World is over-armed and peace is under-funded

An opinion piece by Ban Ki-moon, The Secretary General of the United Nations, appeared on the Korea Times on August 28, 2012.

The UN Secretary General pointed out the nuclear weapons and huge global military spending as threats to international peace and security. He then urged the global powers to address basic human needs, "dramatically cut spending on nuclear weapons, and invest instead in social and economic development, which serves the interests of all by expanding markets, reducing motivations for armed conflicts, and in giving citizens a stake in their common futures."

Below, you may read his analysis and suggestions:

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'Sikhs are not Muslims' sends a sinister message

Such declarations by the news media and others has an insidious subtext: that there's something wrong with being a Muslim in America.

Scott C. Alexander *

Almost from the beginning of their coverage of the horrific and deadly shooting at the Sikh temple in Wisconsin, CNN and other news media went out of their way to send a message to the American public: "Sikhs are not Muslims."

But what were we to make of that message? If the temple's members had been Muslims, would the attack have then been justified?

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Wrestling with Free Speech, Religious Freedom, and Democracy in Turkey

K. Adamson

Review of James C. Harrington’s Wrestling with Free Speech, Religious Freedom, and Democracy in Turkey: The Political Trials and Times of Fethullah Gulen. 2011. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 185pp. ISBN 978 0 7618 5461 6.

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Turks provide aid in Mogadishu, where others fear to tread

Alan Boswell *

(Photo: Today's Zaman)

On the edge of Somalia's battered capital of Mogadishu, on a hilltop overlooking the Indian Ocean, there's an unlikely oasis of white tents laid out in perfect rows, where foreigners mingle with locals, a bakery provides free fresh bread daily and even the sandy floors are swept. Flapping audaciously in the seaside breeze above it all is the symbol of Mogadishu's newest foreign patron, the red and white flag of Turkey.

"In other camps, there is not enough food, the tents are too small, there is no medical care. Those are not problems here," said 70-year old Mahmoud Mohammed Afrah, who fled to Mogadishu two years ago and now, for the first time, has two tents for his large family.

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Armenian-Turkish youth orchestra brings harmony to divided cultures

The lights dimmed and excited chatter subsided as the audience took their seats in the modern, wood-paneled, 400-person Garanti Kültür Merkezi concert hall at Boğaziçi University in trendy Bebek on Wednesday night.

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Book Review: Speech and Power of Expression

Nisa Nur Terzi


Mankind has been given exclusive possession of speech-a weapon so powerful that it is mightier than the sword. The power of speech extends vast distances, far enough to revive a mortified soul yet deadly enough to start a war. In his book Speech and Power of Expression, Gülen argues that speech is the sword of humanity. "Wherever the flag of speech waves, the most powerful armies will be defeated and scattered. In the arenas in which speech shouts out, the sounds of cannon balls will become like the buzzing of bees."

Speech and Power of Expression is a book about the art of speech, and it comes from the master of this skill. While Fethullah Gülen is known for his authority as a scholar and an activist in promoting education and dialogue, his power of expression and oratory skills as a prolific writer and poet earn him equal renown and surpass his counterparts.

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