Adnan Oktar

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Adnan Oktar
Born Adnan Oktar
February 1956 (age 54)
Ankara, Turkey
Residence Turkey
Other names Harun Yahya, Adnan Hoca
Occupation Author
Known for Advocate of Creationism
Religion Sunni Muslim
Website
www.harunyahya.com

Adnan Oktar (born Ankara, February 2, 1956), also known by his pen name, Harun Yahya, is a prominent advocate of Islamic creationism in the creation-evolution debate[1] and, more particularly, supports Old Earth creationism.[2][3] He is against Zionism and Freemasonry and sees them as very interrelated movements, and he now publicly denounces anti-Semitism[4] and terrorism,[5] which he says are products of Darwinism.[6] Oktar had defended his views by litigation; he is responsible for the blocking of numerous, high-profile Web sites in Turkey.

Oktar runs two organizations: The Milli Değerleri Koruma Vakfı (Foundation to Protect National Values), which focuses on "moral issues", and the Science Research Foundation (Bilim Araştırma Vakfı, or BAV), which promotes creationism.[7] Oktar founded the Science Research Foundation "to [establish]...peace, tranquility and love",[8] though some media describe the BAV as "a secretive Islamic sect"[9] and a "cult-like organization, that jealously guards the secrets of its considerable wealth".[10] In 2008, Oktar was sentenced by a Turkish court to three years in prison for "creating an illegal organization for personal gain".[11]

Contents

[edit] Biography

Born in Ankara in 1956, Adnan Oktar lived there through his high school years. Oktar started his activities in 1979, while he was trying to finish his Interior Design-education at Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts.[12] Three years later, he decided to go on with the philosophy department in Istanbul.[13]

In the early 1980s, he gathered young students around him to share his views of Islam. According to his former mentor, Edip Yüksel, Oktar was attempting to "[mix] mysticism with scientific rhetoric".[14] These students belonged to socially-active and prosperous families of Istanbul.[15] From 1982 to 1984, a group of 20 to 30 was formed.

In 1986, Adnan Oktar published the book, Judaism and Freemasonry. The book suggests that the principal mission of Jews and Freemasons in Turkey was to erode the spiritual, religious, and moral values of the Turkish people and, thus, make them like animals, as stated in what Oktar refers to as the "Distorted Torah."[15][16] Oktar asserts that "the materialist standpoint, evolution theory, anti-religious and immoral lifestyles were indoctrinated to the society as a whole" by Jews and Freemasons.[15]

Following the publication of Judaism and Freemasonry, Adnan Oktar was arrested and imprisoned.[14] According to his official biography he was released after 19 months.[17] In a 2007 interview on Al Jazeera, he blamed Freemasons saying it was a "message" for him not to write about them anymore.[18] According to the New Humanist, Oktar was arrested, charged with promoting a theocratic revolution for which he served 19 months, though he was never formally charged.[19]

In 1990, he founded the Scientific Research Foundation (SRF, or, in Turkish, Bilim Araştırma Vakfı, or BAV), through which he still effectively functions. Members of the SRF are sometimes referred to as Adnan Hocacılar ("Adherents of Adnan the Hodja") by the public[20]. Then in 1995, he founded Millî Değerleri Koruma Vakfı (Foundation for Protection of National Values), through which he networks with other traditional Islamist and nationalist organizations and individuals. Adnan built his organizations and by the mid-1990s his "Followers were especially active in the swanky summer resorts along the shore of the Sea of Marmara.[19]

Oktar has been diagnosed paranoid schizophrenia in seven different reports issued by different hospitals from 1983 to 1993.[21]

