Turkish Forum

Tag: Harun Yahya

  • Turkey will never be the same again | New Straits Times |

    Turkey will never be the same again | New Straits Times |

    Turkey will never be the same again

    By Harun Yahya – 16 August 2016 @ 11:00 AM

    July 15, 2016. The coup attempt that was made, and thanks to God, failed that day, can be qualified as a milestone for Turkey; to understand why, it will be good to remember what happened that day.

    Horrific scenes took place during the events that started on the night of July 15 and continued until morning the next day. Tanks ran over innocent civilians, elderly women and even children were fired upon. According to the Anatolian Agency, 240 people — 62 police officers, five soldiers and 173 civilians — were killed and 2,195 people were injured.

    Thirty-five airplanes, 37 helicopters, 246 tanks and armoured vehicles, three ships and more than 4,000 light arms were used, and more than 9,000 soldiers participated in the coup attempt. Bridges were blocked, the Turkish Grand National Assembly and the Special Operations Department were bombed. All these attacks were repelled by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s urging people to take to the streets and through the self-sacrificing and vigorous efforts of the people acting in unison with the security forces.

    All that happened on the night of the coup attempt are significant in indicating that everything will be different for Turkey from now on. As anticipated, July 15 has become a historical milestone, a turning point. It ushered in a new era. One of the things this new era brought along was the Aug 7 “Democracy and Martyrs’ Rally”.

    The rally in Yenikapi, Istanbul, witnessed various firsts. First of all, what should be mentioned is the unprecedented participation. According to data from the Anatolian Agency, there were around five million participants. This number was determined through people-per- square-metre analysis done during the aerial inspections conducted on and around the rally area by helicopters. It was the most crowded rally not only in the history of the Republic of Turkey, but perhaps in the history of the world. The magnificent record that was broken was not limited to this; at the same time, millions of people in other cities of Turkey gathered in public squares as well.

    We witnessed other extraordinary things that, again, had never been seen in the political history of Turkey. The millions who gathered in the rally area did not represent a particular section of Turkey, but the whole of the country. Sunnis, Alawis, the religious, atheists, communists or Turkish, Kurdish, Laz, Circassian, Jewish, Armenian — in short, people of all ideologies, faiths, sects and parties were there; leaving the political party flags at home and taking Turkish flags along.

    People took to the area and virtually turned the rally into a sea of red and white, the colours of the Turkish flag. The sides, which had been worlds apart before July 15, were banded together against the coup, flooding the streets with great excitement and enthusiasm.

    The political leaders were no different. The party leaders, who, before July 15, would not speak to or even shake hands and frequently made quite serious accusations against each other, came together on Aug 7. Erdogan and the leaders of the three biggest parties in the Parliament gave messages of unity and solidarity. Acting in concert against the coup attempt, they laid the foundations of the spirit of brotherhood and love. Their speeches and attitudes in the rally clearly showed that, henceforth, in Turkey, a constructive, positive and reconciliatory political model will replace the sense of politics based on tension, strife, discrepancy and dissension.

    What has happened over the last month in our country is truly admirable. The coup attempt eliminated overnight the polarisation within the Turkish society, which was hitherto deemed all but impossible. It united all walks of life on a common ground. It paved the way for the Turkish nation to unify in brotherhood and amiable collaboration; to protect democracy, secularism, freedom and national will. It demonstrated to the entire world our nation’s bravery, tenacity, determination and readiness to boldly sacrifice its life when necessary. There is no doubt that the coup plotters would not have attempted the coup had they known it would lead to such an outcome.

    The speech the Chief of General Staff gave in the “Democracy and Martyrs’ Rally” was also notable. Through his uncompromising attitude against the coup plotters, General Hulusi Akar has earned the admiration of the people during this process. The enthusiastic cheers that accompanied his speech were the indicators of the fondness the Turkish nation have both for himself and the army.

    The millions who assembled in public squares on Aug 7 sent crucial messages not only to Turkey, but to the entire world. The most significant among these was the image of a Turkey standing united as one nation, one body, one heart, one voice against coups, terrorism and occupation.

    On the night of July 15, the people of Turkey gave due response to the bloodthirsty, ruthless, lawless coup plotters who tried to seize power by force, and the Yenikapi rally reaffirmed this response once and for all; it became a spectacular show of strength by and a signature of the people of Turkey. Hopefully, the groups who devise shady schemes aimed at Turkey will take their lessons from this dignified and stalwart stance, and concede.

