· You are engaged in various activities both in Turkey and internationally against the theory of evolution. These include the books you bring out and fossil exhibitions. Can we say that there is today a higher level of belief in creation compared to the theory of evolution?
ADNAN OKTAR: Of course, public opinion polls make that clear. Thirty years ago the level of belief in Darwinism was around 70%-80%, while it has now fallen to around 20%-30% in many countries, and will decline still further as time passes. But we must not ignore the repressive system of the Darwinist-materialist ideological dictatorship. Darwinists are trying to keep this false ideology alive by establishing a mafia-like dictatorship. The theory of evolution is under official protection in almost 95% of the countries of the world and is ideologically imposed as an official ideology, even though its invalidity has been scientifically proved and despite it being a false theory that violates both reason and logic. Academics and scientists who do not believe in Darwinism are sacked, students are forced to give answers in favor of evolution in school exams, and certain newspapers and magazines engage in constant Darwinist propaganda by the use of such unrealistic headlines as “Our ancestors were microbes” or “A new transitional fossil has been discovered.” Since they have no scientific response to scientific findings that reveal the invalidity of Darwinism they seek to keep it alive by anti-democratic methods, pressure and imposition. But that imposition no longer does Darwinists any good because the truth has come out.
Darwinists kept the fossil record carefully hidden away for 150 years, but when 100 million fossils were placed before people’s eyes they were absolutely amazed. There is no need to go into great detail about the invalidity of evolution for anyone who has seen such fossils. When we put a 150-million-year-old fossil spider alongside a living spider and ask if there is any difference between them, people can see with their own eyes and acknowledge that there is none at all. So where is evolution in all that? They claim that all life forms assumed their present states by gradual changes over long periods of time. So why is a 150-million-year-old spider identical to one living today? This means that evolution never happened. Even primary school children can easily see that, and there is nothing lengthy, complicated or incomprehensible about it.
The revelation of these clear proofs has spelled the end of Darwinism. When my Atlas of Creation first reached Europe, I said “The true enlightenment of Europe has just begun, and in a while when surveys are conducted and people are asked their opinions you will see that the numbers of believers in Darwinism decrease by the day.” And that is just what happened. For example, in a poll by the French journal Science Actualités, the level of people who believe that human beings did not come into existence through evolution was 92%, with only 5% believing in evolution. According to another survey by the well-known German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung, 85% of people believe that human beings are the work of a Creator, with only 9% thinking the theory of evolution is true. In a poll conducted by Die Welt, 86% of respondents answered, “Allah (God) created it” when asked how they thought life came into being. Another survey that clearly revealed the change of heart going on in Europe was one by Blick, published in Switzerland. In that poll, 85% of people believed in Creation compared to 8% for evolution. The Belgian daily De Morgen wrote, “Eight people out of 10 think the theory of evolution is utter nonsense.” In a poll on the web site of the Danish daily Ekstra Bladet, 88% of Danes answered “No” to the question “Do you think human beings are descended from apes?” A poll by the Swiss magazine Factum reported that the Swiss public want Creation to be taught in schools too. Polls among teachers in Britain have also revealed that teachers think Creation should also be taught in schools.
· If that is so, to what extent can this increase in the numbers of people believing in creation be ascribed to your work? What is Turkey’s position in global terms? Do you think it is evolution or creation that is in the lead?
ADNAN OKTAR: Let me say plainly that my works contain the most influential, striking and concrete proofs on the subject of Darwinism. Apart from mine, there are virtually no other such courageous and active works based on so rational, technical and scientific proofs, that set out facts that cannot be refuted, in either Turkey or internationally. We have never seen Darwinists go into such a panic in the face of any other work. Various works on Creation have been published in America and Europe for some years now, and documentaries on the subject have been made, but none have elicited the kind of response my Atlas of Creation has. They have suffered such a huge shock that they are at a loss how to neutralize this very powerful concept. But the people of Europe have now seen the truth, and there can be no putting the clock back. If you put dozens of people in a room and draw the curtains and then say, “There is no Sun,” just one person seeing a bit of light through the tiniest crack is sufficient to put the matter to rest. You can never convince anyone the Sun does not exist. They can carry as many “Our ancestors were microbes” reports as they like, or bring in whatever bans they wish, and seek to hinder those involved in this intellectual struggle with whatever lies or false allegations they choose, but the result will still be the same.
The Turkish nation has always been devoted to national and spiritual values. It has never really taken Darwinism seriously. Although at some times, in the 1970s, the level of those who said that they believed in evolution rose to as high as around 70% due to the influence of certain circles, today that figure has fallen to 5%-10%. In my view, in fact, the true figure is even lower, but some people, particularly some academics and scientists, are reluctant to express their true opinions because of Darwinist pressure. Turkey is the country with the very lowest level of belief in evolution. Evolution has come to an end in Turkey over the last 30 years. Of course, the instruments in this, by Allah’s leave, have been the tens of books I have written on the subject, the more than 2000 conferences staged by the Science Research Foundation in many different towns and provinces, scientific exhibitions and other meetings. The Turkish public have now seen that Darwinism is the worst fraud in the history of science and it is no longer possible for them to believe in evolutionary lies.
· To what extent has your work been responsible for the decline in belief in the theory of evolution?
