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Issue 119 (September - October 2017)

Issue 119 (September - October 2017)

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Articles

The Heart and the Miraculous Blood Flow in Our Body

31 August 2017 | Omer Serranur | Issue 119 (September - October 2017)

One of my patients came one day with her daughter and complained about her being too weak to do anything. The child looked very thin. After our checks, she was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect and had surgery. She recovered. Her immobility, which had seemed to be laziness, was because her b…

Souls Devoted to the Path of Truth

31 August 2017 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 119 (September - October 2017)

Devoting oneself to communicating the truth is an expression of humanity’s privilege of having “the perfect pattern” in creation; it is an unparalleled rank for those who can attain it. There are devotees who take every opportunity to speak of God and to endear Him to others. They work hard to open…

Globalized Islam and the Muslims in the West

31 August 2017 | Al Strong | Issue 119 (September - October 2017)

We are living in a globalized world. Different communities live side by side more than any other time in history. The transition comes with many challenges such as language barrier, culture shock, differences in work, family ethics, and religious traditions. The experience of the Muslim communities…

Animals That Sense Earthquakes

31 August 2017 | Atif Yorulmaz | Issue 119 (September - October 2017)

Certain phenomena can be known after deliberation, as they occur within the limits of our current knowledge. Other phenomena may be known eventually, although we cannot yet penetrate them with our present knowledge and technology. Certain things can be known partially by employing guesswork about…

Early Islamic Culinary Art

31 August 2017 | Lawrence Brazier | Issue 119 (September - October 2017)

How do we alleviate the harshness of our daily routine? One may contend that the true purpose of art is to offer readers, viewers, and listeners the opportunity to forget themselves, which means a quietening of the mind, perhaps even permitting wonder to arise. This is what true artists, creating f…

“Don’t Forget to Like Me”

31 August 2017 | Sage Chen | Issue 119 (September - October 2017)

Social media has become an important part of our lives. It has led a communication revolution, making it far easier for large, diverse groups of people to communicate. However, social media has also brought about many complications and psychological side-effects. Facebook was the first big social…

Lovers Are Gnostic and Gnostics Are Poets

31 August 2017 | Mir Mohammad Saber Ansari | Issue 119 (September - October 2017)

Love is the only path to recognizing and reaching God. It is the only power that will enable humanity to reach maturity. If love did not exist, we would never have had Gnostics; we would never have had a poet like Rumi. If there had not been love, How should there have been existence? How should…

Istighraq (Immersion)

31 August 2017 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 119 (September - October 2017)

Literally meaning absorption, diving into, becoming deeply involved in, istighraq (immersion) denotes transportation by joy, oblivion of the world, the cleansing of the heart from worldly worries enabling one to turn to God wholeheartedly, and, in consequence, going into such deep ecstasies that on…

Joseph: Islamic and Christian Teachings from the “Best of Stories” (Part 1)

31 August 2017 | Suleyman Cifci | Issue 119 (September - October 2017)

Joseph is one of the most important, revered figures in both Islam and Christianity. What lessons can be learned from the Qur’anic and Biblical accounts of his life? “When we are being told a story … [n]ot only are the language processing parts in our brain activated, but any other area in our br…

Joseph: Islamic and Christian Teachings from the “Best of Stories” (Part 2)

31 August 2017 | James Jackson | Issue 119 (September - October 2017)

The Biblical accounts indicate that the name Joseph means, “The Lord will add” (Genesis 30:24). It was a very common name in Biblical times. Although there are many different Josephs mentioned in the Bible, there is one Joseph whose story stands out — that of the son of Jacob. Despite facing man…

How Do Ants Find Their Way?

31 August 2017 | Fatih Bera Aslan | Issue 119 (September - October 2017)

Imagine you are a desert ant. You get out of your nest to search for food in the white sands of Tunisia. You don't know where to find food and thus proceed randomly around the desert. Moving in a widening course away from your nest, you keep searching until you find food. Let us say that you do, ev…

A Tale of Two Ends

31 August 2017 | Salma Hany Abdel Fattah | Issue 119 (September - October 2017)

My pen is heavy and my words are messy; is the world I know gone already? I miss the rhythm of listening to predictable news and the certainty of a life that was once secure. I miss staying up for no reason and feeling the weather change, declaring a new season.

Enes Kanter - A Dervish in the NBA

31 August 2017 | Justin Pahl | Issue 119 (September - October 2017)

Enes Kanter is unique among American athletes. He is one of the few practicing Muslim players in the NBA, and in a league known for its political activism, Kanter is still one of the most outspoken players. It wasn’t always that way. Born in Zurich to Turkish parents, Kanter spent most of his chil…

Sincerity

31 August 2017 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 119 (September - October 2017)

“Always intend to earn God’s good pleasure when performing your deeds, for God accepts deeds that are done purely for Himself.”[1] Question: How can we purely seek God’s good pleasure in our deeds and become conscious and attentive about this endeavor? Answer: Real believers who truly love God, m…

Wet Cupping Therapy

31 August 2017 | Omer Serranur | Issue 119 (September - October 2017)

It was not an extraordinary thing when Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time, won six medals at the 2016 Rio Olympics. The weird thing was he had dark circles in his back, on the shoulders and legs. At first many thought it was some sort of a rash; later it was learned that they w…

Eat fat, live longer?

31 August 2017 | The Fountain | Issue 119 (September - October 2017)

As more people live into their ’80s and ’90s, scientists focus more on the issues of healthy aging. A recent study proved controversial when it demonstrated that a high fat, or ketogenic, diet not only increases longevity but also improves physical strength and memory. In the study, scientists rais…

Why are yawns contagious?

31 August 2017 | The Fountain | Issue 119 (September - October 2017)

Why do we yawn if someone else does? Ecophenomena drives us to imitate other people's actions, but it's also found at excessive levels in neurodevelopment disorders such as Tourette’s, autism, and epilepsy, for which scientists have been intensely trying to find treatments. A new study suggests tha…

“Pen” diagnoses cancer in 10 seconds

31 August 2017 | The Fountain | Issue 119 (September - October 2017)

A team of engineers and scientists has developed a “pen” that accurately identifies cancerous tissues during surgery within 10 seconds. This handheld instrument could one day be used by surgeons to quickly determine what tissue to cut and preserve. The instrument, called MasSpec Pen, was tested on…

How to Face a Disaster?

31 August 2017 | The Fountain | Issue 119 (September - October 2017)

Hurricanes, tropical storms, earthquakes … More people are being affected by more natural disasters. But life’s challenges do not only come in the form of natural disasters – individuals have to face all sorts of disasters in their personal lives. Sometimes it’s the loss of a loved one or a job, a…

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