In the Beginning......When one speaks of Creationism and its Trojan horse, Intelligent Design, he or she is reminded of fundamentalists from the Christian and Catholic creeds, all clamoring for their ersewhile, 7-day Creation bullshit, as based on the Old Testament canon, to be taught in secular public schools alongside Evolution.
Now, it seems that another more violent-prone monotheistic religion is jumping into the muddled waters of pseudoscience.
Creationism, From an Islamic Point of View
Money, in seems, is the driving force behind the latest Creationism fad, funded by an eccentric Muslim who wants to persuade the intellectuals amongst the scientific community to buy into their brand of Islamofascist Creationism.
Excerpts (In Blue) from
Islamic Creationist and a Book Sent Round the World
by Cornelia Dean
In the United States, opposition to the teaching of evolution in public schools has largely been fueled by the religious right, particularly Protestant fundamentalism.
Now another voice is entering the debate, in dramatic fashion.
It is the voice of Adnan Oktar of Turkey, who, under the name Harun Yahya, has produced numerous books, videos and DVDs on science and faith, in particular what he calls the "deceit" inherent in the theory of evolution. One of his books, "Atlas of Creation," is turning up, unsolicited, in mailboxes of scientists around the country and members of Congress, and at science museums in places like Queens and Bemidji, Minn.
Atlas of Creation. Weighty Stuff, Good for Impressing your Girlfriends and Wives
At 11 x 17 inches and 12 pounds, with a bright red cover and almost 800 glossy pages, most of them lavishly illustrated, "Atlas of Creation" is probably the largest and most beautiful creationist challenge yet to Darwin's theory, which Mr. Yahya calls a feeble and perverted ideology contradicted by the Koran.
In bowing to Scripture, Mr. Yahya resembles some fundamentalist creationists in the United States. But he is not among those who assert that Earth is only a few thousand years old. The principal argument of "Atlas of Creation," advanced in page after page of stunning photographs of fossil plants, insects and animals, is that creatures living today are just like creatures that lived in the fossil past. Ergo, Mr. Yahya writes, evolution must be impossible, illusory, a lie, a deception or "a theory in crisis."
In fact, there is no credible scientific challenge to the theory of evolution as an explanation for the complexity and diversity of life on earth.
The book caused a stir earlier this year when a French translation materialized at high schools, universities and museums in France. Until then, creationist literature was relatively rare in France, according to Armand de Ricqles, a professor of historical biology and evolutionism at the College de France. Scientists spoke out against the book, he said in an e-mail message, and "thanks to the highly centralized public school system in France, it was possible to organize that the books sent to lycées would not be made available to children."
While some proponents of Christian Creationism have no problems with acknowledging microevolution, this peculiar Islamic Creationist book, titled "Atlas of Creation", rejects evolution wholesale. Evolution, it seems, is no more than an outrageous lie, devised than an infidel without equal, Charles Darwin.
No Expenses Spared On Packaging Trash
While scientists were unimpressed with the contents of what is typically another lame attempt at lampooning Science, scientists could not help but marvel at the lavishness and costs of sending such a beautifully bound book:
Kenneth R. Miller, a biologist at Brown University, said he and his colleagues in the life sciences had all received copies. When he called friends at the University of Colorado and the University of Chicago, they had the books too, he said. Scientists at Brigham Young University, the University of Connecticut, the University of Georgia and others have also received them.
"I think he must have sent it to every full professor in the medical school," said Kathryn L. Calame, a microbiologist at the Columbia University medical school who received a copy. "The genetics department, the biochem department, micro — everybody I talked to had it."
While they said they were unimpressed with the book's content, recipients marveled at its apparent cost. "If you went into a bookstore and saw a book like this, it would be at least $100," said Dr. Miller, an author of conventional biology texts. "The production costs alone are astronomical. We are talking millions of dollars."
A Hidden Agenda?
While we can all marvel at the costs of propagating an agenda that has long been dominated by the Christian sector, one wonders what Mr Yahya has in mind.
Quite apparent is the obvious fact that he is targeting an uniquely intellectual audience, but really, how many, if any, of these "kafirs" or infidels does he really wish to convert with his half-baked bullshit?
Could this be the beginning of Islamofascism's foray into the educational sector? With the Christians already fishing in muddied waters, trying to sneak in religion and blending it with science classes, now Science has to contend with another Creationist nonsense from the Muslim community:
"My hypothesis is, like all creationists, they believe that they have a startling truth that the public has been shielded from, and that if they present the facts, in quotation marks, that the scales will fall from the eyes and the charade of evolution will be revealed," said Eugenie Scott, director of the National Center for Science Education, which fights the teaching of creationism in public schools. "These people are really serious about this." That may be, Dr. Miller said, but it's also possible "that Harun Yahya and his people have decided that there are plenty of Muslim people in the United States who need to hear this message." In his e-mail message, Dr. de Ricqles said some worried that the book was directed at the Muslim population of France as a strategy to "destabilize" poor, predominantly immigrant suburbs "where a large population of youngsters of Moslem faith would be an ideal target for propaganda."
This indeed does not bode well for secular education, especially in the States, which already has its hands full dealing with Christian zealots lobbying to have their religion being taught in schools as Science. In any case, most would cringe at the idea of marrying secular education with Islam: What are the students going to be learning? Making bombs?
Incoming!!!
Now another voice is entering the debate, in dramatic fashion.
