The cover of the Atlas of Creation, the subject of the report
Yours Daily, a daily virtual newspaper, carried a report titled "Islamic Creationism According to Mr Yahya" on 6 August, 2007. The report employed the following terms in describing the Atlas of Creation:
“… You might expect a book that arrives unsolicited to be little more than a large tract, but in fact The Atlas of Creation is a sumptuous production by any standard. The tome is 11 by 14, weighs 12 pounds and consists of 800 glossy pages, most with eye-catching illustrations. The book presents the creationist [idea] from an Islamic perspective.
The author, Harun Yahya, is no fan of the theory of evolution. … He refers to the theory of evolution as "illusory, a lie, a deception" and a "perverted ideology."
"Harun Yahya" is the pen name of Adnan Oktar, a Turk who has produced numerous audio-visual materials detailing his science and faith opinions. …
The main thrust of Yahya"s attack on Darwinian theory is his assertion that creatures living today are pretty much identical to creatures living during the fossil age. He points to a fossil that looks recognizably like a lizard and declares that nothing much has changed. …
Yahya argues that there is a lack of evidence for transitional fossils. …
[The book] also carries a cultural and ideological message. It is this message that makes the book a phenomenon…
… Yahya is far from a traditional Muslim and not a fan of Wahhabism. If anything his philosophical position tends to have something in common with Sufism and neo-Platonism. He is also much more open to making common cause with Jews and Christians than traditional Wahhabis would ever be, and has even spoken of the need for a sort of ecumenical "moral front" to oppose the "perverted ideology" of Darwin.
… Although American creationists have traveled to Turkey to give talks, Turkish creationists have specific goals that set them apart from their American counterparts. They see themselves as part of a renaissance of the Islamic sciences derived in part from the teachings of the Qu"ran. … Yahya takes the view that 9/11 was a direct consequence of Darwinism and materialism.
… there is no questioning the success of [Yahya’s] movement. … The cultural agenda of the organization is just as influential as the creationist message.
… Harun Yahya is a charismatic force to be reckoned with.”