    The coup attempt was severely condemned not only in Turkey, but by many countries around the world.

    The people’s stand against the coup on the streets and in public squares was highlighted by
    the British media. Regarding the coup attempt in Turkey, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stated that military interference is unacceptable.

    Steffen Seibert, the spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, said in his statement: “The democratic order must be respected (in Turkey)… Everything must be done to protect human lives.”

    Iran, Georgia, Somalia, Ukraine, Morocco, Qatar, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Tunisia, Pakistan, the Baltic states and Azerbaijan were among the countries that condemned the coup attempt.

    So, what comes after this? Turkey is going through difficult times that demand utmost caution and constant vigilance. However, there is no reason to give way to uncertainty and despair. Besides the hardships, we also witness fresh, encouraging and hopeful developments with each passing day. The hardships and troubles we go through will open the gates for a more powerful, more peaceful, more prosperous, more spiritual, more unified and more modern Turkey.

    The existence of a strong and stable Turkey is essential for the entire world. This assessment is very significant, not only for Turkey, but also from a regional and global viewpoint. For the Middle East, the world’s most turbulent and strategic region, to achieve peace, tranquillity and welfare, Turkey’s existence is an indispensable must. Without doubt, a powerful and stable Turkey is the guarantor of supreme values such as human rights, social justice, democracy, liberties and secularism in the Middle East.

    Harun Yahya has authored more than 300 books, translated into 73 languages, on politics, religion and science

  • U.S. Embassy in Ankara, synagogue in Istanbul alleged al-Qaida targets

    U.S. Embassy in Ankara, synagogue in Istanbul alleged al-Qaida targets

    ISTANBUL, Turkey, April 12 (UPI) — The U.S. Embassy in Ankara was targeted to be bombed by an alleged Turkish al-Qaida cell whose members were trained in Afghanistan, Turkish police said.

    Police seized nearly 50 pounds of plastic explosives with detonation systems attached, along with 10 rifles and guns, six laptop computers and other evidence, police said.

    Twelve people — two Chechens, two Azerbaijanis and eight Turks — were arrested in two raids, police said.

    The raids — which occurred in February but were only now reported — occurred in the northwestern city of Tekirdag and Istanbul, police said.

    All 12 people were believed to be members of al-Qaida terrorist cells, the Dogan News Agency said.

    The U.S. Embassy issued a travel warning at the time but said police had provided no specific threat information about the targets.

    It had no immediate comment Friday.

    The U.S. Embassy was the target of a suicide bomb attack in February that killed a Turkish security guard and severely injured a local resident. But that attack was attributed to an extreme left-wing organization, not Islamic militants.

    The arrested alleged attackers also planned to bomb an Istanbul synagogue and the private Rahmi M. Koc Museum, police said. They additionally intended to attack Turkish TV personality-actor Acun Ilicali and author Adnan Oktar, also known as Harun Yahya, an Islamic creationist who speaks against evolution, the news agency said.

    via U.S. Embassy in Ankara, synagogue in Istanbul alleged al-Qaida targets – UPI.com.

  • The secret service of the UK is directing the PKK

    The secret service of the UK is directing the PKK

    Adnan_Oktar_Harun_Yahya
    Adnan_Oktar_Harun_Yahya

    Turkey’s Adnan Oktar, aka Harun Yahya, a Muslim young earth creationist who has led a crusade against evolution : The Secret Service of the UK is directing the PKK.

     

    Watch The Video:

  • RD.net no longer banned in Turkey!

    RD.net no longer banned in Turkey!

    By RDFRS UK – WWW.RICHARDDAWKINS.NET

    Added: Friday, 08 July 2011 at 4:55 PM – An RDFRS Original

    trWe are delighted to announce that, with immediate effect, RichardDawkins.net is no longer banned in Turkey.

    The ban had been imposed by default when Adnan Oktar aka Harun Yahya complained to a Turkish court that a thread on the site defamed him.

    No formal complaint about the comments had ever been received by RD.net, nor were we ever formally notified about a court case against us.

    The process of getting the ban lifted has been long and rather arduous, and we would like to express our deep and heartfelt gratitude to a group of Turkish lawyers for their unstinting efforts on our behalf.

    We understand it is standard practice in Turkey that all judgements are appealed, and we therefore cannot state with certainty that the judge’s decision will not be overturned on appeal at a later date, although we will of course continue to defend any attempt to do so.