[edit] Anti-semitism

In 1996, the BAV distributed a book which was originally published the previous year, entitled Soykırım Yalanı ("The Holocaust Lie").[22].[6] The publication of Soykırım Yalanı sparked much public debate.[23] This book claims that “what is presented as Holocaust is the death of some Jews due to the typhus plague during the war and the famine towards the end of the war caused by the defeat of the Germans.”[24] In March 1996, a Turkish painter and intellectual, Bedri Baykam, published a strongly-worded critique of the book in the Ankara daily newspaper Siyah-Beyaz ("Black and White"). A legal suit for slander was brought against him. During the trial in September, Baykam exposed the real author of the book as Adnan Oktar.[23] The suit was withdrawn in March 1997.[25][26]

After 9/11, he began promoting inter-faith dialog, and blaming evolution for anti-semitism.[19] In 2004, the Stephen Roth Institute, of Tel-Aviv University, expressed the opinion that Adnan Oktar had increased his tolerance toward others, asserting that "he now works towards promoting inter-religious dialogue".[27]

Oktar nowadays states that anti-Semitism has pagan and Darwinist roots.[4] Although he believes that the Old Testament "has been altered by individuals for the sake of all kinds of gain",[28] he publicly calls upon all Muslims to have "a tolerant and friendly attitude toward other religions".[29]

[edit] Campaign against evolution

In early 1998, Adnan Oktar and the BAV launched his first campaign against evolution/Darwinism.[19] Thousands of free copies of Adnan Oktar's book, The Evolution Deceit, and the booklets based on this book were distributed throughout Turkey.[30] Oktar regularly runs full-page ads against evolution in daily Turkish newspapers and even ran an ad in the U.S. magazine TIME.[7]

The SRF also spearheaded an effort to attack Turkish academics who taught evolutionary biology.[31] A number of faculty members were harassed, threatened and slandered in fliers that labeled them "Maoists" for teaching evolution. In 1999, six of the professors won a civil court case against the BAV for defamation and were each awarded a large sum of money.[32]

In 2005, Professor Ümit Sayın summed up the effect of the BAV's campaign when he said to The Pitch:[32]

In 1998, I was able to motivate six members of the Turkish Academy of Sciences to speak out against the creationist movement. Today, it's impossible to motivate anyone. They're afraid they'll be attacked by the radical Islamists and the BAV.

In September 2008 Oktar issued a challenge offering "10 trillion Turkish lira to anyone who produces a single intermediate-form fossil demonstrating evolution".[33] Biologist PZ Myers responded: "The US government should immediately send a plane to pick up Mr Oktar, bring him to our country, and take him on a guided tour of the Smithsonian and the American Museum of Natural History, accompanied by Niles Eldredge, Kevin Padian, Jerry Coyne, Sean Carroll, and the entire scientific staff of those museums. Afterwards, they can accept the check from Mr Oktar, run down to the local bank and cash it, and use one trillion dollars to resolve the current financial crisis, seven trillion can be sunk immediately into the American educational system, and they can send the change left over to me as a reward for coming up with this brilliant plan."[34] Oktar's offer is similar to creationist Kent Hovind's $250,000 offer[35], which has been dismissed by creationists and scientists as a misleading gimmick where those who applied for the challenge have questioned his sincerity about paying and understanding of evolution.[36]

Larry Arnhart has pointed out that Oktar is not only a critic of evolution, but is critical of intelligent design, which he has called Michael Behe's work "a product of a Masonic conspiracy for promoting atheism and Deism."[37][38]

[edit] Writings

One of the books written under the name Harun Yahya

Oktar has had written for him, by ghostwriters, numerous books under the name Harun Yahya (Harun (Aaron) and Yahya (John)), arguing against evolution. He also asserts that evolution is directly related to the claimed evils of materialism, Nazism, communism, and Buddhism[39]. Most of his anti-evolution resources are identical to Christian creationist arguments.[40]

He also has produced various works on Zionism and Freemasonry, accusing Zionists of racism and arguing that Zionism and Freemasonry have had significant negative effects on world history and politics.