ADNAN OKTAR: Our work is mainly responsible for the defeat of evolution. Had other work played a role we would have seen that before. Darwinism would have begun contracting in Europe before the arrival of my books, but there was nothing on this scale before the Atlas of Creation. Darwinists were still able to mock the public to their heart’s desire. But Darwinists suddenly hit a steel wall when the public saw the Atlas of Creation. A serious awakening, a huge cultural change commenced. You can see the signs of this if you look closely at the European press. You can find more detail on the subject from the web site www.harunyahyaimpact.com. All the press reports in Europe describing the struggle against Darwinism refer to the Atlas of Creation. This has appeared time and time again in such newspapers as the Guardian and the Independent. The Vatican issued a statement a few months ago, saying “We thank Muslims for restoring belief in God to Europe.” Why? Because the Vatican was also tied hand and foot and powerless in the face of the Darwinist dictatorship. But by Allah’s leave, the Atlas of Creation hit Darwinists just where it hurt, when they were least expecting it. Darwin himself says, “My theory will collapse if no transitional fossils are discovered.” That is the reality we have broadcast. I announced that, just as Darwin said, no transitional forms have been found and that the theory of evolution has therefore collapsed.
· Is there any room in Islam for the theory of evolution?
ADNAN OKTAR: There are no scientific facts or evidence to show that evolution ever happened. Ever since the publication of Darwin’s book in 1859, Darwinists have been looking for evidence to support evolution, but have come up empty-handed for the last 150 years. What logic is there in believing in a theory devoid of any evidence? Allah could have created life through evolution, and we would then have seen evidence of that and said “Our Lord created us by way of evolution.” But there is no such evidence, and no verses to that effect in the Qur’an. Those who claim that there is room for evolution in Islam are unable to explain how the angels and jinn were created. It is described in the Qur’an how the Prophet Jesus (as) blew onto a bird-shaped piece of clay and how that bird then flew away, as a miracle from Allah. They cannot account for that in terms of evolution. How did a flying, breathing life form appear? Can they say it was through evolution? They cannot. They cannot account for the Prophet Moses’s (as) staff turning into a serpent. His staff transformed into a living thing able to digest and reproduce. Can evolution account for it? All efforts to reconcile evolution and Islam are therefore in vain, and they should not waste their time on the subject.
· Can someone be a good Muslim and also believe in the theory of evolution at the same time?
ADNAN OKTAR: Some Muslims used to hold a defeatist attitude in the face of evolution. Since they have not known how to overcome evolution they have adopted a path supposedly intended to reconcile Islam and evolution, out of a fear of complete defeat. This stems partly from ignorance and partly out of fear of the Darwinist dictatorship’s power. People were indoctrinated to think that evolution is something scientific and that to oppose evolution meant flying in the face of science. The fact is, however, that nobody who thinks scientifically can accept evolution. Proponents of science oppose evolution, because evolution is a series of frauds and deceptions. It is unable to account for the emergence of even a single protein. Its only answer to the question of how life emerged is to say that the first living cell appeared from inside a pile of mud, over a long period of time, under the effect of storms and lightning. In other words, stone, earth and mud supposedly decided among themselves to make a living cell. Once enough time had passed, that stone even turned into human beings who examine the structure of the atom, travel into space, build shuttles, and found magnificent cities. Even a child would laugh at that. It is amazing how rational, educated people can believe in such a fairy tale.
· What do you think of the theory of evolution being taught in text books?
ADNAN OKTAR: I favor freedom, and am someone who supports the free expression of all ideas. Of course, I think evolution should be taught in schools. It will be very useful for young people to see the kind of comedy people once believed in, and to draw the appropriate conclusions from the way people were taken in by irrational fairy stories. We are now in the age of the internet, and whether or not students are taught Creation in schools, even if evolution is imposed as the truth, they still learn the true facts over the internet. They listen with a kind of fascination to people who tell them primitive tales left over from the 1800s and are amazed at the kind of minds still capable of espousing evolution. But the right thing to do, the democratic thing, is for Creation to be taught in schools alongside evolution. In teaching about evolution, young people must also be told how scientific research, the fossil record, findings and data all refute evolution. But a one-sided and continual imposition of a lie is wrong.
· Your most important work would seem to be proving that evolution is wrong. Do you think that is the most important subject in Islam?
ADNAN OKTAR: When, during my high school years, I looked into the causes of the disasters afflicting the world, the wars and revolutions, I realized what a terrible scourge Darwinism is. Darwinism has never remained as purely a matter of science. Were that the case, it would have been consigned to the waste bin, like all false theories, when the scientific facts were observed not to confirm evolution. Nobody would persist in espousing evolution. Darwinism is supported on ideological grounds, and is imposed because it represents the foundation of materialism and atheism. There can be no materialism without Darwinism, and no communism, fascism, savage capitalism or terror without materialism. But if you keep telling people that man is supposedly a species of animal, that life is a pitiless battleground and that one has to be ruthless in order to survive, then these scourges will never end. And then you will have to try and find an answer to this terror, anarchy and slaughter. But you obviously cannot fight mosquitoes effectively without drying up the swamps they breed in. We must first dry up the breeding grounds, that is Darwinism, and then you will see that people will inherit a delightful, enlightened and love-filled world.