Controversial Islamist author slams Darwin

Controversial Islamist author slams Darwin
By Thomas Grove
Fri Jun 8, 1:23 PM ET

The controversial author of books advocating an Islamic version of creationism claimed on Friday modern science had no monopoly on truth and insisted that his views were gaining ground.

In a bizarre news conference held aboard a luxury yacht off Istanbul's northern Bosphorus shores near the mouth of the Black Sea, Adnan Oktar, also known by his pen-name Harun Yahya, said the evils of the world were a direct result of Darwinism.

"Communism, fascism, and Freemasons stand on the tenets of Darwinism, and the world power of capitalism stands on the same ... Hitler and Mao were both Darwinists," said Oktar, immaculately dressed in an egg-shell white suit, necktie and sporting a trim beard and combed-back hair.

"We will not deceive ourselves that scientists have a monopoly on truth," he said.

Charles Darwin came up with the widely adopted evolutionary theory of natural selection in the 19th century.

Oktar, born in 1956, is the driving force behind a richly funded movement based in Turkey that champions creationism, the belief that God literally created the world in six days as told in the Bible and the Koran.

His teachings echo those of Christian fundamentalists in the United States, though he said he had no formal ties with them beyond "the exchange of information."

Yahya has triggered controversy in France when his lavishly illustrated "Atlas of Creation," which argues that Darwin's theory of evolution is at the root of global terrorism, was mass-mailed unsolicited to educators and libraries there.

France's Education Ministry was baffled and worried by the appearance of thousands of copies of the book, which carries over 700 pages of images comparing fossils with present-day animals to argue that Allah created all life as it is and that evolution never took place.

"DARK SPELL OF DARWINISM"

Oktar, speaking in Turkish, said one million of his books and movies were being downloaded from Internet sites every month. Copies of his books and movies had been distributed in 170 countries, he added.

"I think there is not a single person who has read my book and who does not believe there is no evolution," he said.

Scores of books by Yahya in different languages were on display aboard the yacht bearing titles such as "The Dark Spell of Darwinism," "A Historical Lie: the Stone Age" and "God's Gentle Artistry."

"People should not be afraid of books and people should be able to read books by Jews, Freemasons and atheists. We should not be prevented from reading any books," Yahya said.

But he ducked questions about funding of his movement.

"The publishing house finances the books, so I refrain from making any comment because I don't demand any money," he said.

Speculation about the group's financial backers ranges from Turkish Islamists to U.S. Christian activists.

Turkish commentators say the group's books, numbering more than 200, are probably written by a pool of writers. They have been translated into more than 50 languages.

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I just have to pick up on a couple of things here -

"We will not deceive ourselves that scientists have a monopoly on truth," he said.

Science puts forward theories, tried and tested by evidence, and when evidence changes, theories change. Nothing can ever be 100% certain of course, but the fact that science actually tries to answer questions, that scientists are always finding new answers is surely a hell of a lot closer to truth than any religious text has ever come?


Yahya has triggered controversy in France when his lavishly illustrated "Atlas of Creation," which argues that Darwin's theory of evolution is at the root of global terrorism, was mass-mailed unsolicited to educators and libraries there.

Of course, it makes so much sense now! Those fundamentalist scientists blowing up buses and flying planes into buildings

I'll agree with him when he says communism and fascism were two of the worst philosophies(sp?) ever, but beyond agreement in those areas, the guy is a loon.

And I take his statement about reading and believing as somewhat of a challenge. I bet I could read his book and still believe in evolution.

Adrian

Why is it that when someone wants to make a religious - or political point they always refute science?

Kathleen

Daniel Dennet's quote seems very appropriate here:

The evidence of evolution pours in, not only from geology, paleontology, biogeography, and anatomy (Darwin's chief sources), but from molecular biology and every other branch of the life sciences. To put it bluntly but fairly, anyone today who doubts that the variety of life on this planet was produced by a process of evolution is simply ignorant - inexcusably ignorant.

Creationism is wrong; totally, utterly, and absolutely wrong. I would go further. There are degrees of being wrong. The creationists are at the bottom of the scale. They pull every trick in the book to justify their position. Indeed, at times they verge right over into the downright dishonest. Scientific Creationism in not just wrong, it is ludicrously implausible. It is a grotesque parody of human thought, and a downright misuse of human intelligence. In short, to the believer, it is an insult to God. ~ Michael Ruse


Where questions of religion are concerned, people are guilty of every possible sort of dishonesty and intellectual misdemeanour. ~ Sigmund Freud

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It's hardly surprising to hear an Islamic advocate talking such nonsense. In a recent survey Turkey was ranked bottom of major industrialised nations whose people believed in evolution. America, to it's shame, was second from bottom with only 40% of people believing in evolution and a pathetic 30% of those held a view of evolution that is completely anti-Darwinian in that they believed God had some sort of hand in evolution.

