Tag: Creationism

Creationism Breaking Through Against Evolution in South Korea and Turkey

Creationism is no longer simply an American battleground in primary and secondary school education; it’s gone global. Raising questions about the nature of government involvement in education, both South Korea and Turkey made news this week in relation to moves against the mainstream scientific community’s support of evolution.

South Korean publishers sidestepped scientific debate altogether by heeding a petition passed on to them by the government. Scientists were not consulted on the validity of any claims in the petition to “delete the ‘error’ of evolution from textbooks to ‘correct’ students’ views of the world,” although the petition reportedly has signatures of both scientists and teachers.

Turkey’s academia hosted its first conference for creationist ideas at Marmara University in Istanbul from May 16-17, titled “Why Does Science Deny Inter-Species Evolution?” The conference highlighted proposed deficiencies in the theory of evolution, bringing some transparency to the debates and combating notions that evolution is supported and acknowledged by universities and the scientific world.

Officially, Turkish schools are directed to teach both sides–creationist and evolutionist. However, teachers enjoy great latitude in the classroom, and Kareem Cankocak, a professor at Istanbul Technical University who supports evolution, aggressively claims that 90% of incoming students either do not believe or do not know about evolutionary principles.

As in the United States, the debate relies more upon undermining evolution than using scientific data to support creation science, continually drawing religion into the fray (Islam in Turkey and Christianity in South Korea). The debate is unlikely to end anytime soon, but education will likely do its best to make the debate honest and transparent rather than circumvent the academic sphere for a purely political one.

Creative Commons Love: cosmobc on Flickr.com

via Creationism Breaking Through Against Evolution in South Korea and Turkey | Open Equal Free.

June 18, 2012
”AGGRIEVED DARWIN” PROPAGANDA IS A TRICK

A new piece of propaganda has recently entered the agenda in the Turkish and international pro-Darwinist press. It has persistently been claimed that reports about Darwin are censored and that “science is therefore under pressure.” Under headlines such as “They have sent Darwin to the shredder,” the Darwinist dictatorship tries to give the world the impression that Darwinism is being “aggrieved.”

But THIS IS AN UGLY TRICK BEING PLAYED BY THE DARWINIST DICTATORSHIP.

For some two centuries now, Darwinism has been under the protection of freemasons and atheist zionists, who first proposed it. This heretical ideology enjoys official protection in 95% of the states of the world. It is officially taught in schools. INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITIES AIMED AGAINST OFFICIALLY PROTECTED DARWINISM ARE PREVENTED THROUGH OFFICIAL CHANNELS. Even the most dangerous ideologies – fascism and communism – can be criticized. But it is impossible to criticize Darwinism. One can only find work in official institutions or get on in school by appearing to espouse Darwinism. Otherwise, the Darwinist dictatorship immediately goes to work. People who speak out against it are silenced, pressurized, removed from their posts and deprived of all resources. This fact, which has been repeated time and time again, IS SHAMELESSLY AND BLATANTLY APPLIED BY DARWINISTS.

Senior professors hurriedly removed from their posts for supporting the fact of Creation.

The world’s greatest and highest-ranking universities are Darwinist. The world’s best-known publishing organs and scientific journals are Darwinist. Laws in Christian European countries frequently place Darwinism under close protection. Darwinist masonic lodges have entered all institutions, schools and universities, and have enshrined the religion of Darwinism there. DARWINISM IS THE ONLY IDEOLOGY IMPOSED AND DETERMINEDLY PROTECTED ACROSS THE WORLD.

The Darwinist dictatorship has established such a dictatorship that not only official institutions and schools but also religious institutions have had to submit to this pressure. The way that churches have apologized to Darwin and that the Vatican has been pressurized into leading the way for Darwinist conferences are the results of this.

