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Thursday, May 15, 2008 | Reason : In the News | print version Print | Comments |

Document Turkish Islamic author given 3-year jail sentence

by Reuters

Thanks to Dan Andrei for the link.

http://www.reuters.com/article/artsNews/idUSL0992091620080509

Turkish Islamic author given 3-year jail sentence
By Thomas Grove

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Controversial Turkish Islamic author Adnan Oktar was sentenced to three years in prison on Friday for creating an illegal organization for personal gain, state-run Anatolian news agency said.

A spokeswoman for his Science Research Foundation (BAV) confirmed to Reuters that Oktar had been sentenced but said the judge was influenced by political and religious pressure groups.

Oktar had been tried with 17 other defendants in an Istanbul court. The verdict and sentence came after a previous trial that began in 2000 after Oktar, along with 50 members of his foundation, was arrested in 1999.

In that court case, Oktar had been charged with using threats for personal benefit and creating an organization with the intent to commit a crime. The charges were dropped but another court picked them up resulting in the latest case.

Oktar planned to appeal the sentence, a BAV spokeswoman said. No further details were immediately available.

Oktar, born in 1956, is the driving force behind a richly funded movement based in Turkey that champions creationism, the belief that God literally created the world in six days as told in the Bible and the Koran.

Istanbul-based Oktar, who writes under the pen name Harun Yahya, has created waves in the past few years by sending out thousands of unsolicited texts advocating Islamic creationism to schools in several European countries.

The court decision comes at a time when political tensions in officially secular but predominantly Muslim Turkey are high as the ruling AK Party faces a court case that seeks its closure for alleged Islamist activities, a claim the party denies.

Oktar's teachings echo those of Christian fundamentalists in the United States. He has publicly denounced Darwinism and Freemasonry in high-profile attacks.

Charles Darwin came up with the widely adopted evolutionary theory of natural selection in the 19th century.

Oktar's publishing house has published dozens of books that have been distributed in more than 150 countries and been translated into more than 50 languages. He has a wide following in the Muslim world.

But Turkish commentators say the group's books, numbering more than 200, are probably written by a pool of writers, a charge the author denies.

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1. Comment #180707 by Nails on May 15, 2008 at 3:25 pm

 avatar
Controversial Turkish Islamic author Adnan Oktar was sentenced to three years in prison on Friday for creating an illegal organization for personal gain

I don't really know what he has done wrong, this passage doesn't offer much in the way of description.

But he is obviously a religious nut and so a few years behind bars may be good news.

I just hope he isn't given a pen or any paper.....

Other Comments by Nails

2. Comment #180714 by Caudimordax on May 15, 2008 at 3:33 pm

 avatarThis is the guy who sent out all those expensively printed coffee table books to biology professors in the US

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/17/science/17book.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=adnan oktar&st=cse&oref=slogin

I'm afraid prison time isn't going to help. It's in prison that a lot of people get religion, at least in the US.

Other Comments by Caudimordax

3. Comment #180715 by andydjw on May 15, 2008 at 3:35 pm

He could share a cell with Kent Hovind!

Other Comments by andydjw

4. Comment #180722 by Nova on May 15, 2008 at 3:54 pm

Turkish Islamic author given 3-year jail sentence:
The court decision comes at a time when political tensions in officially secular but predominantly Muslim Turkey are high as the ruling AK Party faces a court case that seeks its closure for alleged Islamist activities, a claim the party denies.
This is very worrying. Will Atatürk's great democratic secular nation crumble? Relinquishing all it's great progress since the fall of the Ottoman Empire and becoming the sick man of Europe once again? Only time will tell.

Other Comments by Nova

5. Comment #180725 by Border Collie on May 15, 2008 at 4:12 pm

 avatarOnward through the fog ...

Other Comments by Border Collie

6. Comment #180737 by aquilacane on May 15, 2008 at 4:35 pm

 avatarSo Turkey has taken a larger step against one of its crackpots than the US has against any of its own. I guess you would have to start with Bush, and he's kind of running the country at the mo'. North America is so doomed.