It is the voice of Adnan Oktar of Turkey, who, under the name Harun Yahya, has produced numerous books, videos and DVDs on science and faith, in particular what he calls the "deceit" inherent in the theory of evolution. One of his books, "Atlas of Creation," is turning up, unsolicited, in mailboxes of scientists around the country and members of Congress, and at science museums in places like Queens and Bemidji, Minn.
Atlas of Creation. Weighty Stuff, Good for Impressing your Girlfriends and WivesAt 11 x 17 inches and 12 pounds, with a bright red cover and almost 800 glossy pages, most of them lavishly illustrated, "Atlas of Creation" is probably the largest and most beautiful creationist challenge yet to Darwin's theory, which Mr. Yahya calls a feeble and perverted ideology contradicted by the Koran.
In bowing to Scripture, Mr. Yahya resembles some fundamentalist creationists in the United States. But he is not among those who assert that Earth is only a few thousand years old. The principal argument of "Atlas of Creation," advanced in page after page of stunning photographs of fossil plants, insects and animals, is that creatures living today are just like creatures that lived in the fossil past. Ergo, Mr. Yahya writes, evolution must be impossible, illusory, a lie, a deception or "a theory in crisis."
In fact, there is no credible scientific challenge to the theory of evolution as an explanation for the complexity and diversity of life on earth.
The book caused a stir earlier this year when a French translation materialized at high schools, universities and museums in France. Until then, creationist literature was relatively rare in France, according to Armand de Ricqles, a professor of historical biology and evolutionism at the College de France. Scientists spoke out against the book, he said in an e-mail message, and "thanks to the highly centralized public school system in France, it was possible to organize that the books sent to lycées would not be made available to children."
While some proponents of Christian Creationism have no problems with acknowledging microevolution, this peculiar Islamic Creationist book, titled "Atlas of Creation", rejects evolution wholesale. Evolution, it seems, is no more than an outrageous lie, devised than an infidel without equal, Charles Darwin.
No Expenses Spared On Packaging Trash
While scientists were unimpressed with the contents of what is typically another lame attempt at lampooning Science, scientists could not help but marvel at the lavishness and costs of sending such a beautifully bound book:
Kenneth R. Miller, a biologist at Brown University, said he and his colleagues in the life sciences had all received copies. When he called friends at the University of Colorado and the University of Chicago, they had the books too, he said. Scientists at Brigham Young University, the University of Connecticut, the University of Georgia and others have also received them.
"I think he must have sent it to every full professor in the medical school," said Kathryn L. Calame, a microbiologist at the Columbia University medical school who received a copy. "The genetics department, the biochem department, micro — everybody I talked to had it."
While they said they were unimpressed with the book's content, recipients marveled at its apparent cost. "If you went into a bookstore and saw a book like this, it would be at least $100," said Dr. Miller, an author of conventional biology texts. "The production costs alone are astronomical. We are talking millions of dollars."
A Hidden Agenda?
While we can all marvel at the costs of propagating an agenda that has long been dominated by the Christian sector, one wonders what Mr Yahya has in mind.
Quite apparent is the obvious fact that he is targeting an uniquely intellectual audience, but really, how many, if any, of these "kafirs" or infidels does he really wish to convert with his half-baked bullshit?
Could this be the beginning of Islamofascism's foray into the educational sector? With the Christians already fishing in muddied waters, trying to sneak in religion and blending it with science classes, now Science has to contend with another Creationist nonsense from the Muslim community:
"My hypothesis is, like all creationists, they believe that they have a startling truth that the public has been shielded from, and that if they present the facts, in quotation marks, that the scales will fall from the eyes and the charade of evolution will be revealed," said Eugenie Scott, director of the National Center for Science Education, which fights the teaching of creationism in public schools. "These people are really serious about this." That may be, Dr. Miller said, but it's also possible "that Harun Yahya and his people have decided that there are plenty of Muslim people in the United States who need to hear this message." In his e-mail message, Dr. de Ricqles said some worried that the book was directed at the Muslim population of France as a strategy to "destabilize" poor, predominantly immigrant suburbs "where a large population of youngsters of Moslem faith would be an ideal target for propaganda."
This indeed does not bode well for secular education, especially in the States, which already has its hands full dealing with Christian zealots lobbying to have their religion being taught in schools as Science. In any case, most would cringe at the idea of marrying secular education with Islam: What are the students going to be learning? Making bombs?
Incoming!!!-"Science offers us an explanation of how complexity (the difficult) arose out of simplicity (the easy). The hypothesis of God offers no worthwhile explanation for anything, for it simply postulates what we are trying to explain." -Richard Dawkins
Good post! But I am thinking... Does the Muslim propagandist have a database of all intellectuals in the States??
ReplyDeleteWell, with the internet today, just a few toggles on the search engine would probably give you all the information you need. You don't need a rocket scientist to do that these days.
ReplyDeleteFrankly, I am quite appalled with the agenda of this man. As it is, the increases in Islamic violence is cause for worry......do we want Islamists to indoctrinate kids too???
It's a bloody worry - what reputable publishing house would publish this tripe?
ReplyDeleteAs "reputable" publishing houses print books on intelligent design, the "fake moon landing" and all sorts of other crackpot theories, why not this one? As long as they think they will sell enough copies of a book to make it viable, then its no problem. Or, he could be self-publishing.
ReplyDelete