When evolutionary theory met radical Islam
Turkey’s President Recep Erdogan and his AKP party are reshaping their society in accordance with Islamic values. They want to see Turkey as the vanguard of a greater neo-Ottoman Islamic nation.
Among many policies, they want to harmonise Turkish science with the Koran, along the way throwing out the ‘‘old and rotten’’ theory of evolution. Turkey’s deputy prime minister says evolution is ‘‘debatable, controversial and too complicated for pupils’’.
Evolution is now as well established among the world’s scientists as the cosmological theories of Copernicus and Newton. The US excepted, scientists and a large proportion of the general public in most Western countries are comfortable with Darwin’s theory. Surveys reveal that more than 70 per cent of Europeans, Chinese, Japanese, Indians and New Zealanders embrace Darwinism, but only 30 per cent of Turks.
Turkey is not alone in banning evolution from schools. Darwinism is banned altogether in Saudi Arabian and Sudanese schools, and when Isis captured the Syrian town if Mosul in 2014, rules were written to ban the teaching of evolution there. Although evolution may be taught in Egyptian, Pakistani and Iranian schools, most biology courses omit human evolution.
Darwin finds few supporters in other Muslim countries – only 11 per cent support in Malaysia, and 8 per cent in Egypt.
Anti-evolutionism takes some bizarre forms in Turkey where televangelist Adnan Oktar nightly broadcasts Islamic creationism from his private satellite TV channel. The slick 51-year-old, Armani-suited prophet attracts a cult of wealthy followers, many believing that he is the prophesied Mahdi, or redeemer of Islam.
Oktar shares his show with surgically enhanced, Versace-clad, botoxed blondes. He plugs a ridiculous sexed-up moneymaking Disney version of Islam, and claims that these ladies are pious university graduates who speak many languages.
Oktar further spreads his creationist message by bombarding schools and scientists round the world with more than 10,000 free copies of his 800-page glossy anti-Darwin book Atlas of Creation, especially targeting young Muslims in Europe.
Biologists say that Oktar has virtually no understanding of biology, as his book is full of absurd assertions and laughable errors.
Oktar is easily dismissed as an ignorant deranged charlatan but he is, of course, quite impervious to these charges, as he boasts more and more adherents daily drawn to his cult. With the recent radicalisation of Islam, anti-Darwinism has strengthened its grip on the Muslim mind, especially among younger Muslims.
Western scientists and teachers suppose that if church- and mosque-goers became aware of modern biological understanding, they would embrace Darwin’s theory. I think this is a vain hope, as holy writ blinds fundamentalists to science. In most countries, the standoff between pro- and anti-Darwinists is as wide today as it was in Victorian times and there is little evidence to suggest any future radical change.
Oktar daily asserts that Darwin is an unclean infidel who blasphemes Mohammed, challenges the Koran, turns Muslims into animals and erodes Islamic spiritual and moral beliefs.
Seems that Turkey’s president and his deputy share his views.