YNET, the web site of the well-known Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, carried an interview with Adnan Oktar by science editor Avital Lahav on 22 August 2008. YNET, which is published in Hebrew and English and is Israel’s most popular virtual newspaper, carried Adnan Oktar’s responses under the heading “Darwinism Is an Ideology, Not a Science.”
You can find the full text of the interview below:
· You claim that Darwinism's biggest weakness is its reliance on coincidental events. Can the process of "Natural Selection" really be described as coincidental? Is not the principle "Survival of the fittest" a guiding hand?
The theory of evolution proposes two mechanisms for the emergence of new species. One is mutation, and the other is natural selection. The entire scientific world now regards mutation as at best neutral and as generally damaging to living organisms. In the same way, no new species can ever emerge by way of natural selection. By means of natural selection the fastest antelope in a herd running away from a lion will survive because it is the fittest, but that antelope will never turn into another life form, a cheetah for example. That being the case, Darwinists have no reply to the question of how hundreds of thousands of different species came into existence. It is a great mystery for evolutionists how, although it is impossible for the first living cell to have emerged by chance and it has been definitively proved that this is impossible both biologically and mathematically, this first cell supposedly turned into birds, carnations, tigers, cats and human beings that found civilizations, study the internal workings of the atom, compose symphonies, write books, judge, love, are loved and feel compassion. The existence of living things, their variety and perfection, are not the work of blind chance, mutations or natural selection. Allah created the entire universe from nothing, together with all the living creatures in it, and science confirms that fact.
· You mention various elements of the Darwinist theory for which no evidence are available. Yet this does not settle the contradictions between the story of creation and what we now know about the world. How do you explain fossils dating back millions of years, or the parallels between the biblical story and former folk tales of the Mesopotamia civilizations? Is the incompleteness of the Darwinist theory a sign for the accuracy of the story of creation?
There is no contradiction between the creation Allah reveals in the Qur’an and scientific findings. Allah tells us in the Qur’an that He created the Earth in six days. These six days may be very different in the sight of our Lord, Who is unfettered by space and time, than our conception of six days. Archaeological discoveries concerning the lives of past peoples and their cultures and civilizations are in complete agreement with what is revealed in the Qur’an about those communities. You can find more detail on the subject in my books A Historical Lie: The Stone Age and Perished Nations and on my web site www.harunyahya.com. The theory of evolution has been depicted as the only scientific theory that supposedly accounts for the origin of living things for some 150 years, and is also used as a tool in order to turn people away from belief in Allah. The only reason why evolution is so stubbornly kept on the agenda, despite the fact it has scientifically collapsed, is that it represents a so-called scientific basis for materialism and atheism. Anyone looking for a rational and logical answer to the question of “how and why we came into being” will see Allah's creation. That is because not only does science demolish evolution, it also, through the findings it reveals, proves that Creation is the one and only truth.
· Why is the dependency of fascism and communism on Darwinism an argument against this theory? Should a scientific theory be judged based on the ideologies that adopted it?
It is inaccurate to regard evolution as being solely to do with science. Ever since the day it was first proposed Darwinism has been more than a scientific matter. Darwinism has its own world-view, and that is where the real danger lies. According to evolution, man is a kind of animal, for which reason relations between human beings are the same as those among wild animals. In such a system ruthlessness, cruelty, oppression and exploitation of the weak, murder, terror and anarchy are perfectly legitimate. If you tell a young person right through his school years that he is a kind of animal, that struggle between animals is legitimate, and that he can only survive by being strong and ruthless, if you indoctrinate him with the lie that people outside his own race have no right to live, if you describe human beings as machines without souls, and if you inculcate the falsehood that everything consists of matter, that young person will be able to kill innocent people without a moment’s compunction. If, however, you make it clear that the world-view and life style espoused by Darwinism are not scientific, if you teach the love, compassion, peace, friendship and brotherhood commanded by Allah, if you describe the beauties of true religious moral values, then you can establish a climate in which all people can live in peace, no matter what their religion, race or tongue.
· What are your predictions for future generations? Will materialism really decline? It seems as if, at least in the Christian world, it is stronger than it ever was.
Materialism has had a genuinely powerful influence on European civilization in particular over the last 150 years or so. For decades, materialism has crushed human beings, plunged them into darkness, strangled their pleasures and condemned them to stress and unhappiness. But this negative influence is finally being eradicated and the darkness of materialism is being lifted. By Allah’s will the Atlas of Creation in particular has had a great and powerful impact in this area. Surveys conducted in France, regarded as the cradle of materialism, in the wake of the arrival in Europe of the Atlas of Creation reveal that people no longer believe in this ideology and regard Creation as a scientific reality. The collapse of materialism will accelerate even further in the days to come. With the disappearance of materialist and atheist ideologies in the near future the world will achieve a happiness the like of which it has never known before. A world in which people can live freely as they choose, without building walls, without suffering constant tension, without spending millions of dollars on arms, without being slaughtered and without fearing being exiled from their lands, a world in which everyone can worship as they choose, where they can trade freely, in short where they can live free and human lives, is close at hand. They will live as they choose in that world, and not only believers but also atheists will be free to express their opinions. Everyone’s human rights will be protected. In such a world, of course, Israelis and Palestinians, who have suffered such troubles and difficulties for so long, will also be liberated, and those lands, sacred to us all, will become a place of peace as commanded by our Lord and described in His Books of Truth.
