by Salman Hameed
Adnan Oktar, also known as Harun Yahya, thrives on publicity. In particular, he has been successful in gaining attention from western media on the issue of evolution (for example, see these earlier post: The Media Coverage of Harun Yahya and Yahya still desperately seeking attention). This has happened because his brand of creationism fits neatly into the evolution-creation debates in US and in Europe - and these are framed as a threat to the educational system. The problem is that Harun Yahya has been writing about every crazy thing - from the end of the world and the return of Mahdi (he thinks of himself as a pretty good candidate) to the denial of reality itself (he believes in a Matrix-style world). But only his rejection of evolution really gained any traction outside of Turkey - and he started shaping emphasizing creationism more and more in his books - culminating in his laughably amateurish The Atlas of Creation (see this earlier post: The Evolution of Harun Yahya's "Atlas of Creation").
While science education people in Turkey remain concerned about Harun Yahya's influence, my sociologist and anthropologist friends always considered him a joke, a local oddity, and really a nobody. Yes, he did harass academics with lawsuits - but then that may be more consistent with the bullying nature of his organization - whose source of money is still unknown. Well, it seems that the latter group might have been right all along. Below is Harun Yahya on a show that he regularly hosts. Is there really a reason to take him seriously? Here is our "creationist intellectual" (hat tip from Berna Turam):
I had to get some help about his profound Turkish words in the video. It seems that he keeps on repeating "Wow, look at the music. How amazing. No prejudices." And, of course, his moves are untranslatable :)
Enjoy!
Adnan Oktar, also known as Harun Yahya, thrives on publicity. In particular, he has been successful in gaining attention from western media on the issue of evolution (for example, see these earlier post: The Media Coverage of Harun Yahya and Yahya still desperately seeking attention). This has happened because his brand of creationism fits neatly into the evolution-creation debates in US and in Europe - and these are framed as a threat to the educational system. The problem is that Harun Yahya has been writing about every crazy thing - from the end of the world and the return of Mahdi (he thinks of himself as a pretty good candidate) to the denial of reality itself (he believes in a Matrix-style world). But only his rejection of evolution really gained any traction outside of Turkey - and he started shaping emphasizing creationism more and more in his books - culminating in his laughably amateurish The Atlas of Creation (see this earlier post: The Evolution of Harun Yahya's "Atlas of Creation").
While science education people in Turkey remain concerned about Harun Yahya's influence, my sociologist and anthropologist friends always considered him a joke, a local oddity, and really a nobody. Yes, he did harass academics with lawsuits - but then that may be more consistent with the bullying nature of his organization - whose source of money is still unknown. Well, it seems that the latter group might have been right all along. Below is Harun Yahya on a show that he regularly hosts. Is there really a reason to take him seriously? Here is our "creationist intellectual" (hat tip from Berna Turam):
I had to get some help about his profound Turkish words in the video. It seems that he keeps on repeating "Wow, look at the music. How amazing. No prejudices." And, of course, his moves are untranslatable :)
Enjoy!
12 comments:
HHHOT STUFFF.....you made my day :-)
Apparently evolution has taken a short cut...!
HAHA! Apparently this "Mahdi" is a pussy magnet! ;)
Folks,
It would be a mistake to dismiss Harun Yahya (and his group) as a joke and to ignore him. The influence he is exerting on people in the region and in Europe is alarming. His followers have already succeeded in getting Evolution removed from some curricula. And in France, where I was a few weeks ago, he was attracting big school assemblies, where he is showing "evidence" to students about the Evolution "hoax". Students are saying "Thank God we now have someone to give us ammunition to rebut the darwinists and tell our teachers and others why we reject this stuff"...
Thanks for the reminder Nidhal. I wonder what can be done to stop Mr. Harun Yahya from spreading his ignorance and brainwashing others. I guess the best we can do is just keep exposing him through the Internet.
@AnotherAnonymous:
Don't tell me bro that you are jealous of him. O_o
Apparently God (or Time, Gravity, Nature, Prime numbers, Pi, or whatever you believe in) is pleased with him, so now I am on his side...HAHAHA
For a brief moment I was jealous but then I remembered I am allergic to peroxide and silicone. He can keep the Botox Babes. Looks like its evolution for me, Sighhh.
@Gary
HAHAHA...I beg to differ. The hottie at 0:33 is not just the product of evolution...God IS there. Adnan Oktar clearly has a point here.
Nidhal,
You are absolutely correct. We should not dismiss his influence lightly. However, newspaper coverages in the London Times, Washington Post, focusing primarily on his creationism have helped him gain publicity. I also think that the perception of his influence is greater than his influence itself. I think his creationism will also take a hit once more people are aware about his crazier as well as his TV programs.
Harun Yahya has certainly influenced Pakistani TV news (pseudo) analyst/crackpot Dr. Shahid Masood who has copied chunks of material from Yahya’ book, ‘Signs of the Last Days,’ to make his own TV documentary and book, ‘End of Times’ that was run on a mainstream Pakistani TV channel about a couple of years ago.
There is now a USA chapter 'Harun Yahya USA' which is organizing events and making presentations at Islamic Schools.
Salman
Are you against Music and Dancing?
If HarunYahya is never credible,why you want to reinforce that just because he made few dancing steps for a Music in his TV show..
Do you only like the Mullahs who come with a fiery eyes and condemn every thing as haram ,bidah,najeez whatever..?
Yesterday I discovered the real face of this "No Comment".I was utterly SHOCKED!
After you watch this video...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSr3Q5hbKAw
go to his own site & COMPARE his description of Mahdi & his followers with him & his followers.
I don't think there is the smallest excuse of using those girls in his show, & guess what, they talk about Ayat & Ahadith(Is it a new Islam?).
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