Skip to main content

Issue 108 (November - December 2015)

Issue 108 (November - December 2015)

Subscribe to The Fountain Magazine

Articles

Editorial: Combatting The Extremist Cancer

31 October 2015 | The Fountain | Issue 108 (November - December 2015)

The more the news places Islam side by side with terrorism, the louder we will cry that Islam is peace. This issue of The Fountain adds one more voice to this cry, with three strong articles. "Muslims Must Combat the Extremist Cancer," the lead article, was recently published in the Wall Street Jou…

Muslims Must Combat the Extremist Cancer

31 October 2015 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 108 (November - December 2015)

As the group that calls itself Islamic State, known as ISIS, continues to produce carnage in the Middle East, Muslims must confront the totalitarian ideology that animates it and other terrorist groups. Every terrorist act carried out in the name of Islam profoundly affects all Muslims, alienating…

A Mystery Signal: Yawning

31 October 2015 | Adem Arikanli | Issue 108 (November - December 2015)

Humans were created to be aware of our surroundings. We pick up on what is happening around us, and inside us, via certain signs. Every organism has a body language. And every body generates various signals, such as sneezing, shaking, or yawning, to express its state. It is essential to listen to…

Literacy, Violence, and Reading Habits in the World

31 October 2015 | Sumayya B. Sharaf | Issue 108 (November - December 2015)

In a time of darkness and ignorance, we must challenge our preconceived notions, seeking answers in education and trust.[1] According to UNESCO, literacy is, “the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate, and compute, using printed and written materials associated with…

The Design of the Vascular Tissue in Plants

31 October 2015 | Ali Erkan Uguz | Issue 108 (November - December 2015)

Just as humans have blood vessels under their skin, leaves also have vessels. These vessels transport water and various nutrients around through the leaves and trunk of the plant. Be it giant sequoias reaching to the heavens, or smaller plants like pines or apple trees, water and nutrients are carr…

Birth of Physical Principles of Educational Philosophy

31 October 2015 | Seth Mette | Issue 108 (November - December 2015)

I remember a renowned author saying "I don't talk about the articles I want to write; because when I do so, I fail to write them." I also remember a anonymous person shouting at people, "if you have a good idea, keep it to yourself; otherwise you will not realize it," Interesting, isn't it?

The Rhythm Embroided Into Existence

31 October 2015 | Nuh Ozdin | Issue 108 (November - December 2015)

Events that occur on the space-time continuum and then vanish have been granted a certain, specific period of time. As we discover that every object in the universe, no matter how big or small, is organized by certain rhythms, we better understand that the periodic oscillations of the world are not…

Friendships Rooted in Faith and Love

31 October 2015 | Barbara Anderson | Issue 108 (November - December 2015)

It was September, 2003. A diverse group of women from many different Christian denominations, both Catholic and Protestant, began meeting at Dublin Community Church-United Church of Christ, in Dublin, Ohio, for fellowship and Bible study. Yes, we were all Christian women, but very different in age…

Church of Mary

31 October 2015 | Elif Cansu Guler | Issue 108 (November - December 2015)

In his book, The Culture of Ambiguity: Another History of Islam, the contemporary Islamic scholar Thomas Bauer wrote: For about a thousand years Arab-Islamic societies cultivated a “culture of ambiguity.” Various truth claims were allowed to stand next to one another, and the search for the prob…

An Organism Which Doesn’t Burn or Freeze

31 October 2015 | Ibrahim Ugurlu | Issue 108 (November - December 2015)

The land, freshwater lakes and rivers, and seas are adorned with all types of organisms. Up until now, only 2.5 million species have been identified. Upon a complete investigation of the deep seas and inaccessible areas of Earth, the species count is expected to reach 5 or even 9-10 million. Fossil…

Does Islam Promote Violence?

31 October 2015 | Aydogan Vatandas | Issue 108 (November - December 2015)

In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, a huge number of books and articles have been published investigating the link between some certain interpretations of Islam and the terrorist attacks. Further terrorist attacks in certain countries, and the brutal emergence of ISIS right after the Syrian cris…

Prayer - A Hotline to God?