Under the dominion of the Darwinist dictatorship, there is no permission for the fact of Creation to be taught, to appear in scientific publications or even to be discussed. The Atlas of Creation is full of thousands of fossils, meaning thousands of pieces of scientific evidence. Yet not one of these appears in Darwinist publications, which appear under a guise of being scientific. Because since this scientific evidence proves Creation it is banned by the Darwinist dictatorship, which is itself run by the freemasons. Even the teaching of Creations in schools is aggressively prevented. The Darwinist dictatorship is afraid of students learning about the fact of Creation and does all in its power to prevent it.

The way that attempts are made use the idea of “aggrieved Darwin” to give the impression that Darwinists are being aggrieved IS A HUGE FRAUD AND TRICKERY. The Darwinist dictatorship intends to use this trick to muster support. This ideology, which cannot be questioned, rejected or criticized anywhere in the world, which dominates all official institutions and which constantly appears as a joke element in scientific publications, IS BY NO MEANS AGGRIEVED. This trickery is intended to lay the foundation for the deceptive idea that “Darwin has been censored on his 200th anniversary, so greater coverage needs to be given him.” The aim is to ensure greater Darwinist propaganda by hiding behind the idea of “You are under pressure, so we must give Darwin coverage.” This is a false, cheap and ugly trick, aimed against our public in order for Darwin to be brought onto the agenda time and time again.

But what matters is this: They can talk about Darwinism as much as they like, the result will still be the same. It was easy to deceive people with Darwinist lies before they had seen the truth. But people are now aware of the Atlas of Creation. All they need is to be aware of a few fossils within it. LIVING THINGS HAVE NEVER CHANGED. ONE HUNDRED MILLION FOSSILS PROVE THE FACT THAT living things have never changed in any way over millions of years. BUT THERE EXISTS NOT A SINGLE TRANSITIONAL FORM FOSSIL that might confirm Darwinism. In the absence of intermediate fossils, Darwinism has collapsed and it is no longer possible to espouse such a theory. That is the reason for the Darwinist panic not to allow Creation into schools and the way that proponents of Creation in official institutions are immediately silenced. Their aim is to prevent the emergence of evidence that proves Creation and discredits evolution. But with the Atlas of Creation their worst fears have come true.

PEOPLE NOW KNOW THE SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE. They have now seen the Sun. Closing the curtains and saying ‘It is dark outside’ is not going to convince them. Everyone, even those who say “I support evolution,” is aware of one thing in the face of the scientific evidence: DARWINISM IS DEAD!

Mar 17, 2009

Source:

March 17, 2009
Science gives way to religious dogma in Turkey

By Ferruh Demirmen

The recent censorship of the Darwin story in the “Science and Technology Journal,” published by The Scientific and Technological Research Council (Tübitak) of Turkey, caused consternation in the scientific community in Turkey and beyond. Tübitak is the leading government agency established to advance science and technology in Turkey.

The censorship, first time of its kind in Tübitak’s 46-year history, was an event that would shame any respectful scientific organization.

The making of a scandal

The event started innocuously enough when the chief editor of the journal, Dr. Çiğdem Atakuman, decided to commemorate Charles Darwin’s 200th birthday by running a 16-page cover story on the scientist’s life and his theory of evolution in its March edition. Unesco, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization, had declared 2009 as the Year of Darwin.

By established protocol in Tübitak, Atakuman had the authority to decide on the contents of the journal. But when Prof. Dr. Ömer Cebeci, a vice-president and member of the governing Science Board, found out about the Darwin article while it was at the press, the article and the photograph of Darwin on the cover page were peremptorily removed.

A revised March edition, missing 16 pages and one week late, was issued, and Atakuman was verbally fired from her editorial position (“re-assigned”). The cover page was replaced with one dealing with global climate change.

What Tübitak did not realize was that its actions were a recipe for a scandal.

Condemnation

The reaction from various quarters in Turkey and abroad was swift. Academics and students from various universities in Turkey gathered in front of the Tübitak building in Ankara to protest the censorship. Amid calls for the resignation of the Science Board, other academics, journalists, nongovernmental organizations and opposition politicians condemned Tübitak’s action. Turkish media gave wide coverage to the incident, and newspapers abroad weighed in.

