Articles, Comments

by Sher Khan

16/10/2005

Can poison be food to someone? Until scientists discovered the photosynthesis of trees, many may not have believed that it was possible. A person would die in a room full of carbon dioxide; yet trees blissfully absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen, which, of course, helps other creatures to survive. Michael Dombeck, a former forest service chief in the US, estimated that a tree with 18 inches in diameter may generate enough oxygen for a family of four.

Everyone knows this simple science. What people don't know is that Titus Lucretius Carus (c.99-55 BC), a Roman poet and philosopher, predicted the whole phenomenon 2000 years ago. I am fascinated by Lucretius' anti-religious comments. He wisely stated, "So potent was religion in persuading to evil deeds." Anyway, it's not about his religious conviction but his prophetic comment in regards to photosynthesis. He foretold, "What is food to one, is to others bitter poison."

I take full responsibility of making this story up, as ridiculous as it can be. This logic has no merit and it does not make any sense unless we perceive the situation with an Islamic mind.

Yes, many pseudo-scientists of Islam purposely find scientific formulas in the Quran. There is one, Harun Yahya, whose spontaneous explanation of Quranic verses in the light of science would make my story authentic. Harun Yahya, whose actual name is Adnan Okter, claims to have 'intel inside', making him an intellectual. We, the apostates of Islam, have a reason for hiding behind phony names. After all, there are people--believers of a 7^th century Samurai, wearing black ninja dress with double-edged sword-- looking for us. It's not clear why Adnan Okter started with a fictitious name. Only one explanation makes sense: most likely he was not confident of what he was writing, and he feared that people would throw rotten eggs after reading his Qi-fi (Quranic fiction) books.

Harun Yahya wrote hundreds of books and Muslims received them with great enthusiasm. After gaining enough confidence, Adnan Okter, aka Harun Yahya, came out from the dark and became a well-known author. He also maintains a website where a great many articles are published, explaining the hidden meanings of the Quran.

In one of his articles, "The Information Network in Dolphins is Superior to the Internet", he cites the study of a New Zealand researcher who discovered the communication system of animal communities. Lusseau, the researcher, observed a group of dolphins and compared the method with the Internet network system. Harun Yahya, without hesitation, claimed, "-.the flow of information on the Internet shows the existence of a superior intellect that regulates the information network in dolphins and many other similar living things in nature. There can be no doubt but that this superior intellect is that of the Omniscient, Almighty God."

Now, the question is which God? Is it the God of Muslims, is it the God of Hindus, or is it the God of Christians? Harun Yahya tries to prove his God, Allah's handy work on the information network, and picks one verse from the Quran that says, ""Truly your Lord is the Almighty, the Most Merciful" (Qur'an, 26:9). How does this verse relate to the discovery of the New Zealand researcher?

In another article, "The Secret of How Spiders Walk on Ceilings", Harun Yahya explains how spiders hang from the ceiling. A human head holds about 100,000 hairs but there are 600,000 hairs under a spider's foot. These hairs with triangular tips create an adhesive force, enough to support 173 times of its own body weight. To support his argument, Harun brings another verse, "God created every animal from water. Some of them go on their bellies, some of them on two legs, and some on four. God creates whatever He wills. God has power over all things" (Qur'an, 24:45).

Three cheers for scientist Allah! Until Quranic verses were revealed, no one knew that animals walk on four legs, humans walk on two legs and alligators walk on their bellies! Probably an infant of the Stone Age knew these facts, yet Yahya gives credit to Allah for his miraculous / ridiculous statement. Interestingly, Allah even forgot to mention spiders, that hang from the ceiling and have more than four legs, but Yahya quotes this verse while keeping a straight face.

More importantly, according to all Muslims, credit goes to Allah but it never has been proved that Allah has done anything for mankind. It's like the rooster who claimed that the sun would not rise until he crows. Our Muslim intellectuals never realize that the sun will rise whether Mr. Rooster crows or not. Likewise, life goes on whether Allah brays or not.

Yahya sings the impact of prayer in another article, "How prayer accelerates the treatment of the sick". He talks about an article in Newsweek magazine, which was published as a cover story in November of 2003. It was an interesting article. Although skeptics had legitimate opposing views, many believed that prayer facilitates recovery. Yahya utilized the article to establish the importance of Islamic prayer. He guarantees a pie in the sky and conveniently quotes a verse from the Quran: "Call on me and I will answer you. Those who are too proud to worship me will enter Hell abject" (Qur'an, 40:60).

The verse in question has a two-fold problem. First, Newsweek magazine talked about Christians and their system of prayer. If the article is true, Yahya should immediately convert to Christianity and start praising Jesus. He unknowingly admitted that the power of Christians' prayer is effective, too. Yahya further claims that sickness is a test and one should thank Allah for the treatment received by doctors and nurses. Thanking Allah and ignoring the hard work of nurses and doctors is nothing but plain ungratefulness.

Second, in the above-mentioned verse, Allah has guaranteed that he will respond if he is worshipped. We can safely assume that there are at least one million out of 1.2 billion Muslims who pray to Allah faithfully. Why doesn't Allah answer their calls? Apparently, Muslim countries are sinking in ignorance and poverty, whereas non-Muslim countries are prospering in all aspects. Either Allah is favoring those Kafir countries deliberately or he must have become a Jew or a Christian.

Yahya solicits friendship between people of the book, i.e., Muslims, Jews and Christians in another article, "Anti-Semitism is Racism". He lies blatantly and states, "According to the Quran, Muslims, Jews and Christians must live in friendship". He was not joking and made the comment in a serious note. However, he conveniently forgot to mention that Mohammad slaughtered 700-800 Jews in Medina, only to test how sharp his sword was. He does not mention Allah's command to not make any friends with Jews and Christians (Q5.51). Yahya is digging his own grave; hell will be his abode and Allah will hang his skeleton from the sky. How could he make friends with Christians and Jews, when Allah clearly prohibited this?

Yahya not only stressed for unity among the people of the book, he also recommended making friends with idolaters. He continued, "In many verses, friendship is recommended even with the idolaters." Interestingly, it did not take long for him to show his ferocious teeth. He advised reading another of his websites: "islamandbuddhism.com".  He beats his brain out to understand why some people of western societies are attracted to Buddhism - an Eastern belief and philosophy. He begs us to read his site, saying, "Read the perverted philosophy of Buddhism in this site."

This is the pot calling the kettle black. Buddhism may not be a great religion but it does not call for killing the believers of other religions. Neither Buddha slept with concubines. So, Yahya decides to call Buddhism a perverted religion but he fails to see the perverted character of Mohammad.

Are these Muslim intellectuals sincerely attempting to reform Islam? Do they really believe what they write? An honest answer would be, "NO". They know it very well. The Quran is not compatible with the values of modern civilization, science and human rights. They try to use logic but it ends up with tragic consequences. Logic has no place in faith. Logical argument requires absolute proof but proof is irrelevant in faith. When Islamists, the advocates of absurdities, use logic to prove pesky Quranic verses, it only becomes a laughable farce.