Evolution Disproved by ONE sentence!

1:22

25 Jul 2010

Evolution, Biology

In this brief video blog (vlog), the creator impersonates two characters to present a debate about biological evolution.  One of them he labels as “Mr Atheist”, the other is unlabeled. However, by framing the narrative with verse 2:67 from the Qurʾān, the other character is suggested as Muslim.

The video presents “evidence” that is supposed to defend biological evolution.  The evidence is based on the similarity of humans and other mammals using DNA, and “the fossil record”.  The Muslim character refutes the so-called evidence, but without providing any counter evidence.

The setting for the video is a room whose sole adornment is a flag with what appears to be the shahādah (there is no god but God, Muḥammad is the prophet of God, in Arabic) over the window.  The video is tagged with names of both Muslim creationists (Harun Yahya) and atheists who defend evolution (Hitchens, Dawkins).

Evaluation:

Islam:  The Qurʾānic quotation is the only direct suggestion of Islam in this video, and this translation, which is supposed to be Moses speaking to those suggesting making an idol, is close, but does not exactly correspond with any English translation of the text we have examined.

Science:  There is little here that has any scientific accuracy.  DNA comparisons are generally poorly done.  Since DNA consists of four elements, arranged differently for every organism, it could be argued that all mammals have the same DNA, since they all have those same four pieces, only arranged differently.  The speaker has not provided any reference for his data (the percentages), so there’s no way to know if they are accurate or based on complete genomes.  As for “the fossil record”, dating strata is possible, and so-called transitional fossils, which demonstrate sequences in evolution, have been found.  See, for instance, the video, “Finding your inner fish” (2009), a lecture by Dr. Neil Shubin.

History:  There is no historical material in this video.