this sense, the game cre-ated a double approach-avoidance

conict as the children were eager

to win (approach) and had to

comply with the rules (avoidance).

Ater promising several rewards

(marksmen, sharpshooter, and

expert badge) according to their

perormance in the game, the su-

pervisor let the room so that chil-

dren can behave in a natural way.

It was expected that children who

are more highly motivated wouldbreak the rules to obtain gratifca-

tion and those who were less able

to delay gratifcation would be

less resistant to temptation. There

were 17 items connected to mea-

suring the delay o gratifcation,

each requiring choosing a smaller/

less valuable reward immediately

or a larger/more valuable item lat-

er. For example, they were asked

to choose either “a small notebook

now or a larger notebook in one

week.” The results were remark-

able: The cheaters were more

likely to be unable to delay gratif-

cation, asking or the rewards im-

mediately rather than those who

were patient enough to wait or

a better reward. Those who wereable to delay gratifcation (and

thereore selected a better reward

at a later time) waited longer to

begin cheating than their riends

who asked the rewards immedi-

ately. Also, those who were more

successul in the game tended to

delay the reward to get a better

reward later than those who were

less successul.

Following the progress o

these students, Shoda, Mischeland Peake (1990) collected their

SAT scores, as an indication o

their academic and cognitive

competency, and parental ratings

o those children who diered

in their response to gratifcation

more than ten years ago. The re-

searchers ound that adolescents

with higher SAT scores were more

likely to wait longer or the grati-

fcation. Moreover, they were bet-

ter able to cope with rustrationand stress in adolescence. This

result has been supported by fnds

in more recent studies as well

(Ayduk, 1999).

The ability to delay gratifca-

tion is much more than a personal

trait. Mischel (1961) investigated

the relationship between social

responsibility and delay o grati-

fcation. This makes a great deal

o sense, as people who are able

to put others’ welare beore theirown interests can behave altruisti-

cally and be socially responsible.

As expected, children who choose

the delayed reward were more

socially responsible than those

who preerred the immediate re-

ward. Likewise the proportion o

children preerring the delayed

reward was higher in the non-

delinquent group than the delin-

quent group.

In a recent study, Wulert et al(2002) investigated the possibil-

ity o using delay o gratifcation

as an indicator o sel-regulation

in adolescents. The adolescents

who were invited to participate

in the study were oered either

a smaller but immediate ee or a

larger ee or one week’s partici-pation. Two groups o students

were compared in terms o use o

cigarettes, alcohol and marijuana

use, as well as sel-perception

and academic achievement. The

results were interesting: those

adolescents who selected the im-

mediate reward, and thus ailing

to delay gratifcation, reported a

higher use o cigarettes, alcohol,

and marijuana. They also had a

lower sel-concept and were lesssuccessul at school.

As with many other psy-

chological concepts, delay o

gratifcation also has a strong as-

sociation with the religion and the

basic principles o religion. For

example, in all three monotheistic

religions, an aterlie is promised

to every human being. Those who

avoid the seductive eatures o lie

are promised a heaven, which is

described with all its attractionsbeing beyond anything that can

be compared to this lie. God asks

people to restrain themselves

rom temporary and prohibited

acts in this lie in exchange or an

unending lie where pure bliss is

to be attained, like children who

have been promised better candy

or larger and better toys i they are

patient. Thus, people who are pa-

tient and able to delay their grati-

fcation will be more responsiveto religious limitations and direc-

tions. Worldly benefts represent

the immediate rewards, while de-

layed responses can be connected

to the benefts in the aterlie; in

this way, everyone makes some

choice between the two. So, it is

possible to argue that the abil-

ity to delay gratifcation is a very

good predictor or religiosity.

Dierent religions underline

the importance o delay o gratif-cation. We see a clear connection

As with many other psychological

concepts, the delay o gratifcation

also has a strong association

with religion. God asks people torestrain themselves rom temporary

and prohibited acts in this lie in

exchange or an unending lie where

pure bliss is to be attained.




between delay o gratifcation andintelligence or cognitive compe-

tence in several verses o Qur’an:

“And the present, worldly lie is

nothing but a play and pastime,

and better is the abode o the

Hereater or those who keep rom

disobedience to God in reverence

or Him and piety. Will you not,

then, reason and understand?”

(6:32), “However, certainly the

reward o the Hereater is better

or those who believe and keeprom disobedience to God in rever-

ence or Him and piety” (12:57),

and “Those who are patient (per-

severing in adversity, worshipping

God, and reraining rom sins) will

surely be given their reward with-

out measure” (39:10). In the Bible,

later happiness is encouraged and

patience is appreciated: “Those

who shed tears as they plant will

shout or joy when they reap the

harvest” (Psalm, 126); or “Knowthat suering produces endur-

ance, and endurance, character,

and character, hope” (Romans, 5).

It is also important to note that

religions are not only concerned

with the aterlie. They regulate

our lives at all times, and direct

people to behave in a particular

manner. Thus, religious principles

increase the quality o lie. The

contribution o delay o gratifca-

tion to the quality o lie is some-thing that we should be aware o.

A religious education in school oramily provided in the early years

o lie can educate individuals

in how to delay their desires and

gratifcation toward their goals

in the long-run, allowing them

to have a balanced and healthy

lie. Religious teaching involves

patience and resistance against

extravagant worldly comort, sug-

gesting sacrifce and dedication

in this world to earn a better lie

ater death. With such discipline,people will also be able to man-

age their own lie more eectively,

because even long-term benefts

in the worldly lie can be gained

i one expends time, eort, and

energy.

The importance o delay o

gratifcation seems to become

more obvious given the scandals

in the lives o eminent people who

are successul in arts, sciences,

sports, or politics; such peoplehave ailed to delay some o their

desires and instant gratifca-

tion. From another perspective,

although they had fnancial and

social reedom, they lost their in-

ner reedom as they became pas-

sive responders to their instincts

and desires. Ater centuries o

physical slavery, which beneftted

some classes to the detriment o

another, the modern world has

created a new orm o slaverywhich pits the human mind and

reason against their instinct. In

this system, amusement parks,

substance addiction, adultery,

violence and a number sources o

satisaction have been given great

value; people have simply became

dependent and demand gratif-cation. This sort o enslavement

is no less dangerous than the

traditional slavery; the modern

“slaves” seem to be content with

their status and demand even

more. Under these circumstances,

people tended to spend less time

thinking, reasoning, eeling, and

understanding themselves, their

environment, and other people.

Delay o gratifcation allows

modern people to manage theirtime, goals, tasks, and responsi-

bilities, all o which are keys to

success. People who resist their

desires have real reedom and are

able to shape their own lives. It ac-

tually makes people control them-

selves, and become the rulers o

their lives. From this point o view,

delay o gratifcation—as a psycho-

logical personality attribute as well

as a means o religious instruc-

tion—reveals an essential principle

o happiness in this world and in

the next world.

ReerencesAyduk, O. N. (1999). Impact o Sel-Control

Strategies on the Link Between Rejection Sen-

sitivity and Hostility: Risk Negotiation Through

Strategic Control, Unpublished doctoral disser-

tation, Columbia University, New York.

Freud, S. & Strachey, J. (1949/1989). An outline

o psychoanalysis. New York, NY: W. W. Norton

& Company.

Mischel, W., Shoda, Y., & Rodriguez, M. L.(1989). Delay o gratifcation in children. Sci-

ence, 244, 933-938.

Mischel, W. (1961). Delay o gratifcation, need

or achievement and acquiescence in another

culture. Journal o Abnormal and Social Psy-

chology, 62, 543-552.

Shoda, Y., Mischel, W., & Peake, P. K. (1990).

Predicting adolescent cognitive and social

competence rom preschool delay o gratifca-

tion: Identiying diagnostic conditions. Devel-

opmental Psychology, 26, 978-986.

Wulert, E., Block, J. A., Santa Ana, E., Ro-

driguez, M. L., Colsman, M. (2002). Delay o

gratifcation: Impulsive choices and problem

behaviors in early and late adolescence. Jour-

nal o Personality, 70, 533-552.




It was 3 o’clock in the morning. The rain outside beat on the windows and the

loud thunder ripped through the night. A loud knock on the door startled the

boy. All alone in the mansion, he was not really expecting anyone this late. But

the stranger insistently knocked on the door. The boy got up hesitantly and

grabbed the doorknob with shaking hands… Flash orward. He woke up with a

scream, drenched in a pool o sweat. “Thank God, it was all a dream.”

In WonderlandPERSPECTIvES

Beste Nigar

I attended an exhibition associated with a popular movie. I was amazed at the power o human imagination.




he world is ull o wonders. We are amazed at how

sh swim or how birds y; by imitating their systems,

we attempt to swim or y. One o our most precious

attributes is curiosity. Once I attended an exhibition

associated with a popular movie. I was amazed at

he power o human imagination and the dreams it

can conjure, turning them into reality. The props and

costumes used in this movie were displayed lavishly

or the curious eyes o the ans and the ash o the

cameras. We, as human beings, were being enter-ained with the products o the human imagination.

Even the ow o events that happened at the exhibition,

he ashing cameras, the décor and costumes, which

seemed so important at that time, were all a design

o the human imagination; they were not real. As the

actors and actresses took on the personalities o their

characters, they not only assumed the role o a movie

character, but also became a player in a man-made

dream world. We ollowed the entertainment with cu-

iosity and interest. The characters, the story, the cos-

umes, the light, and sound: all this captivated our at-

ention. As the glow o the entertainment slowly adedo, I began to eel that this popular movie and even the

exhibition itsel existed within another movie… a more

eal movie in which we all played our roles.

My avorite pieces in the exhibition were the “mag-

cally alive” animated portraits. I couldn’t help but

smile when I saw the people in the portraits applaud-

ng us, as i we had accomplished some eat. I liked

he idea o animated portraits and photos. A picture is

ltimately just a 2D image, but an animated image en-

compasses a third dimension: time. A movie’s ability

o capture the charm o time is what appeals to us and

captivates our attention.Early in the morning, I glanced out my window

and noticed the autumn leaves alling rom the tree in

y back yard. About two or three weeks ago they were

all green, but now the scene had completely changed.

inted with dierent shades o orange, yellow, red and

urple, the leaves rued on their branches with the

whoosh o the light breeze.

I imagined that my window was an animated pic-

ure inside my home. There was someone insistently

striking His brush against my easel, coloring this

icture day by day, moment by moment, and giving it

otion or me, making me eel the changes He broughtabout. Filled with these wondrous thoughts, words

T

I turned o the TV, eeling a mix o boredom and hunger gnawing

unger at the pit o my stomach. I headed down to the kitchen to

grab a bite.




ell out o my mouth: “He is truly

a magnifcent artist.” At the mo-

ment, I recalled what the lead

character in a movie had said as he

looked, bewildered at the harmony

o colors in the sky during sunset:

“God must have been an artist.”In order to make an animated

picture or create a video se-

quence, the consecutive pictures

or “rames” o a scene must be

joined together. I the dierence

between the capture times o two

consecutive rames is too long,

the video will not run smoothly,

stuttering like an old silent flm,

with intermittent ickers. Modern

day movies use a larger number

o rames per unit o time. Thegreater the number o rames, the

smoother the images will appear.

When I ocused my attention on

this outside “movie,” a movie in

which I was an actress along with

the rest o humanity, I couldn’t

help but wonder what the number

o rames was. Since we are living

in a “perect” movie, the movie

o our world that we see through

our eyes everyday must have an

infnite number o rames. I con-tently ollowed the descent o a

snowake onto my hand. It made

me admit once again that we’re

part o a great cinematography

and screenplay. The producer is

not only an artist who covertly

paints the pictures with His gentle

brush strokes, but is also someone

who strings an infnite number o

picture rames with great skill and

attention to detail, creating the

perect animation o “lie.”Imagine the animation o a

alling bird eather; one would

need to perorm an enormous

number o calculations between

the sequences o rames. It would

be necessary to run many comput-

ers in parallel to be able to pro-

cess such animation in real time.

Then I used this same inormation

and applied it to the scene o the

alling snowake. Contemplating

the details o each moment withinthat scenario and considering

each moment to be a single rame

helps you appreciate the com-

plicated task o stringing these

rames together in real time.

When you see a man inscrib-

ing circles with a light source you

actually see a circle o a light. Inact, you perceive it as a circle

because o the speed and the

continuity o the motion. Lie

is analogous to that imaginary

circle; it exists because o the

continuity o the artist’s eorts.

Yes, lie as a “perect” movie is

similar to the continuity o this

circle o light, because the artist’s

magnifcent skills continuously

color and illuminate each picture

rame, stringing them together ina perect ashion.

Wait, wait, it doesn’t end here.

I close my eyes; it is easy or me

to see things that happened years

ago in all their details. The time

I dropped my ice cream on my

avorite shirt when I was fve, the

git that my brother gave me on

my thirteenth birthday, the day

I graduated rom college… like

a movie, I can watch all these

whenever I like. This illustratesanother issue in video process-

ing, storing the videos, in other

words, the rames, in an efcient

way so that they can be accessed

promptly when needed. I already

have a good technique to store the

story o my lie in my memories.

Moreover, in order to remember

any sequence, all I need to do is

just remember a small detail o the time, an event, or a memento.

This is the astest content-based

image retrieval system I have ever

seen! No moment o lie is wasted

and all is saved somewhere, pro-

viding relie or the human heart,

which is helplessly attracted to

eternity. Any art necessitates an

exhibition and an audience. Then

there must be a place and a time

in which the whole movie will be

watched again by the audience.My brain not only stores my

memories as videos, but also cre-

ates videos as I dream. These are

mostly movies in the making;

because I can do everything in my

dreams, they do not need to be

logical. I heard the phrase “Dream

Theater” and I smiled. What else

can one call a dream other than

a grand theater ull o surprises?

Moreover, although the length

o time that a dream takes up is

not that long, it still contains a

sizeable story that takes up days

o real lie. It’s one rabbit warren

inside another.

As the rain hits the Boston

ground, I look outside my window

at my moving picture. Through

this open window, I also hear the

pitter-patter o the alling rain.

The smell o wet soil seeps into

my room. I shut my eyes and I canrepaint the entire picture, using

nothing but sounds and smell.

What kind o magic is this? I can-

not stop mysel as I think about

Him, the Producer o the real

movie o my very existence. Ater

all, I know that He loves me. No

matter how busy I am watching

man-made movies inside the real

movie, I eel the presence o the

true artist always with me and the

imprint o His ever-lasting art inevery moment o my lie.

The producer is not only an artist

who covertly paints the pictures

with His gentle brush strokes, but

is also someone who strings an

infnite number o picture rames

with great skill and attention

to detail, creating the perect

animation o “lie.”



PHILOSOPHY

Nazi Muhtaroglu

Our inability

to perceive the

distinct rames

in movies raises

the question

as to whether the universe is

perceived in the

same incomplete

way.

hen we watch a movie, we

think that we see a continu-ous movement o an object.

For instance, a car seems to be

moving or a certain time. In

other words, there is just one

car which is moving. The real-

ity is completely dierent. In act, we are

conronting a series o images or rames,

separated rom each other by thin black

strips. When we watch a movie, we receive

24 rames per second. But due to the quick

movement o images, we are not be able to

distinguish dierent rames in this discon-

Wis a PhD candidate in philosophy

at the University o Kentucky





tinuous ow and perceive them

continuously, as i there is just a

car moving over time rather than

many dierent pictures rapidly

succeeding each other.

Our inability to perceive the

distinct rames in movies raisesthe question as to whether the

universe is perceived in the same

incomplete way. Do the objects in

the universe have their own in-

dependent existence and causal

powers or are they constantly sus-

tained and created?

There is a story about Moses,

peace be upon him. Even though

we do not know whether or not

it is true, it has a lesson to teach.

According to the story, Moseswonders about God and requests

Gabriel to arrange a meeting with

God or him. Gabriel comes with

a message that God will disclose

Himsel to Moses at midnight, but

that Moses must wait or Him with

two glasses o water in his hands.

Moses prepares his glasses and be-

gins to wait or God. As midnight

approaches, Moses briey alls to

sleep. The glasses suddenly all

on the ground and the resultingsound wakes him rom his sleep.

Then Gabriel comes with the ol-

lowing message o God: “I am

always with you and with all be-

ings, i I cease to apply my power

just or a moment, everything will

crash and the order will disappear

as your glasses all down.”

There are dierent views o

God’s relation to the universe,

ranging rom atheism to occasion-

alism (defned below), but can wereally justiy the belie that God

constantly sustains the universe,

as the story suggests? The idea

that God’s creative activity is con-

tinuous in the universe is known

as “continuous creation.” How-

ever, there are dierent versions

o this doctrine. St. Augustine

believed that the universe is con-

stantly sustained by divine power,

but he does not rule out the pos-

sibility that each being also has itsown power to produce something

by the help o divine power. This

version o continuous creation

resulted in St. Aquinas’s view o

“concurrentism,” which states

that a certain event is produced

together by divine power and the

power o fnite beings. Another version o the doctrine o continu-

ous creation is called “occasional-

ism,” which denies the ascription

o any causal power to fnite be-

ings. According to occasionalism,

everything is created only by God

at each moment and no fnite be-

ing has a role in the creation. This

doctrine was ormulated frst by

the Ash’arite tradition in Islamic

theology, was echoed among the

Cartesians, the philosophers whoollowed Descartes, and amously

articulated by Malebranche. This

article aims to show that occasion-

alism is a plausible explanation o

the universe.

Occasionalism in Islamic philosophyand theology

Named ater Imam Ash’ari (936

AD), a amous scholar on Islamic

theology, the Ash’arite tradition

was the frst school to embraceoccasionalism consistently. In

Ash’arite cosmology, the universe

can be analyzed in terms o two

main categories: those o sub-

stance and those o accident. An

accident can be simply regarded

as a property and a substance is

the thing to which properties are

attributed.