Other Comments by aquilacane

7. Comment #180747 by xrod on May 15, 2008 at 4:51 pm

"Oktar had been charged with using threats for personal benefit and creating an organization with the intent to commit a crime."

Just another example of how religious nuts think they're above the law and that god will protect them.

Other Comments by xrod

8. Comment #180756 by Lycosid on May 15, 2008 at 5:34 pm

This is exactly why Turkey shouldn't be held to the EU's current standards. You can't have religious freedom and democracy in a country where a majority of the population is afflicted with religion so badly that they aren't up to the task of self-governance.

Other Comments by Lycosid

9. Comment #180795 by mordacious1 on May 15, 2008 at 8:12 pm

 avatarI do not think anyone should go to jail for just printing nonsense. Is this guy advocating violence or what? Before we support him being chucked into prison, I like to know more about it. In a rational world, there has to be some outlet for nutjobs. I know the U.S. and UK have plenty that should at least be given a psych eval.

Other Comments by mordacious1

10. Comment #180802 by Caudimordax on May 15, 2008 at 8:38 pm

 avatarInteresting. True, we all (here) disagree with this wingnut's agenda, and yet we don't think he should be imprisoned for it.

This has always been my "problem" with liberals. We don't have sound bites. Anti-abortion activists carry signs saying "ABORTION IS MURDER" while pro choice people are reduced to 8 point font to explain, "Well, we don't actually advocate abortion, but we feel that it should become legally a freely chosen option for those who desire it..."

EDIT

I shouldn't say problem, more like frustration with the liberal framework

EDIT - AGAIN

To clarify what seems like a complete non sequitur (which happens to be my metier) I am applauding the people on this forum for their support of free speech, whether or not they agree with the premise and at the same time decrying the difficulty of propounding "liberal" ideas as opposed to fascist slogans.

Other Comments by Caudimordax

11. Comment #180806 by jjberg on May 15, 2008 at 8:57 pm

I'm uneasy about this. The guy's obviously full of shit and spewing nonsense, but I haven't yet heard what he actually did that was illegal. If he's just being tossed in jail for spewing nonsense and his free speech is being abridged, then it's not something to support, but if he's really been acting illegally, then I take immense glee in seeing a loony like him locked up for a few years.

Other Comments by jjberg

12. Comment #180811 by zpokthesecond on May 15, 2008 at 9:16 pm

@ Lycosid: Are you talking about Poland here?

Other Comments by zpokthesecond

13. Comment #180815 by sickofgod on May 15, 2008 at 9:56 pm

No point of sending to jail, he will have more time to write more bullsh...

Sickofgod...

Other Comments by sickofgod

14. Comment #180824 by Palaeogluttony on May 15, 2008 at 10:52 pm

creationism, the belief that God literally created the world in six days as told in the Bible and the Koran


Actually the article gets this wrong. Islamic creationism (at least, as advocated by this Harun Yahya) doesn't have any problems with the idea that the earth is billions of years old. It just says that god created all the different lifeforms during these millions of years at numerous instances and the resulting organisms never changed since they were created.

I can only conclude that Allah isn't a very hard-working god.

Other Comments by Palaeogluttony

15. Comment #180845 by Barry Pearson on May 16, 2008 at 12:46 am

 avatarThis article prompted me to have another look at the situation in the UK. I do wonder whether the UK is drifting into a situation where we will be forced to fight rear-guard actions in the way that is common in the US.

