Adnan Oktar's Atlas of Creation was again mentioned by the 150,000-circulation Spanish daily El Periodico on 11 May, 2008:
... Adnan Oktar, author of the 700-page, 5-kilo Atlas of Creation under the pen-name Harun Yahya, had inspired fierce debates by sending the book, which strongly opposes Darwinism and evolution, to a wide range of Spanish universities last year...
No creationist voices had hitherto been much heard in Europe, but the way that Atlas of Creation has appeared in the European press just about every day for the last year, reveals the book's huge impact. By means of this book, Europe has for the first time questioned the theory of evolution and been convinced that creation is a clear truth. By the will of Allah, Atlas of Creation will continue to be referred to as the book that demolishes materialist and Darwinist philosophy in Europe in the years to come.
Spain/El Periodico, 11.05.2008
The Next Generation of Teachers Refuse to Teach the
Theory of Evolution
In a report titled "The Next Generation of Teachers Refuse to Teach the Theory of Evolution," Le Soir, one of Belgium's most widely read French-language dailies, discussed teachers' reactions to Darwinism, in the wake of the reactions of students:
"There is no doubt that Darwin has not pleased everybody. In Belgium today, the instructors of the future (biology students, student teachers etc.) appear undecided over the teaching of the theory of evolution. They prefer creationist theses saying that a Superior Being directs the universe and the appearance of living things. This alarms some school principals and governors. The Liberal parliamentarian Philippe Fontain called for a meeting with the French ministers of education Christian Dupont (PS, Education) and Marie-Dominique Simonet (CDH, Higher Education)...
Ministers Dupont and Simonet express their unease on the subject and insist that primary school inspectors play a pivotal role. Laurence Perbal, however, says "inspectors cannot be everywhere all the time." In 2007, Minister Arena issued a decree calling on teachers to be on their guard against the famous 'Atlas of Creation.' Under the banner 'A Call to the Truth,' Atlas of Creation, written by Harun Yahya, openly rejects the theory of evolution.
As Christian Dupont says, teachers may sometimes be inept in the face of such a situation. Three researchers from ULB (Brussels University) were awarded 138,000 euros by the French Union. The aim behind the award is to enable surveys to be conducted in a large number of schools, to determine the scale of the phenomenon, and to acquire a deeper understanding of these creationist theses... Some future biology teachers display serious deficiencies with regard to the theory of evolution. Some even refuse to teach the subject at all..."
The Belgian government imagined it had taken an appropriate precautionary measure by banning Atlas of Creation. However, having observed the increasing rise in the numbers of people believing in creation over the course of 2007 it now intends to take precautions by determining the impact of the book and setting aside a hefty budget for the purpose. However, the Belgian public have finally learned the truth that was hidden from them for many years, and have concluded that the theory of evolution is a deception. The Belgian government was first faced by student reactions, and is now facing resistance from teachers. Yet despite all these reactions, the Belgian government is still trying to have the evolution deceit taught in schools. It is clear that this approach, the result of ideological concerns, can bear no fruit. Thanks to Atlas of Creation, the theory of evolution has collapsed, never to be raised again.
Belgium/Le Soir, 14.04.2008
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Teachers in Belgian Schools Are Boycotting the Theory of Evolution
Corriere della Sera, Italy's most widely read daily, once again devoted considerable space to the impact in Europe of Atlas of Creation. The report in the paper, which has a circulation of some 700,000, appeared under the cover page headline "Christians and Muslims Join Forces against Darwinism" and continued under the heading "Teachers in Belgian Schools Are Boycotting the Theory of Evolution," covering the reactions of teachers to Darwinist education:
A new alliance between Christian and Muslim teachers... According to some professors who teach students biology or natural sciences, these [Darwin's claims] are all lies, and are unworthy of being taught: They believe in creation and that the origins of human life lie not in orangutans, but in an infinite, Divine power, and that is what they teach their students... In their view [those teachers who oppose evolution], Adnan Oktar, also known as Harun Yahya, is right. Harun Yahya is the Turkish author of The Evolution Deceit, which brands Darwin's evolutionism as "a dishonest philosophy that has enslaved thousands of people," Atlas of Creation, and some 200 other books and booklets.