Oktar's books on faith-related topics attempt to communicate the existence and oneness of God according to the Islamic faith, and are written with the main purpose of introducing Islam to those who are strangers to religion. Each of his books on science-related topics stresses his views on the might, sublimity, and majesty of God. These books attempt to display for non-Muslims what Oktar claims to be signs of the existence of God, and the excellence of his creation. A sub-group within this series are the series of "Books Demolishing the Lie of Evolution", a critique of the ideas of Materialism, Evolution, Darwinism, and atheism.

Many of Oktar's books have been made into high-resolution videos which are freely downloadable on the Internet[41].

Oktar asserts that Buddhism as being a false religion built upon idolatry and falsehood.[39] He calls Buddhist rituals "meaningless" and "empty". He has also charged that intelligent design is a tool of Satan.[42]

[edit] The Atlas of Creation

His latest publication, The Atlas of Creation, was published by Global Publishing, Istanbul, Turkey in October 2006.[43] The book contains over 800 glossy pages and weighs 12 pounds (5.4 kg). Tens of thousands of copies of the book have been delivered, on an unsolicited basis, to schools, prominent researchers and research institutes throughout Europe and the United States.[3][44] Some of the schools that received copies were in France as well as prominent researchers at Utrecht University, University of Tilburg, University of California, Brown University, University of Colorado, University of Chicago, Brigham Young University, the University of Connecticut, the University of Georgia, Imperial College London, Abertay University and several others.[3][45] When the book was sent to French schools and universities, controversy resulted and the book sparked further concern about Islamic radicalism in France.[3] In 2007, Harper's Magazine contributor Scott Horton reported that 35th U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez had Oktar's Atlas of Creation on a stand at the entrance to his US government office.[46]

The arguments used by the book to undermine evolution have been criticized as not logical while evolutionary biologist Kevin Padian has stated that Oktar has no understanding of the basic evidence for evolution.[2][3] Biologist PZ Myers wrote: "The general pattern of the book is repetitious and predictable: the book shows a picture of a fossil and a photo of a living animal, and declares that they haven't changed a bit, therefore evolution is false. Over and over. It gets old fast, and it's usually wrong (they have changed!) and the photography, while lovely, is entirely stolen."[47]

Richard Dawkins reviewed the book (later translated into Turkish) noting that it contains a number of factual errors, such as the misidentification of a sea snake as an eel (two very different species) and in two places uses images of fishing-lures copied from the internet instead of actual species. A number of other modern species are mislabelled. However, Oktar himself claims that Nicolas Sarkozy, Jacques Chirac and Tony Blair were influenced by his book.[48] [49][50]

[edit] Blocking of Internet sites

Since 2007 Oktar has successfully had the Turkish government block public access to several websites. In April 2007, Oktar filed a libel lawsuit against the owners of ek$i sözlük, a virtual community similar to everything2. The court reviewed the complaint and ordered the service provider to close the site to public access. The site was temporarily suspended so the entry on Oktarcould be expunged and locked. Then access to Süper Poligon, a news website, was also restricted following Oktar's complaint.[51] In August 2007, Oktar got a Turkish court to block WordPress.com in all of Turkey. His lawyers argued that blogs on WordPress.com contained libelous material on Oktar and his colleague, which WordPress.com staff was unwilling to remove.[52][53]

In addition, Edip Yuksel, a Turkish writer who knew Oktar in the 1980s and is now critical of him, had his website banned in Turkey from Oktar's complaints.[54] In addition, Yuksel wrote a Turkish-language book about Oktar called The Cult of the Antichrist, but he has yet to find "a publisher willing to brave Mr. Oktar's lawyers."[54]

