The Atlas of Creation
Encyclopedia
The Atlas of Creation is a series of three books, written by Adnan Oktar
under the pen name Harun Yahya. Oktar published volume 1 of The Atlas of Creation with Global Publishing, Istanbul, Turkey in October 2006.
Volumes 2 and 3 followed in 2007. A dedicated website (yaratilisatlasi.com, English atlasofcreation.com) registered to Global Yayıncılık (Global Publishing), Istanbul, went online also in 2007.
The first volume contains over 800 glossy pages and weighs 12 pounds (5.4 kg).
The Turkish original was translated into English, German, Chinese, French, Italian, Urdu, Hindi and Russian.
s, and pictures of modern-day animals which are claimed to be their modern day equivalent. Thus, the book suggests that living things are exactly the same today as they were hundreds of millions of years ago-in other words, that they never underwent evolution
, but were created by God
.
, 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. When the book was sent to French schools and universities, controversy resulted and the book sparked further concern about Islamic radicalism in France.
has stated that people who had received copies were “just astounded at its size and production values and equally astonished at what a load of crap it is."
adding that "[Oktar] does not really have any sense of what we know about how things change through time.”
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."
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
(one is a reptile
the other a fish
) 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.
in its report, called The dangers of creationism in education
, argued:
Adnan Oktar
Adnan Oktar , also known as Harun Yahya, is an author and Islamic creationist. In 2007, he sent thousands of unsolicited copies of the Atlas of Creation advocating Islamic creationism to American scientists, members of Congress, and science museums...
under the pen name Harun Yahya. Oktar published volume 1 of The Atlas of Creation with Global Publishing, Istanbul, Turkey in October 2006.
Volumes 2 and 3 followed in 2007. A dedicated website (yaratilisatlasi.com, English atlasofcreation.com) registered to Global Yayıncılık (Global Publishing), Istanbul, went online also in 2007.
The first volume contains over 800 glossy pages and weighs 12 pounds (5.4 kg).
The Turkish original was translated into English, German, Chinese, French, Italian, Urdu, Hindi and Russian.
Contents
The book argues that life forms on Earth have never undergone even the slightest change and have never developed into one another. The book shows pictures of million-year-old fossilFossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
s, and pictures of modern-day animals which are claimed to be their modern day equivalent. Thus, the book suggests that living things are exactly the same today as they were hundreds of millions of years ago-in other words, that they never underwent evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
, but were created by God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
.
Distribution
Tens of thousands of copies of the book have been delivered, on an unsolicited basis, to schools, prominent researchers and research institutes throughout the United States and Europe, including to a large number of French, Belgian, Spanish and Swiss schools. Some of the schools that received copies were in France as well as prominent researchers at Utrecht UniversityUtrecht University
Utrecht University is a university in Utrecht, Netherlands. It is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands and one of the largest in Europe. Established March 26, 1636, it had an enrollment of 29,082 students in 2008, and employed 8,614 faculty and staff, 570 of which are full professors....
, University of Tilburg, University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
, Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
, University of Colorado
University of Colorado System
The University of Colorado system is a system of public universities in Colorado consisting of three universities in four campuses: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, and University of Colorado Denver in downtown Denver and at the Anschutz Medical Campus in...
, University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...
, the University of Connecticut
University of Connecticut
The admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...
, the University of Georgia
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
, Imperial College London
Imperial College London
Imperial College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom, specialising in science, engineering, business and medicine...
, Abertay University and several others. When the book was sent to French schools and universities, controversy resulted and the book sparked further concern about Islamic radicalism in France.
Reception
The arguments used by the book to undermine evolution have been criticized as not logical while evolutionary biologist Kevin PadianKevin Padian
Kevin Padian is a Professor of Integrative Biology at the University of California, Berkeley, Curator of Paleontology, University of California Museum of Paleontology and President of the National Center for Science Education. Padian's area of interest is in vertebrate evolution, especially the...
has stated that people who had received copies were “just astounded at its size and production values and equally astonished at what a load of crap it is."
adding that "[Oktar] does not really have any sense of what we know about how things change through time.”
Biologist PZ Myers
PZ Myers
Paul Zachary "PZ" Myers is an American biology professor at the University of Minnesota Morris and the author of the Pharyngula science blog. He is currently an associate professor of biology at UMM, works with zebrafish in the field of evolutionary developmental biology , and also cultivates an...
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."
Richard Dawkins
Richard Dawkins
Clinton Richard Dawkins, FRS, FRSL , known as Richard Dawkins, is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist and author...
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
Eel
Eels are an order of fish, which consists of four suborders, 20 families, 111 genera and approximately 800 species. Most eels are predators...
(one is a reptile
Reptile
Reptiles are members of a class of air-breathing, ectothermic vertebrates which are characterized by laying shelled eggs , and having skin covered in scales and/or scutes. They are tetrapods, either having four limbs or being descended from four-limbed ancestors...
the other a fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
) 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.
Council of Europe
The Committee on Science and Education of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of EuropeParliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe , which held its first session in Strasbourg on 10 August 1949, can be considered the oldest international parliamentary assembly with a pluralistic composition of democratically elected members of parliament established on the basis of an...
in its report, called The dangers of creationism in education
The dangers of creationism in education
The dangers of creationism in education are title and subject of a Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe resolution and two reports of 2007. Initially, in 2006 several delegates of the assembly suggested to adopt a recommendation on this theme...
, argued:
External links
- Book Review: Atlas of Creation (Harun Yahya) in The American MuslimThe American MuslimThe American Muslim began as a quarterly print journal, in print from 1989 to 1995. Founded by Editor Sheila Musaji, The American Muslim featured original art, Islamic calligraphy, diverse articles and prose...
, Oct 19, 2009, by Sheila MusajiSheila MusajiSheila Musaji is the founder and editor of The American Muslim quarterly journal , the Muslim Resource Directory of America , and most recently The American Muslim online publication ....