Substances are usually iden-

tifed with indivisible particles

(atom). Atoms are homogeneous,and the diversity in nature appears

as a result o the heterogeneity o

accidents inhered in these sub-

stance-atoms. Accidents are con-

sidered to be perishable by their

nature. No accident can endure

but perishes in the second-instant

o its coming to be i God does not

recreate it in its substance.1 This

is the crucial point in support o

occasionalism. Accidents cannot

exist by themselves and the at-oms which need accidents to exist




being aected or being acted upon

cannot be a true agent. The true

agent acts upon what is aected

without itsel being aected by

any kind o eect. Everything in

this universe is acted upon and a-

ected by something else. So Godis the only true agent. The rest are

only metaphorically causes which

do not have real causal powers.2

Later, al-Ghazali ocused on

the apparent causal relations be-

tween events and argues that the

causal relation between any two

events can be justifed neither logi-

cally nor by experience. Let’s con-

sider his ollowing example where

fre and a piece o cotton are ound

together and the cotton is burned.A piece o cotton and fre cannot

have a logically necessary relation

between themselves because we

can think o one event without the

other, which does not lead to any

contradiction. Observation cannot

justiy that burning o the cotton is

a necessarily causal eect o fre

because we can observe only that

fre and the burning o cotton ap-

peared together, but not that fre

caused the burning.3 This occasionalist metaphysics

does not deny that human beings

are ree in their choices and will

be responsible or what they do.

The Ash’arites suggest the ollow-

ing ormula with respect to human

acts: human beings acquire their

acts, while God creates these acts.

Al-Maturidi later clarifes the na-

ture o the acquisition o their act

by human beings by considering

human choice as the ground orthis acquisition. The thesis that

God is the only causal agent in the

universe provoked discussion as

to whether or not human choice

is created by human beings. I

human choice is created by hu-

man beings, then occasionalism

is rejected because, in that case,

humans will have causal power

together with God. I God creates

human choices, then human be-

ings cannot be held responsibleor their choices simply because

they are not their choices. Sadr-

us Sharia and later Tatazani o-

er an ingenious solution to this

problem by denying that human

choice alls under the scope o di-

vine power. In their view, human

choice is a relational and relativematter that appears between the

inclination and the action. For in-

stance, assume that I have a desire

to drink water. I choose to drink it

and then take a glass o water and

perorm the action. My choice is

a relational matter between my

desire to drink water and the act

o drinking it. Relations are not

things that have defnite exis-

tence. Think o rightness and let-

ness. My pen is on the right side o my tea cup rom a certain perspec-

tive and is on the let side rom an-

other perspective. Even though my

pen and my tea cup have defnite

existence, the relations o right-

ness and letness which appear

between them do not have. These

relations are relative matters and

because o that they are not genu-

ine objects to which divine power

is applicable. In other words, hu-

man choice as a relational matter

is not under the scope o divine

power as round squares are not.

As a result, it would be a category

mistake to say that God could or

could not create human choices.

Let’s see how occasionalism is ar-

ticulated in the West.

Malebranche’s occasionalism andthe Cartesian tradition

Malebranche (d. 1715) is a ollower

o Descartes. He accepts the basicprinciples o the Cartesian phi-

losophy and inherits the problems

remained rom Descartes. What

is the exact nature o causality?

How is the mind related to the

body? These are some o the im-

portant questions the Cartesian

philosophers tried to answer. Mal-

ebranche’s occasionalism is a re-

ply to such problems as well as a

result o his theological concerns.

As ar as his theological moti- vation is concerned, Malebranche

cannot exist by themselves either.

All atoms and accidents need the

power o God in order to exist and

subsist over time.

In Ash’arite metaphysics, it is

not the case that God can create

anything. Some things do not allunder the extension o divine pow-

er. It is absurd that substances can

exist without accidents and there

is no rationality in saying that God

can create a substance without

accident. Logically contradictory

cases are also excluded rom the

scope o divine power. In other

words, to say that God can create

round squares or logically contra-

dictory cases is a category mistake

like saying that number 2 is green.Numbers are not the things to

which the color predicates apply.

In other words, color-predicates

have a certain range or extension

o applicability which excludes

numbers. On the other hand, the

properties o “being odd” or “be-

ing even” apply to numbers, but

not to material objects. Saying that

this chair is even is another cat-

egory mistake.

So each predicate has a certainextension to which this predicate

legitimately applies. Things or

expressions which are not in the

scope (extension) o a certain pred-

icate lead to a category mistake i

they are associated with this predi-

cate. So the sentence “God cannot

do something” includes a category

mistake i that thing in question is

a contradiction or instance, be-

cause contradictions are not with-

in the scope o divine power.In brie, the general eatures o

the Ash’arite cosmology present a

discontinuous universe, which de-

pends on God’s creative power to

exist and subsist at each moment.

Furthermore, it does not consider

certain cases such as absurdities to

be possible with respect to creation.

Al-Kindi supports the Ash’arite

picture o the universe by indicat-

ing the impossibility o a real caus-

al link between natural objects. Hepoints out that anything which is



The Fountain Magazine November / December 2011 20

concluded that a belie in second-

ary causality, namely ascribing

causal power to beings other than

God, leads to paganism. For Male-

branche, i we are under the control

o a power belonging to a natural

being, then we should serve it be-cause o the ollowing principle o

St. Augustine: whatever truly acts

upon us, it is above us, and inerior

things serve the superior things. As

a result, he denies any causal ef-

cacy in the created realm.4

Malebranche calls his doctrine

“occasionalism” because God cre-

ates events, not arbitrarily but in

a regular manner, where certain

natural events are “occasions” or

God’s creation o certain eects.What people ordinarily call “causes

or natural powers” are in act “oc-

casional causes” in the sense that

they are depicting the uniormity

o God’s operation in the world and

providing us with an ordered sys-

tem o created nature. I we use al-

Ghazali’s example, we can say that

the existence o fre near a piece

o cotton is the occasional cause

or God’s burning o that cotton.

Because o the emphasis on occa-sional causes, occasionalists do

not rule out scientifc activity—on

the contrary, they encourage it. In

their view, scientists are looking or

the secret and hidden occasional

causes and try to understand how

God operates on earth.

God is the only true cause

having genuine causal power. Ac-

cording to Malebranche’s analysis

o true causation, there must be

a necessary link between a truecause and its eect. A necessary

link holds only between the will

o an infnitely perect being and

some eect. This is the reason why

only God can be regarded as a true

cause. In other words, any event or

eect needs an absolute power to

become existent. It is impossible

or fnite beings to cause anything

at all. That is to say, the two types

o fnite beings o the Cartesian

metaphysics, namely bodies andminds are causally inefcacious.

Malebranche accepts Des-

cartes’s characterization o bodies

and minds. Bodies are essentially

extended substances, minds are

thinking substances. Bodies are

by defnition impotent because

the idea o extension does not in-clude the idea o power; there is

no power belonging to the essence

o bodies. Malebranche believed

that observation or sense experi-

ence leads us to imagine a causal

link between two interacting bod-

ies such as when a billiard ball hits

another one. He holds that reason

corrects sensation and shows us

the truth about the inefcacy o

the balls in question by reect-

ing upon the concept o extensionwhich excludes the concept o

power or causal efcacy.

Minds also are causally impo-

tent. However, people have ree will

by which they are responsible or

their acts. Malebranche abstains

rom ascribing causal power to

the human will by saying “I do not

know i that can be called power.”

However, he does not oer a de-

tailed account like that o Tatazani

regarding the question as howpeople can be ree without having

causal powers o their own. Nev-

ertheless, his occasionalism oers

a good solution to the mind-body

problem which bothered Descartes

and many Cartesians. This problem

is quite complicated because mind

and body are postulated as two

completely distinct substances hav-

ing nothing in common. How then

are they interacting, or instance,

when we eel pain whenever wecut our hand or when we move a

chair should we desire to do that?

Malebranche resolves this problem

by claiming that every state in mind

and body is created by God in ac-

cordance with each other. It is God

who creates the desire to drink wa-

ter and again God who moves our

arms without any intervention be-

tween mind and body and creates

the action o drinking water. Sim-

ply speaking, the human’s role inthis picture is choosing to actualize

or ignore the intentions they have

in their minds.

Malebranche comes closer to

the Ash’arites in his approach to

the matter o absurdities. Contra-

dictions and similar absurdities are

not subject to divine power and will.This contention o Malebranche

diverts him rom Descartes’s path

because Descartes allows that God

could have changed logico-mathe-

matical laws. Malebranche rejects

this view and excludes logico-

mathematical contradictions rom

the scope o divine power.

Conclusion

For many people, the idea that the

universe is constantly created and

controlled only by divine power

is difcult to grasp. Many tend to

believe in a more naturalistic ex-

planation o the universe, where

everything has its own power and

role in the whole system. Never-

theless, it is easy to see how we

sometimes can be mislead i we

remember o our inability to per-

ceive movie rames. The picture

o the reality is more complicated

than its appearance. There are

very good reasons to adopt an oc-

casionalistic explanation o the

universe. It is interesting to see

that this explanation is advocated

by both Muslim and Christian phi-

losophers. We see many parallel

lines between Malebanche and the

Muslim philosophers on this issue.

There are sufciently strong argu-

ments both rom East and West

showing that occasionalism is well

justifed, and has satisying impli-cations in terms o human respon-

sibility and scientifc activity.

Notes1. Majid Fakhry. 1958. Islamic Occa-

sionalism, pp. 38-48.

2. al-Kindi, “The One True and Com-

plete Agent and the Incomplete

Metaphorical ‘Agent,’” p. 22, in

Classical Arabic Philosophy , ed. by

McGinnis and Reisman, 2007.

3. Al-Ghazali. 2002. The Incoherence

o the Philosophers, 17th Discussion.

Translated by Michael E. Marmura.

4. N. Malebranche, Philosophical Selec-

tions, ed. by S. Nadler, pp. 90-110.




In the gardens o Love you bloomed

Adoring to be ree rom this conned prison

No longer will be imprisoned in sti matter

In the light, peace and rejoice you laid down

Emerging into the embrace of the Divine Love

Merging into the Eternal realm o being

Fullling your longing to Heaven

Letting your ree spirit travel with delight

in the gardens o heaven

For you no limits to bear

For you no measure o distress and grie

Only the immeasurable grace embraces

in the gardens o heaven

In the gardens o Love you bloomed

Embittering my lusciousness o the transient lie

No longer will be deceived in the splendor o the ading pleasures

In the light, peace and rejoice you will itinerate

Attaining the heavenly blessings o the All-Municent

While my appeal, groaning and prayers

Reaching to the All-Answering (o prayers) and Meeting (o needs)

For easing my teardrops, dearest son

For appeasing my longing to you

Reuniting with you so as an inhale / in a glimpsein the gardens o heaven

IN THe GArdeNs of Love YoU bLooMed

SevimHancioglu

PO-EM

Our

sympathies

to the

Hancioglu

amily or

their loss…

The fountain



pproximately three decades ago, the CampDavid Accord was signed between Egypt

and Israel. Israel’s position was to retain

the Egyptian land it had claimed in order

to protect itsel. Egypt’s position was that

Israel must completely withdraw rom Egyp-

tian land. The positions both parties brought

to the table were much too rigid to fnd any

common ground. Israel’s interest was that its

borders be protected rom hostile neighbors.

Egypt’s interest was that Egyptian land be-

longed to Egypt. The negotiated settlement

was a 10-mile demilitarized zone on Israel’sborder with Egypt—protecting Israel but

owned by Egypt, with Egyptian ags ying.2

Obviously, conict is not limited to inter-

national disputes only, and may well take

place at various sublevels. Organizations

may have dierent positions or interests on

any given issue that would yield to dierent

perspectives. Even at a grassroots level, like

between riends or within a amily, view-

points possessed by individuals may not

APSYCHOLOGY

Osman Senkaya

Incompatibility o personal values and needs may

be quite dicult to resolve and may lead to

some unease, particularly when the

reactions are highly emotional.

The suitability o a conict management strategy depends on

both personal style and situational demands.

dIffereNT APProACHes To

INTerPersoNAL CoNfLICT

has an MA in Nonproit Leadership


“…set things right (adjust all matters o dierence)

among yourselves to allow no discord…” 1



be similar in nature at all times. Each and every entity, rang-ing rom nations to individuals, may have a unique perception

o events, thereore their explanations and opinions may dier

signifcantly.

People who are requently involved in conicts are generally

labeled as “troublemakers” or “bad apples,” however a discom-

ort may simply arise due to personal dierences, defciency o

inormation, misunderstanding, or incompatibility o priorities,

rather than personal deects. Another reason or tension might

be resource scarcity: As a tradition suggests, Mawlana Jalalad-

din Rumi, the amous scholar and renowned poet o the 13th cen-

tury, and one o his disciples were passing by two dogs that were

cheerully playing with one another. His student comments:

“Look what good riends they are.” Rumi replies: “Throw a bone

in-between and observe.”

Deviations may surace rom time to time, since dierences

o belies/interests are inevitable and legitimate. Our values are

shaped by means o various parameters such as amily back-

ground, level o education, span o experience, etc. Also, person-

al characteristics and culture aect tolerance or disagreement

and personal needs. As a response to the conict, altruistic-nur-

turing individuals tend to press or harmony by accommodating

the demands o the other party; assertive-directive personalities

tend to challenge the opposition by using the orcing approach;and analyzing-autonomizing personalities attempt to resolve

the problem rationally (see Figure 1).

Thereore, it is natural that individuals’ interpretations o

events and expectations about relationships would vary consid-

erably. However, incompatibility o these personal values and

needs may be quite difcult to resolve and may lead to some

unease, particularly when the reactions are highly emotional.3

“Like a y’s wing covering the eye conceals a mountain, so too,

due to the veil o hatred, man conceals virtues as great as a

mountain due to one evil like a y’s wing.”4

Disagreements can be viewed as embarrassing, distress-

ing, chaotic, and as a deviance rom the group identity, andpeople generally preer to avoid them. On the contrary, they

may be viewed as valuable when they provide an opportunity

or growth.5 “In case o positive dierence, each party strives

to promote and diuse its own belie; it does not seek to tear

down and destroy that o the other, but rather improve and re-

orm it,” Nursi writes, while commenting on the hadith: “Di-

erence among my people is an instance o Divine Mercy,”6 and

rejects that dierence must be approached in a negative and

hostile ashion. He urther adds, “i the conrontation o views

and opinions takes place in the name o justice and or the sake

o truth, it helps the truth become apparent in its ull measure,

maniesting all o its aspects.”7 Even though many o us intellec-tually understand this value o conict, we eel uncomortable

The collaborating approachseeks to address the concerns

o both parties entirely by

fnding mutually satisactory

solutions to the conict.





when conronted by it due to a lack o understanding

o its nature, thus how to handle it eectively.3 Many

religious and philosophical teachings suggest avoid-

ing it whenever possible, since an intense conict

saps one’s energy, demoralizes onesel, and harms

social harmony due to its stressul nature: “…do not

dispute with one another, or else you lose courage and your strength depart…” 8

finding ways out

While handling a conict, law is concerned with the

situation and the rules. Dispute resolution, on the

other hand, attempts to maximize the beneft to both

parties by applying not only situation and rules, but

also morality, justice, and accountability.9 “The main

processes o conict resolution are reconciliation,

acilitation, mediation, negotiation, arbitration, and

problem solving [mutual action plan ormulation,

implementation, and ollow-up].”10

So, how do we respond when we come across a dis-

tressing situation? Choosing an appropriate strategy,

based on a thoughtul assessment o the circumstanc-

es, is crucial or eective conict management. Our

responses to interpersonal conrontations generally

all into fve major groups: orcing, accommodating,

avoiding, compromising, and collaborating, which

reect a range o cooperativeness and assertiveness.

The cooperative aspect reects the importance o the

relationship and a cooperative response prioritizes

the needs o the interacting person, whereas the as-

sertive dimension reects the importance o the issueand an assertive response ocuses on the needs o the

ocal person (see Figure 2).3 Postures in each style, ra-

tionales behind them, and their likely outcomes are

summarized in Figure 1 respectively. Now we’ll elabo-

rate on each style briey:

1. “I’m the boss, so we’ll do it my way”:

Generally preerred when issues come prior to the eel-

ings, the orcing response is an attempt to satisy one’s

own needs at the expense o the other individual’s,

by using ormal authority or simply by ignoring the

claims o the other party. This approach is depicted

as assertive-uncooperative in Figure 2, demonstrating

that the issue is ar more important than the relation-

ship.

Such use o authority entails a lack o tolerance orsel-confdence and may breed resentment when used

repeatedly. However, when there is a superior-subor-

dinate setting and when there is a sense o urgency,

this approach may be suitable.3 Imagine the ollowing

situation, in which Bob is in a meeting with his as-

sistant, Tom:

Tom: I think we should spend some more time on in-

vestigating some alternatives. I am just not comort-

able with approving your proposal without veriying

the details about it.

Bob: Tom, I don’t think there is enough time to dis-

cuss all the details with you. We are just moving onwith my decision.

2. “Okay, however you wish”:

Implemented to maintain harmony, the accommodat-

ing approach satisfes the other party’s concerns while

neglecting one’s own. As seen in Figure 2, this is an

unassertive-cooperative stance contrary to orcing ap-

proach. The fgure also suggests that this can be ap-

propriate when the importance o maintaining a good

relationship outweighs all other considerations, or

when the issues are not vital to your interests and the

problem must be resolved quickly3

: John and Benjamin are two twins that share the

same bicycle. Hence, minor tensions arise on rid-

ing the bike rst, once they come home rom school

in the aternoon. John loves his brother very much

and generally gives in quickly because he is araid

o hurting his brother’s eelings. “Well, at the end o

the day, it is not worth it,” he thinks, “riding rst or

last isn’t that important.”