Tübitak was caught in a storm it had not expected.

Voices of concern came from the Royal Society in London, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), EU politicians, and other foreign sources. Bloggers wasted no time on the Internet to chime in.

Science versus dogma

What lay at the core of these criticisms, and rightly so, was that science was being subjugated to the dictates of religious dogma. Darwin’s theory of evolution, while it forms one of the building stones of modern science, is incompatible with Islamic faith that man was created by God.

Data suggest that only 25 percent of Turks believe in evolution, some, including the education minister Hüseyin Çelik, associating it with atheism. Turkish theologians generally reject the idea that man evolved from lower beings.

There is, of course, a similar quandary with the Christian and Jewish faiths, but in the Turkish case Islamic teachings never stood in the way of evolutionary science. The academics and scientists managed to separate or reconcile evolution and Islamic faith, and the government did not interfere. They were free to practice and teach science including the theory of evolution.

That was in keeping with the secular fabric of the republic as established by Kemal Atatürk.

Tübitak itself featured Darwin many times in its journal in the past, and the event passed without any incident.

Islamic wind

The changeover in Tübitak’s stance on science, in particular the theory of evolution, is no accident. After the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power in November 2002, the government has undertaken a relentless campaign to undermine secular education in Turkey. Elements of Islam have been injected into the educational system in various degrees, and religious schools have been promoted. Evolution has been relegated to second status in favor of creationism.

The government has implemented its Islamic policy through laws, regulations and partisan appointments (in some cases in “acting capacity’). The result is a highly politicized educational system from bottom up, including the Council of Higher Education (YÖK).

The shift in Tübitak is part of this politicization process. Beginning in January 2004, when the current president of the Science Board, Prof. Dr. Nüket Yetiş, was appointed in acting capacity, most members in senior administration resigned or were forced out. Amendments made to Tübitak’s charter in August 2008 gave the government substantial control over the institution.

Also in August 2008 Yetiş, whose appointment had previously been vetoed by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, was appointed as the president of Tübitak by President Abdullah Gül. Yetiş reportedly has ties to Islamists.

Of the 12 members of the Science Board, 10 received their appointments during the AKP government.

So, at the core of the Darwin scandal was political pressure coming from the AKP.

Damage control

To remedy the embarrassment, Tübitak issued a statement denying censorship of the Darwin article and attributing the incident to “miscommunication.” It said there would be a special issue of the magazine later in 2009 covering Darwin.

A press release issued by Atakuman in reply, giving a detailed account of the events, however, left no doubt that censorship had taken place. Atakuman noted that after the incident she was reprimanded by Cebeci, her boss, in his office for pursuing a “provocative” subject in a “sensitive environment” – meaning the AKP rule.

Tübitak would be hard put to explain why the Darwin article was provocative.

Stung by criticism, the government, despite its well-known opposition to evolution, claimed it had played no role in the incident. Surprisingly – and perhaps not surprisingly – YÖK, the council overseeing higher education, declined to comment.

More fallout

What is most disconcerting about the Darwin incident is that it may stunt independent thinking and hinder science in Turkey. Science can only advance if it is free of ideology and religious dogma. Darwin’s theory of evolution is an integral part of science, and it must be disseminated, argued and researched without outside interference. Tübitak should promote, not hinder, such efforts.

It is no surprise that Prof. Dr. Tahsin Yeşildere, Head of the Association for University Lecturers, commented that “Turkish science is in the hands of anachronistic brains who hold it in contempt,” while Lord Martin Rees, president of the Royal Society, called the Darwin incident an example of “cultural corruption and . . . intellectual dishonesty.”

Nor is it a surprise that some EU politicians expressed disquiet, pointing out that the incident was a blatant violation of freedom of thought and scientific independence. Le Monde commented that Islamic groups in Turkey were waging war against Darwin.

Turkey’s prospect to join the EU, already shaky, will no doubt be affected.

