Modernity and Spirituality
In would like to bring to your attention an article called Looking at Ourselves in the Cave published in Fethullah Gulen inspired periodical The Fountain Magazine. This article, which was published in October 2000, talks about the effects of technological innovations and modernization on our lives. Author, Ekrem Dumanli, sais that modern technology is involved in almost every aspect of our lives, in the areas such as production, transportation, communications and many others. Mr. Dumanli emphasizes that in this rapid technological process there should be effort to feed modern society’s hunger for spirituality as well. Read rest of the story
The words haya (modesty or feeling of shame) and hayat (life) come from the same root. This signifies that modesty is a sign of a lively heart, and that a heart’s liveliness depends on its owner’s belief and knowledge of God. If a heart is not fed continuously with belief and knowledge of God, it is almost impossible for it to remain lively and give rise to modesty. Sufis use haya, which literally means shame, bashfulness, and refraining from saying or doing anything improper or indecent, to describe one who, out of fear and awe of God, seeks to avoid displeasing Him. 
Thankfulness is defined as using one’s body, abilities, feelings, and thoughts bestowed upon one to fulfill the purpose of his or her creation: being thankful to the Creator for what He has bestowed. Such thankfulness is to be reflected in the person’s actions or daily life, in speech and in the heart, by admitting that all things are directly from Him, and by feeling gratitude for them. Since He alone determines, apportions, creates, and spreads [all our provisions] before us as “heavenly tables,” He alone deserves our gratitude and thanks. 
In the leading article of The Fountain magazine (issue 83 published in 2011) Fethullah Gulen writes about the concept of the Truth. Author writes that the Truth is one of the names of the Divine pronounced in Arabic as Al-Haqq. Gulen says that it is important to understand the concept of the Truth to understand the universe since the Truth is an exclusive “source of all rights, whether they are real, proportional, relative, or nominal; it is the true essence and the very foundation of the reality that spans all universes”. He also elaborates on the concepts such as independent/independent existence, matter and reality. 
I would like to share with you as article that was published in a bi-monthly periodical The Fountain inspired by ideas of Fethullah Gulen in 1993. L. Sayyed, author of the article, talks about academic study published by Allan Wilson and Rebecca Cann. In this research different DNA samples taken from people from all around the world were studied. In the result of the study it was found that people have come from the same lineage, from the same ancestors and single parents. Since we all came from the same parents, racism has no meaning. Author also elaborates on the concept of racism and xenophobia from Islamic point of view. 
Fethullah Gulen sees ‘straightforwardness’ as the last step on a three step stairway leading to nearness of God. The first step is consistency, where a traveler strives to embody Islam’s theoretical and practical dimensions. Success in this continuous effort brings one’s carnal self under control. 
According to Fethullah Gulen, like literary language, daily language also has its own kind of beauty, ease, allure, and naturalness that entices pure pleasure. However, literary language is poetic, musical, and constructs a pleasing whole in harmony with the meanings it holds. It is superior in linguistic utilization, taste, and refinement in the way that demonstrates coherence within the text as a whole and cohesion between words and sentences. Let alone feeling and savoring these, it is sometimes very difficult for people who lack the aptitude to even understand them. 
In addition to meaning temperament, disposition, and character, Fethullah Gulen defines ‘good nature’ as a goal to which a traveler aspires, for it is the most important dimension of creation. In brief, this station means that one is characterized (equipped) with God’s qualities or way of acting. For example, God is All-Forgiving; therefore, one must be forgiving. One who realizes this sacred goal can easily do every good thing or deed. 
I would like to share with you an article of Fethullah Gulen that I have recently found in the web. It is about compassion. It is not from Gulen’s recent writings, nonetheless I think that such important topics as Compassion has been and will be important all the time. In 1993 Fethullah Gulen wrote a leading article in a monthly journal called The Fountain. In his article Gulen brings reader’s attention to the concept of Compassion. You can find compassion everywhere says author, it is a beginning of everything in the universe. Compassion is not only the beginning of being, without compassion everything might be in chaos, writes Gulen. 
A panel titled “Media and Values” took place at Jakarta State University. Organized by the Fethullah Gulen Chair of State Islamic University and The Fountain Magazine, the panel was attended by 300 participants, including the lecturers and university students.
