IBRAR KHAN: Hello and welcome. You are listening to Unity FM 93.5, the heart of the city. Today we have a very special interview. Under the pen name of Harun Yahya, brother Adnan Oktar has authored some three hundred books which have been read by millions of people, exerted considerable influence on both Muslims and non-Muslims all over the world. His books have been downloaded by a staggering eighteen million people in 2008 and sold over 16 million copies. He is worldwide known for his book Atlas of Creation, available in 12 languages, which has been discussed in the European Council for the last two years and has had the focus of the media and the parliaments of European countries. In New Science magazine, in news about the author, it was mentioned that at the present time Harun Yahya is the loudest voice in the debate over evolution in the Islamic World. It also says that he is an international hero. His book has spread everywhere in Islamic world and he has developed his own Islamic Creationism. Welcome Sir, and thank you for taking time out to conduct this interview today.
ADNAN OKTAR: I am delighted to make your acquaintance. I am also very pleased to be speaking with and meeting them.
IBRAR KHAN: My first question is, I guess my first question would be, where do you find the time to write so many books and DVDs?
ADNAN OKTAR: Generally speaking, I do not work alone. I have a team of some 30 academics. These include professors and assistant professors. They bring me the preliminary data already prepared and I gather them and analyze them. I choose the illustrations from among a great many pictures. The fact the information comes ready prepared means I do not have to do much research, thus saving me a lot of time. I can say that means a time saving of 80% to 90%.
IBRAR KHAN: Okay, so there is a whole, I guess, team behind Harun Yahya, who is propagating his points of views and his opinions and his arguments. Would that be correct?
ADNAN OKTAR: I have a wide team who brings me prepared information. In other words, they bring me the information I need, in summary and collected together. That makes writing the books very much easier, because authors spend a lot of time on research. But I do not have to devote time to research but have the research brought to me already done, and I just establish the connections and do the analysis.
IBRAR KHAN: Okay, I understand. So now my next question would be; we have already mentioned the Atlas of Creation, one of your foremost and most prominent books, but what sort of reception, what sort of response did it get when it was released in France?
ADNAN OKTAR: France is the bastion of materialist, Darwinist thinking. It has for long been the place where atheism, atheist philosophy, has been most developed. There was therefore no effective force against France, against Europe. There was no force to oppose Darwinism, to tell them of the illogicality and irrationality of Darwinism with an explicit and strong voice. My sudden standing up to them came as a huge shock and they were terrified by the scale of the dilemma in which this illogical theory found itself. They saw how they had been espousing a theory entirely based on chance. There are 250 million fossils that prove creation, but they were unaware of them. We put those before them; the number of fossils proving creation was formerly 100 million and is now 250 million. They realized that not a single one is a transitional fossil, whereas they had formerly imagined that there were a great many of them. They saw that proteins could not come into being by chance, for which reason they saw that their theory was in a dead-end right from the outset and full of lies. But they were really humiliated. They then launched a counter-attack since they were unable to explain this to the general public. The impact of the book then increased many times over. At the moment Darwinism is literally paralyzed. Note that there is a profound silence all over the world. That stems from the death of Darwinism. Newspapers are no longer able to print blatant lies. I give their answers instantly in every single of their attempts. They are humiliated every time, and are tired of being so disgraced. They languished and no longer have room to breathe, if you notice.
IBRAR KHAN: Okay, now obviously brother Adnan Oktar wasn’t - you know- you weren’t born- you know- nobody is born a writer. But throughout life we read books and we study authors and eventually we find the writer within and we go into our own specific, you know, we focus in our writing. But my question is this, brother Oktar, who are your heroes in the literary world? Most people would say people like Shakespeare, etc. Who are your heroes?
ADNAN OKTAR: The person with the best use of language and description in the world is Bediuzzaman Said-i Nursi. His Turkish is perfect, his verbalism is perfect. His Risale-i Nur Collection is a perfect work in terms of literary merit, philosophy, faith and moral virtue. I recommend them to everyone. They are very valuable works that really affect me deeply.
IBRAR KHAN: Okay, now going on to a bit about your childhood, give us a brief summation or tell us in a nutshell what was your childhood like and what was your upbringing. I mean I have done some research and, you know, you are a sayyid, a descendant of the Prophet Mohammed. But what was your upbringing, what was your childhood like and what did you study at university?
