Adnan Oktar’s message for the “Darwinism-Creation” debate in London
2:40
7 Jan 2013
Evolution
Adnan Oktar
Ebru Bayrak
Adnan Oktar (Harun Yahya) in this video clip suggests that everything on earth was created by God and has never changed. He bases this on verses from the Qurʾān, some of which have only a tenuous relationship to the material being discussed.
Topics include: Jesus, Moses and other famous prophets in the Qurʾān; fossils; the Golden Ratio; protein molecules; the existence of the soul.
The undated clip is likely from one of Oktar’s shows on the TV channel A9.
Evaluation:
Oktar does not present evidence from Islamic materials in this clip.
The assertion that fossils do not in any way suggest evolution or show change in species is false. Neither paleontologists nor evolutionary biologists support this view. For more on fossils and evolution, see this 2009 video of a lecture by Neil Shubin, “Finding your inner fish”, recorded at the University of Chicago.
There is insufficient historical material upon which to base an evaluation.
About Adnan Oktar
Adnan Oktar, born in Ankara Turkey in 1956, is also known by the name Harun Yahya, which is also used for materials produced by his organizations, Bilim Araştırma Vakfı (“Science Research Foundation”) and Milli Değerleri Koruma Vakfı (“National Values Preservation Foundation”). He is closely identified with creationism in the Muslim world, promoted through the glossy Atlas of Creation, published in 2006-07. His ideas are often close to those of young Earth Christian creationists from the United States. Some have likened his approach to intelligent design, but Oktar himself calls the term “another of Satan’s snares.” He (or his group) has produced numerous written works and videos on i’jāz, the idea that scientific facts may be found in the Qurʾān, proving its miraculous nature.
Oktar has been prosecuted by the Turkish government for “promoting theocratic revolution” (1986), and has been arrested on other charges, although he was later acquitted or the charges were dismissed. On the other hand, since 2007 Oktar has successfully used the Turkish government to block internet sites that he claimed defamed him.
In March 2011, Oktar started broadcasting on the A9 satellite channel. Some of the programming may be found here, but is only available in Turkish.
Selected Bibliography:
“Adnan Oktar” Wikipedia. Accessed 19 April 2015.
His web site: www.harunyahya.com.
Bigliardi, S. (2014). Islam and the Quest for Modern Science: Conversations with Adnan Oktar, Mehdi Golshani, Mohammed Basil Altaie, Zaghloul El-Naggar, Bruno Guiderdoni and Nidhal Guessoum. Istanbul, Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul.
Solberg, A. R. (2013). The Mahdi Wears Armani: An Analysis of the Harun Yahya Enterprise. Stockholm, Södertörns högskola.