Last year, a number of teachers brought Atlas of Creation into class to confront the opposition of their students and Darwinist colleagues... There is no doubt that Yahya's words are continuing to spread now that they have found favor with Christian professors.
... (Yahya) has followers in a great many countries. In a campaign against evolutionism he initiated towards the end of the 1990s, thousands of pamphlets and books were distributed in Turkey setting out the thesis that it was a doctrine responsible for Nazism, historical materialism, Stalinist communism, assimilation and other catastrophes. Then, as now, Yahya found an audience in certain universities. Among his opinions is the idea that "The fossil record is perhaps the most important evidence in the demolition of the claims of the theory of evolution, because fossils reveal that all the diversity of life on Earth has never changed at all and that life forms are not descended from one another." In conclusion, this is an "indisputable fact" for the Turkish author, who goes on to say: "Living things did not develop by means of any imaginary evolutionary process. Every life form was created by God, with no forerunner preceding it."
Belgium/Corriere Della Sera, 15.04.2008
Nicolas Sarkozy Backs Creationism
The French daily La Libération carried a report on 22 April, 2008, headed "The anthropologist Pascal Picq says that creationism is growing stronger." In the report the paper, which has a circulation of 140,000, referred to the strengthening of creationism in France and the impact Atlas of Creation has had on this change:
"... Sarkozy's statements agreeing with what creationists and the opponents of secularism have been saying came as a great surprise to me. In their eyes, the reason for the evils of the 20th century is that people turned their backs on religion. The evidence? People who turned their backs on the Creator turned into animals behaving in conformity with Darwin's theory. If someone is taught that he is descended from a lower order of animal and is given no religious instruction, then this leads to all kinds of disasters. For that reason, evolution must be removed from the education syllabus... The media were largely unconcerned by Islamic creationist movements. Until, that is, the Turkish writer Harun Yahya's Atlas of Creation reached thousands of people. Then, there was literally complete panic, because A BOOK FROM A MUSLIM COUNTRY HAD FALLEN LIKE A ROCK INTO THE SEA OF REALITIES..."
It is true that Atlas of Creation caused panic in France. Until the arrival of the Atlas, the theory of evolution had been imposed and taught as an unarguable fact. However, the Atlas led to people questioning the theory of evolution for the first time, and to their seeing the truths that had been kept hidden from them. Seeing the falsities of the theory of evolution, the French have now turned towards sincere faith. One can see this change in France both from the statements made by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and the growing belief in creation among the French public. Indeed, evolutionist circles themselves report this with considerable alarm.
The collapse of the theory of evolution is inevitable: The facts have been revealed, and the Darwinist mask has been torn off. Belief in creation grew rapidly in France in 2007, and continues to do so.
France/La Libération, 22.04.2008
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Harun Yahya's Works Rock the World: Darwinism in Germany Has Been Demolished
Die Welt, one of Germany's leading dailies, recently carried out a poll on the subject of creation on its web site. Eighty-six percent of those taking part answered the question "How do you think life came into being?" by saying "God created it."
Following Harun Yahya's Atlas of Creation, which has had an amazing impact in many European countries and America and which describes how evolution never happened and sets out the fact of Creation, Darwinism has been demolished in Germany. The German public have personally seen, through the hundreds of fossil specimens in Atlas of Creation, that living things have remained unchanged for many millions of years, and that they therefore never evolved.
Germany/Die Welt , 17.05.2008
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Islamic Creationist Book Hits Scottish Universities
On 5 April, 2008, Scotland's award-winning weekly The Sunday Herald announced the presence of Atlas of Creation in Scots Universities under the headline "Islamic Creationist Book Hits Scottish Universities." The report, written in panic-filled language, went on to say that academics had "concerns that they may appear in schools as well."