Figure 1. Comparison o Five Conict-Management Approaches3

Approach Personalities Objective Decisive factor

Forcing Assertie Directie Get your way done Importance o the issue

Aoiding Altruistic Nurturing Aoid haing to deal with conf ict Harmony, lack o experience

Compromising Altruistic Nurturing Reach an agreement quickly Adequate time or negotiation

Accommodating Altruistic Nurturing Not to upset the other party value o the relationship

Collaborating Analyzing Autonomizing Sole the issue(s) together logically Objectie analysis




3. “Let’s think about it sometime later”:

The avoiding response (unassertive-uncooperative)

neglects the interests o both parties by sidestepping

the conict or postponing a solution. This is oten the

result o ill-preparedness to cope with the stress asso-

ciated with conrontations. Or, it might reect recogni-

tion that a relationship is not strong enough to absorban intense conict. The repeated use o this approach

causes considerable rustration, because issues never

seem to get resolved [and] really tough problems are

avoided: 3

The workers in a actory were seeking better payment

and discussing a three-week strike as an option, un-

less the company oered a minimum net increase o

5% in their salaries or the ollowing year. Unaware

o the rumors however, the management later an-

nounced that it was planning to provide an enhance-

ment in terms o benets rather than solely monetary

means. Without urther due, the labor union issueda statement that accused the company o being un-

air in its policies, and called or a cease o work. The

company responded by declaring that the economic

conditions were pressing hard and they would be

unable to consider any increment in wages without

hurting their no-layo policy. Ater the news that the

company’s shares had lost a signicant value, at the

ourth day o their action, the workers decided to ac-

cept the company’s oer on reezing the crisis and

starting negotiation talks ater 8 months, because

they wouldn’t risk losing the actory, thus their jobs,

in such hard times o recession.

Although the model outlined in Figure 2 tends to con-

ceptualize the avoidance style as the least desirable

option that yields a lose-lose outcome and as reec-

tive o low concern or both sel and other, it may be

utilized or win-win outcomes in some cultures in

order to preserve reputation and the respect o other

people, and keep harmony as well.11

4. “Let’s fnd the middle ground”:

As in the Camp David case above, a compromise is an

attempt to obtain partial satisaction or both parties

who make sacrifces to obtain a common gain. While

this approach has considerable practical appeal, its

arbitrary use may create a climate o pragmatism that

encourages game playing, such as asking or twice as

much as truly needed. In cases o moderately impor-

tant issues that lack a simple solution, or when bothparties have strong interest in dierent aspects o the

problem, this approach may be used i there is ade-

quate time or negotiations.3

5. “This is my point, what is yours?”

The collaborating approach seeks to address the con-

cerns o both parties entirely by fnding mutually satis-

actory solutions to the conict. Figure 2 hints that the

relationship and the issue are both important per se, and

an assertive-cooperative style is pursued in this case. Al-

though not appropriate or all situations, it is the most

benefcial approach or the involved parties and willmaintain an ongoing supportive relationship between

peers. The ollowing situation would be an example:

Johnny and Ken share an apartment. For the past

week, Ken’s riend stays over every night. This a-

ects Johnny’s sleeping, and he doesn’t do well on a

test one morning. Johnny rst asks Ken i they can

talk about the issue without challenging him on it,

and summarizes the problem clearly, without being

oensive or attacking. (Generally, the one who initi-

ates the conversation has responsibility to guide the

situation to a good solution.)

- Okay, I’m sorry, Johnny. I his visits are really both-

ering you, I can try to be fexible.

- Thanks or understanding. I eel like it has been

especially hard or my 8 a.m. class on Mondays,

Wednesdays, and Fridays.

- Well, Johnny, maybe I can ask my riend to not

come over the night beore your classes.

- That’s great, Ken, and I can end my video games

by midnight on Wednesdays and play somewhere

else on Friday nights.

Posture Rationale Likely Outcomes

I” know what is right and needed Issues come prior to the eelings Resentment, humiliation

We’ll address it sometime later Disagreements only create tension Frustration due to unresoled issues

Let’s nd the middle ground Prolonged conf icts may/do harm Pragmatism rather than eectieness

Howeer you wish Maintain harmony Other may take adantage o you

This is my point, what is yours? Both positions are equally important Resolution, satisaction




Notice that Ken takes the lead and makes the frst

step, and Johnny is quick to acknowledge the gesture

and to oer something in return, even i he does not

consider it as part o the issue. By working together

they both beneft. A collaborative conict resolution

process will not eliminate tension in a relationship

immediately, but over time, eliminating the source

o tension, and overcoming difculties can result in

growth.12

Each approach presented here may have some

negative side eects, yet each has its place. The suit-

ability o a conict management strategy depends on

both personal style and situational demands. Clariy-

ing earlier messages or providing additional inorma-

tion generally resolves the actual disputes rooted in

misinormation, yet each individual has a preerred

strategy consistent with the value he places on con-

ict and his dominant personality characteristics.3 A

closer study o these personal styles in a given society

will give an idea on how its members would respond

to conicting situations in general. This will be very valuable inormation since we are in an age o enor-

mous intercultural mixing due to growing global in-

terconnectedness o societies and economies.

Already substantial within the same cultures, the

possibility or conict between the members o di-

erent cultures is even more probable. “It is then vital

to better understand the ways in which people preer

to handle interpersonal conicts and how the preer-

ence varies depending on culture and other variables.

Such knowledge o conict-related behavioral ten-

dencies might help in the development o strategies

or interpersonal, intercultural conict resolution orprevention.” 11 “Realistic, proper and eective commu-

nication, based on mutual understanding and good-

will, would solve many disputes, not only between

individuals but also groups or nations.”13 As stated by

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “mankind must evolve or

all human conict a method which rejects revenge,

aggression, and retaliation. The oundation o such a

method is love.”

Notes

1. Qur’an, 8:1.

2. International Federation o University Women. “Workshop

on Conict Resolution: Facilitator’s Guide.” http://www.

iuw.org/training/pd/conict-acilitator-2001.pd

3. Whetten, David A. & Kim S. Cameron. Developing Manage-

ment Skills. 3rd ed. New York: HarperCollins College Pub-

lishers, 1995: 418-447.

4. Nursi, Said. Flashes, 13th Flash, 13th indication–Third point

5. Abu-Nimer, 29-30; Kim, 63.

6. el-Aclûnî, Keşü’l-Haâ, 1:64; el-Münâvî, Feyzü’l-Kadîr, 1:

210-212.

7. Nursi, Said. Letters, 22nd Letter, 5th aspect.

8. Qur’an 8:46.

9. Abdalla, Amr. “Principles o Islamic Interpersonal Conict

Intervention: A Search within Islam and Western Litera-

ture.” Journal o Law & Religion 15, no. 1 (2000): 151-184.

10. Abu-Nimer, Mohammed. “Conict Resolution in an Islamic

Context: Some Conceptual Questions.” Peace and Change

21, no. 1 (1996): 22-40.

11. Kim, Min-Sun. Non-Western Perspectives on Human Com-

munication: Implications or Theory and Practice. Thousand

Oaks, Cal.: Sage Publications, 2002.

12. Study Guides and Strategies. “Case Study: Conict Resolu-

tion.” http://www.studygs.net/conex.htm

13. Najabagy, Reza. “Problems o Eective Cross-Cultural Com-

munication and Conict Resolution.” Palestine-Israel Jour-

nal 15, no. 3 (2008): 146-150.

14. Ruble, Thomas L. & Kenneth W. Thomas. “Support or a two-

dimensional model o conict behavior.” Organizational Be-

havior and Human Perormance 16 (1976): 145.

Figure 2. Five Conict-Management Approaches14



The Prophet treated everyone amicably by taking into

consideration the potential positions they would likely

to hold in the near uture. Because he knew that every

individual had a respectable essence, he thought the most

appropriate action was to awaken this divine kernel.

The example o the

Prophet presents us with

many paradigms that we

can adapt to our current

circumstances.

he compelling conditions o our time

oer human society two paths to

choose rom. We will either continue

past enmities and stereotypes, or

we will learn how to live in peaceul

coexistence. It is a world o global

connectedness, and in order to make

peace sustainable, we need to develop

new paradigms o peaceul engage-

ment. The example o the Prophet

Muhammad, peace be upon him, pres-

ents us with many such paradigms

that we can adapt to our current

circumstances. Like all o his prede-

cessors did beore him, the Prophet

showed utmost mercy and orgiveness

to everyone, so much so that even his

staunch enemies sought reuge under

his wings o compassion.

T

RELIGION

Fatih Harpciis a PhD candidate in religious studies

at Temple University, Philadelphia.





Ater he began to call his people to

belie, the Prophet had to ace all

kinds o torment during his peace-

ul mission or thirteen years in

Mecca. Ater numerous grievous

incidents, he had to leave his town

and reluctantly immigrated to Me-dina. From most people’s point o

view, the Meccans were absolutely

to be declared as “the enemy”—or

“the other.” However, the Prophet

did not behave inimical to anyone.

He always treated people humane-

ly, no matter what lethal traps

they set or him. He never ailed

to extend his tender hand with a

candid clemency and compassion.

Even during many inexorable com-

bats, he always prayed to his Lord,chiey or those who smashed his

helmet o, broke his tooth, and

let his ace covered with blood in

battles like Badr and Uhud. Not

only did he hinder his ollowers

rom bearing any oppugnant atti-

tude against their merciless oes,

he also blocked maledictions and

imprecations to any adversary,

even those who, or instance on

the day o Uhud, had ripped the

bodies o nearly 70 beloved onesinto pieces beyond recognition

with an incredible brutality.

Although his opponents were

bloodthirsty and yearning or war,

his sword was never besmeared

by red hot blood; he never killed

anyone. He did not represent any-

thing other than loving compas-

sion in the world.

He never broke o his previ-

ous social connections. He did

not approach anyone with a bias.He always held the door open in

order to mildly atter their vani-

ties. He never hurt anyone’s pride

deliberately. While his sworn en-

emies took the gloves o or any

opportunity to assassinate him,

he treated everyone amicably

by taking into consideration the

potential positions they would

likely to hold in the near uture.

Because he knew that every indi-

vidual had a respectable essence,he thought the most appropriate

action was to awaken this divine

kernel. He took action in this

direction, though horrid provoca-

tions did not cease, and he did

that with a worthy perseverance.

Glad tidings

The Prophet dealt with every one

o his opponents with utmost

care, and he took very strategic

measures not to destroy them but

to conquer their hearts.

Giving the glad tidings o a

coming peace, the ollowing verse

was revealed right ater the Battle

o the Trench:

(When you obey God in His

commands and prohibitions,)

it may be that God will bring

about love and riendship be-

tween you and those o themwith whom you are in enmity.

The Prophet’s immense

orgiveness is an example

or us today as to how we

should engage with pastatrocities. It is a message o

sel-reormation that teaches

us that we can subdue eelings

o revenge and hatred and

build a society in compassion

and love.




God is All-Powerul, and God

is All-Forgiving, All-Compas-

sionate. (60:7)

Peace was so close, just at their

threshold. Having received this

good news, the Prophet initiated

immediate action by demanding to

marry the daughter o Abu Suyan,

who was then the political leader

o the Meccans. Establishing bonds

o kinship with him would be a

plausible step in order to eradi-

cate hostility. Umm Habiba, Abu

Suyan’s daughter, was among the

group o Muslims who had ed the

Meccan torture and sought reuge

in Ethiopia. However, her husband

died there, and she was let alone

with her child without any protec-

tion. By marrying her, the Prophet

would not only save this devoted

Muslim woman rom despair and

honor her, but would also orm a

connection with Abu Suyan that

would not be possible by any other

way. This marriage was realized

soon, and aterwards everything

changed dramatically.

Abu Suyan, who was one o

the staunch enemies o the Proph-et until that day, could easily

enter the Prophet’s home to visit

Umm Habiba, his daughter. Now,

Abu Suyan could learn more

about Islam through his daughter

Umm Habiba. He began to realize

soon that Muslims were not as he

had believed. In a short period

o time, the dierence in Abu Su-

yan’s attitude became more and

more obvious. He turned out to be

more moderate, more cautious,and more candid in reciprocal

dialogue attempts.

Prominent fgures o Mecca,

Khalid ibn al-Walid, Sawan ibn-i

Umayya, Suhayl ibn Amr and Ikri-

ma ibn al-Jahl were exerting pres-

sure on Abu Suyan to take drastic

actions against believers. Despite

all o their intolerable pressure,

Abu Suyan resisted their aggres-

siveness, having realized that they

were the ones who were unair,not those on the Prophet’s side.

Making peace

Even in the most critical condi-

tions he did not give up. Despite

all the provocations o evil-doers

and his own ellow tribesmen’s

objections, he made agreements

with his crucial adversaries andulflled peaceul commitments

with them.

The radical change o Abu

Suyan was an explicit hope or

others. The Prophet tried his best

to take advantage o every single

opportunity to get in touch with

any o them.

Ater his immigration to Me-

dina, the economic and social

conditions o Mecca had gradually

deteriorated. The Meccans weresuering rom drought, amine,

hunger, and misery. For sure, he

could not have remained indi-

erent to this heart-rending situa-

tion. He sent them ood and other

needed aid; he literally inundated

them with an immense benevo-

lent contribution on the back o

hundreds o camels. But, unortu-

nately the Meccans rejected all o

it. Then he sent all the aid directly

to Abu Suyan. Aterwards AbuSuyan distributed everything to

the poor and needy Meccans.

The Prophet those days

gave weight to ree com-

merce and trading with other

communities,particularly with

Meccans. He knew that business

trading was an excellent oppor-

tunity to get in touch with oth-

ers. Thus they could have ound

so many new ways to maintain

peaceul relations.Regrettably, all the peaceul

attempts made by God’s Holy

Messenger were either repelled or

responded to with brutal violence

by the Meccans. They once at-

tacked a Muslim tribe in the pitch

dark o midnight and slaughtered

23 civilians in a village near Me-

dina. By committing this crime,

the Meccans also violated the

Hudaybiya peace treaty.

Following this brutal attack,the Messenger o God sent envoys

to Mecca, oering them vari-

ous options to solve the problem

peaceully, rather than an immedi-

ate retaliation: he asked them to

pay the blood money and cut their

relations with other warring tribes

that participated in this crime. Fail-ing to obey these conditions would

mean the Hudaybiya treaty was

violated as well as a declaration o

war. But the Meccans reused every

amicable oer. The only option let

or the Prophet was to march to

Mecca. Realizing that they would

not be able to resist, some o the

eminent Meccans ed in conu-

sion to distant towns o the Arab

Sahara. God’s Messenger sent

someone in pursuit o every miss-ing Meccan. Umm Haqim, Ikrima’s

wie, who had ed all the way to

Yemen, went ater him. She dared

all dangers on the way to fnd her

husband, another relentless enemy

o the Prophet and the son o Abu

Jahl, and to introduce him to the

Prophet’s mercy. Umayr ibn Wahb,

once a hitman hired by Sawan ibn

Umayya to kill the Prophet, went

ater Sawan twice, reaching him

in Jeddah en route to Ethiopia,

and convinced to him to return

to Mecca. Suhayl ibn Amr was

brought back by Abdullah, his own

son whom he tortured or years.

He wrote letter ater letter to Wah-

shi, who had murdered Hamza,

the Prophet’s uncle, and invited

Hind, who had hired Wahshi or

this murder, to come in peace and

that she was orgiven. The Prophet

called them back home promisingto orgive all their past assaults

and guaranteed their protection.

Mecca became a land o peace and

serenity, thanks to his eorts and

merciul invitation.

The Prophet’s immense orgive-

ness is an example or us today as

to how we should engage with past

atrocities. It is a message o sel-

reormation that teaches us that

we can subdue eelings o revenge

and hatred and build a society incompassion and love.




HEarthquaePredictions

uman beings and many other living things inhabit Earth’s outer crust.

The crust is a brittle shell broken into major tectonic plates. These major

plates are so large that they include continents as well as parts o the oor

o the surrounding oceans. One important scientifc observation or these

major plates is their continuous movement. These gigantic plates move

due to the convection currents induced rom the heat dissipation rom

the interior parts o the Earth. Experts predict that every year these platesmove approximately 1 to 10 centimeters. This continuous motion plays

a signifcant role in the existence o lie on Earth. It sustains the global

carbon cycle rom Earth’s interior to the atmosphere. However, there is

an undesired consequence o this benefcial system, especially or those

o us living near plate boundaries—earthquakes! And as we have seen

recently in Japan and in Turkey, earthquakes and a possible ensuing tsu-

nami can cause great damage and casualties.

The theory o plate tectonics explains what happens at plate bound-

aries. According to this theory, there are three primary plate boundary

conditions; divergent, convergent, and transorm boundaries (Figure 1).

Divergent plate boundaries are characterized by ocean ridges and sea oor

spreading; volcanoes are the most obvious setting. Here, a new crust isgenerated because the plates pull away rom each other. Convergent plate

boundaries are characterized by trenches and island arcs. In this setting,

the crust is consumed in the Earth’s interior as one o the plates dives un-

der another. In the case o transorm plate boundaries, the crust is neither

produced nor destroyed, as plates horizontally slide past each other. Sig-

nifcant earthquakes can occur under all o these boundary conditions.

Figure 1: Illustration for main types of plate boundaries (Cross section by José F. Vigil from This Dynamic Planet -- a wall map produced jointly by the

U.S. Geological Survey, the Smithsonian Institution, and the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory)

GEOLOGY

Meryem Saygili

Earthquake studies

seek to reduce the

risk o death and

damage

On a global scale, Japan, the Philip-

pines, Indonesia, Chile, and west-

ern United States, are located along

the so-called “Pacifc Ring o Fire,”

where about 90% o the world’searthquakes and 80% o the world’s

largest earthquakes occur (Figure 2).

