Islam and pluralism : does Quran approve religious pluralism?

As for the relation between Islam and pluralism, it seems a little bit complicated. There are some verses in The Koran for pluralism and at the same time we have some verses against. Among the sayings of Prophet Muhammad like the some Koranic verses, we came across with something good and bad for non-Muslims in special contexts. By another saying, we find both positive and negative statements for Jews and Christians in different circumstances. Muslim scholars the complexity still exists. We find both positive and negative stances. So it is difficult to see a standard or official view on this issue. However, we should point out that Islam recognizes all the sacred (Semitic) books and their messages. It accepts all prophets of that traditions. It defines itself as the last and perfect religion of Semitic tradition and states that no other religion will be accepted from anybody else other then itself. It criticizes both the Jews and Christians especially about their failure to uphold the Oneness of God, tawhid, and to preserve the authenticity of their scripture from interventions. This exclusivist aspect of Islam as many conservative scholars formed with putting together some evidences from the Koran is generally accepted by Muslims

Swami Vivekananda's idea of religious diversity and harmony

The origin of the religious experience, says Vivekananda, is man's instinctive urge to transcend the sensual world. He believes that man is a compound of two fundamental ele-ments: sense arid mind. While through the senses he receives impressions of the objective world, he cannot remain satisfied with his senses, simply because he wants to go beyond them. Therefore, through his mind, at certain moments he transcends the limitations of the senses. But he also transcends the power of reasoning. He then comes face to face with the facts which he could never have sensed, could never have reasoned out. According to Vivekananda, this fact is the main basis of all the religions of the world. ..

Preferential Polarization Measures

Given opinions of members of a society on a set of policies, as ordinal preferences; an approach to polarization is introduced. The concept here is considering polarization in a society as an aggregation of pairwise antagonisms, which depend on identi fication within groups as well as alienation among groups. Among measures which comply to this sort of conceptualization, a class of functions which satisfi es certain plausible properties is introduced for the case of three alternatives. This class coincides with the class characterized for unidimensional spaces in Esteban and Ray (1994)

L'Union européenne et la Turquie : les difficiles négociations

Entamées en octobre 2005, les négociations d’adhésion de la Turquie à l’Union européenne n’ont que très lentement et difficilement progressé depuis. Seuls quatre des trente-cinq chapitres de l’acquis communautaire n’ont été ouverts, quand, dans le même temps, douze l’ont été avec la Croatie. Cette situation ne s’explique pas seulement par l’attitude rigoureuse de l’Union européenne. Malgré les positions variées des pays membres sur l’adhésion de la Turquie, un consensus semble établi sur la poursuite des négociations.Alors que le 6 novembre, la Commission européenne doit rendre public son rapport annuel de suivi sur la Turquie, la Turquie, après la profonde crise politique de cet été, est aujourd’hui dotée d’un gouvernement proeuropéen. Bruxelles attend de ce gouvernement qu’il mette enfin en place les réformes attendues, telles que la suppression du très controversé article 301 du Code pénal, une condition sine qua nonpour remplir les citères communautaires. Dans ce Document de travail, Ali Ihsan Aydin établit un état des lieux de ces négociations longues et difficiles

Die Jungfrau Maria und ihr Haus bei Ephesus : eine religionsvergleichende mariologische Untersuchung

Die Abhandlung untersucht das christliche und muslimische Verständnis der Jungfrau Maria im allgemeinen und deren Haus in der Nähe von Ephesus im besonderen. Die Untersuchung besteht aus zwei Teilen. Zunächst wird im ersten Teil die Stellung des Islams zur Jungfrau Maria im allgemeinen behandelt und danach das Verständnis Mariens bei den türkischen Muslimen und deren Einstellung zu ihrem Haus bei Ephesus. Im Vergleich dazu werden dann im zweiten Teil die mariologischen Anschauungen der Katholiken, Protestanten und Orthodoxen zu diesem Thema dargestellt

The impact of international financial reporting standards on financial analysis: A study on IMKB (Istanbul Stock Exhange)

Finansal analiz açısından finansal tablolardaki bilgilerin, finansal bilgi kullanıcılarının ihtiyaçlarını karşılayacak düzeyde doğru, anlaşılabilir ve karşılaştırılabilir olması gerekir. Finansal tablo kullanıcılarının farklı amaçları dikkate alındığında, Türkiye Muhasebe Standartları (TMS) ve Türkiye Finansal Raporlama Standartları (TFRS) uygulamaları işletmelerin finansal tablolarında ve bu tabloların finansal analizinde önemli etkilere yol açmaktadır. Çalışmada, Uluslararası Finansal Raporlama Standartları’nın (IFRS) İstanbul Menkul Kıymetler Borsası’na (İMKB) kayıtlı işletmelerin finansal tablolar analizine etkisi incelenmiştir. Çalışmada, IFRS’nın İMKB’da faaliyet gösteren işletmeler üzerinde etkisi anket aracılığıyla SSPS 19 istatistik programında faktör analizi yapılmıştır.The information in financial statements should be correct, comprehensible and comparable enough, in terms of financial analysis, to fulfill the needs of financial information users. When different purposes of financial statement users are taken into consideration, Turkish Accounting Standards (TAS) and Turkish Financial Reporting Standards (TFRS) applications have important impacts on financial statements of enterprises and the analysis of these statements. In the actual study, the impact of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) on the financial statement analysis of enterprises registered in Istanbul Stock Exchange (IMKB) was examined. The study, the effect of IFRS on the enterprises registered in IMKB was examined thorough a questionnaire. Factor analysis was made on the SPSS 19 statistics program