The way that the book, which is full of pictures of fossils and provides hundreds of proofs that evolution never happened, has caused such great unease, and that its arrival is expected with enormous dread, shows the powerful impact it has had. The convincing evidence submitted in Atlas of Creation is a means whereby students exposed to a one-sided, Darwinist education come to see the truth-a development that the adherents of materialist philosophy never expected.
The demolition of the theory of evolution with powerful and impressive evidence and the message contained in it, which is accessible to anyone even skimming through a few pages, have greatly alarmed those who hide behind the evolution deceit. The reactions seen in France and Belgium have now been repeated in Scotland. Even the possibility that the book might be on its way is enough to panic the devotees of evolution. This is without doubt an indication of evolutionists' intellectual defeat.
The report then went on to say the following about Atlas of Creation:
"Seven copies of the lavishly-produced Atlas of Creation by Harun Yahya have arrived at the University of Edinburgh, while the University of Glasgow has received two, leading to concerns that they may appear in schools as well...
'I find it quite staggering,' said Aubrey Manning, emeritus professor of natural history at the University of Edinburgh. He houses his seven copies in a cupboard in the zoology department's staff room. 'Every academic I know says they've got one of those...'
It states that 'there exists not a single example within 100 million fossils related to 250,000 species catalogued by scientists until today that supports evolution'.
It goes further in linking a belief in evolution to modern evils.
Under a picture of the collapsing Twin Towers, a caption reads: 'No matter what ideology they may espouse, those who perpetrate terror all over the world are, in reality, Darwinists. Darwinism is the only philosophy that places value on - and thus encourages - conflict.'
Harun Yahya is the pen name of Adnan Oktar, an Istanbul-based writer. Under his pseudonym, Oktar has produced hundreds of books, videos and articles...
Islamic theologian Amanullah De Sondy, of the University of Glasgow, said...: 'What he's [Oktar] always trying to do is show how Islam is far superior to everything else... It's very cleverly done'..."
United Kingdom/The Sunday Herald, 05.04.2008
The Ambassador of Creationism
On April 5, 2008, the Belgian daily La LibreBelgique once again referred to Adnan Oktar's Atlas of Creation. The report in question described how Adnan Oktar, referred to as the "Ambassador of Creationism," had come across a number of serious unlawfulness as a result of his work opposing Darwinism, communism and the Freemasons. It then went on to provide the following information about the Atlas:
"Adnan Oktar, known as the professor in his own country, is best known for Atlas of Creation, published by him under the name of Harun Yahya and which strongly opposes Darwinism and evolutionist theses. Oktar has distributed this Atlas to schools and universities, particularly in Belgium... The absence of intermediate fossils shows that evolution from species of animal towards human beings never happened. In the author's view, this theory is responsible for terrorism and inequality between human beings."
Belgium/La Libre, 05.04.2008
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Atlas of Creation Humiliates Darwinism
Kathimerini, published in Athens and one of Greece's leading dailies, devoted wide coverage to Atlas of Creation in its 13 October, 2007, edition. In the report, the paper's Istanbul correspondent Alexandros Massaveta, provided the following information for readers:
... Darwin Is Responsible for Them All
"Some 150 years ago, the British naturalist Charles Darwin proposed a theory based on various observations made during his travels, but which could not be supported by any subsequent scientific findings.... The fossil record is perhaps the most important evidence that demolishes the theory of evolution's claims. Fossils reveal that life forms on Earth have never undergone even the slightest change and have never developed into one another.... Living things did not come into being through the imaginary processes of evolution. All the living things that have ever existed on Earth were created by God."
These words are from the introduction to Atlas of Creation. The book, basically consisting of pictures of fossils, is 800 pages long and weighs more than 5 kilos...
It Humiliates Darwinism
The text of the book humiliates the theory of evolution as the product of materialist philosophy and devoid of any scientific foundation. Darwinism is accused of all the woes afflicting mankind in the 20th century. According to the Atlas, it is responsible for racism, fascism, communism, terrorism and all ideological systems that deny the existence of God. The theory, which claims that life is a struggle for survival and that human beings act according to their instincts, is opposed to all religions.