Part 1:

Council of Europe report: "The dangers of creationism in education" 17 September 2007
(Note: the Council of Europe is NOT the same as the European Union).
http://assembly.coe.int/main.asp?link=/documents/workingdocs/doc07/edoc11375.htm

British Centre for Science Education:
"Influencing the National Curriculum"
http://bcseweb.org.uk/index.php/Main/NationalCurriculum
"Summary of the key current issues"
http://bcseweb.org.uk/index.php/Main/SummaryOfTheKeyCurrentIssues

Other Comments by Barry Pearson

16. Comment #180846 by Barry Pearson on May 16, 2008 at 12:47 am

 avatarPart 2:

Creationism (An anticreationism website with an emphasis on the situation in the UK):
"Misrepresentation Of Science Curriculum"
http://www.creationism.co.uk/index.php/Main/MisrepresentationOfScienceCurriculum
"Some Examples Of KS 4 Misrepresentation"
http://www.creationism.co.uk/index.php/Main/SomeExamplesOfKS4Misrepresentation

"The threat from creationism to the rational teaching of biology" (UK position half way down)
http://bip.cnrs-mrs.fr/bip10/pucon.htm

New Humanist: ""While secularists sleep well-funded creationists are on the march in Europe"
http://newhumanist.org.uk/1783

"HARUN YAHYA CONFERENCES IN UK AND SCOTLAND" 2007, I think. (Er ... Scotland was still in the UK when I last checked!)
http://www.harunyahya.com/new_releases/news/0711_conference_uk.php

Other Comments by Barry Pearson

17. Comment #180860 by Fanusi Khiyal on May 16, 2008 at 1:25 am

I don't really know what he has done wrong, this passage doesn't offer much in the way of description


The thing is, and I have pointed this out before, Turkey became secular thanks to Attaturk going to war with Islam. The military of Turkey, with these kinds of results, is the only thing preventing us from having an unbelievably strong Jihad power right next to Europe.

Other Comments by Fanusi Khiyal

18. Comment #180871 by esuther on May 16, 2008 at 2:18 am

To Turkish_Scientist

Thanks for your thorough description of the Harun Yahya phenomenon. I had no idea.

But what's up with this Freemasonry thing? I thought Freemasons were a club of beer-bellied old men with secret handshakes, monthly meetings by candlelight and no visible agenda. Am I missing something here?

Other Comments by esuther

19. Comment #180888 by black wolf on May 16, 2008 at 3:05 am

 avatarIt seems they're trying to do with Freemasonry exactly what Hitler (no this is not a Godwin) did with the German Worker's Party. Get in there, sway or coerce a majority, take over the leadership, and then reform the statutes (and the organization's name) to fit your ideology. Then proceed to do the same thing with your country. Then your neighboring countries. People like these always move to criminal behavior sooner or later.

Other Comments by black wolf

20. Comment #180905 by nalfeshnee on May 16, 2008 at 4:04 am

 avatar

Charles Darwin came up with the widely adopted evolutionary theory of natural selection in the 19th century.

Oktar's publishing house has published dozens of books that have been distributed in more than 150 countries and been translated into more than 50 languages. He has a wide following in the Muslim world.


Is it just me, or is there a truly massive bias in this reporting (from Reuters, no less!)?

What the FSM is "widely adopted" supposed to mean?

Other Comments by nalfeshnee

21. Comment #180923 by al-rawandi on May 16, 2008 at 6:20 am

 avatarFuck Adnan Oktar.



His first book was "The Holocaust Lie" and said the Holocaust was actually 100,000 Jewish deaths, due to Typhoid Fever. What a disgusting toad. A religiose moron.


Another intellectual eunuch trying to sell a "scientific" Islam.

Other Comments by al-rawandi

22. Comment #180924 by esuther on May 16, 2008 at 6:20 am

Blackwolf,

You wrote:
>>>It seems they're trying to do with Freemasonry exactly what Hitler (no this is not a Godwin) did with the German Worker's Party. Get in there, sway or coerce a majority, take over the leadership, and then reform the statutes (and the organization's name) to fit your ideology. Then proceed to do the same thing with your country. Then your neighboring countries. People like these always move to criminal behavior sooner or later.<<<

I'm sorry, I don't understand your post. Could you elaborate? Who is "they" you say are infiltrating Freemasonry? The Islamic fundamentalists oppose Freemasonry the same way they do Zionism, so 'they' can't refer to them. Who then is 'they'? And what good would it do them to take over an organization of silly old men with secret handshakes?

