Issue 116 (March - April 2017)

If these guides happen to be the experienced, knowledgeable, and conscientious masters of that field, then, without any hesitation, one should follow along on their path, for they always travel on the shortcuts that lead directly to their Lord. They know well the peaks that give way and those that…

Human feelings, thoughts, and behavior are a result of the complex and dynamic connections between our brain, ego, and soul. These connections are not just the source of feelings, thoughts, and behaviors, but also the control mechanism over them. They enable us to bring multi-dimensional and multi-…

Bob Dylan won the 2016 Nobel Prize in literature. Dylan is undoubtedly one of the most popular folk singers and composers, not just in the United States, but around the world. So, arguably many of his fans already knew he was from Minnesota, but not many knew he was born to a Jewish family and his…

Those were the days when we barely made ends meet. When we went to Luna Park, we watched other people as they rode bumper cars and the Ferris wheel. They laughed and had fun. We would not join them. My father would insist, but we couldn’t; we knew he couldn’t afford much. We enjoyed just being ther…

At around five weeks of development, two U-shaped areas of bands of cells form in the human embryo’s developing mouth. These primary epithelial bands form precisely in the positions of the future upper and lower jaws. Each of these bands then subdivide by proliferating and growing into the underlyi…

The first step in preventive medicine is to diet while you are healthy.  If you are already sick, the diet will prevent the sickness from getting worse; it will support the immune system and the medications. A proper diet when you are healthy will make it less likely you will get sick. A proper di…

Hizmet (service, in Turkish) is a faith-inspired social movements with schools and cultural centers around the world. Hizmet’s ideological framework is based on humanism and Islamic sources, and manifests in the form of selfless individuals dedicated to serving humanity. The group’s humanistic qual…

When taking a quick glance at the planets in our solar system you might be surprised to discover what rages beneath seemingly calm surfaces. Just as storms happen on Earth, the other planets are also afflicted by storms – only these storms are so strong, they can make a hurricane look like a gentle…

Home to seven billion people, Earth is one of the smallest planets in our solar system (its circumference is around 40 thousand kilometers at the equator) and its estimated age is about 4.5 billion years. It is the only planet we know of that supports life. In fact, it has so much life, that humans…

“On some evenings we would attend faculty parties,” she said. “It was a heady atmosphere, as we spent time with the world’s intellectual elite. There were scientists of all stripes, mathematicians and physicists, some of them of world renowned. Well, after about fifteen minutes of general chat they…

Religion today is not perceived as it was in the past. This is true throughout the world, but particularly in the Western world. But despite changing views, religion continues to influence our individual and collective lives, and it remains a powerful force for good. I recently spoke on the ongoing…

Introduction On the night of January 13, 2017, eight people were kidnapped at gun point in the Ogun State of Nigeria,[1] by masked members of a group calling itself “The Delta Militants.” Those kidnapped were students and employees at a private school run by Turkish immigrants located near Lagos…

Human life begins with great energy, enthusiasm, and motivation. As soon as the baby enters this world, the action begins. She now is in a brand-new world, totally different from her home for nine months. She starts to explore and discover her surroundings. Even the discovery that the limbs lying n…

Question: What are the essentials to remain constantly spirited and active, both in our individual and social lives? Answer: Stagnancy or complacency must not have any room in a believer’s worldview. From human to soil, and from things in existence to time, everything is active. A believer must be…