The magnitude o an earth-

quake is a representation o the

total amount o energy released by

the event. Typically, it is measured

using the recorded ground oscilla-

tions rom a seismogram. However,

the interpretation o the magnitude

is not straightorward because the

magnitude scale is logarithmic. For

instance, a magnitude 7.0 earth-quake produces approximately 10

times more ground motion and re-

leases about 32 times more energy

compared to a magnitude 6.0 earth-

quake.

According to the statistics pub-lished by the US Geological Survey,

every year on average 134 earth-

quakes with magnitudes 6.0 to 6.9

occur worldwide, 17 earthquakes

with magnitudes 7.0 to 7.9, and at

least one large earthquake with a

magnitude greater than 8 (Figure 3).

Further, the number o earthquakes

o magnitude 7.0 or greater has re-

mained airly constant but the num-

ber o moderate earthquakes (i.e.,

6.0 or less) appears to be increasing.According to experts at the US Geo-

logical Survey, a partial explanation

may lie in the act that there is a tre-

mendous increase in the number o

seismograph stations in the world

over the last twenty year. Thus, theactual number o earthquakes has

not increased, but our ability to de-

tect them. In scientifc terms, this is

reerred to as reporting bias. When

it comes to myths about earthquake

activity related to weather and time,

scientists rejects any connection.

Earthquakes occur whether it is

warm or windy, early in the morning

or late at night.

In the United States, earth-

quakes are one o the most signif-cant natural hazard or around 75

We typically associate Japan with earth-

quakes because we know that it is a very

earthquake prone island. The state o Alas-

ka in the United States is also earthquake

prone. The total number o earthquakes

in Alaska per year is greater than the totalnumber o earthquakes in the rest o the

United States. The examples o Japan and

Alaska reveal that more earthquakes occur

at locations close to the plate boundaries.




Figure 2: Pacic ring of re a zone of frequent earthquakes and volcanic

eruptions

million Americans living in 39 states, including the state

o Caliornia where the majority o the state’s popula-

tion lives within 32 km o active aults. Historically, the

region has been very active (Figure 4). To help predictearthquakes in Caliornia, a multidisciplinary group

o scientists and engineers rom various disciplines es-

tablished a team entitled Working Group on Caliornia

Earthquake Probabilities (WGCEP). The team had a very

ambitious objective—to develop a comprehensive earth-

quake rupture orecast model or the state o Caliornia

using the best available science. The details o the so-

phisticated model are beyond the scope o this essay,

but the recently released report (USGS Open File Report

2007-1437) is available or public access. In her essay

entitled, “The big one is evitable. Catastrophe is not,”

Cathleen Decker, an editor o the Los Angeles Times,reers to the uture predictions presented in the report

as a “Chilling look into the uture”. Based on historical

evidence and scientifc data, it is almost certain (with a

99% chance) that there will be at least one earthquake

with magnitude 6.7 or greater in the state o Caliornia

within the next thirty years. The likelihood o a more sig-

nifcant earthquake (magnitude 7.5 or greater) within the

next thirty years in Caliornia is 46%. In the Greater Bay

Area specifcally (area includes large cities such as San

Francisco, San Jose, Oakland), the probability o at least

one earthquake with magnitude 6.7 or greater within the

next thirty years is about 67%.The current state o science considerably reduces the

risk o death and damage by making resources available

to individuals, teachers, policy makers, and engineers,

but unortunately, science at this time can neither prevent

nor predict the exact time when an earthquake will occur.

Casualties, fnancial losses, and mental trauma are some-

times inevitable or earthquake victims. Social and emo-

tional suering are oten not limited to actual victims, but

to everyone who has access to the news. Unlike fnancial

and material losses, the psychological consequences o

an earthquake exposure are long lasting. To address these

consequences, earthquake preparedness should includemental and social aspects o the disaster as well.

(a)

(b)

(c)

Figure 3: Earthquake facts and statistics (a) 1980 – 1989, (b) for 1900 –

1999, and (b) for 2000 - 2009 (Retrieved from USGS National Earthquake

In for m at ion Cent er )

Figure 4:

Epicent ers

of historic

earthquakes

greater than

magnitude

5 recorded

in the state

of California

since the 19th

century



or ordinary people, resigna-

tion means not objecting

to what God has willed or

them. For those with a deeper

spiritual knowledge o God,

resignation means welcom-ing their individual destinies.

For those who live a lie o

proound spirituality, resig-

nation means that, without

paying attention to their own consid-

erations, they are always attentive to

what He wants them to do and how He

wants them to be. The verses: O soul at

rest, return to your Lord, well pleasing

and pleased. Enter among My servants,

and enter My Paradise (89:27-30) en-

compass all degrees o resignation,

and contain responses to the desires o

those resigned to the Divine Will and

Destiny.

As seen in these same verses, at-

taining the station o resignation and

pleasing God and being pleased with

Him depend upon one’s turning to God

Almighty. This means complete devo-

tion to, reliance upon, and surrender

to Him and committing all aairs to

Him. One who has attained this sta-tion longs or reunion with God, dies

with a heart at rest, and is included

among the righteous in Paradise.

From another perspective, ordi-

nary people show their resignation by

ordering their lives according to God’s

commandments in willing submission

to His Lordship and administrative au-

thority. This is expressed in the verses:

Say: Shall I seek another than God or

Lord, when He is Lord o all things?

(6:165), and: Say: Shall I choose or a protecting riend other than God, the

RIDA (RESIgNATION) -2

eMerALd HILLs of THe HeArT

One can have no greater reward or higher rank than God’s being

pleased with him or her, which is only attainable by personal

resignation to what He has decreed.

F(Continued rom the previous issue)




Originator o the heavens and the

earth, Who eeds and Himsel is

not ed? (6:14). Such a degree o

resignation is essential to who-

ever aspires to true belie in God’s

Unity and true love o God. Every

believer must consciously submit

himsel or hersel to God’s guid-

ance; associate no partners with

Him in belie and in ordering one’s

lie; love Him alone as the Lord,

Deity, and Ruler o humanity and

the universe; and love others who

are worthy to be loved only in His

name and in accordance with the

limits He has established.

The second degree o resigna-

tion that o those with a certain de-

gree o knowledge o God is mani-

ested in their welcoming God’s

decrees and ordinances without

objection. It is also seen in the con-

trol they have acquired over their

hearts, a control so strong that

their hearts do not swerve even or

one moment. Such resignation isregarded as the relation between

God and those hearts urnished

with knowledge o Him.

The third degree o resignation

is attained by those purifed, saintly

scholars who are pleased with what

pleases God. One who has been re-

warded with such resignation eels

no personal anger, joy, or grie.

Such a person, no longer eeling,

thinking, or desiring or himsel or

hersel, experiences the pleasure o annihilation in the Lord, or only

His Will and choices remain.

The frst degree o resignation,

obligatory upon every believer, is

the beginning o the way leading

to nearness to God, or it is relat-

ed to ree will and a requirement

o belie in His Unity. The second

degree must be acquired, both be-

cause it is the continuation o the

frst and the basis o the third de-

gree, and because it leads one toconsider nearness to God.

The third degree, a Divine git

rather than a station attainable

by ree will and individual eort,

is neither obligatory nor neces-

sary. However, it is commendable

to desire it whole-heartedly. This

degree encompasses the frst two,

or aspiring ater (ull) resignation

and living so as to attain it is an

essential principle o a believer’slie. However, its ull attainment

is a git bestowed in return or this

aspiration. In other words, the

frst two degrees relate to God’s

Names and Attributes, which can

be attained by journeying in their

shadow or their guidance, while

the third is connected with the re-

ward, enlightenment, or radiance

given in return or them.

The verse: Their reward is

with their Lord; Gardens o Eden,beneath which rivers fow; where

they will dwell orever. God is well

pleased with them and they are well

pleased with Him. That is or him

who ears his Lord reverently (98:8)

points to all o these degrees. This

same truth was expressed by our

master, upon him be peace and

blessings, who said: “One who

is well pleased with God as Lord,

with Islam as religion, and withMuhammad, upon him be peace

and blessings, as Messenger has

tasted the pleasure o aith.”

I hope that the ollowing consid-

erations will direct the eelings

and thoughts o those who desire

to attain resignation, help them to

overcome the difculties encoun-

tered on this path, and to control

and resist their worldly and carnal

impulses.

* Human beings are only role play-ers in the Divine drama played out





on the stage o this world. There-

ore, they have no right or author-

ity to interere with the quality or

orm o their assigned part. What-

ever happens to an individual hasbeen predetermined by God, Who

considered his or her ree will, ac-

tions, and thoughts in this world.

Only God can change this.1

* I one really loves God, what-

ever comes rom Him must be wel-

comed. It is very difcult to perceive

the wisdom and good or God’s pur-

pose in some events. Sometimes

what is good or us is hidden in bad

happenings: It may be that you dis-like a thing although it is good or

you, and love a thing although it

is bad or you. God knows, but you

know not (2:216).

* A believer is one who has ully

submitted to God. Thus, such an

individual cannot be displeased

with God’s actions and operations.

A believer has a good opinion o

everybody else, so how can he

or she be suspicious o God? The

Qur’an orbids us to suspect otherpeople (48:12); how much worse

it would be i we suspected God

and His acts! Since all things and

events were preordained and cre-

ated by God, and since whatever

He creates is either good in itsel or

on account o its result, a believer

should keep his or her heart at rest

and always be optimistic.

* I our obligations or responsibili-

ties, as well as the misortunes and

difculties we endure or seek to

overcome, have an essential place

in our training and education to

prepare us or the eternal lie o

happiness in the Hereater, then

we should ulfll them or endurethem willingly. An individual’s res-

ignation to or being pleased with

whatever comes rom Him means

that He is also pleased with that

particular individual. Being dis-

pleased with the acts and manies-

tations o Divine Lordship causes

distress, grie, and restlessness,

while living as resigned to God’s

decrees gives relie and exhilara-

tion, even though one has to su-

er great difculties. In short, thecontinuous pursuit o resignation

is an invitation to Divine succor.

* Resignation to Destiny and the

maniestations o God, the Truth,

is a very important means o ob-

taining happiness. Prophet Mu-

hammad, the truthul and con-

frmed one, upon him be peace

and blessings, illuminates this:

“It is ortunate or man to show

resignation to what God decrees,while it is unortunate or him

to eel indignation against what

God decrees.”2 Being resigned to

God’s decrees and operations flls

one’s heart with breezes rom the

Divine Realm, while displeasure

with them flls it with whims and

suspicions coming rom Satan.

Those who resign themselves to

His decrees make their lives into

an “embroidery” o golden threads

o thankulness, while those whoare displeased with them grind

even their most positive works into

nothing between the millstones

o ingratitude. Showing such dis-

pleasure, an all-too-common at-

titude on the part o many, is one

o Satan’s most eective ways o

invading one’s soul.* A believer may join the inhabit-

ants o the heavens by welcoming

God’s treatment, which is an hon-

or bestowed by God. One who is

pleased with God is ollowing the

right guidance, while one who is

not pleased ollows nothing more

than personal ancies. Resigna-

tion to God’s judgments or decrees

means preerring His wishes to our

own. It hardly needs saying what

the opposite attitude implies.

* Resignation is like an orchard

whose trees yield the ruits o wor-

ship and devotion; sins and o-

enses are the results o being de-

prived o it. Resignation prevents

personal conicts with God in the

believer’s inner world, and means

respecting the principle expressed

in the supplication o the Prophet,

upon him be peace and blessings:

“It is pure justice in whatever wayYou judge about me.”3 The frst sin

was committed when Satan did

not resign himsel to what God had

decreed or him.

* One can have no greater reward

or higher rank than God’s being

pleased with him or her, which is

only attainable by personal res-

ignation to what He has decreed.

This is also the greatest reward

that one can receive in Paradise:

God has promised the believers,men and women, Gardens beneath

which rivers fow, to dwell therein

orever, and beautiul mansions in

Gardens o Eden. But God’s good

pleasure [His being pleased with

them] is greater still. That is the su-

preme triumph (9:72).

* Resignation is based on the most

important essential o religion:

reliance upon God. Its essential

quality can be perceived by meanso certainty about God’s existence

Resignation is based on the most important essential o religion:

reliance upon God. Its essential quality can be perceived by meanso certainty about God’s existence and Unity. It is embedded in

love o God, and causes one to gain eternal happiness.




and Unity. It is embedded in love o God, and causes one to gain eternal

happiness. It is rooted in loyalty to God and truthulness, and denotes

actual thankulness. Resignation is such a magical lit that those who ob-

tain it will reach their destination quickly. Love and sincerity, as well as

penitence and contrition, are owers growing in the climate o resigna-

tion. It is useless to search or such virtues or qualities in hearts that are

not set on resignation and obtaining God’s pleasure.

* However numerous those rewards given in return or acting and speak-

ing to attain God’s pleasure may be, they can be counted and are there-

ore limited. The rewards given or such actions as resignation, which is

done with the heart, are proportional to the heart’s depth and so cannot

be estimated.

As the greatest rank in God’s sight, resignation or God’s pleasure is

a fnal target that has been sought by the greatest members o human-

ity, rom the glory o creation, upon him be peace and blessings, to all

other Prophets, saints, and purifed scholars who have passed the fnal

test through sincerity, certainty, reliance, surrender, and confdence.

They have surmounted many difculties and obstacles, and bore manyunendurable suerings and pains. The ollowing verses seek to describe

the sighs o such people:

The suering You cause is more pleasing than having ortune,

And Your vengeance is lovelier to me than my own soul.

I am in love with both His torment and His avor;

How strange it is that I am in love with things opposite to each other.

By God, i I go rom this thorn o afiction to the garden o delight,

I will be one who, like a nightingale, always groans or sighs.

How strange it is that when a nightingale starts to sing,

It sings melodies o both the thorn and the rose. (rom Mathnawi)

The ollowing verses o Nasimi are also beautiul:

I am a suering lover, O dear One, I will not abandon You;

Even i You cut through my chest with a dagger, I will not abandon You.

Even i they cut me into two rom head to oot like Zachariah,

Put your saw on my head, O Carpenter, I will not abandon You.

Even i they burn me into ashes and blow away my ashes,

They will hear my ashes sigh: O Veiler (o sins), I will not abandon You.

The rank or station o resignation, o being pleased with God and ob-

taining His pleasure includes all other ranks. The melodies sung in it

are: Whatever You do to me or however You treat me, it is good.

O God! Guide us to what You will love and be pleased with, and bestow

peace and blessings upon our Master and the Master o the Messengers.

Notes1. Editor’s note: God’s “predetermination,” which we call Destiny, is almost identical

with His Knowledge. As God is not confned by time, He can see one’s past, present,

and uture at the same time. He thereore “knows” what one will do “beore” he or

she does it. God’s knowing beorehand how someone will act does not compel the

person to act that way; rather, it shows that one’s ree will is included in what God

has “predetermined” or him or her.

2. Al-Tirmidhi, “Qadar,” 15; Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, 1:168.

3. Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, 1:391, 452.

As ar as one’s personal lieis concerned,

It is good to show patience

in the ace o misortune

and endure what comes

rom God with resignation.

However, it is heartless to

leave other people alone

with their suerings.



Some o the main reasons or this destruction are the ertilizers

used in agriculture which contain excessive chemicals, insecticides,

and detergents used in the home. These substances are carried into

streams, lakes, and the oceans by rainall, wastewater, and through

irrigation, causing pollution. The deterioration in the ecological chain

caused by this pollution aects the ecosystem, and thus the human

health. Phytoplankton, the productive organisms which are at the

base o the ood chain in aquatic ecosystems, are microscopic organ-

isms that produce organic nutrients (sugar, protein etc.) through theprocess o photosynthesis. During the production stage o these nu-

trients, phytoplankton absorbs the contaminative and toxic elements.

As the larger creatures (invertebrates and vertebrates such as fsh)

eed on phytoplankton, they, in turn, absorb the toxins accumulated

in the phytoplankton.

The phosphate and nitrogen compounds ound in the waste material

that are released into the environment go through some biological

processes and are transormed into nourishing salts or the phyto-

plankton. When there is an increase in temperature, these salts may

cause some o the phytoplankton to grow and reproduce excessively.

The toxic materials released by some, and the use o excessive oxy-

gen, are harmul to other organisms.Another example o pollution is related with algae. When the

number o microbial plants called algae reaches one million per cu-

bic decimeter (1 million/dm3) o water, the consumption o oxygen

required in order to mineralize, and break-down the organic materi-

als ound in the water increases, and thereore a compound o toxins

which pollute the water, such as hydrogen sulfde (H2S), are released.

This pollution can cause the death o fsh and other organisms which

live in the water. As a result o the reduction in water quality, an

increase in the type o algae called cyanobacteria occurs and the bio-

toxins that they produce threatens human health.

More than orty types o algae produce various toxins. Some o

these toxins damage the human liver, some attack the nervous sys-tem (particularly the brain), some can cause allergic skin reactions,

ENvIRONMENT

Bahadir Can Gumussulu

More than orty types o

algae produce various toxins.

Some o these toxins damage

the human liver, someattack the nervous system

(particularly the brain), some

can cause allergic skin

reactions, and some can even

induce cancer.

EEverything—

rom the size

o raindrops to

the height o trees, the speed

o wind and

the ood chain

produced in

the ocean—is

controlled

within a magnifcent balance.

However, due to the unlim-

ited demands o humans, the

earth’s ecosystem is subjected

to immense changes and is

gradually being destroyed.


has a PhD in biology



and some can even induce cancer.

