Gouya Roshan From Darkness to Light

  The Most Dangerous Prison Is the One Without Walls When we hear the word  prison , we imagine high walls, iron bars, locked doors, and armed guards. We think of a prisoner as someone who has lost the freedom to move. Yet the most dangerous prisons in the world often have no visible walls and no locks on their doors. Many people walk freely, work, laugh, shop, travel, and even speak about freedom; yet they have spent years living inside an invisible prison—a prison built from fear, habit, prejudice, attachments, propaganda, and the judgments of others. Fear is one of humanity's greatest jailers: the fear of failure, the fear of being judged, the fear of being different, the fear of losing one's status, the fear of being alone, and even the fear of thinking. Many people do not live according to what they truly believe; they live according to what others expect of them. They are not free—their chains are simply invisible. Prejudice is another prison, one in which the prisoner f...

What If Everyone Told the Truth for Just One Day? What if everyone told the truth for just one day? Would the world collapse, or would it finally be saved? At first glance, this question seems simple. But if we imagine a single day in which no one is able to lie, the world would no longer resemble the one we know today. Many marriages would fall apart because words that had been hidden for years behind smiles, silence, and compromise would suddenly be spoken. Friendships built on politeness, convenience, or mutual benefit would come to an end. Politics, business, advertising, and even many professional relationships would be forced to confront truths they had avoided for years. But does that mean the truth is dangerous? Perhaps not. What is truly dangerous is our habit of living among countless small and large lies that have been repeated so often they now seem perfectly normal. We sometimes lie to avoid hurting others, conceal the truth to protect our position, or wear masks simply to...

  When the Word "Terrorism" Becomes a Political Tool  In today's world, one of the most dangerous developments is when weighty words are judged before they are defined. The word "terrorism" is one of those terms that carries enormous moral and political weight. When this label is given to an individual, a group, or an organization, it does not merely signify a political opposition; Rather, it constitutes a very serious accusation regarding that entity's conduct, objectives, and methods.     For years, there has been extensive debate about Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Some politicians and opponents of the Islamic Republic consider it a terrorist organization and strongly criticize its actions inside Iran and across the region, including its military and political role. Others, however, argue that the use of this label is primarily a political decision and that it should be assessed according to the same standards applied throughout th...

Can a Conscience Grow Old? We usually recognize old age by wrinkles, gray hair, or slow footsteps. But perhaps the oldest part of a human being is not the body, but the conscience. A conscience once cries out. It is troubled by lies, disturbed by oppression, and burns at the sight of injustice. But if its voice is ignored again and again, it gradually grows weary. It does not die—it grows old. An aged conscience no longer cries out; it simply watches. At first, a person suffers over telling even a small lie. Later, that lie becomes a daily habit. There was a time when seeing a hungry person stole their sleep, but today they scroll past thousands of images of war, famine, and death with nothing more than the swipe of a finger. This normalization is the most dangerous sign of an aging conscience. A society, too, can have an aging conscience. A society that hears about corruption every day and is no longer surprised; that talks about injustice every day and is no longer outraged; that wit...

Has God really been silent? We often hear people, in deep sorrow and despair, look up to the sky and ask,  "God, why are you silent?"   This question has echoed on people's lips for centuries: on battlefields, beside hospital beds, at the graves of loved ones, and during nights when all hope seems to have disappeared. But is God really silent? Or have we become so immersed in the noise of life that we can no longer hear His voice? Today's world is noisier than ever. Competition, wealth, fame, power, advertising, social media, and countless endless desires have filled our hearts, leaving no room to hear that quiet, gentle voice of truth within us. If God truly wanted to communicate with His creation, He certainly would not speak with a loud voice. Perhaps His meaning is hidden in the silence of dawn, in the tears of a mother praying for her child, in the hand that selflessly helps those in need, in the conscience that becomes restless after making a mistake, or in a ch...

  How Painful It Is When an Entire Family Grows Old Together Growing old is not merely about white hair or trembling hands. Old age begins when a home that was once filled with laughter, running children, and joyful noise slowly sinks into silence. A day comes when your father no longer has the strength he once had, your mother walks more slowly than before, your brothers and sisters all carry the marks of time on their faces, and even the sound of laughter takes on a different tone. How painful it is when an entire family grows old together. As children, we believed our parents would always be there. We imagined that the table around which we gathered every day would remain forever. But time asks no one's permission. It passes through all of us. Wrinkles, white hair, walking sticks, eyeglasses, and medicines gradually become permanent guests in the home. Harder than growing old ourselves is watching the people we love grow old. Seeing a mother who was once the pillar of the family...

  Iran or Turkey? If someone were to ask me whether I would vote for Erdoğan's government or the Iranian government, my answer would be clear and without hesitation:  Iran . Not because I believe Iran is flawless. Based on my experience and what I have learned from living in different countries, no government is perfect. But at the very least, the Iranian government is what it says it is. Whether we agree with it or not, it makes its positions clear and does not try to present itself as something different. What makes me skeptical of Erdoğan's government is not only its policies, but also its constantly changing image and rhetoric. One moment it presents itself as the defender of a particular cause; the next, it undermines that very image through a different decision. In my view, this constant shifting carries more weight than the disagreements themselves. It is easier to deal with someone who openly states where they stand than with someone who wears a different mask every da...