Cosmic accelerated expansion of the Universe with phantom fluid

The phantom behavior of the Universe is discussed in an extended version of Gauss-Bonnet gravity. Following the method proposed by the author (Int. J. Mod. Phys. D, 27, 1850078. 2018. doi:10.1142/S0218271818500785), we obtain a viable cosmological model for the phantom phase of the Universe. We find a condition for m in the model similar to G(m), which shows phantom expansion of the Universe. On the other hand, using a phantom source term similar to T-2n in the model we observe that the term similar to G(n), with n > 3/4, gives a phantomic space-time expansion. This form (G(n) + T-2n) obtained for the phantom phase of the Universe exhibits a similar form to Einstein's gravity theory (R + L-m). However, we addressed the cosmic coincidence problem for the model

In Situ Chemical Probing of Vacancy Defects in Graphene and Boron Nitride at Room Temperature

IN SITU CHEMICAL PROBING OF VACANCY DEFECTS IN GRAPHENE AND BORON NITRIDE AT ROOM TEMPERATURE by Ali Ihsan Altan The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2019 Under the Supervision of Professor Jian Chen Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) has emerged as the most promising technique towards manufacturing of large area, high quality graphene. Characterization, understanding, and controlling of various structural defects in CVD-grown graphene are essential to realize its true potential for real-world applications. We report a new method for in situ chemical probing of vacancy defects in CVD-grown graphene at room temperature. Our approach is based on a solid–gas phase reaction that occurs selectively in graphene vacancy defect regions such as holes and cracks. Our new probing technique has a unique combination of the following advantages: (1) no exposure to liquids; (2) non-damaging in situ probing; (3) high selectivity, sensitivity, and reliability towards vacancy defects; (4) simplicity and scalability. By focusing on hexagonal graphene domains, we have made the following findings: (1) the nucleation centers of graphene domains are favorable locations of hole defects. (2) The lengthy electron-beam irradiation at very low energy (3.5 keV) could etch the graphene. (3) Graphene cracks often kink at the angle of primarily 150° or 120°. (4) There exist complex graphene cracks such as cracks with clock-hands patterns, and cracks with snowflake-like branched structures. (5) There exist discontinuous cracks in some graphene domains, where hole defects are oriented along a straight or curved line. Such discontinuous cracks may arise from the ductile fracture of graphene. In addition, we have shown that our method is also applicable to chemical probing of vacancy defects such as holes, continuous and discontinuous cracks in CVD-grown monolayer polycrystalline graphene films on copper. Our study also suggests that the copper grain and copper grain boundary play significant roles in formation and distribution of graphene vacancy defects. We have studied and clarified potential effects of graphene wrinkles on the formation of vacancy defects in polycrystalline graphene and single crystalline graphene, respectively. We have found that although the graphene wrinkles are the main source for vacancy defects in the polycrystalline CVD-grown graphene samples, there are other possible sources such as mechanical stress that are responsible for the formation of vacancy defects in polycrystalline graphene where wrinkles are not found. In contrast, we have found that graphene wrinkles are NOT mainly responsible for the observed vacancy defects in single crystalline hexagonal graphene domains, which provides further indirect support that the copper grain and copper grain boundary play significant roles in formation and distribution of graphene vacancy defects, and the observed discontinuous cracks more likely originate from a ductile fracture of graphene. The practical investigation of individual nanoscale vacancy defects in h-BN still remains a great challenge. Hence, it is important to develop a method for rapidly identification of the vacancy defects in large area monolayer h-BN, which will provide insightful information on defect formation in h-BN. We have performed in situ chemical probing study of vacancy defects in CVD-grown h-BN. Our H2S gas treatment procedure reveals that currently commercially available CVD-grown monolayer h-BN samples have high density of nanoscale voids. High defect density in monolayer h-BN appears to be caused by the hardship of stitching of individual domains with various rotations and edge atoms. It has been shown that h-BN may have nanoscale vacancy defects along the grain boundaries which is different than graphene. It is important to limit H2S amount and treatment time for our method to work well towards identification of vacancies