The release o domestic, indus-

trial, and agricultural waste and

the high percentage o nutrients

(such as nitrogen and phosphor

compounds) into the aquatic

ecosystem can cause an excessive

increase o algae in the waters.

This algal bloom in resh water isreerred to as eutrophication. In

oceans, it is reerred to as red tide

because the water appears to be a

reddish color. Both present a sig-

nifcant environmental problem.

In low doses humans are

exposed to these toxins by the

consumption o drinking water.

In Brazil in 1988, almost 2000

people developed gastroenteritis

over a orty day period due to the

consumption o drinking watercontaminated by these toxins,

and eighty-eight o them died. In

South Australia, as early as 1878,

many sheep, horses, dogs and

other animals died as a result o

drinking water rom Lake Alexan-

drina, which was covered by scum

caused by an algal bloom called

Nodularia spumigena.

Mussels, a delicacy eaten and

enjoyed by many, accumulate

large amounts o toxins becausethey eed on phytoplankton. One

study ound that in resh water

mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis)

that ed on cyanobacteria, almost

10.7μg toxins per gram o body-

weight was accumulated. This is

also the case in marine mussels.

It has been determined that these

toxins in gradually increased con-

centrations are passed onto organ-isms higher on the ood chain by

consumption. Accordingly, we

should always consider the poten-

tial risk actors beore consuming

shellfsh.

Biotoxins are released into the

water ater being broken down by

algae. Thus, when an algal bloom

reaches high levels, there is an

increase in the density o toxins in

the water. As these toxins dissolve

in the water, puriying the con-taminated water requires not only

expensive, but also advanced tech-

nology methods. Unortunately, it

is impossible to remove this waste

in many o the existing refning

plants. The toxin concentration in

drinking and utility water should

be reduced in regions where drink-

ing water is obtained rom lakes

by mixing it with uncontaminated

water, particularly during the

spring when the algal bloom oc-curs. Thus, reducing the amount

o biotoxins in the water to a level

that will cause minimal harm to

aquatic organisms should help to

reduce the risks to humans.

Many types o waste released

into the environment cause dam-

age, which adversely aect hu-

mans. Polluting the environment

may be easy, but puriying theenvironment o this pollution is a

very difcult task. Indeed, humans

were not created to act irrespon-

sibly and destroy the universe in

which they are mere guests. On the

contrary, the human is a delicate

guest with sublime duties. Protect-

ing the natural resources provided

or our needs and utilizing these

resources in the most productive

manner, without disturbing the

balance o nature, is a duty o ev-

ery human on earth.

ReerencesPouria S. de Andrade A. 1988. “Fatal mi-

crocystin intoxication in haemodialysis

unit in Caruaru, Brazil.” Lancet 352:21-26.

Carmichael W.W., Azevedo S.M.F.O. 2001.

“Human atalities rom cyanobacteria:

Chemical and biological evidence or

cyanotoxins.” Environ. Health Perspect

109: 663-668.

Codd G.A., Bell S.G., Kaya K., Ward C.J.,

Beattie K.A., Metcal J.S. 1999. “Cyano-

bacterial toxins, exposure routes and

human health.” Eur. J. Phycol. 34:405-415.

Harmul algal blooms threaten human health...




As it oten happens,

i you look into all

possible hiding places

in a household, you

are bound to nd

unexpected things. But

what are the chances

that you will nd

pictures o a brother you never knew!

was only a girl o nine years when I frst witnessed

Mom’s nightmare. My dad had gone out o town,

so I was happily sharing her bed. I woke up to

Mom’s restlessness. I was scared. Sweat drops

on her orehead, anguish in her voice and… She

stirred in her sleep asking rantically, “The boy?The boy! Where is the boy?”

“Mom! Mom, wake up!” I cried shaking her by her

shoulders, determined to stop her dreaming beore

something terrible happened to the boy.

Mom sat up robotically, opened her eyes, and as

the contours o her room sat in place under the

moonlight, she took a deep breath and urged meback to sleep. Alas, I spent the rest o the night

I

A MOMENT FOR REFLECTION

Mirkena Ozeris pursuing a MA in women studies

at the University o Georgia, Atlanta





wondering who the lost boy was.

Was it my brother, the only son in

our amily? Did the dream mean

that something bad would happen

to him?

Although my curiosity almost

killed me like the proverbial cat,

I dared not ask Mom about the

dream which continued visiting

her in the ollowing months.

For one thing, dreams good

or bad were never told in ouramily. Mom believed that i you

put a dream into words, i you

articulated it even in a whisper,

you pronounced an undeniable

invitation or the dream to become

true.

“Dreams,” Mom oten said,

“should be let alone. Dreams are

tricky. Everything you see in them

stand or something else in the

real world. Rats stand or money,

money or gossip, crack andholes in houses or deaths in the

household.”

So I kept my peace and never

talked with anyone about the

matter.

One day, long ater that night, I

was looking or a dear necklace

o mine which I couldn’t fnd,

having hidden it too well or my

own good. As it oten happens, i

you look into all possible hiding

places in a household, you arebound to fnd unexpected things—

like your sister’s secret diary in

the wardrobe or your brother’s

savings under the mattress. But

what are the chances that you

will fnd pictures o a brother you

never knew!

At frst, I couldn’t make sense o those two pictures. One was a

photo o a baby in his crib with

eyes hal open and the other was a

shot o the same baby with Mom,

in her younger years, leaning over

the crib as i to place a kiss on the

baby’s ace. Mom’s ace seemed

so sad that I wanted to tear up the

photo right there.

I went to my older sister instead

and asked her, “Who is this

baby?”My sister snatched the photos

rom me and reproachully

said, “Why can’t just you leave

anything alone?”

She immediately headed toward

mom’s bedroom, apparently

knowing the hiding place. Then

she stopped midway and replied

without turning around, “He is

our brother. He died rom a ever

when he was ten months old.

And don’t ask Mom about him.Ater all these years, she still cries

when she speaks o him.”

A tender eeling o longing,

gripped my heart. “What was his

name?” I asked.

“Leonard,” she replied. “He

would have been fteen-years-old

now, had he lived.”

I wanted to take another look

at the photos and stroke with

my fngers the little ace o my

brother, but I dreaded my sister’sanger. She went into Mom’s

bedroom and closed the door

shut.

On the days that ollowed, I

started antasizing about what

it would have been like or me

to have another brother, our

years older. I imagined us going

to school together, his arm on

my shoulder, me proud o my

protective brother, daring the

bullies to come even closer.I imagined covering up or him

when he came home late and he

telling me frst, beore anyone

else, about the girl whom he

loved. I smiled as tears welled

up in my eyes when I thought o

those happy moments that never

came to pass. It was then that Iwilled mysel to believe death

couldn’t be the end o all things.

A sweet hope invaded my heart

that one day I would see him,

hug him, and catch up on missed

happiness.

I wanted so much to share this

hope with Mom so that she

could accept her loss, so that

her nightmares would stop

tormenting her, so that those

two photos would come out o hiding and join the light in the

amily album. But I never had

the courage to conront her

grie. I had understood by then

that no matter how many living

children a mother has, her heart

will always mourn the death o a

child.

One aternoon, fve years later, I

overheard my aunt talking in low

tones to Mom. “He would have

been twenty years old today,”she said while she stroked Mom’s

hand in sympathy.

“It’s kismet!” Mom said, taking

a deep breath. “It’s the destiny.”

Her voice quavered, but she did

not cry. “It wasn’t meant to be.”

Ater this, the photos came out

o hiding and took their place on

my mom’s dresser. Yet, Mom’s

nightmares did not vanish. They

continued to torture her. One

thing remained a mystery to me.Why did Mom never ask, “Where

is my boy?” It was always the boy?

And during all these years, why

hadn’t she uttered his name in

her dream even once?

Every time I heard her search

in the darkness o the night or

the nameless boy, I wanted to

whisper into her subconscious

beore waking her up, “Mom, you

have to let things go. It wasn’t

your ault. It wasn’t meant to be.”But I never did.

“I am not talking about Leonard,”

she interrupted and then paused

in pain. Seeing my shock, Mom,with great difculty, told the story

o her last child. While listening to

her, I realized that a house cannot

hold enough hiding places or the

secrets o the past.




***

Tonight, Mom is having another o

her nightmares, but I won’t wake

her up as I have beore. I watch

her turn in her sleep, hoping

that her dream, let undisturbed

this time, will relieve her rom

the burden o her conscience.

Tonight, I know Mom is looking

or some other boy. One she

doesn’t dare to own.

We were talking this aternoonabout how lie had changed or

her and Dad ater each o us,

their children had married and

let home. Mom didn’t enjoy her

empty nest as much as one would

expect.

“People always remarked that my

fve children were too much or

any normal person to handle, but

look at us now,” she said, taking

in the tidy and spotless living

room. “The house is quite, empty,just me and your Dad and… the

memories. It would have been

nice to have another child or our

senior years, someone who would

tie us to lie with bittersweet

worries.”

A wave o sadness covered her

ace, a eeling o regret I couldn’t

quite grasp. Did she remember

Leonard? But he still wouldn’t

have been the child o my parents’

senior years. What else?“It wasn’t meant to be,” I said

insinuating on his death.

“Destiny.”

Mom’s eyes watered and her voice

trembled. “Sometimes you pick

your destiny.”

“But what could you do? The

doctors couldn’t reduce his ever

and…”

“I am not talking about Leonard,”

she interrupted and then paused

in pain.

Seeing my shock, Mom, withgreat difculty, told the story o

her last child. While listening to

her, I realized that a house cannot

hold enough hiding places or the

secrets o the past.

“When you were nine years old, I

discovered I was pregnant again,”

Mom continued.

“Everybody was so against the

idea o me giving birth to that

baby. Your ather worried about

our already strained fnances.My doctor warned me about the

difculties o a labor at orty-one.

Your eldest sister, who was newly

engaged at that time, complained

o how ashamed she would eel

to tell her fancé’s amily that her

mother was pregnant when it was

her own time to have children. My

riends told me that women my

age oten gave birth to children

with disabilities. I elt so helpless

and scared, so alone.” She let outa sigh.

Gathering her strength, she

continued. “People push you to

take one defnitive step and leave

you to bear the burden alone

aterwards. It was hard or me.

I regretted it the moment it was

done.” Mom snied and closed

her eyes, struggling or a deep

breath.

“As I was about to leave the

hospital, the nurse told me the

baby was a boy. It was then thatI remembered Leonard, my son

whom I had lost in inancy. I

know, it sounds crazy, but at

that moment I elt as i the soul

o Leonard had made a second

attempt to come to this world,

to my arms, and I had brutally

rejected him.”

Mom couldn’t continue any

longer. Her chest was heaving or

air. I took her hand and stroked

it lovingly. Who o us hasn’t donethings that we terribly regret?

Don’t the tears o remorse expiate

the past? Shouldn’t we orgive

ourselves as we are asked to

orgive others? Mom listened,

nodded, but she did not speak a

word. She excused hersel and

went to her room.

Tonight as I lay in the dark by

her side, I pray Mom will fnd the

boy in her dream, present her

tears to him, and fnd peace inreconciliation.



ven in its modern mathematical

sense, infnity keeps its popularity

as a topic dealt in many academic

discussions, difculties, and misun-

derstandings. Throughout the his-tory, it has been the source o many

controversies as in paradoxes o Zeno

o Elea (about 490 BC-about 430 BC),

the Hilbert’s (1862-1943) paradox o

the grand hotel, and the philosophi-

cal and mathematical discussions on

the Leibniz’s (1646-1716) method o

infnitesimal calculus.

Zeno o Elea was a pre-Socratic

Greek philosopher o southern Italy

and a member o the Eleatic School

ounded by Parmenides. He arguedthat an object in motion can never

pass rom one position to another,

because between the two there is al-

ways an “infnity” o other positions,

however close, that must be succes-

sively traversed in the course o themotion, and this “infnity” can never

be exhausted. David Hilbert is a Ger-

man mathematician who postulated

a hypothetical hotel with “count-

ably infnitely” many rooms, all o

which are occupied. Since the hotel

has “infnitely” many rooms, we can

move the guest occupying room 1 to

room 2, the guest occupying room 2

to room 3, and so on, and ft a new-

comer into room 1. By repeating this

procedure, it may be argued that it ispossible to make room or any fnite

E

MATHEMATICS

Ali Sebetci

Although we speak casually

o ininity and the ininite

in our daily lives, the notion

o ininite is perplexing and

complex, worthy o much more

attention and precision.

is a Proessor o ComputationalChemical Physics, Zirve University

Gaziantep, Turkey.





number o new guests, although

every room o this hotel initially

contains a guest.

The ollowing two quotations

rom two contemporary authors

may provide more substance

about the nature o the problem:

On the other hand, involvement

with the infnite brings with it

a huge range o difculties. In

particular, there are the many

puzzles and paradoxes that have

been outlined in the pages o

this book. Moreover, there are

the many quite undamental

problems that arise or such ap-

parently simple notions as count-

ing, adding, maximizing, and so

orth. Because we are so frmly

wedded to limit notions—“best,”

“frst,” “greatest,” “maximum,”

and so orth—that do not sit

easily with the infnite, it is very

hard to see how we can make our

peace with the infnite.1

The infnite has always been a

slippery concept. Even the com-

monly accepted mathematical

view, developed by Georg Can-

tor, may not have truly placed in-fnity on a rigorous oundation.2

In the present article, we attempt

to summarize Rene Guenon’s

(1886-1951) alternative way o

thinking on the idea o infnite

rom the perspective o the tra-

ditional metaphysical science.

Much more detailed presentation

o his perspective can be ound

in his (1886-1951) valuable study

The Metaphysical Principles o the Innitesimal Calculus3 rom which

we will extensively quote here.

Guenon considered mathemat-

ics as providing a particularly

proper symbolism or the expres-

sion o metaphysical truths to the

extent that they are expressible.

However, he states that “in order

or this to be so it is above all nec-

essary that these sciences be rid o

the various errors and conusions

that have been introduced by thealse views o the moderns.”4

To ollow Guenon’s paradigm it

is necessary to start with the meta-

physical notion o the universal—

All which comprehends all possi-

bilities, the non-maniested as well

as the maniested Universe, that is,

the cosmos. The universal All leavesoutside itsel only the impossible

that is a pure nothing. A determina-

tion is to defne a certain domain

o possibilities in relation to all the

rest which is expressed by Spinoza

(1632-1677) as omnis determinatio

negatio est (all determination is a

negation). The frst o all determi-

nations is Being itsel. “Number

is only a mode o quantity, and

quantity itsel only a category or

special mode o being, not coexten-sive with it, or more precisely still,

quantity is only a condition proper

to one certain state o existence in

the totality o universal existence.”5

Number, space, and time are all de-

termined conditions.

The Infnite, understood in its

true, metaphysical sense, has no

limits since its opposite, fnite is

synonymous with limited. There-

ore, according to Guenon,

… one cannot correctly apply

this term to anything other than

that which has absolutely no

limits, that is to say the universal

All. Furthermore, there can ob-

viously be only one Infnite, or

two supposedly distinct infni-

ties would limit and thereore

inevitably exclude one another.6

He urther states, “The Infnite,

in its true sense, can have neither

opposite nor complementarity.”7 The scholastic distinction between

“the infnite in a certain respect”

and “the absolute infnite” cannot

be accepted. I a thing is not limit-

ed in a certain sense or in a certain

respect than one can legitimately

conclude that it is limited in no

way at all, and since a determined

thing does not include every possi-

bility, as such it can only be fnite.

Given any number, one can

orm the next by adding a unitgives the sequence o numbers to us.

Thereore, we cannot actually reach

its limits. However, the impossibil-

ity o reaching the limits o certain

things in the maniested Universe

should not cause the illusion that

these determined things have no

limits at all. In order to replace thealse notion o “determined inf-

nite,” Guenon introduces,

the idea o the indefnite, which

is precisely the idea o a develop-

ment o possibilities the limits o

which we cannot actually reach;

and this is why we (Guenon)

regard this distinction between

the Infnite and the indefnite as

undamental to all questions in

which the so-called mathemati-cal infnite appears.8

According to Descartes (1596-

1650), the indefnite is that o

which we do not perceive the lim-

its, and which in reality could be

infnite. On the contrary, Guenon

afrms that

[T]he indefnite cannot be inf-

nite because it always implies a

certain determination, wheth-

er it is a question o extension,duration, divisibility, or some

other possibility; in a word,

whatever the indefnite may

be, and according to whatever

aspect it is considered, it is still

o the fnite and can only be o

the fnite.9

The idea o an “infnite num-

ber” understood as “the greatest

o all numbers,” or “the number o

all numbers” is contradictory. The

impossibility o an “infnite num-

ber” can be established by various

arguments:

[T]o every whole number (inte-

ger) there corresponds another

number equal to its double,

such that one can make the two

sequences correspond term by

term, with the result that the

number o terms must be the

same in both; but there are ob-

viously twice as many wholenumbers as there are even, since




even numbers alternate by twos

in the sequence o whole num-

bers; one thus ends up with a

maniested contradiction.10

Guenon insists that number, despite

its indefnitude, is by no means ap-

plicable to all that exists and

the multitude o all numbers

cannot constitute a number,

which, moreover, is fnally only

an application o the incontest-

able truth that what limits a cer-

tain order o possibilities must

necessarily be beyond and out-

side that which it limits.11

On the other hand, the idea o mul-

titude, contrary to that o num-

ber, is applicable to all that exists

which allows one to speak o the

multitude o divine attributes or

example, or again o the multitude

o angels, that is, o beings belong-

ing to states that are not subject

to quantity, where, consequently,

there can be no question o num-

ber.