What is also ironic, and disturbing, is that the Darwin censorship has taken place in a country that had benefited from Atatürk’s vision. Atatürk observed, eloquently, that “Science is the true guide in life.”

A disquieting thought

It has been 84 years since America had its bizarre “Scopes Trial” (“Monkey Trial”) in a Tennessee court. The trial was portrayed by some as a titanic struggle between good and evil, when in fact it was about truth and ignorance, or about light and dark.

Is it possible that Turkey may soon have its own “Scopes Trial”? That would be most unfortunate. But if the AKP, with its Islamic agenda, continues to meddle with science, it may come to that.

ferruh@demirmen.com

March 17, 2009
INTERVIEW WITH HARUN YAHYA: ‘All Terrorists Are Darwinists’

Adnan Oktar (aka Harun Yahya) is one of Turkey’s major proponents of creationism and he believes Darwin’s theory of evolution is the Devil’s work. In a SPIEGEL ONLINE interview, he explains how he plans to defeat Darwinism.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Virtually every respected biologist in the world considers the theory of evolution as perhaps the best-proven scientific theory ever, on par with the knowledge that the world is round. How do you want to prove them wrong?

Adnan Oktar (aka Harun Yahya) is a Turkish Muslim and a major proponent of Creationism.

Adnan Oktar: First of all, there are 100 million fossils that prove creation. And these have never changed in any respect. For example, fish have always been fish, shrimp have always been shrimp, and crabs have always been crabs. And their fossils are on display in every corner of the world. We displayed them in Turkey as well, and people saw them with their own eyes. First and foremost, this is a clear proof. Secondly, in contrast to creation, Darwinism does not have a single piece of evidence demonstrating the theory of evolution. Its proponents don’t have any fossil evidence, of the kind which they should be able to put forward.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Last year, the Council of Europe even asked its member states not to teach creationism along with the theory of evolution in schools. Do you consider this a defeat?

Oktar: Darwinism is under official protection throughout the world. No other ideology in history, no other idea, has ever been kept under such strict official protection. To make any kind of statement criticizing Darwinism causes an official reaction. However, the invalidity of Darwinism and the actuality of creation are scientific facts. Anyone reading or looking over my “Atlas of Creation” arrives at this opinion. Darwinism lies about many issues and deceives humanity. They have deceived the whole of humanity for 150 years.

As Yahya sees it, Darwinism is the root of all the world's evils. In order to help rid the world of this theory, he has had thousands of copies of The Atlas of Creation printed and shipped around the world.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: How much were you influenced by Christian movements, the so-called intelligent design movements in Europe and the United States?

Oktar: I find the concept of intelligent design rather dishonest. One should openly stand up for the existence of Allah, should sincerely stand up for religion, for Islam. Or, if one is a Christian, one should honestly stand up for Christianity. This is a theory which claims that things have somehow been created, but it is unknown who created them. I find this rather dishonest, actually. The followers of intelligent design should openly and clearly declare the existence of Allah as the Creator.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Richard Dawkins, one of the most prominent figures of the new atheism, recently had his book “The God Delusion” translated into Turkish. In Turkey, 15,000 copies were reportedly sold. In it, he writes that religion is one of the causes of terrorism.

Oktar: Darwinism has laid the groundwork for Hitler’s and Mussolini’s fascism and Stalin’s communism. And when we look at the present day, we see that all the members of terrorist organizations — even those that portray themselves as Muslim organizations — are Darwinists, atheists. That is to say, a faithful person who prays regularly does not go and plant bombs here and there. It is just people who pretend to be Muslims, those who depict themselves as Muslims, who perpetrate bombings, or Darwinists who make it clear that they are terrorists or communists who commit terrorism. Consequently, they are all Darwinists.

Only a quarter of Turks believe that Darwin's theory is correct.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Do you really think that someone like Osama bin Laden, who justifies terrorist acts using the Koran and the alleged ungodliness of the west, is following Darwinist ideas?