ADNAN OKTAR: Yes. I attended primary, middle and high school in Ankara. I was a very lively child. I was also very devout as a child, when I was young, and my devotion increased during my high school years. I began performing the salat in my later high school years and began reading all works about philosophy and religion. In 1979 I won a place at the Findikli Academy of Fine Arts. I came third in the Istanbul Findikli Academy of Fine Arts entrance exams. But my real aim was to tell people about the religion there. The place was known as the bastion of art and philosophy. And I talked about Islam and religion there. I stayed there from 1979 to 1983. In 1983 I moved to Istanbul University Department of Philosophy. I studied at the Philosophy Department, but I was unable to continue because of the intense anarchy and terror at the time. I left school and began devoting more time to my book and CD work and to researching articles. And that was a very good thing.
IBRAR KHAN: Okay, and a double-headed question here. What would you say is your greatest achievement, and what book gave you the most pleasure in writing?
ADNAN OKTAR: Of course it is Allah Who creates all things. Allah made me His instrument, but the work I like best is my Atlas of Creation because it had an impact like an atomic bomb and because it had fundamentally resolved matters. It is the work that has torn Darwinism up by the roots in Europe and America. The same in Turkey. The level of people who do not believe in Darwinism in Turkey is 95%. Before that, it was the other way around. There has been a huge success. The Atlas of Creation is the reason why there is currently not a peep out of Darwinism in France, Europe and America. They have been humiliated and intellectually routed. They have seen what a hollow theory, what an empty belief they have been following along behind. Many of them have been embarrassed by this. And this will get even better in the coming years. With the coming of the Prophet ‘Isa (as) and Hazrat Mahdi (as), the world will enter the Golden Age and people will laugh at these theories they believed in and will be amazed at the position they had been in. Because they believed in completely empty and meaningless things. But this century is now one of true science, true reason and religion. Believers will give rise to a tremendous civilization in this century, which we call the Golden Age. A perfect world will arise, in which there is happiness, peace, love, friendship and delights of all kinds. The Prophet ‘Isa (as) and Hazrat Mahdi (as) are brothers, both being descended from the Prophet Ibrahim (as). They will do this together, by the will of Allah. This is a reality in the destiny of this world. Nobody can halt this destiny, insha’Allah.
IBRAR KHAN: Now in 1986, I was reading a biography about yourself, and in 1986 you were arrested and imprisoned in Bakirkoy Mental Hospital. Again in 1991 you were accused of taking cocaine. Now my question is this, how was your work spread so rapidly despite all these negative situations that have surrounded you in the past. And what you call the conspiracy against you, how do you think your works have spread so fast and so quickly despite all these negative allegations?
ADNAN OKTAR: Well, if there were no resistance in front of me, if the Masons, communists and communist deep state had supported me, then I would have realized that I was not a genuine Muslim and that people did not regard me as one. The other side has always oppressed and slandered all the prophets, their followers, the Companions and just about everyone who has struggled on the path of Allah. It clearly states in the Qur’an that many prophets were accused of being mentally ill. Many religious scholars have been called mentally ill in the same way. But these allegations have further enhanced these holy individuals’ fervor and determination to struggle. And the allegations made against me further strengthened my determination. They issued a report saying I was mentally ill and used it against me for 10 years. Then the military hospital issued a report saying I was not mentally ill, but sound in mind and body. The stratagem was thus foiled. There was an allegation that I used cocaine. But it was realized that the cocaine was administered by mixing it with my food and drink while I was in the Security Department. The Forensic Medicine Institution established that, the court confirmed it and I was acquitted. And everyone saw that I was exposed to a huge conspiracy. But that just increased my fervor and my enthusiasm. It also increased the enthusiasm of the people around me. Muslims inevitably face difficulties of this kind. There is a verse on the subject. I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed satan; “Or did you suppose that you would enter the Garden without facing the same as those who came before you?” says Allah. They also suffered many difficulties, says Almighty Allah. And we are undergoing such difficulties, as well. It is a matter of pride for me. It shows that a Muslim is on the right path, and is acting correctly. If the wrong people had supported me; if the masons, communists and atheists had supported me; then it would have been doubtful. But such a matter is very good, something that corroborates my success.
IBRAR KHAN: Okay. In 1991 after these various conspiracies, you dedicated your time to writing books. Now I have already mentioned in the introduction you wrote over 300 books which have been translated into 57 languages. Now that is a huge number of publications. But my question is, where do you get the inspiration from, where did it come from?
ADNAN OKTAR: The source of this inspiration is my deep love of Allah and deep fear of Allah. Love and fear of Allah produce a profound love, fervor and excitement in the soul. Apart from when he is asleep, a person devotes all his time to Allah. I devote all my time to Allah. This is the most delightful, the most beautiful and most correct behavior in the world.
IBRAR KHAN: Moving on to politics. What is your opinion on the growing economic and political links with Turkey and Iran at this moment of time?