Number itsel can also be re-

garded as a species o multi-

tude, but on the added con-dition that it be a “multitude

measured by the unit” accord-

ing to the expression o Saint

Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274).12

The term “indefnite” consists

o something unfnished. The “non-

measured” is that which has not yet

been defned, which is only incom-

pletely realized within maniesta-

tion. The multitude o all numbers

is “innumerable” or “non-mea-sured,” which is not to say they are

infnite, but merely that they are

indefnite.

Guenon calls whole number

as true number or pure number.

He accepts that the numbers other

than whole numbers can be con-

sidered as the extensions or gen-

eralizations o the idea o num-

ber. However, he adds that these

extensions are also distortions.

According to Guenon, numericalquantity has a discontinuous char-

acter, whereas spatial or tempo-

ral magnitudes, or example, are

continuous quantities. “Between

these two modes o quantity is a

dierence o nature such that a

correspondence between the two

cannot be perectly established.”13 He distinguishes the arithmetical

unit rom the “units o measure-

ment,” which are magnitudes o

another sort than number, notably

geometric magnitudes. He defnes

a continuous quantity as an ex-

tension—however small it might

be—that will always remain indef-

nitely divisible.

Guenon is against atomism,

which necessarily implies the dis-

continuity o all things. He argues

extension cannot be composed

o indivisible elements, or

these elements would have to

be extensionless to be truly

indivisible, and a sum o ele-

ments with no extension can

no more constitute an exten-

sion than a sum o zeros can

constitute a number, that is

why points are not the ele-

ments or parts o a line; thetrue linear elements are always

distances between points,

which latter are only their ex-

tremities. Points multiplied by

any quantity at all can never

produce length, since, rigor-

ously speaking, they are null

with respect to length; the true

elements o a magnitude must

always be o the same nature

as the magnitude, although in-

comparably less: this leaves noroom or indivisibles.14

Further,

The point, which, being in-

divisible, is by that very act

without extension, that is, spa-

tially null, but which, as we

(Guenon) have explained else-

where, is nonetheless the very

principle o all extension.15

For Guenon, Zeno o Elea’s ar-

guments are against atomism andindeed, they prove that without

continuity there would be no pos-

sible motion.

It is this very conception o

motion that is in error, or it

amounts in short to regarding

the continuous as i it were com-

posed o points, or o fnal, indivisible elements, like the notion

according to which bodies are

composed o atoms; and this

would amount to saying that in

reality there is no continuity, or

whether it is a question o points

or atoms, these fnal elements

can only be discontinuous.16

And, “The possibility o mo-

tion presupposes the union, or

rather the combination, o bothtemporal and spatial continuity.”17

We consider Guenon as an im-

portant and prominent example o

thinkers who tried to remind peo-

ple o the traditional metaphysical

ideas. This metaphysical perspec-

tive does not share the modern ten-

dency to attribute more importance

to the practical applications o

science than to science itsel. This

perspective attempts to link science

back to principles o a higher order

so that a particular science can be

used as a support or elevating one-

sel to a higher knowledge.

Notes1. Graham Oppy, Philosophical Per-

spectives on Infnity, Cambridge

University Press, 2006, p.295.

2. A. W. Moore, A Brie History o Infn-

ity, Scientifc American, 272, 112,

1995.

3. Rene Guenon, The Metaphysical

Principles o Infnitesimal Calculus,Sophia Perennis, Hillsdale NY, USA

2003.

4. Ibid, p. 130.

5. Ibid, p. 17.

6. Ibid, p. 7.

7. Ibid, p. 86.

8. Ibid, p. 11.

9. Ibid, p. 12.

10. Ibid, p. 16.

11. Ibid, p. 18.

12. Ibid, p. 21.

13. Ibid, p. 26.

14. Ibid, p. 50.

15. Ibid, p. 87.

16. Ibid, p. 121.

17. Ibid, p. 122.



cholars have put orward varying ideas on the legitimacy o war in Islam.

While there is consensus on the prevention o atrocity and sel-deense,

there are disputes on issues like preclusion rom the reedom o teaching

religion, violation o a peace agreement, assassination o envoys, etc. In

this article, we would like to shed light on an issue that is particularly as-sociated with the reedom o teaching religion.

This particular kind o reedom is presented as one o the causes o

war in the book Muhammad: The Messenger o God by Fethullah Gülen,

and with a bit more detail in the Turkish edition o the same book.1 I

one approaches the problem rom a partial analysis, rather than a holistic

one, then one can easily come to the conclusion that “war can be waged

to teach one’s religion.” In the aorementioned book, Gülen literally says

the ollowing: “War can be waged to protect and ensure one’s reedom to

teach about truth (in the way one believes in) i such reedoms are being

violated.”

Viewing the issue rom this aspect, it is not correct to reach a conclu-

sion that Gülen, thus Islam, does not recognize reedom o religion andconscience. Those who reach such a conclusion means are disregarding

Islamic verses and the literature on the traditions o the Prophet that per-

tain to the reedom o religion and conscience, as well as the important

interpretations made by Gülen in this issue. There are also some circles

who never tire o spouting their biased discourse, maniested by slogans

such as, “Islam is the religion o the sword,” “Islam is an oppressive and

coercive religion,” or “either Islam or death.”

In contrast, it is very clear in the sentences that ollow the above quote,

as i Gülen had sensed such possible misunderstandings: “Notice that no

war can be ought in order to communicate one’s aith. A war can be ought

when aith is prevented rom teaching its message ‘in peaceul ways.’”

In my opinion, restriction o the communication o any religion is a violation o a birthright and rights agreed upon in international human

S“Notice that

no war can be

ought in order tocommunicate one’s

aith. A war can

be ought when

aith is prevented

rom teaching

its message ‘in

peaceul ways.’”

THE FREEDOMOF RELIGION,

THE CONCEPT

OF WAR ANDGÜLENRELIGION

Ahmet Kurucanhas a PhD in Islamic Studies.





rights declarations. In other words,

the prohibition in question, i one

indeed exists, is a sheer atrocity that

has been imposed on people living

in a particular social system. Liv-

ing in the West, where such debates

have occurred, I have two alterna-tives: either to investigate the writ-

ten and oral literature o Fethullah

Gülen in order to examine the accu-

racy o this approach, or to ask him

directly. I preerred to take the eas-

ier way and directly asked him my

question: Here I give you his reply:

“It is possible to categorize all

the battles the Prophet ought,

when analyzed thoroughly

with their basic characteristics,

within the concept o deense.

I there is an attack by an en-

emy, or i there is evidence ac-

quired by a very reliable intel-

ligence that there is going to be

an attack, then war will be nec-

essary. The Qur’anic evidence

that supports this is Baqara

2:191: ‘fght against them, i

they fght you.’2

“While emphasizing the actthat the Prophet only ought

deensive battles, there is no

need to claim “there is no war

in Islam by any means,” evok-

ing some kind o an ineriority

complex. On the other hand,

Islam does not give the right to

any nation to clamp on another

nation or no reason, or just or

the sake o her national sov-

ereignty. This critical balance

was maintained in the eraso the Prophet and the Four

Rightly-Guided Caliphs. But

it is not possible to state that

the same sensitivity has been

preserved by some Islamic

states ater the Abbasids until

today—the Ottomans included.

Several wars were waged or

the sake o gains, or to extend

territory. They treated their en-

emies with justice during and

ater the war; but this is a di-erent issue.”

The issue is crystal clear: war

is the very last thing to do, when

other solutions are exhausted, in

order to eliminate an injustice that

restricts the reedom o communi-

cation and guidance or teaching

one’s religion. Thus, rom wheredoes this conusion stem? There

are two reasons or this. The frst

is the inability to delineate the

Prophet’s actions as the Messenger

o God—which bind all Muslims

until the Day o Judgment—rom

some o his actions as a states-

man, which were basically ormed

in keeping with the policies o the

day according to the prevalent

context.

The second reason is that someconcepts that pertain to war are

predicated in their religious rath-

er than political connotations,

arising rom the act that war is a

sphere where religion and politics

intermingle; in other words, the

“literalist” approach is adopted.

These two reasons, in the fnal

analysis, give rise to misinterpre-

tation o some o the concepts in

a ar distant meaning than what

they were originally constructedor. Take the concept o “ sabilil-

lah,” as an example. This concept,

which is repeated many times in

the Holy Qur’an and the sayings

o the Prophet, literally means “in

the way o God.” However, the role

that this concept plays in the feld

o religion diers rom that which

it plays in politics in the Arabic

language. “Fi sabilillah” in the

feld o religion covers all the good

deeds aiming to acquire merit,whereas it signifes to ensure the

rule o law in the feld o politics.

In conclusion, undamental

rights and reedoms are not issues

that are open to question. All peo-

ple are ree to choose their religion.

No state should be able to revoke

this right rom her citizens. The

ordinances o the Qur’an and the

Sunnah which pertain to this is-

sue are clear enough. Regulations

and applications that inhibit thesereedoms should not be allowed.

Restrictions may be exercised by

the authority o a legitimate stateonly i an encroachment o the

rights o other people is in ques-

tion, particularly in the felds o

public security, common order,

public decency, and health. As

regards the case o war, a war can

only be declared in keeping with

the will o the legitimate politi-

cal authority. The act that people

preer to believe in a religion other

than Islam is not considered to be

a cause o war. On the other hand,

i a state does not allow its citizens

the reedom to choose their reli-

gion, whichever religion that may

be, this is oppression. To prevent

this kind o atrocity is a legitimate

cause o war i all possible means

o peaceul settlement have been

tried and ailed.

Note1. Insanligin Itihar Tablosu: Sonsuz Nur ,

Vol 2, 2010, p. 194.2. Another remark by Gülen, made at an-

other time, confrms this:

“Take a close look at his battles at Badr,

Uhud, and the Trench. All o them

took place in the vicinity o Medina,

while the enemy, the polytheists o

Mecca, were living 500 kilometers

away. What could the Muslims do?

Should they welcome the enemy

orces, who had come to the ront

line and inside the town, trying to

kill them? The Battle o Khaybar, on

the other hand, was ought because

previously signed treaties were vio-

lated, and these treaties stipulated

violation as a cause or war.

A war can only be declared in

keeping with the will o the

legitimate political authority.

The act that people preer

to believe in a religion other

than Islam is not considered

to be a cause o war.



DIALOGUE

Gertrud Mueller Nelson

TALkINg

TOLERANCE

We learned to defne ourselves

in a certain way, convinced

that we have chosen the better

part and have let “the other,”

the misguided, the sinul, the

messy, and unenlightened

behind.

An obviously poor man

has taken charge o the

garden plot next to mine

in our neighborhood

community garden. Part

o me ears him.

is an author, artist and retired teacher.





T

olerance is a curious word. It indi-

cates an ability to bear up with a

certain amount o variation or di-

erence. 1Tolerance, we think, is a

virtue to be attained. In dialogue,

we see it as our ability to be ree

o bigotry. It says we can “endure”

dierence.

How generous o us. Howcondescending, actually! It im-

plies that I can bear up under the

dierence which is exemplifed

in the other: I won’t criticize you

openly or make comments, but

deep down, I know you to be

“dierent” and mysel to be virtu-

ous and probably superior. I may

catch mysel, when speaking o

someone I actually do not like,

saying politely: “Well, she’s di-

erent.” With that comment, I amo the hook. I rerain rom telling

you I reject this person. But “di-

erent” here may support a polite

tolerance, yet it harbors an inner

rejection.

So can we count tolerance

a virtue? Perhaps developing

tolerance is a stepping stone to

something deeper? It might be

the beginning o wisdom and

exempliy a necessary patience

with what eels painul, uncom-ortable, unamiliar, possibly

rightening, in act “oreign” to

us. “Unamiliar ,” literally means:

Not o my amily. I am ill at ease

with this because I do not know

it. It is not part o my amily, my

tribe, my belies, my language, my

religion, my race. In the spirit o

tolerance, I might begin to open

mysel to tasting, hearing, learn-

ing something about that which is

not “ours.” It is a beginning, butit still holds ast to the comort o

what it knows and only tolerates

what it cannot ully accept.

Still, we have all had the ex-

pansive experience o traveling

outside our zones o comort and

making a new relationship. We

have launched a riendship with

someone who seems unlike us.

An obviously poor man hastaken charge o the garden plot

next to mine in our neighborhood

community garden. Perhaps he

is homeless? He rattles up to the

garden on a dilapidated bicycle.

His clothes are worn and he has a

scruy look. His nails are dirty and

that might be because he has been

working his plot. I sense a certain

unease in mysel as we scratch the

soil in our plots. Part o me ears

him. That might be because I eel

guilty about the growing number

o homeless who make camps un-

der the overpasses in my neigh-

borhood. I can let my mind racewith objections: They might bring

disease. They certainly clutter the

surroundings with litter. What i,

in their need, they take what they

want rom yards and sheds? And

the police told us recently they

ound a cache o machetes, sticks




and knives in the park behind us.

Oh, I can build dungeons in the sky

as ast as anyone.

But to be honest, deep down,

I would dread being homeless

mysel and in this economy… my

mind races. How much o this is allour responsibility? Other members

o the community garden, I notice,

walk well out o his way. Some-

times they whisper to one another

making comments about their dis-

comort.

But this is, ater all, a Commu-

nity garden! What does that really

mean. I you sign up and pay the

nominal ee to tend a plot and use

the garden tools, this man has a

right to be here. So the gardenersput up a ront o tolerance. “We

shall see. We’ll give him a chance.”

Tolerance invites us to stand

beore the unamiliar and allow—

but it still has no relationship to

the ability to be empathic. Empa-

thy is a vulnerable rame o being.

It is to eel with what is “other” or

dierent.2 Tolerance does not yet

stand in the shoes o the other,

knowing exactly what it eels like

to be that person, living into asense o that person’s culture, situ-

ation, history, biology, with those

talents, bearing those wounds or

oering those gits.

Empathy would be the greater

quality to embrace and cultivate

in ourselves i we want to conduct

real dialogue. Empathy is a quality

that comes with maturity, practice,

humility, a vulnerable openness

and, o course, prayer. There is

nothing guarded, “tolerant” or su-perior about it.

“Hey!” Two o us greet the man

one morning as we hoe our plants.

What’s your name? What have you

just planted there? I make a point

o walking over there and taking

responsibility or my own eelings,

I try to make contact with the el-low devoid o my prejudices. I am

not an extroverted, chatty person

to begin with, so it takes a concert-

ed eort on my part to walk over

there, discuss our gardens, and

share our experiences.

Dempsey is his name. He does

indeed live at the homeless shel-

ter downtown and bikes up hill

here to work his plot. He has lost

the place he once lived. There is a

story hiding in him. Turns out heknows quite a bit about the soil

and gardening. He introduces me

to his beloved collards. I show him

my chard and spinach. Eventually

we share some o our produce and

though I do not take a shine to his

collards, no matter how I try, I eel

somehow honored by his generos-

ity.

He has a plan. Even a vision. I

he can grow enough produce, he

will bring it to the kitchens at hisshelter. As a kid, he had gardens

which he and his mom tended.

When everything in a row turns

ripe and ready at once, it is quite

an armul and he would like to

make a contribution to his shelter.

He has more plans. There is some

land at the back o the shelter that,

i he can convince them, he would

like to turn into gardens that the

homeless can help cultivate. Right

now it is just a dumping ground orold bottles and litter.

“O course, we’d need to con-

tain the kitchen waste or compost

frst to get some soil. Gardening is

more about making good soil than

about growing plants!”

Beore long, I am hearing

amazing things rom Dempsey.What i I had avoided him in my

ear, guilt, and prejudice?

I think about my eelings

against his reality. When we were

young and growing up, we all

made choices: We chose this over

that, we chose right over wrong.

We chose right over let and light

over dark. We learned not to talk

to strangers or to walk in certain

neighborhoods. All the world is

split in halves and with our choic-es we made judgments to match.

We learned to defne ourselves in

a certain way, convinced that we

have chosen the better part and

have let “the other,” the mis-

guided, the sinul, the messy, and

unenlightened behind. This is how

we ormed our identity. With this

we were approved o by our ami-

lies and accepted by our tribe. It

was, perhaps, a necessary devel-

opmental process.In time, we may become so

comortable in this identity that it

takes wisdom and maturity to dis-

cover that the world isn’t so black

and white as we would like to de-

fne it. Our “black and white men-

tality” is oten acted out literally.

Here in America, we have suered

and visited great suering on peo-

ple o color deeming white to be

more worthy than black. Getting

stuck at this stage o developmenthas literally given advantage, edu-

cation and wealth to whites and

this on the backs o those we frst

imported as slaves to our country

and then continued to enslave in

our intolerance, injustice and re-

jection.

Everywhere in the world, we

have seen these simplistic con-

icts bloom and ester causing in-

justice, war, and dreadul human

misery. Tolerance, then, might bethe frst step to healing an unjust

Dempsey is his name. He does indeed live at the homeless

shelter downtown and bikes up hill here to work his plot. He

has lost the place he once lived. There is a story hiding in him.




society but then, it has to develop

urther, into a true virtue.

Empathy—that true virtue—al-

lows us to viscerally eel with the

other and learn a third way which

stands over and above the simplic-

ity o a merely “black and white”mentality. Perhaps undamental

rights and wrongs may well be nec-

essary to growing up and learning

to become someone.

But undamentalism is essen-

tially an unripe process in becom-

ing whole, holy, and healthy. It is a

spiritual and psychological imma-

turity. Becoming whole, empathic

with “the other” and more than

merely “tolerant” o the other re-

quires that we make riends withthe deepest part o our own inner

selves frst. The dark aspects o our

own unconscious, which lie under

our conscious choices and aware-

ness, are alive and well and some-

times pop out in actions, prejudic-

es, paranoia, and selfsh behaviors

that actually shock us, surprising

ourselves! Where did THAT come

rom? The impromptu snub? That

slip-o-the-tongue? Getting to

know what you’d rather repress in yoursel takes that washing, even

symbolic washing, which takes

o the accretions o only “looking

good.” To reach into our depth we

ask or the graces o God and the

courage to know ourselves.