Thanks,

Other Comments by esuther

23. Comment #181023 by Geoff on May 16, 2008 at 10:01 am

 avatarAh, Harun Yahya!

Time to mention the "Atlas of Creation!" fishing lures again!


http://forbiddenmusic.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/yahya_lure.jpg
"

Other Comments by Geoff

24. Comment #181965 by DingoDave on May 19, 2008 at 12:23 am

 avatarAdnan Oktar aka Harun Yahya is a preening, narcissistic ignoramus.
He runs a number of websites including one called Darwinism-Watch which you can find here:
http://www.darwinism-watch.com/index.php

If you want to see a man completely infatuated with himself, then take a look at this page:
http://www.harunyahya.com/theauthor.php

Christ, what an egotistical creep!

Other Comments by DingoDave

25. Comment #182353 by kaph on May 19, 2008 at 8:12 pm

 avatarThis guy, whose freedom of speech we are defending here, is the sole reason why Wordpress is still banned in Turkey. Turns out some blogger wasn't terribly fond of him.

He had also tried to force a ban on a Turkish online community akin to Everything2, just because he thought some of the entries under the title "Adnan Oktar" were offensive. (As of today, there are ~7.3 mn. different entries in ~1.4 mn. different titles. Just to illuminate the stupidity of that ban.) The verdict was later overruled and access to eksi sozluk was restored.

His schizophrenia is documented by several different medical reports, causing the legal circles in Turkey arguing that his "conditions" serve as immunity from law. Now I don't really know the little bits and legal details, but at least he gets reductions for the time he needs to serve. Regardless, he keeps on harassing the lawyers of the online community by fax -needless to say, hiding his number. I guess he now gets people to do that for him.

He's now convicted of leading a criminal organization. Not of creationism, which, admittedly, would be pointless; or of sending threatening letters or whatever the legal jargon for that is.

Serves him right.

Other Comments by kaph

26. Comment #182356 by DingoDave on May 19, 2008 at 8:31 pm

 avatarHere is another article about the sins of Adnan Oktar.
From here:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/debunk/harun_yahya/

Who is Harun Yahya?


Harun Yahaya is charlatan and a dangerous man. Here's some background of this great impostor:

Adnan Oktar (pen name: Harun Yahya) is claimed on his web page to be a 'world renown and respected scholar' who has devoted himself to writing about scientific and faith-related subjects such as the theory of evolution and miracles of God. He is further described by supporters as a respected 'scientist' who has publications in incredibly diverse areas of interest (actually he is not a university graduate).

The fact is that, his publications and his foundation (Science Research Foundation) have recently been banned in Turkey, and most members of his "sect" have been sent to court. This was not due to their Islamic and scientific activities, but due to crimes such as blackmail, extortion, possession of unlicensed weapons and sexual intercourse with minors.

About three years ago, upon complaints of victims and many years of suspicion, Turkish police raided residences of this group. The discoveries at the houses and testimony of the group members were shocking.

Under the mask of promoting Islam and scientific facts, the group members had been found to engage in extensive criminal activity. These crimes included blackmail, possession of unlicensed weapons and sexual intercourse with individuals under age 18.

The head of the group, Adnan Oktar (recorded by police cameras, leaked and shown on Turkish TV channels such as Kanal D, ATV, Star) confessed to blackmailing people who they regarded as an obstacle to their enterprises. These people included the reporters for the newspaper Hurriyet, Emin Colasan, and Fatih Altayli, after they questioned some of Harun Yahya's activities such as bribing the municipality of Ankara.

