Thoughts in a Haystack

A (scary) thought:

What evangelical Christians have in common with Muslim creationists is their fight against materialism and the secular state. More and more examples of this type of multi-faith alliance are emerging, says Olivier Roy:

"I've been observing a phenomenon in Turkey with particular interest for many years: the fact that the movement I refer to as Islamic neo-fundamentalism is orienting itself more and more towards the categories of Protestant evangelicalism."

Olivier Roy believes this also applies to norms – the defence of the family, the attitude towards homosexual marriage and abortion: "This form of neo-fundamentalism is a relatively apolitical movement from the middle class, often going hand in hand with good social integration – and very strict in terms of norms and morals. A movement that is co-opting the subjects of the religious right in America."

Although Adnan Oktar's theses have no scientific basis, they do have a disastrous effect on Turkish society. The editor-in-chief of the Istanbul-based scientific magazine Bilim ve Gelecek cites a study his team carried out at various universities a few years ago:

"Turkey's poor education system means that even many biology students don't believe in evolutionary theory. A sample at five key universities in Istanbul, Ankara and Kocelida showed that 80 percent of respondents – including advanced students – consider Adam and Eve the ancestors of humanity. Of course that's not what they're taught officially in the curriculum, but because the system consists solely of learning by rote the students have no chance to learn the inner logic of scientific thought. They learn evolutionary theory, but they still believe in Adam and Eve."

-Harald Brandt, "Fossilised Thinking Proves God's Existence," Qantara.de

Link - Posted by John Pieret @ 9:33 PM