Oktar increased his pleas to block websites throughout 2008. On April 10, 2008, Google Groups was blocked in Turkey following a libel complaint by Adnan Oktar.[55] As of May 5, 2008, the ban remains in effect for TTNet users.[citation needed] Several months later, on September 19, 2008, a Turkish court banned Internet users in Turkey from viewing the official Richard Dawkins Web site after Oktar claimed its contents were defamatory, blasphemous and insulting religion, arguing that his personality was violated by this site.[56][57][58][59][60] In response, Dawkins posted a Turkish translation of his "Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya" article ("Zehirli Yilanlar, Kaygan Yilanbaliklari ve Harun Yahya") on his website.[61] Then one week later a complaint by Oktar led to the banning of the internet site of the Union of Education and Scientific Workers (Türk Eğitim Sen).[62][63] This was followed by a block of the country's third-biggest newspaper site, Vatan, in October.[64][65][66][67][68]

[edit] Legal issues, arrest, trial, and sentencing

Over the last twenty years Oktar has had several problems with law enforcement. In 1991, Oktar was arrested for possession of cocaine, which he claimed security agents planted in his food.[54] He was later acquitted.[54] In September 1999 Adnan Oktar was arrested following multiple scandals and further allegations that were fully covered by the Turkish media.[69][32] In that court case, Oktar was charged with using threats for personal benefit and creating an organization with the intent to commit a crime.[70] The judicial process lasted over two years, during which most of the complainants retracted their claims, reportedly because of threats or bribes from SRF members. As a result, cases against Oktar and other BAV members were dismissed, with only two members receiving jail sentences for 1 year each.[31][71]

A 2008 indictment from the prosecutor’s office, cited by the daily Cumhuriyet, said Oktar's organisation used its female members to attract young scholars from rich families with the promise of sex in exchange for attending events.[72] The sexual activities were videotaped with the purpose of blackmail, and the group recorded thousands of people in compromising positions.[19] According to the indictment, one of the victims had to sleep with 16 men, which was recorded with hidden cameras and the tapes were given to Oktar.[72] The girls who want to leave the group are threatened that the tapes will be made public.[72]

Amidst ambiguous circumstances, all charges were dropped by that court, only to be picked up by another court eight years later. In 2008 Oktar was convicted of a variety of crimes, including the making of criminal threats.[60][70][73] In May 2008 Oktar and 17 other members of his organisation were sentenced to three years in prison,[70] though a BAV spokeswoman claimed that the judge was pressured by special-interest groups.[70] Oktar also denies the charges and is appealing the verdict.[74][75]