Iron accumulation by blue-green algae from saline environments

A study was made on morphological and cytological features of four Rivulariaceae strains from marine, partially saline and freshwater environments using three versions of saline and freshwater media (standard. - Fe. low P). A brackish Anabaena sp. was used for comparison. Subculture to - Fe medium led to marked changes in morphology and cytology. These were (base to apex): a series of new heterocysts apical to the original one. Intra-thylakoldal vacuolation. Lack of cyanophycin granules, presence of polyphosphate granules, pale colour, brown sheath, short hair and low hairiness. With low P medium, the changes were the opposite. Hairs did not form in Calpthrix D253 in saline medium, whether the cultures were in - Fe or low P medium. Downshift from saline to freshwater medium led to the synchronized development of hairs in most trichomes. Whereas the reciprocal upshift led to loss of hairs. The Fe content was studied in three Rivulariaceae and Anabaena in batch culture in high and low P media, which eventually led to Fe- and P- limitation. respectively. The content reached a maximum by 24 h in all strains, decreasing subsequently from 1.80 - 0.06 % dry weight. Siderophore production was tested in four Rivulariaceae and Anabaena in saline and freshwater media. Two Calothrlx strains and Anabaena produced a siderophore in freshwater medium. Influence of Fe status on nitrogenase activity was tested in two Rivulariaceae and Anabaena in saline and freshwater media during batch culture. Peaks of nitrogenase activity in the former came three to five days after the Fe peak, by which stage Fe content had dropped to within the range 0.6 - 0.3 % dry weight. In contrast, peak activity in Anabaena came within a day of the Fe peak. Addition of Fe to Fe-limited cultures led to rapid increase in activity. The significance of these data on morphology, cytology and physiology and possible interactions between Fe- and P-limitation are discussed

In Situ Chemical Probing of Vacancy Defects in Graphene and Boron Nitride at Room Temperature

IN SITU CHEMICAL PROBING OF VACANCY DEFECTS IN GRAPHENE AND BORON NITRIDE AT ROOM TEMPERATURE by Ali Ihsan Altan The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2019 Under the Supervision of Professor Jian Chen Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) has emerged as the most promising technique towards manufacturing of large area, high quality graphene. Characterization, understanding, and controlling of various structural defects in CVD-grown graphene are essential to realize its true potential for real-world applications. We report a new method for in situ chemical probing of vacancy defects in CVD-grown graphene at room temperature. Our approach is based on a solid–gas phase reaction that occurs selectively in graphene vacancy defect regions such as holes and cracks. Our new probing technique has a unique combination of the following advantages: (1) no exposure to liquids; (2) non-damaging in situ probing; (3) high selectivity, sensitivity, and reliability towards vacancy defects; (4) simplicity and scalability. By focusing on hexagonal graphene domains, we have made the following findings: (1) the nucleation centers of graphene domains are favorable locations of hole defects. (2) The lengthy electron-beam irradiation at very low energy (3.5 keV) could etch the graphene. (3) Graphene cracks often kink at the angle of primarily 150° or 120°. (4) There exist complex graphene cracks such as cracks with clock-hands patterns, and cracks with snowflake-like branched structures. (5) There exist discontinuous cracks in some graphene domains, where hole defects are oriented along a straight or curved line. Such discontinuous cracks may arise from the ductile fracture of graphene. In addition, we have shown that our method is also applicable to chemical probing of vacancy defects such as holes, continuous and discontinuous cracks in CVD-grown monolayer polycrystalline graphene films on copper. Our study also suggests that the copper grain and copper grain boundary play significant roles in formation and distribution of graphene vacancy defects. We have studied and clarified potential effects of graphene wrinkles on the formation of vacancy defects in polycrystalline graphene and single crystalline graphene, respectively. We have found that although the graphene wrinkles are the main source for vacancy defects in the polycrystalline CVD-grown graphene samples, there are other possible sources such as mechanical stress that are responsible for the formation of vacancy defects in polycrystalline graphene where wrinkles are not found. In contrast, we have found that graphene wrinkles are NOT mainly responsible for the observed vacancy defects in single crystalline hexagonal graphene domains, which provides further indirect support that the copper grain and copper grain boundary play significant roles in formation and distribution of graphene vacancy defects, and the observed discontinuous cracks more likely originate from a ductile fracture of graphene. The practical investigation of individual nanoscale vacancy defects in h-BN still remains a great challenge. Hence, it is important to develop a method for rapidly identification of the vacancy defects in large area monolayer h-BN, which will provide insightful information on defect formation in h-BN. We have performed in situ chemical probing study of vacancy defects in CVD-grown h-BN. Our H2S gas treatment procedure reveals that currently commercially available CVD-grown monolayer h-BN samples have high density of nanoscale voids. High defect density in monolayer h-BN appears to be caused by the hardship of stitching of individual domains with various rotations and edge atoms. It has been shown that h-BN may have nanoscale vacancy defects along the grain boundaries which is different than graphene. It is important to limit H2S amount and treatment time for our method to work well towards identification of vacancies