Also politicians such as Celal Adan (Member of the Parliament) and Mesut Yilmaz (former Prime Minister of Turkey) have been victims of this group. Oktar's group arranged fake (photomontage) photos of Mesut Yilmaz in Freemason clothes and ceremonies, and forged a fake certificate of Freemasonary for him. This fake was taken seriously and published in several pro-Islamic newspapers (without knowing it was a fraud). The PM was seriously damaged politically as a result during the remainder of his government.

Also coming forth, a fashion model named Ebru Simsek was blackmailed, and then slandered as a "prostitute" in fax messages sent to hundreds of different newspapers, TV channels, major business companies, foreign consulates, government offices etc. The reason for the slander? She refused to have sex with Adnan Oktar.

But the most shocking activities of Oktar's and his followers were not the above. In the sudden raid, 20 women and 2 other men were found at his residence. Most of the females (girls really) were under the age 18, (Oktar is his middle 40's) and they claimed that they had been having sexual intercourse with Oktar and members of his sect.

In his testimony, Oktar claimed that he had committed no crime as the intercourse was consensual, allowed under Turkish law. Further, Oktar insisted that this intercourse was also religiously permissible under Islam because he and his followers did not have a 'real sexual intercourse with these girls'.

He and his followers claimed that they had only engaged in 'anal and oral' sex. They preferred this kinds of sexual intercourse since according to Koran, he claimed, these acts are not impermissible outside of marriage. According to their interpretation 'vaginal' intercourse was 'haram' but 'anal and oral intercourse' was 'halal' when not married.

So you wonder what happened in the end?

Science Research Foundation was closed. Adnan Oktar (aka Harun Yahya), and about 40 of his sect members were taken to the court and judged. Once there, they denied the truth of their original confessions, claiming that they were extracted under torture.

The judicial process lasted over 2 years, during which most of the complainants' retracted their claims because of threats or bribes from sect members. As a result most of the cases against these people were dismissed, with only two of them jail for 1 year each.

That said, coverage of the arrests and trials were so extensive in Turkey that the reputation (and money making opportunities) of the group were permanently destroyed. It is now taken seriously only in foreign countries where their legal troubles received little or no press coverage.

Other Comments by DingoDave

27. Comment #182361 by DingoDave on May 19, 2008 at 8:58 pm

 avatarHere are some exerpts from Adnan Oktar's 'biography which I found here:
http://www.harunyahya.com/theauthor2.php

"Born in Ankara in 1956, Adnan Oktar writes his books under the pen name of Harun Yahya. Ever since his university years, he has dedicated his life to telling of the existence and oneness of Almighty Allah, and to disseminating the moral values of the Qur'an. He has never wavered in the face of difficulties and despite oppression, still continues this intellectual struggle today exhibiting great patience and determination.

A short biography of Adnan Oktar:

Born in Ankara in 1956, Adnan Oktar lived there through his high school years. During this period, his devotion to Islamic moral values grew even stronger. He deepened his profound knowledge of Islam by reading works of all the great Islamic scholars and decided to tell everyone about Islam's moral values and summon them to a knowledge of truth and beauty."

"When Adnan Oktar entered Mimar Sinan University, it was under the influence of various illegal Marxist-communist organizations....This environment accorded religion and moral values no respect, and rejected them almost entirely. The materialist view predominated. But Adnan Oktar began telling those around him of the existence and oneness of Allah, and was the only person who prayed openly in the Molla Mosque, adjacent to the university."

"Spreading Religious Moral Values at Mimar Sinan University

When Adnan Oktar began communicating Islamic values, he was quite alone. For more than three years nobody at Mimar Sinan University backed up his views, yet that did not alter his determination. Knowing that Allah was his only friend, he did all these things solely to gain His approval. He devoted all his time, energy and means to a single purpose: earning the good pleasure, mercy and Paradise of Allah, and telling all mankind about religious moral values."