[edit] Bibliography

Main article: Adnan Oktar bibliography

According to Arab News, more than 300 books have been published under Oktar's name.[76]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Seeing the light - of science Salon.com
  2. ^ a b Enserink, Martin (2007), "FAITH AND SCIENCE: In Europe's Mailbag: A Glossy Attack on Evolution", Science 315 (5814): 925a, doi:10.1126/science.315.5814.925a, PMID 17303725 
  3. ^ a b c d e Dean, Cornelia (2007-07-17). "Islamic Creationist and a Book Sent Round the World". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/17/science/17book.html?_r=1&ref=science&oref=slogin. Retrieved 2007-07-17. 
  4. ^ a b Islam Denounces Antisemitism .com
  5. ^ Islam Denounces Terrorism .com
  6. ^ a b Steinvorth, Daniel (2008-09-23). "'All Terrorists Are Darwinists': Interview with Adnan Oktar". Der Spiegel. http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,580031,00.html. Retrieved 2008-11-13. 
  7. ^ a b Songün, Sevim (February 27, 2009). "Turkey evolves as creationist center". Hurriyet Daily News. http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/domestic/11102743.asp?gid=244. Retrieved 2009-03-17. 
  8. ^ About the SRF
  9. ^ Aslaneli, Hakan (1999-07-19). "Ciminli Case Turns into a War". Turkish Daily News. Archived from the original on 2007-05-17. http://tdnarchives.blogspot.com/1999/07/ciminli-case-turns-into-war.html. 
  10. ^ Birch, Nicholas (2007-05-24) TURKEY: SCIENTISTS FACE OFF AGAINST CREATIONISTS
  11. ^ ""Harun Yahya" sentenced to prison". National Center for Science Education. 2008-05-09. http://ncse.com/news/2008/05/harun-yahya-sentenced-to-prison-002289. Retrieved 2008-05-17. 
  12. ^ http://www.harunyahya.com/theauthor.php?sayfa_no=5
  13. ^ http://harunyahya.com/theauthor.php?sayfa_no=5
  14. ^ a b Harun Yahya or Adnan Oktar: the Promised Mahdi? by Edip Yüksel
  15. ^ a b c LIFE STORY OF ADNAN OKTAR Jamiatul Ulama, Ask the Jamiat
  16. ^ PALESTINE ZIONISM: A SECULAR NATIONALISM THAT BETRAYED JUDAISM, Harun Yaha, An Invitation to the Truth
  17. ^ Harun Yahya – The Author harunyahya.com
  18. ^ "Interview with Harun Yahya". Al Jazeera. AUGUST 6, 2007. http://www.harunyahya.com/new_releases/news/070806_interview_aljazeeratv.php. Retrieved 2007-05-17. 
  19. ^ a b c d e "Sex, Flies and Videotapes: the secret lives of Harun Yahya". New Humanist. October 2009. http://newhumanist.org.uk/2131. Retrieved 2009-03-17. 
  20. ^ Which Justice? "Adnan Oktar, who is the head of the group known as Adnan Hocacýlar stays in Kartal prison which has very comfortable wards..."
  21. ^ http://arsiv.sabah.com.tr/1999/11/20/g07.html
  22. ^ Harun Yahya and Holocaust Revisionism
  23. ^ a b AXT 1996 report on antisemitism in Turkey
  24. ^ The Holocaust Deception
  25. ^ AXT 1998 report on antisemitism in Turkey
  26. ^ Udesky, Laurie (1997-03-27). "American Jewish organization sees emergence of 'Holocaust denial' in Turkey". Turkish Daily News. Archived from the original on 2008-11-13. http://tdnarchives.blogspot.com/1997/03/american-jewish-organization-sees.html. 
  27. ^ Stephen Roth Institute: Antisemitism And Racism
  28. ^ Islamic Times - An Open Letter To The Jewish People
  29. ^ Antisemitism Is Racism Totally Contrary to Islam, Harun Yahya
  30. ^ "Cloning Creationism in Turkey". National Center for Science Education. RNCSE 19 (6): 30–35. http://ncse.com/rncse/19/6/cloning-creationism-turkey. Retrieved 2007-05-17. 
  31. ^ a b Koenig, Robert (18 May 2001). "Creationism Takes Root Where Europe, Asia Meet". Science. http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/292/5520/1286. Retrieved 2009-03-17. 
  32. ^ a b c Ortega, Tony. Your OFFICIAL program to the Scopes II Kansas Monkey Trial, The Pitch, May 5, 2005.
