Extreme Creationists have been given the use of a lecture hall at University College, London, to preach against evolutionary science. Tomorrow’s event has been organised by the college’s Islamic Society as part of “Islamic Awareness Week”. Is that why UCL doesn’t have a problem with it?
Saturday’s Guardian carried a brief report of the story, but adopted the muted tone it reserves for Muslim assaults on scholarship. If these had been Christian Creationists the paper would have gone bananas. Yet the Istanbul-based organisation giving the lecture holds sinister views, and is increasingly powerful in the developing world.
The talk, entitled “the Collapse of the Evolutionary Theory”, was originally booked for the Darwin Lecture Theatre but, after protests from scientists appalled at the insult to Charles Darwin’s memory, has now been moved – to another UCL lecture theatre.
The publicity material says: “Dr Oktar Babuna and Ali Sadun Engin are from the Science Research Foundation, which produces the Harun Yahya series of books and DVDs. They will provide an insightful view into the reality of evolution and the shaky grounds upon which several of the theories are based.”
Insightful? Let me tell you a bit about Harun Yahya. It’s the pen name of a series of writers flooding the Islamic world with books and DVDs that present Darwinism as part of a diabolical conspiracy. This is a particularly poisonous form of counterknowledge.
I have in front of me a book by Harun Yahya called The Dark Clan, which explains that evolutionary science is inspired by “a dark clan behind all kids of corruption and perversion, that controls drug trafficking, prostitution rings”. Evolution is the “greatest deception in the history of science”.
Accompanying this are “alternative explanations” for DNA and the formation of protein molecules. This is pseudoscience – and UCL, disgracefully, is prepared to allow it to be taught in one of its lecture halls.
One of the main themes of my book Counterknowledge is the spread of Islamic Creationism. Guardian and Independent readers are comfortable with the notion that Creationism is the preserve of swivel-eyed American fundamentalist Christians. They are much less comfortable with the reality that Islam is the main engine of Creationism in the world today.
British universities are filling up with science and medical students who reject the single most important discovery in biological science. Sooner or later we’re going to have to face the consequences.
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Harun Yahya is the best writer I have ever written. he is a great Muslim.
Mariah – if Harun Yahya is the best writer you have ever written then could he also be the worst you have ever read? He is totaly without merit. Unless, of couse, you still think about science as most did in the 1100’s, then he is absolutely gobsmacking up-to- date. But for some of us he is just drivel.
“Guardian and Independent readers are comfortable with the notion that Creationism is the preserve of swivel-eyed American fundamentalist Christians. They are much less comfortable with the reality that Islam is the main engine of Creationism in the world today.”
As a Guardian reader, I take exception to this. I oppose religious obscurantists and anti-rationalists of all kinds – as do most of my friends (also left of centre). Please do not alienate fellow-battlers against counterknowledge in this way.
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Extreme Creationists have been given the use of a lecture hall at University College, London, to preach against evolutionary science. Tomorrow’s event has been organised by the college’s Islamic Society as part of “Islamic Awareness Week”. Is that why UCL doesn’t have a problem with it?
Saturday’s Guardian carried a brief report of the story, but adopted the muted tone it reserves for Muslim assaults on scholarship. If these had been Christian Creationists the paper would have gone bananas. Yet the Istanbul-based organisation giving the lecture holds sinister views, and is increasingly powerful in the developing world.
The talk, entitled “the Collapse of the Evolutionary Theory”, was originally booked for the Darwin Lecture Theatre but, after protests from scientists appalled at the insult to Charles Darwin’s memory, has now been moved – to another UCL lecture theatre.
The publicity material says: “Dr Oktar Babuna and Ali Sadun Engin are from the Science Research Foundation, which produces the Harun Yahya series of books and DVDs. They will provide an insightful view into the reality of evolution and the shaky grounds upon which several of the theories are based.”
Insightful? Let me tell you a bit about Harun Yahya. It’s the pen name of a series of writers flooding the Islamic world with books and DVDs that present Darwinism as part of a diabolical conspiracy. This is a particularly poisonous form of counterknowledge.
I have in front of me a book by Harun Yahya called The Dark Clan, which explains that evolutionary science is inspired by “a dark clan behind all kids of corruption and perversion, that controls drug trafficking, prostitution rings”. Evolution is the “greatest deception in the history of science”.
Accompanying this are “alternative explanations” for DNA and the formation of protein molecules. This is pseudoscience – and UCL, disgracefully, is prepared to allow it to be taught in one of its lecture halls.
One of the main themes of my book Counterknowledge is the spread of Islamic Creationism. Guardian and Independent readers are comfortable with the notion that Creationism is the preserve of swivel-eyed American fundamentalist Christians. They are much less comfortable with the reality that Islam is the main engine of Creationism in the world today.
British universities are filling up with science and medical students who reject the single most important discovery in biological science. Sooner or later we’re going to have to face the consequences.
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