This level of stupidity is sadly so common.

I like the "downright misuse of human intelligence" That pretty much sums it up in my opinion.

Kathleen

lol, another religion is wrong thread? meh

creationism is wrong, evloution is simply the best answer to the questiuon how did we get there.

saying that there have been exceptions to Darwins theory discovered in the world, so its not the perfect theroy people like to believe it is. missing links theory and all that!


and its perfectly fine to believe that god had a hand in evloution,



does it have be the answer to why there isnt rather than how there is or could be?

anyway this board does like to bash everyone religious!

Because to make a religious point one must ultimately refute science as they stand in direct contradiction to one another. It's simply the progress of mankind. Astrology gave way to astronomy, alchemy gave way to chemistry and religion has in terms of truth, although not yet in terms of popularity, given way to science. Religious proponents can't help but refute science in this day and age.

Politics in America is really disgusting. Based on a recent survey only 40% of American's surveyed said they would vote for an otherwise suitable presidental candidate of their own party who was an atheist. Of all minority groups in America atheists are the least trusted and the most disgusted. It means that somebody in politics, regardless of their own beliefs, must give the illusion that they are religious and pay lip-service to the great many anti-scientific morons in order to get elected. I just have to wonder if all these religious types who fear science so much avoid all the things that science has given us. I wonder when they get sick do they go to their Pastor for help and avoid their doctor? Hmmmmmm.

No this is an anti anti-science thread.

Bloody hell what a load of rubbish. Go and read a book on evolution, seriously.

No, that's down right anti-evolutionary. Evolution by natural selection really does explain how complexity arises out of ultimate simplicity. It's a perfect scientific theory. Then going and adding on something as unbelievably complex as a God on to the process is so ridiculous, and insulting to what is without doubt the greatest scientific theory ever discovered. You've explained nothing by invoking God as an explanation to anything because you are left with an even bigger question to answer then you had before invoking God and that is who created the creator/ God is a completely uneconomical and highly superfulous hypothesis that makes a mockery of Darwin's theory, and makes a mockery of the scientific process in general. As Daniel Dennett said, God is a skyhook appearing out of nowhere, explained by nothing and explaining nothing. Natural selection is a crane that starts simply, rises by a process easily understandable and explainable and really does explain everything about the living world.



This is such a silly, but a far too common, statement. First of all who says there is a why? You can't just make up a question and expect that there is a definite answer. Darwin's theory showed just how ridiculous the why question is. However in another sense it actually does explain exactly why we, and all living organisims, are here, and that is the propagation of genes. We humans are the priviaged species on this planet, and possibly of the universe, who have evolved brains big enough to give our own life whatever meaning we want it to have. It's so infantile to expect that somebody else is responsible for giving your life meaning or that you are deserving of one.

Secondly, this more general attitude that science is the explanation for how and religion is the explanation for why is so patheticly empty that it shouldn't even need to be explained why it is, except for the fact that so many believe it.

In what possible sense does the theory of plate tectonics not explain why earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis take place?
In what possible sense does the germ theory of disease not explain why we get sick?
In what possible sense does the theory of electromagnatism not explain why humans die why we touch a live wire?
In what possible sense does the theory of gravitation not explain why our feet stick to the ground?

And I could go on and on. And how is religion capable of explaining the why for anything? Believing something because you want it to be true or because somebody said something was true a long time ago does not make it true. Either there is a why and science explains it, or will eventually explain it, or there is no why, not matter how our brains our set up to think. Basically if science can't explain something, then as sure as hell nothing else can.

No, just bash bad ideas. It's something religious people can never seem to get their head around. Bashing beliefs/ideas does not equal bashing the individual.

lol, i think there is people here that really do need to find something a little more exciting than bashing religion, or people who believe in religion!!

it will consume your lifes ppl! as far as im concerned, if u dnt believe in god wel and good, live your life, ull be content and in the end your worm food!

if you do believe in god, well and good, go live your life, ull be content and in the end your either worm food, or you go to an extemely happy place!

people who spend time trying to convert people to either side, its a waste for perfectly good time!