The reader is invited to consider how God created all things out of "nothing" and to evaluate this with their consciences. The book contains "conclusions" based on the fossils within it, as well as passages from the Qur'an. And where science falls silent, the book moves in to answer all questions.
...
Atlas of Creation had an international impact last year... the publication was described as an "ideological earthquake." Thousands of copies of the book, published in various languages, were sent out to schools, universities and scientists in Europe and the USA, to American museums of natural history and members of the U.S. Congress. The overseas distribution of the book showed the framework in which the concept of "Divine Creation" is spreading, and fierce debates about Darwin have erupted in Turkey, the center of the debates about the theory of evolution in the Muslim world...
Internal attention has focused on the book's author, Harun Yahya. His real name is Adnan Oktar ... In addition to being honorary president of the Science Research Foundation (BAV), whose aim is to spread the idea of "Divine Creation" in the Muslim world, Adnan Hodja is also honorary president of the Preservation of National Values Foundation, an organization that encourages patriotism, love of the military and Islamic values. BAV set up the "Creation Museum" while its members strive to educate students. Oktar and BAV invite foreign representatives to the conferences they stage on a regular basis, and make use of the Internet to disseminate their ideas.
...
The education ministers in France, Switzerland and Belgium declared that they considered Atlas of Creation to be "far more effective than other initiatives of Anglo-Saxon origin." ...
Greece/Kathimerini, 13.10.2007
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A Major Conspiracy against the Theory of Evolution
De Morgen, a popular Belgian daily published in Flemish, carried a third report regarding Harun Yahya's Atlas of Creation on 16 February, 2008. The report emphasized how belief in the theory of evolution had been on a continual decline in Belgium in the wake of Atlas of Creation. The report, which also constituted the daily's cover story, went on to say the following under the headline "A Major Conspiracy against the Theory of Evolution":
"I do not believe that we are descended from apes. It is stated in the Qur'an that this is untrue." Muslims have been asked in recent weeks why they reject the theory of evolution. The questioner invariably encounters the same name every time: Harun Yahya...
"It is stated in the Qur'an that Allah created us from earth and gave life (breathed His own spirit in) to us. We reject the theory of evolution because it is an ideological system that seeks to defy religion. This theory is a scientific excuse. We reject the theory not because we are opposed to science, but because we have sufficient scientific evidence with which to expose its inconsistencies." These extracts are some of the heated comments made during a discussion held at the beginning of the month with imam Taouil Nordine and Professor Johan Braeckman of Ghent University.
... The Year of Darwin, the founder of the theory of evolution, is approaching, but at the same time the theory is being increasingly rejected in this country. A great many Muslim students, for instance, reject the idea that living things have a common ancestor and evolved over the course of centuries. Nordine suggests that, "If we ask them, no Muslims will believe in this."
(De Morgen): Do you receive many questions about the theory of evolution from young Muslims?
Nordine: "Of course. Many Muslims go to school. It is quite logical for them to ask questions since they do not believe in it. That being the case they telephone me, or send messages. But they do not ask whether the theory is true, but rather how they should react against it."
(De Morgen): In contrast to the academic world, you say you have scientific evidence against the theory of evolution. Your point of reference on this subject is the Turkish Harun Yahya. How did you learn about him and his ideas?
Nordine: "... Yahya is not his real name. It is a combination of the names of two prophets who waged an intense struggle for the sake of the faith. Yahya wrote a book: The Evolution Deceit.... He has worked hard for the information he has accumulated. This has become even clearer now. Academic scientists most probably recognize his name. In early 2007 a magnificent book was sent out, generally to members of that profession, to Europe: Atlas of Creation. This 6-kg volume, adorned with stunning pictures and colored holograms, has gold letters embossed onto its thick cover..."
... Professor of Ecology Hetwig Leirs from Antwerp University: "... It (the Atlas) is identical to books handed out some years ago by a few Muslim students of biomedicine in the wake of classes on the theory of evolution. 'Professor, you really must read this. What you told us in class is not possible. We cannot be descended from apes. We were created,' (they would say.)" In his office the biologist states, "This book was called The Evolution Deceit."...
