And what GNI-ers say on this item??


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Controversial Islamist author slams Darwin
By Thomas Grove
Fri Jun 8, 2007, 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.

Reference Source

Oh geez. Not this guy. He is not an islamist..that is the problem with western handles. who exactly is an islamist? A jihadist person? that is the connotation. Harun Yahya talks a lot of crap, but he is not an islamist. Just a traditionalist stuck in nonsense half the time. But he is a good man.

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But he is a good man.

i second that.

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Originally posted by Abu Jihad:

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But he is a good man.

i second that.

His teachings are far more peaceful than most pacifists...I wish they would focus on that instead...there is another turk..i forget his name..big into sufism...prolific author..also very peaceful..

DG: Islamic scholars, some christians and Jews have been able to come to grips with evolution. As a matter of fact, Jews, Muslims, Hindu thinkers,and some christians have no problem with it as they see scripture using symbolic language and being a guide for MORALITY, not science.
It is the evangelists for the most part who are stuck..and the fundamentalist christians...by fundamentalist here, I am referring to those who declare themselves as such...which is sometimes different to a born again christian. Many of the latter also do not have a problem with the evolution scenario.

Evolution is still a theory, it is not backed up by a single fossil showing a lifeform morphing into another.

True..but there is evidence of some sort of development of the genus. Creation on the other hand seems woefully problematic..In terms of theories qua theories, it would seem that religionists have come to the idea that evolution did occur with divine consent. The "six days" refer to periods of immeasurably long times (as they are with god), rather than the 24 hr spans we know. This is shared in the Abrahamic religions.

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The "six days" refer to periods of immeasurably long times (as they are with god), rather than the 24 hr spans we know. This is shared in the Abrahamic religions.

I thought the 6 days thing was that the man was so tired out, he had to rest on the 7th day, hence the Sabbath.

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Just a traditionalist stuck in nonsense half the time. But he is a good man.

Half a good man.

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Originally posted by Terry Ishmael:

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The "six days" refer to periods of immeasurably long times (as they are with god), rather than the 24 hr spans we know. This is shared in the Abrahamic religions.

I thought the 6 days thing was that the man was so tired out, he had to rest on the 7th day, hence the Sabbath.

The rabbis say we take it the wrong way. It is not "rested" but "ceased to work for humans on that day.' That day was consecrated for God only...so humans likewise have six days to look after themselves, and on the seventh, it is all for God Supposedly. Incidentally, Islam does not have a sabbath, although the word for "saturday" comes from the hebrew "sabt"