Muslim Creationism? Blame This Guy
When we think about creationism, we usually think about fundamentalist Christians who desperately want to get their absurd religious beliefs forced into the public school science curriculum. This has given rise to the same fundamentalist Christians trying the same tactic, just forgoing the open religious angle in the guise of Intelligent Design.
However, there are more creationists in the world than that. The most outspoken creationist in the Muslim world is Harun Yahya, author of the Atlas of Creation series of books.
It’s just that Mr. Yahya isn’t really Mr. Yahya, that’s a penname for the infamous Adnan Oktar who already has an extremely bad name in western circles for crimes such as sexual abuse and extortion. He also spent time in a mental institution in the 80s. He’s in serious need of a public relations resurrection and therefore uses the new name in hopes of gaining some respect. Unfortunately, the drivel he’s peddling isn’t likely to gain him that respect, among credible scientists, he’s just as laughable as the American creationist organization, the Discovery Institute.
That doesn’t keep him from giving it the old college try. He’s got a wealth of books, videos, articles and web sites out there, ready to snare the unwary and uneducated. A year or so ago, he mailed a huge 800-page Atlas of Creation to at least 10,000 scientists, libraries, museums and doctors worldwide, something that must have cost almost literally an arm and a leg. While no one can prove where his money comes from, speculation includes wealthy Turkish investors and Saudi royalty, but he’s got a financial backing that almost staggers belief.
What’s worse, all that money is getting the ball rolling for Muslim creationism. Stories about creationism are showing up in official textbooks in Turkey and some members of the “school board” have been openly critical of evolution. Mehmet Gormez, who is in charge of religious matters in Turkey, says “All the holy texts say human beings are created by God. I think evolutionary theory is not scientific, but ideological.”
In a recent survey by Science magazine, Turkey rated dead last among 34 nations with regard to acceptance of evolution through natural selection. Only 25% of Turks surveyed accepted evolution as true. What’s scary is that #33 in the survey was the United States. I suppose it’s no surprise that the two worst nations with regard to natural science education are the two with the highest percentage of religious stupidity.
However, I think it’s important that we not ignore Yahya like most of us do the Discovery Institute. Yahya and his compatriots, who have been described by some as very “cult-like” already have significant political power. He’s managed to successfully shut down websites which are critical of him and he’s gaining followers, not only in Turkey, but across the Muslim world. They’ve embraced the common American creationist tactic of taking any attack on them and re-spinning it as a retreat from their awesomeness. “Anything you write about Harun Yahya will eventually be quoted in Harun Yahya’s own literature and his own Web site. Whether it’s distorted or not, inevitably, it will be presented as ‘hey, the Darwinists are on the run.’ ” says Taner Edis, a Turkish-American physicist. Because of the impact the Muslim religion has in the Middle East, we’re seeing scientists who are wary, perhaps even afraid to speak out in defense of evolution, after all, if you get too visible, the religious leaders may decide you need to shut up and… we know where that leads.
It’s sad that this is true but I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised. Where religion is strong, religious stupidity is stronger. If the religious can intimidate people into keeping quiet about the facts, it leaves a lot of empty air for spreading religious nonsense. That’s why it’s important that none of us ever keeps our mouth shut in our defense of the truth. Otherwise, you’re just leaving space for the theotards like Yahya and the Discovery Institute to spread their lies.
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