ADNAN OKTAR: Iran is a state that is a friend of Turkey and has long been close to it. Iranians are delightful people. They are immaculate. They are good people. Therefore, Turkey’s having good relations with Iran is good and auspicious for both countries. Recent developments are therefore excellent. As you know, people can come and go between Turkey and Iran without visas. That is a sign of closeness. I think that the recent events in Iran were organized by former communists in Iran and the heroin mafia. Because Iranians are very decent mannered, good mannered and compassionate people. They are devout people opposed to terror, violence and anarchy. They are people who fully support democracy, participation levels in Iran being 85%. This shows how Iran genuinely supports democracy and how perfectly democracy functions there. Eighty-five percent is a level I do not encounter often. They have gone through a successful election period. There are minor errors and deficiencies in all elections, but generally speaking this was a successful election. I congratulate President Ahmadinejad on his success. I believe that he is well-intentioned, and a lovable, genuine Muslim. But the Iranian administration, the Iranian government including Ahmadinejad, is not claiming to be perfect. They say that their system will persist only until the coming of Hazrat Mahdi (as), that is the first article of the Iranian Constitution. It is set out quite clearly. They say that Constitution will apply only until the coming of Hazrat Mahdi (as). So when Hazrat Mahdi (as), Iran will achieve a perfect state, they do not regard their current state as perfect. They say they will continue their administrative service until the coming of Hazrat Mahdi (as) and then surrender it as soon as Hazrat Mahdi (as) appears. Therefore, Iran will enter the most perfect state in the time of Hazrat Mahdi (as) insha’Allah.
IBRAR KHAN: Thank you for that. Now I was recently at a lecture in Oxford and the person who was speaking was, well it was a lecture that was delivered by Prime Minister Erdogan, you know the Prime Minister of Turkey, and he seemed to be very sympathetic towards the Palestine issue and the Palestinians involved in their struggle. I was just interested what were your opinions on Palestine and the Palestinians?
ADNAN OKTAR: The coming of Hazrat Mahdi (as) will be the salvation of both Palestine and Israel. Neither Palestine nor Israel can attain peace until Hazrat Mahdi (as). This is a destiny set out in the hadith. It is the destiny designated by Allah. Those walls around Israel will all come down in the time of Hazrat Mahdi (as), and those people will then be completely free. They will be able to trade as they wish in the region, found schools, establish industrial plants and live very happily. Palestine will become many times lovelier than before, the borders will go back to where they were and they will live in peace, joy and happiness with their Israeli brothers. And they will become a state of their own, but these states, Israel and Palestine, will be states of love, peace and brotherhood. There will be no conflict between them. Israel will live in peace in the region, as free and independent as it can be, and their Palestinian brothers, all Arabs and all Muslims will enjoy that happiness. Therefore, the age of Hazrat Mahdi (as) is a salvation for the entire world. Armenia, Turkestan, Tajikistan. Kazakhstan, Egypt, Syria, Pakistan and all of them will reach happiness and peace. This period will actually be a short one. This beauty that will rule the world with the coming of the Prophet ‘Isa (as) will be short-lived. Because we are in the final age of the world. The life span of the Ummah will come to an end after the year 1500 (Islamic calendar). Said Nursi says that Doomsday may take place around 1545. There is therefore very little time left, and the picture is the same according to Jewish sources. And according to Christian sources. Very little time remains until the Doomsday. The Prophet ‘Isa (as) may return at any moment. In my view Hazrat Mahdi (as) has already come. The world is heading for a happy time, the Golden Age. Little time remains until the return of the Prophet ‘Isa (as). By Allah’s leave, we can expect the Prophet ‘Isa (as) in the next 10 or 20 years. Palestine and Israel will both rejoice in such a climate. There will be a dominion the like of which has never been seen before. Not even in the time of the Prophet Sulayman (as). Nor in that of Dhu’l Qarnayn (as). It is the first time in the history of the world there will be such a rule. Our Prophet (saas) tells us that in the hadith. He issues very clear statements about that. Our friends can visit the www.harunyahya.net, www.harunyahya.org and www.harunyahya.com web sites to read those hadith.
IBRAR KHAN: Okay, now you recently said that Turkey would lead an Islamic Union. How and when do you think this will occur?