Oktar: Things are not what they seem to be. You do not see that appearance and style in such people in their youth. Yet, when their actual faith is scrutinized, it emerges that they are genuine materialists and Darwinists. It is impossible for a person who fears Allah to commit terrorist acts because of his faith. Such acts are committed by people who were educated abroad, who received a Darwinist education and who internalized Darwinism, but who later called themselves Muslims. When scrutinized carefully, when their speech and essays are carefully analyzed, we see that all these people are Darwinists.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Speaking of Hitler and fascism: On your Web site, you condemn the Holocaust and link it to Darwinism. But, in the early 1990s, you published a book about the so-called “Holocaust Lie.”

Oktar: The book, “The Holocaust Lie,” is by one of my friends, Nuri Özbudak. It is not one of my books. He published his own essays under that title. Later, we protested against this through the Public Notary and declared the fact to the public. I did not take any other legal action but only protested through the Public Notary because he used my name. My book expressing my own ideas was published later.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Next year, a part of the world will celebrate the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth and the 150th anniversary of his first publication of “On the Origin of Species.” Will you be celebrating, too?

Oktar: It will actually turn out to be a worldwide celebration of Darwinism’s collapse. People will be stunned at how they believed in Darwinism. They will be amazed at how they were taken in by such a hoax for years. They will also be astonished at themselves and at how hundreds, thousands of universities around the world and hundreds, thousands of professors backed such a hoax, and how they were deceived by Satan’s plot.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: One of your books is called “The Atlas of Creation,” a massive and obviously very expensive volume. It was distributed all over the world, and many free copies were sent to members of the Western media. How do you finance your struggle against Darwinism?

Oktar: The publishing house makes a great profit, since I do not take any royalties from my books. And my books are being sold in great numbers both domestically and abroad. Last year, 8 million copies were sold in Turkey and 2 million abroad. This makes a considerable total sum. Almost no other book has ever sold so much in Turkey. This year it is even higher; it is many times higher. Sales have doubled. It is perfectly normal for the publishing house to use part of that income to distribute books. This counts as publicity. However, the financial resources for this, as I have stated, are supplied by the publishing house.

Adnan Oktar has published hundreds of books under the pseudonym Harun Yahya. Creationism and its related theory of "intelligent design" are gaining in popularity in Turkey.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: In May, you were sentenced by a Turkish court for having created an illegal organization for personal gain.

Oktar: Yes, there had been an allegation of a criminal organization. Yes, I was accused of being a gang leader. I have been given a penalty of three years’ imprisonment. This needs to be ratified by the Supreme Court of Appeals. If the Supreme Court of Appeals ratifies this verdict, I will be given three years’ imprisonment. However, there is no legal evidence in the sense that I understand to be acceptable. Since my deposition was taken without my lawyer present, it should be invalid. My deposition — which I was made to give under coercion, by force — has been accepted (as) valid both in the Supreme Court of Appeals and also in the court. Thus, I have been given this sentence.

Interview conducted by Daniel Steinvorth

Source: Spiegel Online International, 23.09.2008

September 25, 2008
God, Evolution and Charles Darwin

From Times Online

September 17, 2008

Ten surprising things Darwin said about religious faith

Nick Spencer

Next year is the big Darwin anniversary. Two hundred years after his birth and 150 after the publication of On the Origin of the Species, millions will celebrate the life and work of Charles Darwin, one of the most brilliant scientists in history, and a man who was thoroughly decent, honourable and likeable.

Unfortunately, he has become caught up in the crossfire of a battle in which Darwin exhibited little personal interest. On one side of this cartoonish debate are the creationists. Their precise numbers, in the UK, are uncertain, although the major survey Theos /ComRes are conducting into the public’s beliefs about Darwinism, creationism and ID, which will be published next year, should help us find out more. Numbers aside, the point is that creationists dislike Darwin and regularly criticise him for supposedly undermining their religious beliefs.