Dempsey proves to be a gited

gardener. Unlike many o us city-

slickers who fnd the idea o gar-

dening a nice, romantic concept,

Dempsey knows how to lean into

his work and stick with it. He puts

a hand to our compost pile and

gives me inormation on the chem-

istry o compost. He LOVES the

compost. And I begin to be enam-

ored with the beauty o this trans-

orming pile o brush and leaves as

they become mulch and then good,

black earth. It takes time. It takes

patience. The vegetable scraps andbrush, the kitchen scraps that we

reject and fnd, in act, revolting

as they mold and decompose, be-

come, in time, something so rich

and beautiul that I hold a palm

ull in my hand and run it through

my fngers. Dempsey laughs at

me. He knows that I have come

around. I encourage him to share

his knowledge at our garden meet-

ings. Dempsey becomes a valuable

member o the garden. And he be-comes a riend.

Like the compost, I dig deep into

my own unconscious and all that I

have deemed objectionable, I take

into my awareness. I get to know

mysel a little more. I get to appreci-

ate what I otherwise throw out and

bury out o sight—out o my con-

sciousness—and I fnd it necessary

as the very “ground o my being.”

It is a spiritual, a holy exercise. Also

the parts o society that I might onlytolerate, I take into my awareness

and with prayer and God’s grace, I

watch the rejected become a valu-

able source and a piece o God’s

holy plan and puzzle.

Richard Rohr, OFM put it this

way:

With prayer we change sides

rom the inside—rom a power

position to the position o vulner-

ability and solidarity, which gradu-

ally changes everything. Because

now we are allowing ourselves to

change and grow!

Once we are reed rom our para-

noia, rom the narcissism that thinks

we are the center o the world, or

rom our belie that thinks our rights

and dignity have to be deended be-

ore other people’s rights and dignity,

only then can we nally live andact with any justice or truth. Once

these blockages are taken away

rom us—and that is what prayer

does—then we just have to be o-

ered a ew guiding statements

on social justice or other thorny

issues—and we tend to get it or

ourselves. We start being drawn by

love… 3

For it is common practice in

the human condition to take ev-

erything we ear, hate, deny about

ourselves and “throw it in the

waste bin.” We have, unwittingly,

put “the other” in that same place

o rejection and waste.

On the other hand, we also

project everything we admire onto

“the hero” as well. The adolescent

makes heroes o the athlete, the

rock star, the flm star, the super

model and decorates her bedroom

with their posters. Meanwhile, theadults lean on their gurus, their

preachers, their wise men, their

avorite politicians and hope to

vote in their hero as president and

savior-o-the-nation. Our heroes,

just like our shadow fgures about

whom we are passionate, are really

aspects o ourselves which we are

invited to come to know. These are

abilities, virtues, talents, beauties,

braveries, and wisdoms that we

have not yet met in our own deep-est selves but have “ound” by pro-

jecting them on our heroes. What

national leader can be the savior

that delivers us rom debt, rom

our enemies, rom hunger? Over

and over and at every election, we

project on “the man who would be

king,” and within months, because

he is merely human, the populace

has become disenchanted i not

duped!

Samuel, in Hebrew Scripture,warns o turning away rom God

Dempsey laughs at me. He knows that I have come around. I

encourage him to share his knowledge at our garden meetings.

Dempsey becomes a valuable member o the garden. And he

becomes a riend.




in avor o a king (1 Samuel 8). Israel wanted a

leader like the other nations. But Samuel issues a

fnal warning (1 Samuel 12:14) “I God’s people will

remain aithul to God’s Commandments” and keep

God as their ruler.

When our loves and our hates are visceral and

passionate, we must take these deep emotions asinvitations to examine our SELVES frst. By truly

“knowing ourselves” deeply, we are able to develop

empathy—knowing “the other.” Then we learn to ac-

cept the dark and light aspect o our deepest sel.4 We

learn to embrace everyone. Our tolerance becomes

empathy, even love! Rumi’s teaching oten showed

that love and empathy is the very path to spiritual

growth and insight. Broadly tolerant o every person

and all aiths he says:

Whoever you may be, come

Even though you may be

An indel, a pagan, or a re-worshipper, come

Our brotherhood is not one o despair

Even though you have broken

Your vows o repentance a hundred times, come.

Lie is certain to dish up or us, amily mem-

bers, neighbors, people, situations, religions,

countries—myriad experiences that are really in-

vitations to rattle us out o our cozy dualistic and

judgmental lives. May we grow surely and bravely

rom being merely tolerant into ully human be-

ings who are steeped in empathy. Every dualist

split that rends us apart personally and tears usone rom the other would be healed. The same God

reigns over and above us all. The same God guides

us. The same God loves us all. The same God is the

very ground o our being. Tolerance is only a start

on the path to love and empathy.

Notes1. Tolerance: A air and objective attitude toward those

whose opinions, practices, race, religion, nationality, etc.

dier rom one’s own; reedom rom bigotry. A air and

objective attitude toward opinions and practices which

dier rom one’s own; a liberal, un-dogmatic viewpoint…

the act or capacity o enduring … (italics mine). The Ran-

dom House Dictionary o English Language

2. Empathy: The intellectual identifcation with or vicari-

ous experiencing o the eelings, thoughts, or attitudes

o another. The Random House Dictionary o English Lan-

guage

3. Adapted rom Rohr, Richard. 2011. A Lever and A Place to

Stand: The Contemplative Stance, The Active Prayer, Hid-

den Springs, p. 92.

4. Throughout the collected works o the amous Swiss

psychiatrist, Carl Gustav Jung, he encourages us to

engage what he termed our “shadow”—that part o our-

selves, positive or negative, which we reuse to own as a

hidden aspect o ourselves and would rather project on

our heroes and our enemies. He makes this awareness a

necessary requirement to any kind o psychological in-

ner work or healing.

Each individual is equippedwith sublime emotions,

has a natural disposition to-

ward virtue, and is ascinated

with eternity.

Even the most wretched-loo-

king person has a rainbow-

like atmosphere in his or

her spirit comprised o the

thought o eternity, love o

beauty, and virtuous eeling.I people can develop these

most basic, inherent ele-

ments o their being, they can

rise to the highest ranks o

humanity and attain eternity.

***




It is as though my world is a blur

I can’t seem to make things make sense

Nothing makes senseIt’s like a snow globe

Shaken and stirred

In comparison to the fakes

Everything is disarray

My mind is a mess

I toss and I turn

I can’t sleep

I can’t eat

It has been 3 days now

I eel lost

I eel alone

There are people around

There are people home

Tears all rom my blue eyes

I can’t make them stop

They all with a pin drop

I can’t recall when I last laughed

I hurt inside

I want it all to go away

The pain

The ear

The tears

I look in the mirrorWhat do I see

A shell o me

I see a little glimpse

O who I once was

I see sadness

I don’t see the real me

Time to get ready

Can’t let the world see

Hide my sadness

Hide it with makeup

And alse smiles

Be the pretty girl

The one everyone adores

Not the one you don’t share

Only some see her

This charade never ends

My love never dies

My tears I will hide

I must go outside

The world is waiting

MY sAdNess

BarbaraKoerth

PO-EM

Barbara

Koerth is a

reelance

writer and

has written

published

poetry and

continues

to do so.

She lives in

the Houston

area with her

husband and

children. She

is currently

studying

Psychology.




e live in a world in which our perceptions are based on our physical senses

and the knowledge we gain through them. Our senses can react only to alimited number o inputs. For example, the human eyes cannot see through

objects, but it is possible to produce images rom the inside o a body with

high-requency sound waves. Actually, similar senses are seen in nature, as

in echolocation, as used by bats, whales, and dolphins. Why is this sense not

innate in humans? Are there senses that we have but not aware o yet, such

as telepathy? Let’s explore the world o telepathy with a great mystery, the

concept o entanglement in quantum physics.

Quantum entanglement is an interesting phenomenon. Two or more

quantum particles can be linked together in a special way; this makes them

behave like one entity. A change in one o the constituent particles can in-

stantly be observed in the other, independent o the distance between the

particles. This phenomenon was called “entanglement” by the Austrianphysicist Erwin Schrödinger. The basics o quantum entanglement [1] and

WSCIENCE

Halil I. Demiris a postdoctoral scholar in inormatics




quantum computers [2] are discussed in recent articles in The Fountain

magazine. Some physicists [3, 4, 5] explain this phenomenon by suggest-

ing that the two entangled particles are actually a single particle that can

be observed rom two dierent locations in the universe at the same time

point, as i they have been created to appear as a pair. At the quantum

level, the defnitions o space and time become obscure. An atom can be

in two distant locations at the same time, but this may not be the case ora paper clip. What about dozens or thousands o atoms? Where is the line

between atoms and a paper clip?

Entanglement has already been experimented on atoms [6] and ob-

served in biological systems at room temperatures. A recent study [7]

ound the frst evidence o biological organisms showing strange quan-

tum behaviors. Researchers rom UC Berkeley believe that they have ob-

served quantum entanglement occurring in photosynthesis. The possibil-

ity o using these molecules or quantum inormation processing at room

temperature may open the doors or photosynthetic quantum computers.

This fnding could lead to solar cells that are more efcient than today’s

photovoltaic cells.

Quantum entanglement has many areas o application, including se-cure encryption [8], ultra-ast quantum computers [9], ghost imaging [10],

teleportation [11], and perhaps the most interesting one, telepathy [12]. Te-

lepathy is described as the transer o thought or eeling rom one person

to another without using known channels o communication. Fredric W.

H. Myers, ounder o the Society or Psychical Research, coined the term,

telepathy, in 1882 to replace the earlier expression thought-transerence.

Telepathy is one o the main branches o parapsychological research, and

has been studied to try to detect, understand, and utilize phenomena

[13]. It is oten accepted that there is a connection between telepathy and

other paranormal phenomena, such as precognition, clairvoyance and

empathy. The existence o telepathy has been confrmed through many

scientifc experiments [12]. However there is no accepted mechanism thatexplains how telepathy works. It remains controversial and is not widely

accepted by scientists.

It is always appealing to perceive a phenomenon as happening rom

nothing or without a cause, as oten happens in movies or dreams. But

is this realistic? There are many mechanisms, structures, and reactions

we can observe in nature which cannot be understood with our current

knowledge. One can quickly make a list o things that cannot be explained

by science today. It is believed that there is a cause and eect relation,

and a reasonable explanation or everything in this universe. Some will

push this urther to oer an incredible prize or an opposite claim. The

JREF (James Randi Educational Foundation) has oered a one-million-

dollar prize [14] to the person who can show (under proper experimentalconditions) evidence o any paranormal or supernatural event. They will

remove telepathy rom the list o supernatural events i it can be achieved

during a controlled experiment.

Some researchers claim that there is a connection between quantum

theory and telepathy. One theory is that the human mind has abilities

that inuence and receive “quantum uctuations” rom other minds. An-

other theory explains this instantaneous communication with quantum

entanglement. Gao Shen, at the Institute o Quantum Physics in Beijing,

China, has conducted experiments [12] to understand this connection by

monitoring synchronous EEG patterns between two hypothetically “en-

tangled” minds.

There are many natural events in our daily lie that might seem liketelepathy. You might hear something rom one o your riends or relatives,

Intriguing eatures o the quantumworld can promise new ways

o communication, including

telepathy. Recent developments

in quantum physics, observing

entanglement in atoms and

biological systems, mysterious

communication between

DNA strands, and telepathicconnection between humans

are all pieces o an unsolved

puzzle. When we think about

how we perceive this world

with our known physical senses,

and how it might be with other

unknown perspectives, we can

then wonder what percentage o things in our universe we have

not been able to see or know.




or example, that they can per-

ceive a phenomenon like an injury

or illness to a close person rom a

distance. Many people claim that

they have this kind o experience,

especially twins with one another,

or mothers and children. Are allthese people in close relation-

ships—twins, couples, siblings,

parent and child—also sharing

quantum entangled particles?

Humans are not the only sub-

jects that show telepathic proper-

ties. It has reported [15] that intact

double-stranded DNA has an abil-

ity to recognize similarities in oth-

er DNA strands. This recognition

occurs between sequences o sev-

eral hundred nucleotides withoutphysical contact or the presence

o proteins. The way they identiy

one another and combine chemi-

cally is not ully understood. This

behavior can be observed in water

that contains no proteins or other

material that could interere with

the reaction. There needs to be

some sort o communication, at-

traction or guidance between indi-

vidual DNA strands to explain this

behavior. Do these DNA strandscommunicate through entangled

particles?

Could this telepathic behavior

o DNA be the explanation o the

power o extra sensory perception

between people close to each oth-

er? Are we all entangled with one

another with invisible bonds, ex-

isting since the time o Adam and

Eve? Is it all because o the genetic

inheritance in our DNA? Do our ac-

tions aect others, even i we haveno direct connection or relation to

them? Maybe all the living things

and our lives in this universe are a

part o a single mechanism, guid-

ed and connected in a special way

we cannot understand with our

current scientifc knowledge.

Einstein pointed [16] out the il-

lusion o separateness: “A human

being is part o the whole, called

by us ‘Universe’; a part limited in

time and space. He experienceshimsel, his thoughts and eelings

as someone separated rom the

rest—a kind o optical delusion o

his consciousness. This delusion

is a kind o prison or us, restrict-

ing us to our personal desires and

to aection or a ew persons near-

est to us. Our task must be to ree

ourselves rom this prison by wid-

ening our circle o compassion to

embrace all living creatures and

the whole o nature in its beauty.”

All these intriguing eatureso the quantum world can prom-

ise new ways o communication,

including telepathy. Recent de-

velopments in quantum physics,

observing entanglement in atoms

and biological systems, mysteri-

ous communication between DNA

strands, and telepathic connec-

tion between humans are all piec-

es o an unsolved puzzle. When we

think about how we perceive this

world with our known physicalsenses, and how it might be with

other unknown perspectives, we

can then wonder what percent-

age o things in our universe we

have not been able to see or know.

There is a long way to go beore

understanding the universe with

our limited perspectives and phys-

ical senses.

Acknowledgment: This article

was produced in MERGEOUS [17],

an online article and project development service or authors

and publishers dedicated to the

advancement o technologies in

the merging realm o science and

religion.

Reerences

1. S. Candaroglu, “Quantum Entangle-

ment: Illusion or Reality?”. Fountain,

Issue 61 January – February, 2008.

2. O. D. Ikramoglu, “Quantum-Inspired

World o Computers: Science or Fic-

tion?”. Fountain, Issue 74, March –

April, 2010.

3. M. A. Nielsen and I. L. Chuang, Quan-

tum Inormation and Quantum Com-

puting (Cambridge U. Press, 2000).

4. Ryszard Horodecki, PawełHorodecki,

Michał Horodecki, Karol Horodecki,

Rev. Mod. Phys. 81, 865–942 (2009).

5. M. Genovese, Cosmology and entangle-

ment, Adv. Sci. Lett. 2, 303-309 (2009).

6. S. Olmschenk, D.N. Matsukevich, P.Maunz, D. Hayes, L. M. Duan, C. Mon-

roe, “Quantum Teleportation Between

Distant Matter Qubits”. Science, 323,

5913, 486–489, 2009.

7. M. Sarovar, A. Ishizaki, G. R. Fleming,

K. B. Whaley, “Quantum entangle-

ment in photosynthetic light harvest-

ing complexes”. arXiv:0905.3787v1

[quant-ph], 2009.

8. H. K. Lo, and N. Lutkenhaus, “Quantum

Cryptography: rom Theory to Prac-

tice”. arXiv:quantph/0702202, 2007.

9. D. P. DiVincenzo, “Quantum Compu-

tation”. Science, 270, 5234, 255–261.doi:10.1126/science.270.5234.255, 1995.

10. M. D’Angelo, Y.H. Kim, S.P. Kulik, Y.

Shih, “Identiying entanglement using

quantum ghost intererence and imag-

ing”, Physical review letters, 2004.

11. D. Bouwmeester, J.W. Pan, K. Mattle,

M. Eibl, H. Weinurter, A. Zeilinger,

“Experimental Quantum Teleporta-

tion”. Nature, 390, 6660, 575-579, 1997.

12. S. Gao, “A Primary Quantum Model

o Telepathy”. 2003. [Preprint]

13. Wikipedia, Telepathy, http://en.wiki-

pedia.org/wiki/Telepathy.

14. James Randi Educational Founda-tion, “One Million Dollar Paranormal

Challenge”, Available online http://

www.randi.org/research/index.html

15. G. S. Baldwin, N. J. Brooks, R. E.

Robson, A. Wynveen, A. Goldar, S.

Leikin, J. M. Seddon, and A. A. Kor-

nyshev, “DNA Double Helices Rec-

ognize Mutual Sequence Homology

in a Protein Free Environment”. The

Journal o Physical Chemistry B, 112,

4, 1060-1064, 2008.

16. Elise’s collection o avorite quotes,

http://elise.com/quotes/

17. Mergeous, Online article and project

development service,http://www.mergeous.com/



MIsINforMATIoN IN

Globalization

THe AGe of

B E WA R E T

H E

M E S S E N G E R !

howdury Osman, a taxi driver in New York City,

made himsel a hero in February 2007 when he re-

turned a black bag carrying 31 diamond rings to apassenger who let it in Mr. Osman’s taxi’s trunk.1

He was all over the news across the United States.

Mr. Osman was a Muslim immigrant rom Bangla-

desh. Interestingly, over twenty national and local

newspapers that I reviewed that day reerred him

as a Bangladeshi, and not as a Muslim. It then oc-

curred to me - what i this man instead stole his customer’s dia-

mond rings and this became news, too? Would the media reer

him as just a Bangladeshi or also a Muslim as they did when a

Moroccan-Dutch killed Dutch flmmaker Vincent van Gogh or a

Pakistani-American killed a Jewish woman and wounded many

at the Seattle Jewish Federation? Why do the Western mediahighlight the religion o a Muslim when he/she commits an evil

act but ignore it when he/she commits a noble one?

