Skip to main content

Issue 114 (November - December 2016)

Issue 114 (November - December 2016)

Subscribe to The Fountain Magazine

Articles

Exhausted, But Moving Forward With Hope

31 October 2016 | The Fountain | Issue 114 (November - December 2016)

Around the world, many people feel exhausted. Americans are exhausted from their elections and revelations of troubling conspiracies. Europeans are grappling with waves of immigrants and unsettling political developments. The Middle East is wracked with war. Immigrants are weary from months and yea…

“Let Us Speak with Our Hearts,” We Said

31 October 2016 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 114 (November - December 2016)

There are many concealed paths connecting all of our hearts. As every individual continues on their life journey, they will experience solidarity with other groups or people at surprising times, either intentionally or unintentionally. As humans seek the ultimate truth, there are many various steps…

The Strategy Game of Our Immune System

31 October 2016 | Brian Turk | Issue 114 (November - December 2016)

The organs and systems of the human body work together in perfect harmony. If kept in optimal condition, they function for many years. Our body is the perfect environment for life, but not necessarily just for our own cells. There are thousands of different types of microorganisms living mutually w…

Archimedes Universe

31 October 2016 | Adeel M. Khan | Issue 114 (November - December 2016)

Staring upwards at the vast night sky, which is riddled with stars, have you ever wondered just how many stars are up there? And more fundamentally, just how many things – i.e., particles – are up there? For people curious about humanity’s place in the universe, these questions have been asked by a…

Mosquitoes for Painless Cure

31 October 2016 | Kamil Ezgin | Issue 114 (November - December 2016)

There are biological barriers that protect the human body from various kinds of detrimental and foreign substances. Although these barriers defend our body, sometimes we need medicine to help us heal faster or to prevent serious diseases. The pharmaceutical industry is one of the biggest in the wor…

A Culture of Peace

31 October 2016 | Deborah Moldow | Issue 114 (November - December 2016)

The 21st century finds humanity at a crossroads. After centuries of material progress have brought undreamed of comforts, and travel and communications opened the world to us, we have reached a perfect storm of unprecedented crises. Every one of the complex systems we have developed – in agricultur…

Is It Possible to Measure Everything?

31 October 2016 | Dennis Joy | Issue 114 (November - December 2016)

Over the centuries, humankind has spent a great deal of effort on measuring almost everything we encounter in our daily lives. Even the earliest societies attempted to express mass, length, and time in terms of numbers. Although the origin of some measurements is not definitively known, the tools u…

The Future of Staying Connected

31 October 2016 | Mubina Muftic | Issue 114 (November - December 2016)

The Web turned 20 in 2011 (the first web page was launched on August 6, 1991). Today, there are 644, 275,754 web pages, according to Netcraft.com, and even that is not the most accurate number, considering the dynamics of the web. No one could have predicted back in August 1991, at the beginnings o…

Ghayra (Endeavor)

31 October 2016 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 114 (November - December 2016)

Endeavor (ghayra) literally means making every effort of concern, and being alert in striving to preserve chastity, honor, and esteem. It signifies being on the alert in respect of religious prohibitions. God is limitless in His concern for the purity of His servants and is infinitely pleased with…

Letting Beings Be

31 October 2016 | Al Freeman | Issue 114 (November - December 2016)

There is a growing awareness that the natural world cannot sustain modern civilization in its present form. Humanity must change if the whole chain of life is to continue living on Earth. A plausible solution for the persistent problems caused by modern economic, scientific, and political applicati…

African-Americans, Turkey, And Hizmet

31 October 2016 | Abdullah Aymaz | Issue 114 (November - December 2016)

The story of African Americans and their encounter with Islam in the twentieth century is a fascinating American story featuring some celebrated names, like the great champion Muhammad Ali and the political leader Malcolm X. When Elijah Muhammad started teaching what he learned from Fard Muhammad i…

Through A Mirror Brightly

31 October 2016 | Tony Mitchell | Issue 114 (November - December 2016)

Historians and other students of history will look back at the 21st century and see that it passed through three phases. The First Period This first phase saw a rise in conservatism, fueled by quasi-taxpayer revolts and an increasing oligarchical minority seeking to control all aspects of governm…

When Our Brain Asks for Help Remembering

31 October 2016 | Geffrey Olsen | Issue 114 (November - December 2016)

The first time you rode your bicycle, the first day of the school, or the time you ran into an old friend: all these may still be fresh in your memory. Immediately recognizing the faces of your friends is only one of many amazing functions that our brain performs every day. The human brain contains…

NOT EVEN WATER! Turkey’s Refugees in America

31 October 2016 | Sophia Pandya | Issue 114 (November - December 2016)

Safiye is a teacher who fled Turkey a day before the July 15, 2016, attempted coup. She left to join her husband, who had already left in June and had settled in Seattle. With her eleven year-old daughter in another room, she explained with a pained, intense earnestness, “If we go back to Turkey…

The Lace Decorating the Beyond

31 October 2016 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 114 (November - December 2016)

On the slopes of emerald hills Voices and whispers stir our happiness Heavenly fountains cascade in all corners At the eternal reunion gates Every moment, each soul is wrapped in delights Roses, daisies, dandelions, lilies, all in mesmerizing colors Dew sparkling on violets, jasmines, and leaves…

Nature Inspired Self Cleaning Surfaces – An Example of Lotus Leaves

31 October 2016 | Melissa McPen | Issue 114 (November - December 2016)

How small is “Nano” scale? For most of us, it is difficult to imagine such a small unit of measurement. To help you imagine how small Nano scale is, here’s a comparison: a single human hair is about 80,000-100,000 nanometers thick.

Consultation and Submission

31 October 2016 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 114 (November - December 2016)

Question: When a consultation committee makes a decision but the decision seems to contradict some of the participants’ minds and opinions, then what would be the best attitude for them to take moving forward? Submission – to use the dictionary definition – would be fulfilling the rulings, determi…

Editorial: Establishing Perspective

Establishing Perspective

31 October 2016 | The Fountain | Issue 114 (November - December 2016)

In this issue, we are celebrating Black History Month with Laila Muhammad. The grandchild of Elijah Muhammad, the founder of the Nation of Islam, and the daughter of Warith Deen Mohamed, she is recognized more by association with her family, but she has continued her family’s incredible legacy of c…

Science Square

31 October 2016 | The Fountain | Issue 114 (November - December 2016)

Neutralizing the Zika virus Sapparapu G et al. Neutralizing human antibodies prevent Zika virus replication and fetal disease in mice. Nature, November 2016. Scientists have identified a human antibody that can reduce Zika infection, giving rise to hopes that a vaccine may be developed. Zika is a…

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)