In the other trench lie the militant Godless who – bizarrely – wholly agree with the creationists. Darwinism, they proclaim, does indeed undermine religious belief and a good thing too. Darwin is their icon and they frantically genuflect before his image, in a way brilliantly parodied by the satirical magazine The Onion.

The truth is, as ever, more complex. Darwin was too interesting, too careful a thinker to be caricatured in these ways. He was a Christian and yes, he did lose his faith. But he was never an atheist. He engaged in religious debate with friends but confessed to being in a hopeless “muddle”. He agonised over whether the exquisite beauty of life on earth was worth the pain of natural selection. He hated religious controversy and was deeply respectful of others’ views. He took upon himself the duties of a country parson whilst living at Downe and contributed to the South American Missionary Society. And, to top it all, he often doubted whether, his mind being evolved, he could even trust it in such matters. All in all, he was too complex, too subtle a man to be left to the polemicists.

So, in the interests, of rescuing him from the no-man’s-land in which he has become trapped, here are 10 Darwin quotations, from his later years, which you are unlikely to hear from the mouths of either creationists or atheists in 2009.

1. “The mystery of the beginning of all things is insoluble by us; and I for one must be content to remain an Agnostic.” (Autobiography)

2. “It seems to me absurd to doubt that a man may be an ardent Theist & an evolutionist.” (Letter to John Fordyce, May 7 1879)

3. “I hardly see how religion & science can be kept as distinct as [Edward Pusey] desires… But I most wholly agree… that there is no reason why the disciples of either school should attack each other with bitterness.” (Letter to J. Brodie Innes, November 27 1878)

4. “In my most extreme fluctuations I have never been an atheist in the sense of denying the existence of a God.” (Letter to John Fordyce, May 7 1879)

5. “I think that generally (& more and more so as I grow older) but not always, that an agnostic would be the most correct description of my state of mind.” (Letter to John Fordyce, May 7 1879)

6. “I am sorry to have to inform you that I do not believe in the Bible as a divine revelation, & therefore not in Jesus Christ as the son of God.” (Letter to Frederick McDermott, November 24 1880)

7. [In conversation with the atheist Edward Aveling, 1881] “Why should you be so aggressive? Is anything gained by trying to force these new ideas upon the mass of mankind?” (Edward Aveling, The religious views of Charles Darwin, 1883)

8. “Would any one trust in the convictions of a monkey’s mind, if there are any convictions in such a mind?” (Letter to Graham William, July 3 1881)

9. “My theology is a simple muddle: I cannot look at the Universe as the result of blind chance, yet I can see no evidence of beneficent Design.” (Letter to Joseph Hooker, July 12 1870)

10. “I can never make up my mind how far an inward conviction that there must be some Creator or First Cause is really trustworthy evidence.” (Letter to Francis Abbot, September 6 1871)

Nick Spencer is director of studies at the public theology think-tank Theos which is conducting, in partnership with the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion a project on evolution, faith and Charles Darwin. Mr Spencer’s book, Darwin and God, will be published in 2009 by SPCK.

Source: The Times, September 17, 2008

September 20, 2008
Creationist Adnan Oktar wins ban on Richard Dawkins site

From The Times

September 20, 2008

Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent

A Muslim creationist has succeeded in having Richard Dawkins’s website banned in Turkey, after complaining that its atheist content was blasphemous.

The country’s internet users are now subject to a court order imposed on Turk Telecom that prohibits them from accessing richarddawkins.net.

The court in Istanbul issued its judgment after Adnan Oktar claimed that his book Atlas of Creation, which contests the arguments for evolution, had been defamed on Dawkins’s website.

In July Professor Dawkins wrote on his site: “I am at a loss to reconcile the expensive and glossy production values of this book with the breath-taking inanity of the content.”

Earlier this year Mr Oktar, who uses the pen name Harun Yahya, tried to have Dawkins’s book The God Delusion banned in Turkey but failed. He is also appealing against a three-year prison sentence for creating an illegal organisation for personal gain.

Source: The Times, September 20, 2008

September 20, 2008