C

MEDIA

Kaan Keremhas a PhD in political science

55 November / December 2011 The Fountain Magazine




Almost every society eventu-

ally creates an “other” that serves

as such or certain political, eco-

nomic, or social purposes. And in

most cases, the identifcation o

this “other” rests on a simplistic

“us versus them” dichotomy: weare “good” people, and they are

“bad” people. Because this simple

dichotomy is more mythical than

real, the maintenance o this myth

requires a continuous pumping

o misinormation into the pub-

lic realm. Misinormation is not

necessarily incorrect inormation;

it is also purposeul manipula-

tion o reality. Each society ore-

grounds the good acts o its own

people and backgrounds theirbad acts while oregrounding the

bad acts o “others” and back-

grounding their good acts. Thus,

we all accomplish giving our own

communities a delusional sense

o moral and cultural superior-

ity over others, which eventually

turns the material conicts be-

tween us and others into moral

conicts between good and evil.

The common “good Western-

ers–bad Muslims” dichotomy inthe West results in manipulation

o the inormation provided to

the people in the West about both

Muslims and Westerners them-

selves. This is why in the Western

media, evil acts o Muslim people

are almost always associated with

Islam while noble acts o Muslim

people such as Mr. Osman are

either ignored or associated with

their nationality rather than their

religion. In the same vein, evilacts o Western people such as

those who gassed the nursery o

a Muslim mosque in Ohio while

about 300 people were praying

inside in September 2008 are

largely ignored by the mainstream

Western media, or it goes against

the “good Westerners” image.2

A striking example that is used

in the West as evidence to the

evilness o Muslims is the degree

o support or terrorism amongMuslims. Authors rom Sam Har-

ris to Robert Spencer have sought

reuge in Muslim support or ter-

rorism when they wanted to de-

nounce Islam. It is an unortunate

truth that many Muslims justiy

killing innocent people in certain

circumstances. According to therespectable PEW institution’s sur-

veys, 10 to 50 percent o people in

Muslim societies (with an average

o 20-25%) oten times or some-

times justiy suicide bombing o

civilian targets to deend Islam.3

Such fndings are construed as

evidence to both the belligerent

nature o the religion o Islam

and the evilness o the Muslim

mind. Yet another truth that goes

uncovered in the Western mediais the act that there is compa-

rable support or terrorism among

Western people as well. According

to a 2007 survey by World Public

Opinion, or example, 24% o

Americans fnd “bombing and

other types o attacks intentional-

ly aimed at civilians” oten times

or sometimes justifed.4 But such

surveys never fnd a place in the

mainstream American media be-

cause they go against the common“good American–bad Muslim”

dichotomy.5

The problem o misinorma-

tion is not unique to the West. It is

equally problematic in Muslim so-

cieties. Most Muslims have known

the United States and Americans

through the lenses o Vietnam,

Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, and

the like. But ew o them are aware

o such programs like Peace Corps

or Volunteers or Prosperity be-cause such good American acts go

against the mythical “bad Ameri-

cans–good Muslims” dichotomy

in the Muslim world. Similarly,

most Muslims have memorized

many non-Muslim names or their

brutal acts against Muslims, but

very ew Muslims are amiliar

with Muslim names who are held

responsible or the crimes against

humanity. Whereas the ormer

fgures confrm the mythical “goodMuslims–bad non-Muslims”

image, the latter contradicts it.

Thereore, the ormer examples

have been highlighted in the Mus-

lim media and the latter has been

ignored.

On the oreront o this univer-

sal misinormation campaign are

two institutions: the media and

governments. The media lovessensational, ashy news because

such news pumps up their rat-

ings. Consequently, the media

capitalize on overstated evilness

o some other people and the ex-

istential threat they pose to “our”

society.6 In the same vein, our

governments love the existence o

“external threats to our national

security,” mythical or real, be-

cause it allows them to divert pub-

lic attention rom ailed domesticpolicies to international politics




and also to implement certain

political and military agenda that

they could not have carried out

without a oreign threat. Hermann

Goering, a fghter pilot in the Nazi

German Air Force, noted during

Nuremberg Trials, “It is always asimple matter to drag the people

along, whether it is a democracy,

or a ascist dictatorship, or a

parliament, or a communist dic-

tatorship. Voice or no voice, the

people can always be brought to

the bidding o their leaders. That

is easy. All you have to tell them is

that they are being attacked and

denounce the peacemakers or

lack o patriotism and exposing

the country to danger. It works thesame way in any country.”7 Thus,

it is no wonder that we fnd gov-

ernment ofcials at the oreront

o ear-mongering. Whether it is

“the Great Satan” in Iran or “Is-

lamoacists” in the United States,

overstated external enemies serve

well or governments. John Muel-

ler, a proessor o political science

rom Ohio State University, esti-

mated that “the lietime chance

o an American being killed byinternational terrorism is about

one in 80,000—about the same

chance o being killed by a comet

or a meteor.”8 Yet whereas no sane

American is obsessed with the ad-

versity o a meteor alling on his/

her head, many have been made

to obsessively think, ear, and

guard themselves against a terror-

ist attack by some evil others.

Most o us have been misin-

ormed about other societies tosome extent. We are all, thereore,

in need o a therapy o knowledge

refnement. But how do we do

that? Personally, I think there are

two eective ways/channels o

refning our adulterated knowl-

edge and acquiring authentic

inormation about other societies.

First, we need to diversiy our

sources o inormation by reading

multiple and multi-national news

papers or portals. As people inthe West need to read the likes o

Al-Ahram, Al-Jazeera, or Today’s

Zaman, Muslim people should

also read the New York Times, Die

Welt, or Haaretz . Second, we need

to diversiy our pool o riends

and include in it as many people

rom “other” societies as possible.Nothing is more powerul than a

concrete counter-example when

it comes to destroying a myth. As

we diversiy our sources o inor-

mation and beriend people rom

other societies, we will realize

that “we” are not as “good” as we

are told we are, and “they” are not

as “bad” as we are told they are,

which will hopeully help us re-

appreciate the essential common-

ality between all o us: humanity.Hopeully, we will then also real-

ize that the major struggle is not

between “good” us versus “bad”

them but rather between the good

people and the bad ones among

us all.

Notes1 See, or example, CBS network’s

coverage o the story: “NYC Cabbie

Returns Bag o Diamond Rings,”

available online at http://www.

cbsnews.com/stories/2007/02/07/ap/national/mainD8N4TUGO0.shtml

2 “Muslim Children Gassed at Dayton

Mosque Ater “Obsession” DVD hits

Ohio,” www.hufngtonpost.com,

available online at http://www.hu-

ingtonpost.com/chris-rodda/mus-

lim-children-gassed-at_b_130076.

html

3 Pew Global Attitudes Project, May

2006.

4 WorldPublicOpinion.org, January

2007. Available online at: http://

www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/

pd/jan07/Iran_Jan07_rpt.pd

5 For an exception, see Kenneth Bal-

len “The Myth o Muslim Support or

Terror,” Christian Science Monitor ,

Feb 23, 2007.

6 See, or example, BBC’s report

“War coverage lits News Corp,”

Aug 13, 2003. Available online at:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/busi-

ness/3148015.stm

7 Quoted in, Ismael Hossein-Zadeh,

The Political Economy o U.S. Milita-

rism, New York, NY: Palgrave Mac-

millan, 2006, p. 75.

8 John Mueller, “The Myth o the Om-

nipresent Enemy,” Foreign Aairs,

Summer 2006, Vol 12(2), p. 8.

As we diversiy our sources o

inormation and beriend people

rom other societies, it will

hopeully help us re-appreciate

the essential commonality

between all o us: humanity.



eter, normally you only

see me when you have

a cut on your skin and

do not care much aboutme. I am a living tissue

such as your bones,

muscles, and nerves. My

basic dierence rom

other connective tissues

is that I am dispersed in the inter-

mediary uid, blood plasma. I I

weren’t riding the plasma, I would

not be able to reach the remotest

cells o your body and help meet

their needs. My constituents are

a crowded group made up o twotypes o basic cells and cell parts.

White blood cells (leukocytes)

are ewer in number and their duty

is to fght against germs. How this

process works is to be expounded

by the immune system under a

separate title. The red blood cells

are my main building blocks and

they are born by the dividing o the

main cells in the bone marrow. A-

ter passing through a ew phases,

they lose their nucleus and areflled instead with hemoglobin, a

IT’s Me PeTer,YoUr

bLood

P

SEE-THINK-BELIEvE

Iran Yilmaz Proessor o biology in

Dokuz Eylul University, Izmir.





magnifcent substance containing

iron. Hemoglobin’s most vital unc-

tion is its binding oxygen and then

carbon dioxide ater releasing it.

Hemoglobin reaches everywhere,

traveling with the blood stream.

When it comes to the lungs, hemo-globin dumps the carbon dioxide

and replaces is with oxygen. Then

it supplies this oxygen to the cells

and removes the carbon dioxide,

which is produced by burning

organic compounds. So its short

lie passes with the same cease-

less cycle to continue your lie.

Hemoglobin molecules’ longevity

is approximately 120 days. They

contain no cell elements like ribo-

some, mitochondria, and nucleusand thereore cannot repair them-

selves. They simply die when they

get old. Sad? Not at all! Red blood

cells ulfll the duty they were cre-

ated or and leave the stage or

new ones. They are broken down

in the liver and bone marrow and

the iron they contain is absorbed.

A certain part is transormed into

bilirubin, giving bile its yellow

color. As you see, nothing is truly

wasted.

The red blood cells in circula-

tion number around 25 trillion,

and this number does not vary

greatly, as the dying ones are con-

stantly replaced. Their measuring

gives doctors an idea about possi-

ble diseases. The amount depends

on various actors’ reciprocal bal-

ance. A hormone (erythropoietin)

secreted by the kidneys increases

the rate o production o red bloodcells, in response to alling levels

o oxygen in the tissues. I you lose

blood due to an accident or medi-

cal operation, the stem cells in the

bone marrow receive an emergen-

cy alert to produce more red blood

cells. On the other hand, i you get

a blood transer, stem cells are or-

dered to stop producing, due to the

excess o red blood cells. You see,

even such basic knowledge about

bodily systems flls the learnerwith wonder.

Defciency o red blood cells,

scientifcally known as anemia,

should not be ignored. It results in

pallor and weariness; you eel like

sleeping more. In order to avoid

this condition, your body needs

dierent things such as group B vitamins (B6, B11, B12), vitamin

C, amino acids, and iron. Since it

is hard to pinpoint the defcient

substance, doctors generally pre-

scribe iron-rich multivitamin sup-

plements.

Red blood cells divide into our

types, which determine the blood

groups A, B, 0, and AB. In addition

to the blood group, another ea-

ture known as Rh (rhesus) actor

is important to know particularlybeore a blood transer. Transer-

ring the wrong type o blood may

result in death.

Platelets, which are scale-

shaped cells and circulate with

me are not independent; they are

pieces which came o bigger cells.

In a cubic millimeter o blood,

250 to 350 thousand o these little

scales are ound and their duty is

o vital importance. I it weren’t

or these pieces, the slightest cut

could cause death because your

bleeding would not stop. Clotting

is a great blessing. It usually blocks

the surace o a wound within

fve minutes, stopping the ow o

blood and saving your lie. Clot-

ting is realized through particular

molecules in these minute scales

as a result o a complex chain o re-

actions using enzymes, vitamins,

and salts. Every step o this chaino reactions is another stitch to fx

the wound. Other blood cells pile

up and stick together behind this

net and they dry up. I such clot-

ting occurred inside the blood ves-

sels, it would make a disastrous e-

ect by blocking the bloodstream. I

also have enzymes to break down

little amounts o such clotting. As

you see, everything is splendidly

organized.

Peter! A blood test reveals verycritical medical data. As I visit

every organ, I exchange certain

substances with them. Thereore,

detection o an unusual substance

in me can be an early warning or

a disease. Nowadays, it even helps

an early diagnosis o cancer.

It is not so easy or me to explain

the wisdom behind all o my duties

and capabilities. But to give you an

idea, there are specialized depart-

ments or studying just me at medi-

cal aculties and research institu-tions throughout the world.



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

TWOASSURANCESAND TWO

FEARS

Question:

November / December 201160



61 November / December 2011








S c I e n c e S q u a re //

Immune system at

traınıng ın the gut

Cancer meets memory

Original Article: Lathrop, S.K. et al.,Nature 478, 250 (2011).

Original Article: Odajima, J. et al.,Developmental Cell 21, 655 (2011).

1

2

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Microbes, in particular bacteria, are associated with many diseases, being the deadliest pathogens along with vi-ruses. But, this doesn’t mean that all bacteria are harmul. Indeed, most bacterial colonies that reside in our guthave mutualistic relationship with humans. Our intestines carry approximately ten times more bacteria than thetotal number o cells in human body. This vast number o bacteria residing in our intestines arenot only harmless, but they are also benecial or us in many ways, by digesting ood to supplyenergy or the body, by outcompeting the disease-causing bacteria in the intestines, and byproducing vitamins and hormones. This study brings a new dimension to our understand-ing o the interactions between the host immune system with the gut microfora. The main

components o immune system are the T cells that can recognize the pathogens. Each T cell recognizes one particular pathogen and distinguishes sel-cells rom the pathogens.In the thymus, T cells that recognize sel-molecules are either eliminated or transormedinto a special category o T-cells called regulatory T cells (Tregs), whose job is to maintaintolerance towards sel-antigens. Lathrop and colleagues demonstrated or the rst timethat naïve T cells are developed into Tregs in the gut upon encounter o commensal gutbacteria. What is striking is that these Tregs responded to the bacterial antigens, unlikethe thymus originated Tregs that were generated by sel-antigen recognition. These datasuggest that gut bacteria train host’s immune system to be silent against themselvesand act only against invading pathogens. Mechanisms involved in distinguishing harmul vs. benecial bacteria by the immune system may provide new ways o tackling with bacterial diseases.

The recent discovery in the eld o neuroscience reminded everybody the phrase “con-text is everything”. A study conducted by the scientists o Dana-Farber Cancer Instituteand Harvard Medical School addressed somewhat contradictive observation that why

human brain has high levels o cyclin E protein, a well-known culprit in many cancers.Cyclin E protein plays an important role in cell cycle where it helps to regulate the timing and the requency o cell division in normally growing cells. However, overexpression o cyclin E has been associated with uncontrolled cell growth in various cancer types. It issurprising that the human brain, which has a group o non-dividing cells, also expresscyclin E at high levels. The study showed that when cyclin E decient mice were analyzed,there was a serious deect in the ormation o nerve connections as well as the ormationo memory. “It is overexpressed in many dierent cancers, but it also is expressed in highlevels in the human brain. We have ound that cyclin E is needed or memory ormationand is a very important player,” said senior author Peter Sicinski, PhD, a cancer biologistat Dana-Farber. The study showed that cyclin E achieves its unctions in the brain bybinding to Cdk5 enzyme whose activity is associated with Alzheimer’s disease. “There isgood evidence that hyperactivity o Cdk5 contributes to Alzheimer’s disease and inhib-

iting this enzyme can ameliorate symptoms in animals,” said Sicinski. “Manipulating cyclin E levels might be another way to accomplish this,” he added.




The key to long lıfe?

Desıgnıng perfect plastıc

Original Article: Kim, E.B. et al., Nature(published online beore print, 2011).

Original Article: Read, D.J. et al.,Science 333, 1871 (2011).

4

3Plastic is used everywhere in our daily lives. Upuntil now, production o dierent types o plasticwas done by trial and error. Only a small raction o these trials give rise to a usable product. Ater tenyears o hard work, scientists have now developeda computer program that can predict properties o plastic without actually manuacturing it. The pro-gram has two parts. The rst part can predict how

a specic polymer will fow based on the connec-tions between the macromolecules that make upthe polymer. The second part predicts the shapeo these macromolecules when they are made at achemical level. Using this code, one can eectivelyconstruct a recipe book or plastic. This will make itpossible to design plastic that can better handle aspecic job. It will also be possible to make plasticout o renewable materials instead o oil based ma-terials which will be easy to recycle.

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Who would want to live a long lie at the cost o looking ugly? One type o rodent species, naked molerat, seems to have said “YES” to this intricate question. While an average rodent, a house mice or

a rat living on streets, can live up to 4 years, naked mole rats can live up to 30 years. Mole rats arehairless, buck-toothed and almost blind rodents that are only ound in dry sections o the Horn o Arica. They live in underground colonies with a social structure similar to ant colonies. There isa queen rat that chooses to mate with only ew males, and rest o the colony takes the big responsibility o maintaining and protecting the colony. Scientists have always beenpuzzled with the extraordinary lie span o these exotic animals and they nallygenerated the complete gene map o these intriguing animals. A quick looko the genomic map revealed that many genes associated with vision,circadian rhythms, perception o pain and perception o bitter tastesseem to be completely turned-o. Perhaps, these specic modica-tions allow animals to tolerate harsh living conditions and help themto adapt a liestyle which lacks so-called the luxuries and expectationso a normal animal. Scientists believe that comprehensive analyseso naked mole’s genetic map might shed light on undamental cellularmechanisms that are disrupted in aging and aging-related diseases.



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Even i one extends genuinely and the other one pretends,

They are still proximate to the expected ends.

Maybe hearts will thus open up,

And the ew-centuries’ obstinacy will stop.

Documents

THE FOUNTAİN --A MAGAZINE OF SCIENTIFIC AND SPIRITUAL THOUGHT-- NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2011