... He conducted a study involving 200 students from Antwerp University... 86% of the students were Catholic. Jewish students lowered this proportion, and more than six people out of 10 did not believe that they were descended from apes. This was even clearer among Muslim students: more than eight out of 10 thought the theory of evolution was completely ridiculous.
... Atlas of Creation makes a very clear statement. In the book, Harun Yahya, or Adnan Oktar to give him his real name, exposes the "lies of Darwinism," rather than engaging merely in a "biological discussion." Indeed, he states that it is Darwin and his adherents who are responsible for all hatred, Nazism, racism, Marxism, fascism, and the terror attacks of 9/11.
Selahattin Koçak: "Yahya's intention is to instill religion into young people, and it would seem that he is achieving this. This is indeed the whole issue, a return to pure Islam..."
Oktar... appeared suddenly last year, all over Europe. His was a new voice after the American creationists who have been opposing the theory of evolution, and years back he founded the Turkish-based Science Research Foundation (BAV) together with Turkish lawyers and doctors. In their view, their aim is to bring about "peace, security and love..." From the end of the 1990s they have dedicated themselves to opposing Darwinists. They waged that struggle on a gradual basis. In 2005, half of Turkish science teachers still believed in the theory of evolution. Last year, however, according to a similar poll, the figure had fallen to only one in four.
... Last summer, Oktar invited journalists onto a luxury yacht in order to answer their questions about the Atlas. "Hitler and Mao were Darwinists. Darwinism is the only philosophy that encourages conflict" he said. Tarkan Yavaþ joined in, saying, "Turkey has become the center of the world." ... Science magazine's French correspondent received the following response to a question about the publication of the Atlas: "Will they round the books up and burn them, just like in the Nazi period?... No prohibition or obstacle can halt the collapse of Darwinism."...
In addition to his more than 250 books, Harun Yahya also has a large number of excellently designed web sites. And, according to Yahya, some 3,000 conferences have to date been held all over the world. And what about Belgium? "We do not have a conference set-up in Belgium at the moment." He then adds: "That was the case in the past, but if you would like we can help you hold conferences."
Belgium/De Morgen, 16.02.2008
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Belief in Creation is on the Rise and Growing Stronger
The 26 June, 2007, edition of Le Monde, one of France's most prominent dailies, again discussed Atlas of Creation. The report in the paper, which enjoys a readership of 400,000, referred to creationist views being discussed at the Council of Europe, to evolutionist views being considered equivalent to Stalinism, Nazism and terrorism, and to creationist ideas being "on the rise and growing stronger." The report said:
The creationist movement that appeared in the second half of the 19th century sets aside the theory that species evolve by way of natural selection and maintains that the world was created by God... The latest attack in France came in February; According to the report, an Atlas of Creation was sent out to schools from Turkey, one of the main centers of Islamic creationism... The Atlas is intended to show that evolution is a deception while creation is the truth...
France/Le Monde, 26.06.2007
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Qur'an-Based Creationism
In its 29 March, 2007, edition the French-language daily La Croix, printed in Paris and with a circulation of around 100,000, once again carried a report concerning Atlas of Creation. Titled "New Attacks on Darwinism," the report noted that activities opposed to the theory of evolution were intensifying. It referred to a conference held by Christian scientists on the subject of "Creation versus Evolution" and to the broadcasting by a French television channel of a documentary "opposed to the Darwinian theory that recognizes only chance and natural selection." With regard to the Atlas, the report said: "In February a large number of schools and universities received a work suggesting that evolution never happened. (See, La Croix, 6 February, 2007)... As the author states, the creationism in that work was based upon the Qur'an."
France/La Croix , 29.03.2007
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The Theory of Evolution Has Begun to Be Questioned in French Universities
Politis, a French weekly news journal, took anti-evolutionary creationist activities as its cover story under the banner headline "Creationist Attack on Darwinism." The four-page story by Ingrid Merckx largely concentrated on the impact of Atlas of Creation in France. After describing how the book had spread through the country and stating that university students had now begun doubting the theory of evolution, the article went on to say:
"Universities have been slow to realize this. They never expected that students would one day assail them with these questions."