  33. ^ "Creationist offers prize for fossil proof of evolution". The Independent. 29 September 2008. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/creationist-offers-prize-for-fossil-proof-of-evolution-945289.html. Retrieved 2007-05-17. 
  34. ^ Myers, PZ (September 29, 2008). "We're all going to be rich!". Pharyngula (blog). http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2008/09/were_all_going_to_be_rich.php. Retrieved 2007-04-28. 
  35. ^ Hovind, Kent (2005). "Hovind's $250,000 Offer". Dr. Dino.com. http://www.drdino.com/articles.php?spec=67. Retrieved 2006-10-18. 
  36. ^ Wood, Ian (2006). "Is Kent Hovind A Liar Too?". No Answers in Genesis. http://www.noanswersingenesis.org.au/kent_hovind's_lies.htm. Retrieved 2007-10-24. 
  37. ^ Arnhart, Larry (May 14, 2009). "Is Intelligent Design Theory a Masonic Conspiracy?". Darwinian Conservatism. http://darwinianconservatism.blogspot.com/2009/05/is-intelligent-design-theory-masonic.html. Retrieved 2009-05-28. 
  38. ^ Yahya, Harun (2008). "INTELLIGENT DESIGN: A NEW AGE THEORY". harunyahya.com. http://us1.harunyahya.com/Detail/T/EDCRFV/productId/8382/INTELLIGENT_DESIGN:_A_NEW_AGE_THEORY__. Retrieved 2009-05-28. 
  39. ^ a b ISLAM and BUDDHISM, Harun Yahya
  40. ^ Mahdi as Hell: Look out Darwin
  41. ^ Movies, Harun Yahya.
  42. ^ The "Intelligent Design" Distraction, Harun Yahya, Harun Yahya International © 2007
  43. ^ "ATLAS OF CREATION". http://www.harunyahya.com/books/darwinism/atlas_creation/atlas_creation_01.php. 
  44. ^ "In the beginning". The Economist. 2007-04-19. http://www.economist.com/world/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9036706. Retrieved 2007-04-28. 
  45. ^ "Controversial creationist book hits Scots universities: Academics fear the book could also end up in schools". Sunday Herald. December 10, 2008. http://www.sundayherald.com/news/heraldnews/display.var.2174798.0.controversial_creationist_book_hits_scots_universities.php. Retrieved 2007-04-28. 
  46. ^ New Theory Uncovered in Commerce Secretary Gutierrez’s waiting room: Darwin behind 9/11
  47. ^ Myers, PZ (January 2008). "Well, fly fishing is a science". Pharyngula (blog). http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2008/01/well_fly_fishing_is_a_science.php?utm_source=mostactive&utm_medium=link. Retrieved 2007-04-28. 
  48. ^ Abdul Ghafour, P.K. (2008-11-23). "Harun Yahya: Win over Darwinism"]. Arab News. http://www.arabnews.com/?page=9&section=0&article=116604&d=23&m=11&y=2008. Retrieved 2009-01-01. 
  49. ^ Dawkins, Richard (2008-07-07). "Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya". Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science. http://richarddawkins.net/article,2833,Venomous-Snakes-Slippery-Eels-and-Harun-Yahya,Richard-Dawkins. Retrieved 2008-10-17. 
  50. ^ Yahya, Harun (2008-01-09). "Atlas of Creation by Harun Yahya". Forbidden Music. http://forbiddenmusic.wordpress.com/2008/01/09/atlas-of-creation-by-harun-yahya/. Retrieved 2009-01-01. 
  51. ^ IFEX Alert
  52. ^ Why We’re Blocked in Turkey: Adnan Oktar, WordPress.com, August 19, 2007.
  53. ^ Eteraz, Ali (2007-08-20). "Shooting the messenger". http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2007/aug/20/shootingthemessenger. Retrieved 2008-11-13. 
  54. ^ a b c d Higgins, Andrew (Msrch 17, 2009). "An Islamic Creationist Stirs a New Kind of Darwinian Struggle". Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123724852205449221.html. Retrieved 30 March 2009. 
  55. ^ Ban on Google Groups SABAH Newspaper English Edition, April 11, 2008.
  56. ^ Hooper, Rowan (2008-09-19). "Turkey bans evolutionist's website". New Scientist Blogs. http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2008/09/turkey-bans-dawkins-website.html. Retrieved 2008-09-20. 
  57. ^ Butt, Riazat (2008-09-19). "Missing link: creationist campaigner has Richard Dawkins' official website banned in Turkey". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/sep/19/religion.turkey. Retrieved 2008-09-20. 