" Adnan Oktar held conversations with these young people on love of country; the importance of following in the great leader Ataturk's path; the proofs of creation; the exemplary moral values of our Prophet (saas); the provisions and moral values revealed in the Qur'an by our Lord; and the invalidity of the then-prevailing ideologies of materialism, atheism and Darwinism. From this time onward, Adnan Oktar was a vehicle by which many people came to believe."

"Through these books, a great many people have come to appreciate and to grow more deeply in their faith. Everyone who reads and studies his work is affected by this profound difference and benefits from his sincere, wise and easily accessible style. Each book is characterized by proven, definitive facts presented with honest clarity, which nobody can refute-features that doubtlessly stem from a striking wisdom vouchsafed by Allah."

"During all these trials, he has always constituted a role model maintaining his trust in, and submission to, Allah, recalling that throughout history, believers have all been tested with similar incidents, that every event takes place in a destiny determined by Allah, in a wise and auspicious manner. No matter what may befall them, he has always said that believers must always be moderate, joyfully determined, and submit to Allah's will.
He has always been forgiving and compassionate towards those who have conspired to blacken his name with irrational and illogical slanders. Acting in the light of the morality revealed by Allah in the verse "Repel the bad with something better" (Surah Fussilat, 34), he was totally cleared by the court of all accusations made against him on 12 November, 1999. He is still actively engaged in his literary activities today, calling on his readers to live by proper moral values."

So there you have it. Another hypocritical 'holier than thou' slimeball, and self proclaimed spokesman for God, bites the dust and spirals downward into an abyss of ignominy and infamy.

Good riddance to bad rubbish, and may he never rise again!

Other Comments by DingoDave

28. Comment #243825 by f451 on September 7, 2008 at 1:13 pm

 avatarWARNING TO ALL USERS:

I'm a Richarddawkins.net member from Turkey and Turkish government banned richarddawkins.net to all Turkish users because of the some comments about Adnan Oktar on this page.

I've changed my DNS servers to reach this site.

The desicion of the court is a shame for free-thinking!

Is there a way to contact with Mr. Dawkins about this issue.

This is very important!

Other Comments by f451

29. Comment #243834 by epeeist on September 7, 2008 at 1:42 pm

 avatarComment #243825 by f451

WARNING TO ALL USERS:

I'm a Richarddawkins.net member from Turkey and Turkish government banned richarddawkins.net to all Turkish users because of the some comments about Adnan Oktar on this page.
This wouldn't have had anything to do with the postings of Joe Morreale would it? Have a look at the Harun Yahya article (http://www.richarddawkins.net/article,2833,UPDATED-Venomous-Snakes-Slippery-Eels-and-Harun-Yahya,Richard-Dawkins) and in particular the alternative comments thread.

If this is the problem then it may be worthwhile contacting Josh to see what could be done about the comments.

Other Comments by epeeist

30. Comment #243835 by Corylus on September 7, 2008 at 1:45 pm

 avatarI'll mail admin for you f451 hopefully the message will get through.

Other Comments by Corylus

31. Comment #243836 by Quetzalcoatl on September 7, 2008 at 1:45 pm

 avatarEpeeist-

There might be more of a problem if the Turkish government is banning websites that make any mention of Harun Yahya.

Other Comments by Quetzalcoatl

32. Comment #243841 by articulett on September 7, 2008 at 1:53 pm

 avatarYes, one of our forum members is claiming that Turkey has banned this website particularly because of comments about Adnan Oktar in the comments section of this post.
http://www.richarddawkins.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=56582

Is there anything we can do? Turkey is very much in desperate need of the kind of scientific clarification this site offers: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/08/060810-evolution.html

Other Comments by articulett

33. Comment #243843 by Peacebeuponme on September 7, 2008 at 1:56 pm

I'm a Richarddawkins.net member from Turkey and Turkish government banned richarddawkins.net to all Turkish users because of the some comments about Adnan Oktar on this page.


Just marvellous. Rabid theists get in power and set about protecting a rapist.