Panic has begun spreading among Darwinist circles along with the rise of creationist belief in France. Darwinist, materialist circles who oppose even the questioning of the theory of evolution complain that "anti-Darwinists say, 'room must be given to skepticism, and we must be open to debate and be democratic,'" thus confirming once again that they have adopted evolution as a dogma and are blindly devoted to the theory.
The report in question also stated that belief in the theory of evolution had weakened in France and that conferences had been held to draw attention to this. Part of the reference to Atlas of Creation reads:
"In February last year Atlas of Creation was sent out to hundreds of French institutions. This 700-page illustrated work denounced the theory of evolution while espousing Creationism. It was written by Harun Yahya. Yahya, a Turkish Muslim who disseminates his ideas by means of bookglobal.net, seeks to prove that animal species have never changed since they were first created, and says that Darwin's theses represent the true cause of terrorism."
France/Politis, 18.10.2007
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Atlas of Creation at a Council of Europe Press Conference
Following a session discussing the teaching of creationism in schools, the Council of Europe, headquartered in the French city of Strasbourg, went on to hold a press conference on 4 October, 2007. The main subject of the conference was Atlas of Creation, which lay on the table throughout.
At the press conference Anne Brasseur, a politician from Luxembourg who recently submitted a report to the Council, picked the Atlas up to show it to the assembled journalists and went on to say:
"Harun Yahya is a Muslim, Turkish creationist. This is the first volume. There are two more. It has been sent out to Europe. In two languages, English and French. It says that the theory of evolution is a lie, that Darwinism is the root cause of terror, and that it is responsible for the dictators of the 20th century and the like."
Asked by a journalist about the messages that had been received in response to the report, the parliamentarians answered:
"Generally speaking we received negative e-mails. Very few letters supported the report. The letters were all opposed to the report. The commission and I were generally described as people with no respect for freedom of expression and freedom of religion..."
In response to a question from a journalist from the Turkish daily Milliyet beginning "You have referred to Harun Yahya and Atlas of Creation many times..." the French politician Jacques Legendre stated:
"I also received a copy. It has been sent to high schools, colleges and libraries where I live, up in the north. There was a note saying it can be placed in libraries for students to examine. It is a very expensive book. The quality of the printing is obvious..."
The journalists backed the parliamentarians, who portrayed Atlas of Creation as a danger and sought to prevent the teaching of creationism in schools, into a corner with their questions. They asked critical questions stating that banning books was literally censorship, violating freedom of expression and ignored the principle of equality of education. They even enquired whether the parliamentarians were considering collecting the copies of Atlas of Creation and burning them.
Through its attitude to Atlas of Creation, the Council of Europe made it clear that it was quite able to ignore such concepts as democracy and freedom of thought and belief when these clashed with its own views. It was made perfectly clear that, contrary to what Europe claims, it is not democratic, fails to attach the necessary importance to freedom of ideas and belief, and that it actually itself violates human rights. The idea that only those ideas that the powers regard as suitable should be taught is a fascist one. A mindset that cannot bear the theory of evolution to even be questioned or criticized is a manifestation of a dogmatic way of thinking.
On the other hand, such great fear of an idea, Atlas of Creation being seen as a danger solely because it proves the oneness and existence of Allah, confirms the truth of the message contained within the book. As our Lord tells us in one verse:
Rather We hurl the truth against falsehood and it cuts right through it and it vanishes clean away! Woe without end for you for what you portray! (Surat al-Anbiya', 18)
France/The Council of Europe, 04.10.2007
The Impact of Atlas of Creation
The following information about the Atlas of Creation appeared on the Access Research Network (ARN) website:
The Turkish original of the 768-page book, which rejects evolution, ... sees Charles Darwin's theory of the "survival of the fittest" as the root of many of today's ills, including modern terrorism... . The Atlas of Creation is a novelty because it puts an Islamic twist on criticism of the theory of evolution, a cause championed by conservative Christians in the United States.