  58. ^ Staff writer (2008-09-17). "Evolutionist Dawkins’ Internet Site Banned In Turkey". Bianet. http://bianet.org/english/kategori/english/109778/evolutionist-dawkins-internet-site-banned-in-turkey. Retrieved 2008-09-20. 
  59. ^ Arpa, Yasemin (2008-09-17). "Evrimci yazarın sitesini Adnan Oktar kapattırdı" (in Turkish). NTV-MSNBC. http://www.ntvmsnbc.com/news/459522.asp. Retrieved 2008-09-20. 
  60. ^ a b Ozimek, John (2008-09-22). "The Turkish court bans Dawkins' website". The Register. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/09/22/turkey_bans_dawkins_website/. Retrieved 2008-09-22. 
  61. ^ Dawkins, Richard (September 23, 2008). "Zehirli Yilanlar, Kaygan Yilanbaliklari ve Harun Yahya". Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science. http://richarddawkins.net/article,3151,Zehirli-Yilanlar-Kaygan-Yilanbaliklari-ve-Harun-Yahya,Richard-Dawkins. Retrieved 2008-10-17. 
  62. ^ Creationist Adnan Oktar Manages To Shut Down Another Internet Site
  63. ^ Cached version of the criticized article
  64. ^ "Vatan'ın internet sitesine sansür" (in Turkish). Radikal. 2008-10-15. http://www.radikal.com.tr/Default.aspx?aType=Detay&ArticleID=903545&Date=15.10.2008&CategoryID=77. Retrieved 2008-10-15. "Her gün 1.5 milyondan fazla ziyaret alan, Türkiye'nin en büyük 3 gazete sitesinden biri olan gazetevatan.com..." 
  65. ^ "Turkish newspaper website blocked after creationist's complaint". The Guardian. 16 October 2008. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/oct/16/turkey-pressandpublishing. Retrieved 2008-10-15. ""A court ruled that Turkish web users should be denied access to the Vatan site after deciding it had insulted Adnan Oktar, a prolific writer who has disputed the theory of evolution."" 
  66. ^ Hooper, Rowan (2008-09-19). "Turkey bans evolutionist's website". New Scientist Blogs. http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2008/09/turkey-bans-dawkins-website.html. Retrieved 2008-09-20. 
  67. ^ Staff writer (2008-09-17). "Evolutionist Dawkins’ Internet Site Banned In Turkey". Bianet. http://bianet.org/english/kategori/english/109778/evolutionist-dawkins-internet-site-banned-in-turkey. Retrieved 2008-09-20. 
  68. ^ Arpa, Yasemin (2008-09-17). "Evrimci yazarın sitesini Adnan Oktar kapattırdı" (in Turkish). NTV-MSNBC. http://www.ntvmsnbc.com/news/459522.asp. Retrieved 2008-09-20. 
  69. ^ Aslaneli, Hakan (1999-11-21). "The Force Behind the Adnan Hoca Operation: Agar's Revenge". Turkish Daily News. Archived from the original on 2008-11-13. http://tdnarchives.blogspot.com/1999/11/force-behind-adnan-hoca-operation-agars.html. 
  70. ^ a b c d Grove, Thomas (2008-05-09). "Turkish Islamic author given 3-year jail sentence". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/artsNews/idUSL0992091620080509?sp=true. Retrieved 2008-05-09. 
  71. ^ Who is Harun Yahya?, Mukto Mona[unreliable source?]
  72. ^ a b c Tres años de cárcel para el autor del polémico 'Atlas de la creación', El Periodico(Spanish)
  73. ^ "Polislerin "Harun Yahya" yargılaması sürüyor". Cumhuriyet. September 10, 2008. http://bilimteknik.cumhuriyet.com.tr/?im=yhs&hn=4222. Retrieved 2009-03-17. 
  74. ^ "Muslim creationist preaches Islam and awaits Christ". Reuters. 2008-06-19. http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSL2926092420080619?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0. Retrieved 2009-08-05. 
  75. ^ Ortega, Tony (June 20, 2008). "Muslim creationist preaches Islam, awaits Christ". Christianity Today. http://www.christiantoday.com/article/muslim.creationist.preaches.islam.awaits.christ/19677-2.htm. Retrieved 2009-03-17. 
  76. ^ http://www.arabnews.com/?page=9&section=0&article=116604&d=23&m=11&y=2008

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adnan_Oktar"