Other Comments by Peacebeuponme

34. Comment #243844 by Quetzalcoatl on September 7, 2008 at 1:56 pm

 avatarIn that case- short of a direct appeal to the Turkish government, there's probably very little that can be done about it.

Other Comments by Quetzalcoatl

35. Comment #243845 by epeeist on September 7, 2008 at 2:04 pm

 avatarComment #243843 by Peacebeuponme
Just marvellous. Rabid theists get in power and set about protecting a rapist.
Are they actually doing that, or are they trying to limit the spread of material by Oktar? I don't think I am particular clear on which it is.

Having said that, I am not keen on censorship of any kind.

Are Google and Yahoo giving the same kind of deal to Turkey as they are giving to China?

Other Comments by epeeist

36. Comment #243847 by decius on September 7, 2008 at 2:13 pm

 avatarComment #243834 by epeeist

This wouldn't have had anything to do with the postings of Joe Morreale would it?

:lol:

Oh the irony, if that were the case.

Other Comments by decius

37. Comment #243849 by mordacious1 on September 7, 2008 at 2:14 pm

 avatarWas this Joe Morreale's purpose all along? No, he's not that smart, although someone might have told him to flood the internet with his Harun Yahha nonsense. It's a conspiracy.

Other Comments by mordacious1

38. Comment #243861 by Eric Blair on September 7, 2008 at 2:45 pm

This article (and the court sentence) reminds us to be careful what we wish for.

A state committed to secularism is not necessarily committed to liberal democracy or even the rule of law. I would say that secularism is generally a prerequisite for liberal democracy but the two are not the same thing, as the history of the 20th century tells us (and no, that's not a back-door attack on atheism...).

The article and posts here still leave a lot of questions unanswered, like why exactly this guy was sent to jail.

No doubt Turkey faces a monumental challenge in holding back the tides of Islam and official secularism seems to be their best defence right now. Still, I'm reluctant to praise this decision without knowing a lot more about it and the situation there.

EB

Other Comments by Eric Blair

39. Comment #243880 by mordacious1 on September 7, 2008 at 3:37 pm

 avatarEric

From what I understand, he and some of his cohorts would rape women, sometimes underage girls, and then pimp them out to recruit wealthy young men.

Other Comments by mordacious1

40. Comment #243938 by mordacious1 on September 8, 2008 at 1:26 am

 avatarI can understand why the Turkish Government might want to ban anything about Harun Yahha. His minions are putting a lot of anti-government rhetoric on the internet and some people will believe anything. I think it was Fanusi who pointed out that Mein Kampf was a best seller there now because someone printed up cheap mass paperback copies. There now seems to be a lot of pro Hitler Turkish sites on the web. I'm sure the Turks are trying to avoid more problems in a country that already has its share.

Other Comments by mordacious1

41. Comment #243955 by MarcHolt on September 8, 2008 at 3:03 am

 avatarWhat an atrocious person this Adnan Oktar is. Never mind defending his right to free speech. Sometimes venomous snakes need to have their heads cut off. This Oktar is one very venomous snake. The Turkish government has done the right thing to stop any reference to him reaching inside Turkey, even if it means this wonderful website/forum is banned as a result.

My sympathies go out to all the free thinking people in Turkey. They are beset by idiots on both sides...religious and Oktar's band of fools. Instead of carping about freedom of speech we should be offering the Turkish government our support. They are in a very difficult place trying to defend secularism. Democracy and freedom are only won step by step. Turkey still has a long way to go. Instead of castigating the government give them your support instead.

Other Comments by MarcHolt

42. Comment #243968 by Clapton_is_God on September 8, 2008 at 4:02 am

 avataresuther said:

"But what's up with this Freemasonry thing? I thought Freemasons were a club of beer-bellied old men with secret handshakes, monthly meetings by candlelight and no visible agenda. Am I missing something here?"

