We’ve got Phil Skell, and we can’t get rid of him. Both Michael Behe and William Harris have rolled through my parts in the past few years. Tonight we get disciples of Adnan Oktar (Harun Yahya), the muslim creationist described in this article on creationism in Turkey. He’s also an alleged holocaust denier.

When I got my “Invitation to attend Evolution lecture tonight” (reproduced below the fold) from the president of the Muslim Student Association, I didn’t know what to think. I’m not sure if I’ll be attending the talk (I’ve got real work to do), and Oktar won’t even be there; he’s sending out two of his “students” to give the presentation. (I put students in quotes because students require teachers, and teachers are supposed to spread knowledge encourage independent thinking, not banish understanding from their realm of impact.)

And even if I decide to attend, I probably won’t blog on it. This shit just saps all my desire to live.

Here is the email sent to a bunch of graduate students inviting us to the talk:

Dear Fellow Student,

I am writing to cordially invite you to our lecture tomorrow on “The Collapse of Darwinism and the Fact of Creation.” Our speakers are scientists and students of Turkish writer Harun Yahya, who has sold millions of books around the world. The scientific approach they have taken to deconstructing Darwinism has earned them great renown throughout the Muslim world.

I understand that much of the mainstream scientific community is reluctant to consider such theories anything better than pseudo-science. If this is true, then this makes the attendance of graduate students in an acclaimed biology program such as [university name redacted]‘s such as yourself even more important. While we respect the viewpoints of our guests, we are in search of the truth and discussion is always beneficial.

Thus, I hope you accept our sincere invitation to attend the lecture tomorrow night. I am certain the entire university community could benefit from your informed perspective in the post-lecture Q/A session.

Best regards,

[name redacted]

President, Muslim Student Association

[name redacted] University

Here is the advertisement for the talk:

______________________________

The Collapse of Darwinism and the Fact of Creation:

A Harun Yahya Conference

A thought-provoking presentation by renowned scientists

Dr. Oktar Babuna, M.D. and Dr. Ali Sadun, Ph.D.

Members, Science Research Foundation, Istanbul, Turkey

Followed by an extended interactive discussion and Q/A session

7:00 pm, Thursday, January 25th

[address redacted]

Sponsored by the Muslim Student Association and Dialog Forum

(of the [name redacted] University)

Harun Yahya is one of the most prolific writers of the Islamic world; his books have been translated into 57 languages and millions of copies have been sold. He is most renowned for his scientific arguments for the creation of Man and the Universe. We invite the [university name redacted] community to attend this event and to gain valuable insight from this unique perspective. Students and faculty specializing in the life sciences are especially encouraged to contribute to the after-event discussion.