ADNAN OKTAR: Following my statements about the Turkish-Islamic Union, Allah made it coincide, Allah is using me as His instrument, insha’Allah, there have been stupendous developments regarding the Turkish-Islamic Union. Hundreds of developments have happened and these developments are continuing at full speed at this moment. But the flawless sovereignty of the Turkish-Islamic Union will be in the time of Hazrat Mahdi (as). The Turkish-Islamic Union will be fully established under the leadership of Hazrat Mahdi (as). Because the hadith say there will first be a Turkish Union. Following the Turkish Union, there will be an Islamic Union under Turkish leadership, they say. And that is the Turkish-Islamic Union. It is a phenomenon that will occur in the time of Hazrat Mahdi (as). The Turkish-Islamic Union means salvation for all of Asia and all the Middle East. And salvation for the whole world. After that, the Prophet ‘Isa (as) will appear. The whole Christian and Muslim worlds will unite, and the whole world will become Muslim. One religion will remain. That is the glorious end, the glorious beauty of the world. The world will literally be full of peace, brotherhood, love and justice. Indeed, we are told that not just human beings, but even animals will be happy in that time. The hadith say that even the birds in the air and the fish in the sea will be content.
IBRAR KHAN: What did you make of the recent visit by Barack Obama?
ADNAN OKTAR: His language was very genuine. I have found his language to date very sincere. Insha’Allah, I think he will be the helper of the Prophet ‘Isa (as) and Hazrat Mahdi (as). I think he will instrumental in Islamic world rule and will assist the Prophet ‘Isa (as) in successfully ruling the world. Insha’Allah we are heading toward good outcomes. I believe that Obama will be a very useful person on this auspicious path.
IBRAR KHAN: Do you think Barack Obama, I mean you mentioned previously that Turkey will insha’Allah one day be a super-state, perhaps as soon as in 20 years’ time. Do you think Barack Obama, or whoever is the president at the time of the United States of America, do you think that they will let that happen?
ADNAN OKTAR: This will be a force of love, friendship and brotherhood, not a military one, and I therefore think there will be no leader who does not want friendship and love. There should be no problem. And if there were such a person, nobody on Earth would support him. It is thus clear that the whole world will support this that will appear as a force of love, not as a military one. People who refuse to give their support will be negative people, the supporters of satan. Everyone will support love, peace, brotherhood, friendship, goodness and beauty and justice, and these will be the sole aims of the union. This union will not be based on racial supremacy, the idea of oppressing other people, but will seek to win over and serve all of mankind, thus undertaking the finest objective in the world. There will thus be a union that deserves everyone’s support and interest. And that will be formed.
ADNAN OKTAR: All weapons will be eliminated in the End Times, in the time of Hazrat Mahdi (as). All weapons will be eliminated from the world by way of the Prophet ‘Isa (as) and Hazrat Mahdi (as), and this is openly stated in the hadith. One of the most important features of the time of Hazrat Mahdi (as) is that there will be no weapons remaining. All weapons will be done away with, and the materials use for them will be used in industry instead. All the materials and money used for armaments will be used in other industries, for global regeneration.
ADNAN OKTAR: There are 300 portents of the coming of the Prophet ‘Isa (as) and Hazrat Mahdi (as). Around 300 hadith mention the portents. These have all come about, and this is a very great miracle. But the world is unaware of it. People have seen these 300 portents, that are technically and mathematically true, coming about one after the other over the last 30 years. For example, the solar and lunar eclipses in the month of Ramadan, the stopping of the waters of the Euphrates, the occupation of Afghanistan, the attack on the Ka’abah, the occupation of Iraq and many other similar signs. These are all described in great detail for people to see on my web site, and they have all come about, which is a great miracle. It is positive evidence that the time of the Prophet ‘Isa (as) and Hazrat Mahdi (as) has come.
IBRAR KHAN: Now I myself have just come back from Istanbul and Turkey. It is so clear and apparent that a huge legacy that has been left behind by the Ottoman Empire. But my question is; how do you, brother Adnan, think the Ottoman Empire has influenced modern-day Turkey?
ADNAN OKTAR: We have an experience of state inherited from the Ottomans. The Ottoman Empire treated every country and nation with love. It never adopted a policy of assimilation, but respected everyone’s religion, language, customs and traditions and reserved them with all diligence. But the Ottoman Empire was of course not flawless, it has its faults, its mistakes. This will not apply in the time of Hazrat Mahdi (as), but will take the most perfect, delightful and flawless form, because that is destiny. With the coming of the Prophet ‘Isa (as) that beauty will reach the very highest level.
IBRAR KHAN: How does brother Adnan Oktar think Muslims throughout the world can assist him with his work?
ADNAN OKTAR: They can recommend my books. They can access my web sites and download books free of charge. All the books on my web site are free of charge. They can recommend them to one another. They can take articles from my web sites and add them to their own when they set them up. They can recommend them widely to their friends and colleagues. They can talk about what they read, and I think that such an activity will be highly effective.