No you're not. As a former Freemason I could object in light-hearted fashion to the "Beer-bellied old men" jibe but it is partly true. Having said that there were slim young men in my lodge as well!

A lot of rubbish has been written about Freemasonry, from them being a bunch of mutual back-scratchers to being a global conspiracy plotting to take over the world.

It is perhaps telling that totalitatarian regimes invariably proscribe Masonry, which always rapidly re-establishes when freedoms are regained - such as in Eastern Europe, and after the fall of Fascist dictators such as Hitler and Franco.

The religious requirements for joining a lodge are very loosely defined and one could in theory be a pantheist (IOW, an atheist) and still participate.

I gave up because of rising subscription costs, not for any religious reason.

CiG

Other Comments by Clapton_is_God

43. Comment #243989 by al-rawandi on September 8, 2008 at 6:12 am

 avatarAdnan Oktar the interior decorator and afficianado on fishing lures is sent to jail eh?




Soap on a rope Adnan, and remember sodomy is a sin.

Other Comments by al-rawandi

44. Comment #244485 by sprezzatura on September 8, 2008 at 9:54 pm

Hi people


Being a native speaker in Turkish language, I would be delighted to help those who need a help to translate Richard Dawkins's work to Turkish language.So please don't hesitate contacting me if you're one of those aspiring people who want to reduce the amount of work I obliged to make.

Cheers,

Other Comments by sprezzatura

45. Comment #264751 by daabbah on October 15, 2008 at 7:22 am

 avatarDoes Richard Dawkins has the balls to face Harun Yahya? He is calling him to debate in front of public.

Richard says NO...!! He says he will not debate with creationists, if you will not debate why you talk from you website.

Are you afraid to face him?

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46. Comment #264757 by God fearing Atheist on October 15, 2008 at 7:31 am

 avatar
#264751 by daabbah

Does Richard Dawkins has the balls to face Harun Yahya?


"balls"? What does that have to do with it? HY is in gaol! How could RD debate with him?

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47. Comment #265097 by daabbah on October 16, 2008 at 2:33 am

 avatarHe is not in jail. It is a wrong information.

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48. Comment #265098 by Quetzalcoatl on October 16, 2008 at 2:37 am

 avatarDaabbah-

He is not in jail. It is a wrong information


Wrong.

http://www.reuters.com/article/artsNews/idUSL0992091620080509?sp=true

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Controversial Turkish Islamic author Adnan Oktar was sentenced to three years in prison on Friday for creating an illegal organization for personal gain, state-run Anatolian news agency said.

A spokeswoman for his Science Research Foundation (BAV) confirmed to Reuters that Oktar had been sentenced but said the judge was influenced by political and religious pressure groups.

Oktar had been tried with 17 other defendants in an Istanbul court. The verdict and sentence came after a previous trial that began in 2000 after Oktar, along with 50 members of his foundation, was arrested in 1999.

In that court case, Oktar had been charged with using threats for personal benefit and creating an organization with the intent to commit a crime. The charges were dropped but another court picked them up resulting in the latest case.


He's hunting for the soap even now.

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49. Comment #265099 by epeeist on October 16, 2008 at 2:48 am

 avatarComment #265097 by daabbah
He is not in jail. It is a wrong information.
He was sentenced in May - http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=141528

Note that this isn't the first time he has been imprisoned and that he has also spent some time in the Bakirkoy psychiatric hospital.

He has been convicted of fraud, embezzlement and rape of under age girls. He is a conspiracy theorist, blaming the Freemasons and a Jewish conspiracy for all his ills.

In other words - a complete nut job.

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50. Comment #265125 by al-rawandi on October 16, 2008 at 5:34 am

 avatarepeeist,





I have a friend who is an editor at Zaman. It wouldn't be hard to find out what is really going on right now with Harun Yahya.

And don't forget Soykirim Yalani... "The Holocaust Lie". Yahya launched his career in Holocaust denial. He is in jail, and this is where he belongs.

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