    In the meantime, however, a huge and heartfelt THANK YOU to our Turkish legal team; and to all our readers in Turkey – WELCOME BACK! TEKRAR MERHABA!

    via RD.net no longer banned in Turkey! – RDFRS UK – www.richarddawkins.net – RichardDawkins.net.

  • 50 “Sour Dictionary” Writers Summoned to Prosecutor’s Office

    50 “Sour Dictionary” Writers Summoned to Prosecutor’s Office

    The Istanbul police called about 50 writers of the “Sour Dictionary” to the prosecutor’s office to give their statement regarding headings that were related to religious topics. This operation came just after the Sour Dictionary announced to have applied a “Hate Speech Control Project”.

    Haluk KALAFAT

    haluk@bianet.org

    Istanbul – BİA News Center

    22 June 2011, Wednesday

    The police knocked on the doors of 50 authors of the “Sour Dictionary” (‘Ekşi Sözlük’), an online ‘dictionary’ based on user contributions aiming more to entertain its readers rather than giving scientifically correct definitions.

    The writers were summoned to the prosecution where they gave their statements before they were released again. Certain headings related to religion were the reason for the interrogation. This operation came just after the Sour Dictionary announced to have applied a “Hate Speech Control Project”.

    A Sour Dictionary writer with the nickname “Rapri Sokapri” announced the incident on the website: “Two plainclothes police officers came to my door a short while ago. They said that some things were written from our house about the Quran and Mohammed. They also quoted the nickname. Are they calling Gayrettepe [an Istanbul district] to order? They are going to take me to an interrogation. What is this? A joke?”

    Islamic creationist Oktar complained

    The details about the interrogation were disclosed by the entry of another Sour Dictionary writer with the nickname “Degisen”. The user wrote, “Today I gave my statement to two officers of the cyber crime unit at Gayrettepe”.

    “Yet, I have to correct the disinformation in the heading. I asked the officers and they clearly answered that there was no request for information from the Sour Dictionary. They came upon the ADSL registration. Other information I have: they took the statements of about 50 writers. They split up the group in bundles of 14 writers each. As far as I understood, the complainant is [creationist] Adnan Oktar. The accusation is an article like offending the moral values of the public”.

    Degisen continued, “I am happy so send the scanned copy of the statement to anybody who thinks this is a lie.

    I want to thank the police officers for their kind and considerate behaviour. I even smoked a cigarette with one of them. He had a nice chat. After all, they are people like you and me.

    Edit: Thinking twice of course they might also have taken the IP address from Sour Dictionary. The police actually said the opposite but how do they know the technical side of the issue? In fact, the prosecutor tells them to collect this and that”.

    Sour Dictionary writers outraged

    One after another Sour Dictionary writer expressed their annoyance about the interrogations on the website under the newly formed rubric “Sour Dictionary gives information about its writers to the police”. The users discussed whether the dictionary forwarded their personal data and if yes, how they should react.

    Some of the comments read as follows:

    * “Some time ago it was written at the bottom of the page that ‘in case the police would stand on your doorstep just say ‘one second’ and run away through the kitchen window’. We laughed about it. It was made up but this means it became true”.

    * “It is clear that these tactics of frightening/intimidation are not/will not be useful in the end. What should be done is maybe to initiate a stance of civil disobedience. What is actually more frightening (confusing!) is that a number of people started to apply auto-censorship. These are the actions we did not want to see on this pitch, it did not suit us”.

    * “Whatever, in short I did not like it. This is an interrogation that should be thoroughly investigated. Let’s be alert”.

    via English :: 50 “Sour Dictionary” Writers Summoned to Prosecutor’s Office – Bianet.

  • Muslim creationists tour France denouncing Darwin

    Muslim creationists tour France denouncing Darwin

    By Tom Heneghan, Religion Editor

    AUBERVILLIERS, France | Mon May 16, 2011 9:54am EDT

    AUBERVILLIERS, France (Reuters) – Four years after they first frightened France, Muslim creationists are back touring the country preaching against evolution and claiming the Koran predicted many modern scientific discoveries.

    oktarFollowers of Harun Yahya, a well-financed Turkish publisher of popular Islamic books, held four conferences at Muslim centers in the Paris area at the weekend with more scheduled in six other cities.

    At a Muslim junior high school in this north Paris suburb, about 100 pupils — boys seated on the right, girls on the left — listened as two Turks from Harun Yahya’s headquarters in Istanbul denounced evolution as a theory Muslims should shun.