ADNAN OKTAR: Against irreligion, against materialism -
IBRAR KHAN: It is true that you once offered 4 billion pounds for anybody who could produce evidence of evolution? How true is that?
ADNAN OKTAR: Yes, it is true. And the offer is still open. I said that if anyone produces a single transitional fossil of the kind described by Darwin or by Darwinists to corroborate their theory, I will give them 10 trillion lira. The offer still stands. I have been waiting for months, but no-one has come knocking. That means there is no such fossil. They cannot find any, because it is a lie. They can see with their own eyes that the theory is built on a lie, that the theory is a lie. Whereas if they had any transitional fossils I imagine they would have come running. And I promise to pay up right away. But nobody is coming. That means it is a blatant lie. But it will be very useful for people to visit my web sites in order for this lie to be better understood. Because the scientific and rational evidence is very clearly set out there. In the way I describe things, there is no other alternative. Everything is very clear and very honest. When I say I describe things, of course what I do mean is that it is Allah Who causes me to write them. Allah uses me as His instrument, and it happens because that is in my destiny. It does not stem from any special talent or ability of mine. Allah merely makes me His instrument in these works of mine. My brothers can therefore visit my web sites in complete confidence. And can make use of the information in them.
IBRAR KHAN: Now for people who don’t know too much about Richard Dawkins. He is a world famous Darwinist and somebody who, I guess, believes in the theory of evolution into it’s fullest. Why do you think he refuses to debate with you?
ADNAN OKTAR: There is something that Richard Dawkins knows very well, that he will be completely routed and humiliated and intellectually eliminated in just 5 or 10 minutes. He knows that perfectly well and has no doubt about it. That is why he goes and debates with priests or young children who have no knowledge of the subject. He tells them things and thus deceives himself in the process. Dawkins has clearly understood on reading my books that his theory and ideas have collapsed. He is still trying to hold out, as a matter of pride, but what counts is that people have now grasped the true facts. He will soon announce that he has abandoned that false path and those false ideas. But since he has adopted this as his profession and thinks that it will damage his prestige to abandon the priesthood of this pagan religion he is refusing to give way solely out of pride. But you can be sure he will soon abandon these ideas, insha’Allah.
IBRAR KHAN: And what about future developments on your behalf? I mean are you currently writing or working on anything at the moment? And when will you be coming to the UK next?
ADNAN OKTAR: I am working on the other volumes of my book, Atlas of Creation, at the moment. As you know, I said there would be 7 volumes, but I have now raised that to 14. I am collecting the information for them, and the work on the photographs is taking a long time. I was preparing a work called the History of the Prophets and have developed it even further now. The number of volumes of that book has been increased, as well. I am in the course of preparing a number of new books. My brother can monitor these developments on my web sites. Everyone, my Muslim, Christian and Jewish brothers and even non-believers can all follow developments.
IBRAR KHAN: Finally, brother Adnan, what message do you have for Muslims in the West? What message do you have?
ADNAN OKTAR: My brothers can be in great rejoice and also they should put their best foot forward. Islam will be by all means sovereign in this century. They must love one another and never allow themselves to be divided by sectarian divisions. They must ally themselves together, visit one another’s web sites, recommend good and useful information to each other, read a lot, represent role models for other people and be very genuine. Allah says that only His genuine servants will be saved. I take shelter in Allah from the satan, Almighty Allah says: “Only my genuine servants will be saved”. If we are honest and sincere, if we pray to Allah, then the results will be very excellent. The dominion of Islam is the destiny of the world. We are just acting within that destiny, insha’Allah.
IBRAR KHAN: Brother Adnan Oktar, a.k.a Harun Yahya, it has been an absolute pleasure talking to you. And thank you so much for taking time out in your busy schedule to be with us here today. Thank you so much. Salamun alaykum.
ADNAN OKTAR: It was a great honor and blessing for me. I give thanks to Allah that we have met and spoken. May you be in Allah’s care. And Alaykum Sealam wa Rahmatullahi ve Barakatuhu
IBRAR KHAN: Thank you very much indeed. Thanks, Sir. I think that’s gone really really well. I know we’ve gone over the time slightly, but if you could tell brother Adnan Oktar in my best Turkish voice “tesekkur ederim”. Is that how you say it?
Translator: That’s a very perfect pronunciation, and he has heard your ‘tesekkur ederim?’
ADNAN OKTAR: Masha’Allah, masha’Allah, and thank you, too.
IBRAR KHAN: Well I do my best, now I have to say “gule gule.’ Okay, bye bye; Salamun alaykum
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