USA/Access Research Network, 04.02.2007
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Belief in creation in France is spreading
A report dated March 26, 2007, by the Reuters News Agency, Religion EditorTom Heneghan, appeared in a number of newspapers and magazines, such as The Washington Post, Science and USNews. The report discussed the impact in France of Harun Yahya's 700-page Atlas of Creation.
USA/Reuters News Agency, 26.03.2007
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Evolution! Science! And Creation!
The comments section of the 31 March, 2007, issue of daily 24 Heures, published in Switzerland, carried an article titled «Evolution! Science! And Creation!» The article, written by an educationalist by the name of François Berger, discussed the impact of the Atlas of Creation of Adnan Oktar, written under the pen-name Harun Yahya, in Switzerland and in Europe as a whole. Berger described the work in these terms:
«With the assistance of Qur'anic texts, a Turk named Harun Yahya shows the impressive features of man and the unchanging nature of animals from the time they were first created down to the present day.»
Switzerland/24 Heures, 31.03.2007
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Iqna's interview with Mr. Adnan Oktar
An interview conducted by the Iranian Quran News Agency (IQNA) with Adnan Oktar was published in English, Farsi and Turkish on the agency's website. The report considered Mr. Oktar's views on such subjects as the present-day situation of the Islamic world, the Islamic Union, the short-term future of the Islamic world and the importance of full adherence to Qur'anic moral values.
The Atlas of Creation has had a huge impact in all of Europe
The website of Radio Netherlands, which broadcasts in Holland, carried a report concerning the giant Atlas of Creation, by the author Adnan Oktar under the pen-name Harun Yahya, which has provoked an enormous world-wide reaction in a very short space of time. The report by Nicolien Den Boer contained the following expressions:
[In the wake of France] Here in the Netherlands, some schools have also reported receiving free copies of the book, The Atlas of Creation.
Evolution biologist Gerdien de Jong of the University of Utrecht received a copy of the Dutch translation of The Atlas of Creation, Part 1. The book ... weighs around three kilograms ... Several of her colleagues also received a copy... .
The book was written by Turkish author Harun Yahya... The atlas, which consists primarily of coloured plates ... attempts to discredit Darwin's theory of evolution. According to the author, this theory, which is taught at nearly all Western universities, is responsible for all the evil in the world, including international terrorism.
The Atlas of Creation claims to prove evolution never occurred. "People did not evolve from other species", the book says, "they were truly created".
Science journalist Arno van 't Hoog of Bionieuws, a news magazine for biologists, has also examined the book. He explains what author Harun Yahya's theory is based on:
"This school of thought does not deny that the earth is millions of years old, but argues that animals and plants were once created and remained unchanged for millions of years thereafter".
Netherlands/Radio Netherlands Web Site , 27.02.2007
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THANKS TO HARUN YAHYA, TURKEY HAS BECOME THE CENTER OF CREATIONISM
In his newly published book, Taner Edis, an associate professor of physics from Truman State University, considers the theory of evolution and belief in creation in the Islamic world. The book discusses the change in the views regarding the theory of evolution of Muslims living in Turkey in particular, and states that since the 1990s Turkey has become the center of Islamic creationism and has gone way beyond the Christian world on this subject. Some of the statements in the book on this subject read:
The work of "Harun Yahya," said to be a pseudonym for Adnan Oktar, was central to the newest wave of creationism... . around 1997, he reappeared as the leading figure of Turkish creationism. A number of books under the name of Harun Yahya hit the shelves, promoting creationism alongside some other preoccupations of Islamic conservatives in Turkey. An organization called the Science Research Foundation promoted the Yahya books and made creationism a centerpiece of its views on science and culture. These efforts tied in with a series of "international conferences" promoting creationism, in which Turkish creationist academics shared the stage with American creationists from ICR and similar organizations.