· What has happened to the Islam civilization? Why is a civilization, which was once at the foreground of philosophy and science, considered by many today to be a threat to humanity?
Islam is a religion of peace and love. The behavior and moral values Allah commands in the Qur’an mean that Muslims must be forgiving and understanding, respectful of other views, forward-looking, compassionate towards members of other faiths, reflective and capable of enjoying art and beauty in the knowledge that such things are manifestations of Allah, moderate and tolerant. Societies that genuinely live by the moral values of the Qur’an are productive and enlightened. The Turkish-Islamic Union needs to be established as a matter of urgency for such enlightenment to be attained today. This will be a moderate union. It will be a union based on respect for human beings, based on tolerance and compassion, open-minded and free-thinking, a union of brotherhood and love, rather than one of fanaticism, repression and subjugation. It will establish security for those nations uniting under it and to the other nations of the world. The Turkish-Islamic Union will lead the way to the 21st century being an age of enlightenment. The enlightenment brought about by the Turkish-Islamic Union will bring beauty to the whole world. With the founding of this union the USA, Russia, China, Israel and the nations of Europe will see that all long-standing problems have suddenly been resolved, and that will be of benefit to one and all. Terror will come to an end, distribution of raw materials will be guaranteed, the economic and social order will be protected and cultural conflicts will disappear entirely. America will no longer have to send troops to lands thousands of kilometers away, Israel will no longer live behind walls, the countries of the EU will encounter no economic barriers, Russia will have no more security concerns and China will have no trouble finding raw materials. A powerful Turkish-Islamic Union will benefit all nations.
· I understand why Mr. Yahya regards Darwinism as cruel, but even he has to admit that it is a scientific theory, not only an ideology. Does a scientific theory have to be beautiful, kind and merciful in order to be true?
It once again needs to be made clear that Darwinism is an ideology. It is not the fact that it is not a pleasant, agreeable and kindly theory that enables us to see that the theory of evolution is untrue, but the fact that it conflicts 100% with the scientific findings. Science declares that “there is no evolution.” The important thing here is why it is so stubbornly espoused by certain circles and continues to be portrayed as scientific, even though it so clearly stands in contradiction to science. The reason for this is that evolution is an entirely ideological concept, rather than a biological hypothesis. The only reason for the evolutionists’ loyalty to the theory is their ideology. It is ideological concerns that underlie the panic that has arisen in the face of the collapse of the theory of evolution. There are dozens of theories that were once proposed and then abandoned once their invalidity became apparent. The normal course of events is for, like all theories proved to be incorrect, the theory of evolution to be abandoned once it becomes apparent that it conflicts with science. Yet materialists refuse to do this because once they do so their most important foundation will be eliminated and it will become impossible to defend materialism. Otherwise, the fact that the emergence of even one single protein cannot be explained in terms of evolution would be enough for any rational, scientifically-minded people to turn their backs on evolution. If that’s not so, then one should reflect on the reason why. This means that evolution is not a theory weighed solely in the light of scientific thinking.
· His vision of the Turkish-Islamic union is wonderful but why is he alone in expressing these views? What one hears from Islamic preachers is hardly the message of peace that you express? Why are people so poor in Islamic countries, why is tyranny so common among Islamic nations?
The important thing is the moral values revealed in the Qur’an and the Sunnah of our Prophet (saas). In the Qur’an, Allah commands believers to be moderate, full of love, gentle, forgiving, humble, tolerant and agreeable. Throughout the course of his life, the Prophet (saas) called all of humanity to peace and love, and was a role model with his trustworthiness, justice, moral virtue and good manners. It is impossible for a society that fully complies with the moral values of the Qur’an to be prone to violence. It is impossible for anyone with a proper conception of the Prophet (saas) and who adopts him as a role model to be hard-hearted. With the rapid spread of Qur’anic moral values, the Muslim world will enjoy enlightenment and well-being, and Islamic civilization will be a beacon shedding light across the whole world. Within 10 to 20 years, the world will be a place in which the rights of all, no matter what their ideas or faiths, will be protected, in which genuinely faithful Jews, Christians and Muslims can live together as brothers and sisters, in which plenty and abundance as well as love and compassion reign, and where human beings can be joyful, happy and at peace. What matters is not the errors of the past, but the efforts made to improve the future. By Allah’s leave, those who do all they can to preach the love, compassion, might and power of Allah, who warn others against the tyranny of materialism, who strengthen the faith and brotherhood will have the upper hand. In the Qur’an, Allah promises to “hurl the truth against falsehood” and “perfect His Light.” Our hope is that, inshaAllah, this promise will soon be made a reality.
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