The Impact Abroad Of The “atlas Of CreatIon”
Harun Yahya1. The blog Le blog d’Yves Daoudal carried a report on 2 February, 2007 regarding the Atlas of Creation titled “Darwinist panic.”
2. The Belgian newspaper A Voix Autre referred to the impact that Harun Yahya’s Atlas of Creation had in France in the following terms: “The panic behind the scenes!” and “Creationist literature has never been so powerful.”
3. The magazine Le Nouvel Observateur described the most significant representative of the Creationist movement as, “Harun Yahya himself, with the contribution made by the international Harun Yahya publications.”
4. Science magazinemade the following comment regarding the Atlas of Creation sent to France and other countries in its 16 February, 2007, issue: “It"s the most gorgeous-looking attack on evolution seen in a long time: That"s the consensus among European scientists who in recent weeks have received . . . free copies of the Atlas of Creation.”
5. Daily Le Monde described the Atlas of Creation as “an incomparable work” in its 3 February, 2007, issue.
6. An article by Nicolien den Boer on the Dutch Radio Netherlands web site stated that the Atlas of Creation has stirred up a “deluge” in all of Europe.
7. The 2 February, 2007, edition of daily Le Figaro carried the headline “Islamic creationism on the offensive in France.”
8. The 3 February, 2007, edition of daily Le Monde carried the headline “Creationists are now on the offensive in French schools.”
9. The 6 February, 2007, edition of daily La Liberation described Harun Yahya as “the greatest champion of creationism in Turkey.”
10. The 5 February, 2007, edition of The Washington Post described the Atlas of Creation as a “Turkish book attacking Darwinism.”
11. On 9 February, 2007, the news portal www.bellaciao.org, a joint Italian-French production, carried a report concerning global pro-creationist movements. The report stated that: “Harun Yahya (a Turk whose real name is Adnan Oktar), who has declared Darwin’s theory to be invalid (and the only philosophy to encourage conflict and regard it as valuable), goes much further than merely rejecting the theory of evolution.”
12. On his personal web site the eminent American journalist Doug Ireland carried a report headed “Islamic creationism invades France.”
13. A report in the French political web site Gaullisme said the following in a report dated 3 February, 2007: “… the most active preacher of creationism is, due to the power of the Harun Yahya publications, definitely Harun Yahya himself.”
14. A blog on evolution called Le blog des bactéries et de l’évolution carried two reports on 8 and 9 February, 2007. These referred to the Atlas of Creation as “this great warship using wide extracts from the verses of the Qur’an.”
15. In its 5 March, 2007, edition Le Soir, one of Belgium’s main dailies, carried a report about the global impact of Harun Yahya’s Atlas of Creation. The report, titled “A red book rejects Darwin’s thesis,” described Harun Yahya’s work as “an intervention of genius.”
16. Prof. Bernard Rentier of Liege University made this comment on his personal page: “The content is surprising, but effective. One does not dare to think of the impact that will arise following the distribution of the Atlas across the world…”
17. The Polish pro-creation organization Polskie Towarzystwo Kreacjonistyczne stated that “in some countries the author’s books are more esteemed than school textbooks…”
18. On 23 March the Polish internet magazine Interia.pl carried a report concerning Harun Yahya’s Atlas of Creation headed “An anti-Darwinist textbook has shocked the authorities.
19. The news portal Glos Nauczycielski described the terror a book has instilled in the Belgian Ministry of Education under the caption “Anti-Darwinist book strikes Belgian schools.”
20. The news portal Dziennik Online discussed the Belgian reaction to the idea of creation, and referred to the Belgian authorities as “saying the book needs to be rounded up as a matter of urgency.”
21. A report carried in the 2 May, 2007, edition of Le Matin, one of Belgium’s main dailies bore the caption, “Propaganda firmly installed in Europe: an extraordinary Atlas has invaded all Switzerland!”
22. The Liège University monthly journal carried a report titled “A surprising example of Creationism: a Turkish work leads to evolution debate!” in it 15 May, 2007, edition.
23. In its 20 June, 2007, edition Die Welt, one of Germany’s largest dailies, carried a long report titled “Struggling with the Qur’an against evolution.” The report referred to “the Paris Ministry of Education panicking and calling for the book not to be taught in the class.”
24. On 20 February, 2007, the German news portal hpd-online.de carried a report concerning the Atlas of Creation. This referred to the panic that the distribution of the book had caused in France and Benelux.
25. The major American news portal www.newsmax.com carried a report titled “Turks: Atheism Is the "Root of Terrorism"” on 22 November, 2006. The report stated, “This … has an influence U.S. creationists could only dream of.”
26. The 23 March, 2007, edition of La Libre Belgique, published in Belgium, referred to “an author enjoying increasing success in his rejection of the theory of evolution…”
27. Kevin Myers made this reference to the Atlas of Creation in the Irish Independent on 9 March, 2007: “… Harun Yahya"s Atlas of Creation from Global Publishing, is quite the most spectacular so far this year.”
28. A report by Carl-Johan Bilkenroth in the 4 March, 2007, issue of Svenska Dagbladet, published in Sweden, referred to the Atlas as “a glorious work that challenges Darwin.”
29. A report concerning the Atlas of Creation in the 4 June, 2007, edition of Corriere della Sera, Italy’s largest daily, contained the following statements: “At the same time, a competition has arisen between creationists of Christian origin centered in the United States and those of Islamic origin who have preoccupied us with the Atlas of Creation. We cannot know which of these will prevail, we do know for certain that we will be the losers…”
30. The news agency Armenews carried a report on 18 April, 2007, which contained the words, “The struggle against evolution being waged in Turkey seems to have ended in almost total victory.”
31. One pro-evolution web site published in Italian, Dragor, carried an analysis headed “Darwin, Farewell?” The analysis compared the impact of the Atlas of Creation in France and Italy and emphasized that it was next to impossible to stand in the way of the Islamic creationism led by Harun Yahya. “How much longer will France be able to stand out?” it asked.
32. The 24 June, 2007, edition of The Washington Times carried a report about the Fact of Creation, which is growing increasingly powerful in European countries. The report quoted Hervé Le Guyader, a biologist from Paris University, who called the challenge from Islamic thinkers “much more dangerous than the previous creationist initiatives, which were often of Anglo-Saxon origin.”
33. A report in the 29 March, 2007, edition of Stern, one of Germany’s most important magazines, said “A book like a clap of thunder. … It is obvious from the outset: This book is totally different!”
34. The French daily Lyon Capitale referred to Harun Yahya as “the most active Islamic Creationist today,” on 13 February, 2007.
35. The 29 June, 2007, edition of Süddeutsche Zeitung, a daily with one of the largest circulations in Germany, referred to Harun Yahya’s Atlas of Creation as “a book adorned with stunning pictures from the plant and animal kingdoms.”