    “We didn’t descend from the apes,” lecturer Ali Sadun told the giggling youngsters. Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, he said, was “the scientific basis to defend atheism.”

    Harun Yahya, one of the most prolific publishers in the Muslim world, gave proudly secularist France a scare in January 2007 by mass-mailing thousands of free copies of his “Atlas of Creation” to schools and libraries across the country.

    The Education Ministry quickly ordered headmasters to seize and hide copies of the large format book that, over 768 pages of glossy photographs and easy-to-read text, argues that all living things were created by God exactly as they are formed today.

    It followed up with a special seminar to train teachers how to counter a small but growing group of pupils who challenge evolution with creationist theories.

    In October 2007, with strong French support, the Council of Europe denounced the creationist views laid out in the “Atlas of Creation” as a religious assault on science and human rights.

    LIFE CREATED BY ALLAH

    Christian and Muslim creationists believe God created the world as described in the Bible and the Koran. Both books say God made the universe and all living things in six days. The Bible presents that as the exact time needed for creation but the Koran says “days” actually means long periods of time.

    Christian creationism enjoys popular support in some parts of the United States but courts have ruled it is a religious view that cannot be taught in state-run schools.

    Koran-based creationist views are traditional in the Muslim world. Advised by U.S. creationists, Harun Yahya has developed a series of books that have helped spread this view in recent years beyond the Middle East, including to France, whose five million Muslims make up Europe’s largest Islamic minority.

    “People who defend evolution can’t accept the existence of a Creator,” Sadun said at La Reussite (“Success”), one of the few Muslim-run private schools in France.

    “Life is not the result of chance, it’s the creation of a higher power, which of course is Allah,” he said in fluent French, adding that the confiscation of the “Atlas of Creation” was similar to book-burnings staged by the Nazis in the 1930s.

    Sadun’s lecture depended heavily on slides purporting to show ancient fossils of a fish, cricket, lizard and frog looking exactly like photographs of their modern day descendants. He claimed no fossils proving evolutionary transitions existed.

    Scientists in Turkey, Europe and North America argue the Atlas is riddled with errors, but this seems neither to bother Harun Yahya’s followers nor to crimp his books’ sales.

    SCIENCE PREDICTIONS IN THE KORAN?

    Harun Yahya is the pseudonym of Adnan Oktar, 55, a preacher who keeps secret the sources of the ample funds that allow him and a group of followers to produce hundreds of thousands of slick and simple books on Islam under his pen name.

    He told Reuters in 2008 that he was preparing the return of Jesus Christ, who he said would come back to Earth in about 25 years as a Muslim to help the Mahdi — Islam’s savior figure — to defeat evil and establish Islam around the world.

    After Sedun’s anti-evolution talk, a colleague from Istanbul spoke about “scientific miracles in the Koran,” another small but well-financed field of self-styled experts claiming the Muslim holy book predicted many modern scientific discoveries.

    Avni Karahisar cited Koran verses he said indicated hidden proof of phenomena such as the Big Bang, planetary orbits and the expansion of the universe. Pupils avidly took notes on scrap paper distributed by teachers before the talk.

    “Technology now shows these truths announced in the Koran 1,400 years ago,” Karahisar said. “This shows in a miraculous way that the Koran is the word of Allah the All Powerful.”

    “SECOND WAVE” OF CREATIONIST CAMPAIGN

    Nidhal Guessoum, an Algerian astrophysicist at the American University in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, dismisses these so-called miracles as “fanciful interpretations.”

    They have “exploded and expanded to quickly occupy large parts of the cultural landscape of the Islamic world (particularly the Arab part) over the last few decades,” he wrote in his new book “Islam’s Quantum Question.”

    Because the conferences are held on private premises, the Education Ministry has no authority over them and has not commented on what one Harun Yahya follower called their “second wave” of campaigning in France after the 2007 controversy.

    This “second wave” began with conferences in January in Paris, Marseille, Lyon and other cities. The group plans similar conferences this month in Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands.

    While these conferences may not attract much interest outside Muslim communities in Europe now, the organisers clearly hope the creationist ideas they spread will have an impact.

    A teacher at the La Reussite meeting said French educators called him an Islamic fundamentalist for his creationist views, but he thought they were actually secularist fundamentalists.

    “As a Muslim school, we’re lucky to have people who give us tools for this debate,” he said, nodding toward the lecturers.

    “This is very important for you and for your pride,” he told the pupils.

    (Editing by Elizabeth Fullerton)