31 October 2015 | Metin Aysel | Issue 108 (November - December 2015)

As newborn children, we are not able, for example, to shoo away even a fly that lands on our nose, or reach out on our own to our mother's delicious milk. And once this milk passes through us, we don't even have the skills to change our own diapers! We don't yet have the motor skills to alleviate t…

Creativity as a Process of Reliance in God

31 October 2015 | Zekeriya Ozsoy | Issue 108 (November - December 2015)

No two consecutive generations in human history have ever lived under the same circumstances. The innovation of new technologies and cross-fertilization of different ideas, which happen across generations, brought today's civilization into existence. Change - either positive or negative - has been…

Don’t Leave Me Alone

31 October 2015 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 108 (November - December 2015)

My heart and eyes open with You, Impossible obstacles are overcome with You, When Your name is mentioned, light sparkles Lovers seek You everywhere, The sherbet of your lips is a remedy for every problem, If I am troubled, where is my remedy? Come to my spirit, come to my spirit don’t leave me alone

Globetrotters of the Middle Ages

31 October 2015 | Zafer Dogan | Issue 108 (November - December 2015)

Sain bina, dear readers! As-Salamu Alaikum! Or would you prefer Hello? With this multilingual welcome I hope to get you in the mood for the subject of my essay: the first documented globetrotters in human history. But before we hurl ourselves into this adventure and follow the trails of Messere Ma…

Our Brains, Ethics, and the Practice of Prostration

31 October 2015 | Mesut Sahin | Issue 108 (November - December 2015)

A report from the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, tells us that prostration (sajda) as the early Muslims practiced it during their daily prayers was so humiliating to non-believers that most of them could never bring themselves to embrace faith. Raising one's buttocks and putting his or her fa…

Jihad and Qital: Two Concepts Where Confusion About Islam Starts

31 October 2015 | Suat Yildirim | Issue 108 (November - December 2015)

In this article, I will try to summarize the concept of jihad and war according to the Qur'an, and analyze their practices during the time of the Prophet. As these concepts have often been confused, it has led to some common misjudgments about Islam.

Loving Words, Loving Actions

31 October 2015 | Zeliha Celiker | Issue 108 (November - December 2015)

I am a practicing Muslim woman living in the USA. Practicing, you may ask? How much? How well? It's between me and God, but I can assure you that I am more practicing than I was before. I wasn't really practicing until I came to Istanbul to attend college. There, I was shaken by the questions of on…

Science Square (Issue 108)

31 October 2015 | The Fountain | Issue 108 (November - December 2015)

Processed meat increases cancer risk The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the cancer agency of the World Health Organization, has investigated nearly 1,000 things that increase the risk of cancer. Based on a report from 22 experts from 10 countries, IARC recently announced that…

Firasa (Discernment)

31 October 2015 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 108 (November - December 2015)

Firasa (discernment) can be defined as profundity, productivity and coherence in thought and the forming of opinions, the ability to penetrate the meaning of existence, and acting on conscious insight. It is a light that God puts into a person when they have purified their heart of spiritual ailmen…

Most Read in 2023

Climate Change and Our Health

Climate Change and Our Health

Fatih Demirci | Issue 151 (Jan - Feb 2023)

Physiological Effects of Music

Physiological Effects of Music

Sinem Akbulak | Issue 151 (Jan - Feb 2023)

Dunning-Kruger Effect: Audacity Born Out of Ignorance

Dunning-Kruger Effect: Audacity Born Out of Ignorance

Fatma Gunduz | Issue 152 (Mar - Apr 2023)

What Happens After Death?

What Happens After Death?

Betul Gul | Issue 152 (Mar - Apr 2023)

Imbalance in Bowel Movement: Diarrhea and Constipation

Imbalance in Bowel Movement

Naim Yilmaz | Issue 151 (Jan - Feb 2023)

Magic Squares

Most Magically Magical Magic Squares

Hakan Oztunc | Issue 152 (Mar - Apr 2023)

You Are the Placebo

You Are the Placebo

Adam Sahin | Issue 153 (May - Jun 2023)

Our World of Faith or, Being Cool and Peaceful in the Fire

Our World of Faith or, Being Cool and Peaceful in the Fire

M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 151 (Jan - Feb 2023)