Academics fear the book could also end up in schools.
By Edd McCracken
Education Correspondent

A controversial book by an evangelical Muslim - claiming to prove that God created the earth, and calling evolution a "deceit" that was responsible for the Holocaust, communism and the 9/11 attacks - is being sent unsolicited to Scottish universities.

Seven copies of the lavishly-produced Atlas Of Creation by Harun Yahya have arrived at the University of Edinburgh, while the University of Glasgow has received two, leading to concerns that they may appear in schools as well.

Last year, the book caused uproar in France when it turned up in classrooms, prompting human rights watchdog the Council of Europe to report on Yahya, his writings, and his method of distribution.

"I find it quite staggering," said Aubrey Manning, emeritus professor of natural history at the University of Edinburgh. He houses his seven copies in a cupboard in the zoology department's staff room. "Every academic I know says they've got one of those. And it's peddling an absolute, downright lie."

He said the appearance of the books and the rise of creationist voices in the UK, within both Christian and Muslim groups, didn't affect his teaching but that he was "much more worried about primary and secondary school classrooms".

He added: "Christians do not have a monopoly on irrational thinking. I would be very worried what these fundamentalist Islamites are up to. I'm pretty sure they're not neo-Darwinians."

In contrast to many Young-Earth Creationists, who believe the earth to be only 6000 years old, the Atlas Of Creation says the earth is hundreds of millions of years old, but that species, including humans, have remained the same throughout.

Most of the 800 pages are taken up with glossy pictures showing fossils and their contemporary living equivalent unchanged in form, thereby, alleges the book, disproving evolution.

It states that "there exists not a single example within 100 million fossils related to 250,000 species catalogued by scientists until today that supports evolution".

It goes further in linking a belief in evolution to modern evils.

Under a picture of the collapsing Twin Towers, a caption reads: "No matter what ideology they may espouse, those who perpetrate terror all over the world are, in reality, Darwinists. Darwinism is the only philosophy that places value on - and thus encourages - conflict."

Harun Yahya is the pen name of Adnan Oktar, an Istanbul-based writer. Under his pseudonym, Oktar has produced hundreds of books, videos and articles.

According to Taner Edis, a physicist at Truman State University in the US who has written several books on Islam and science, Oktar is "the leader of a small religious sect and an art school drop-out."

Copies of Atlas Of Creation began appearing in American universities last year. Edis has two in his office. He said they caught academics' eyes because of their high production value, but also because it argued for creationism from a Muslim perspective, as opposed to the more widely heard Protestant Christian tradition.

"Creationism is a popular way of thought among Muslims, particularly among those exposed to more Western ways of thinking," he said. "In that sense, it's not out of the mainstream. However, the degree of emphasis Yahya places on how Darwinian evolution is the root of all evil in the world, that is unusual."

Islamic theologian Amanullah De Sondy, of the University of Glasgow, said he is wary of the Atlas Of Creation and Oktars's other writings. He said they are from "an evangelical, populist, very devotional" point of view.

"What he's always trying to do is show how Islam is far superior to everything else," he said. "It's very cleverly done. But you can't just show kids a Harun Yahya book and say this is the Islamic viewpoint. There are so many other viewpoints. That's problematic. The loudest voices or the prettiest books are being accepted as the voice. Usually the voices of reason are the quietest."