From the beginning, the distinguishing feature of Harun Yahya's creationism was its very modern, media-savvy nature. Previously, Turkish creationism was a low-budget operation, even when it found official endorsement... . Yahya's operation changed all this. The books that appear under Harun Yahya's name are attractive, well produced, lavishly illustrated, on good quality paper... . this means that creationist literature looks better packaged than books popularizing mainstream science. Moreover, Yahya did not stop at books, or even at advertising creationism through "conferences," op-eds, and media events. Soon well-made videos and slick monthly magazines promoting Yahya's creationism appeared on the market. Indeed, there must have been few forms of media that escaped Harun Yahya's attention. For the many Turks who cannot afford DVDs, there are creationist videos in the cheaper and quite popular VCD (Video CD-ROM) format. For those put off by the price tag on slick books—though their prices are artificially low—there are cheap booklets on low-quality paper, giving abridged versions of Yahya's prodigious output... . Those online can visit one of the many Web sites devoted to Harun Yahya and creationism, from those that claim to expose the many lies of Darwinist media to the main site that makes practically everything written under the Yahya name available at no cost.
Yahya's creationism appeals beyond the core audience of conservative religious believers. There are many pious but also modernized people, many who work in a high-tech world but seek to anchor themselves in tradition and spirituality. So the Harun Yahya material is distributed in secular book and media outlets, not just in religious bookstores or stalls adjoining mosques. They are available in some supermarket chains, just like Christian inspirational books are found in Wal-Marts across the United States.
Even the way the Yahya material uses the Turkish language indicates a desire to reach a broader audience... . The Yahya material uses a simpler, less Arabized everyday Turkish....
The way Adnan Oktar and others associated with the Yahya material present themselves also reinforces the modern image of the new creationism... . they conspicuously endorse modern clothing and modern lifestyles... . They are ... leaders who have a key to reconciling science and religion ...
... Yahya touches on just about all the typical creationist themes, alleging that transitional fossils do not exist, that functioning intermediate forms are impossible anyway, that the evidence for human evolution is fraudulent, that radiometric dating methods are unreliable, that physical cosmology produces clear signs that the universe is a divine design, and that evolution at the molecular level is statistically impossible.
Yahya also explains why Western scientists and Turkish fellow-travelers are so enamored of evolution if it is so clearly false. Like Christian creationists, Yahya thinks that beguiled by the secular philosophies of the European Enlightenment, scientists got caught up in a long war against God.
... Harun Yahya favorably cites old-earth creationists who proclaim that the big bang proves the existence of God, and enthusiastically adopts the [creation] view that physical constants are fine-tuned to produce intelligent life and that this fine-tuning cannot have any naturalistic explanation... . He uses any suggestion that Darwin was wrong or that the universe is a divine design ...
As a growing media operation, the natural next step for Harun Yahya was to go global. Harun Yahya books, articles, videos, and Web materials were made available first in English, French, German, Malay, Russian, Italian, Spanish, Serbo-Croat (Bosniak), Polish, and Albanian. Interestingly, Western languages and languages used in the periphery of the Islamic world preceded languages of the Islamic heartland. This is not a great surprise-creationism finds its largest market in partially westernized countries like Turkey and in the Muslim immigrant communities in the West... . Still, translations into Urdu and Arabic soon followed, as did Indonesian, Estonian, Hausa, Bulgarian, Uighur, Kiswahili, Bengali, and more. Harun Yahya books are now available in many Islamic bookstores around the world, especially as English translations have been printed in London, the global center of Islamic publishing.
This global venture appears to be another success. Harun Yahya has become popular throughout the Muslim world; he is no longer just a Turkish phenomenon. Articles under Yahya's name regularly appear in Islamic publications all over the world. Even in the United States, mass-market introductory books ... present Yahya as a "top" Muslim scientist with a worthwhile critique of evolution.
From small meetings in San Francisco to a series of public presentations in Indonesia, from books to videos to the small Creation Museums that opened in Istanbul in 2006, the gospel of Yahya's Islamic creationism continues to spread. The popularity of creationism might be a sign of modernization in the Islamic world ...
Harun Yahya does not have to work hard to convince readers that nature is [created]. He just presents the wondrous interlocking complexity of nature, and the conclusion becomes obvious.
USA/TRUMAN STATE UNIVERSITY, TANER EDIS, 01.02.2007
