WHAT IS A FOSSIL?
WHAT IS A FOSSIL?
In the broadest definition, a fossil is the remains of a living thing that lived long ago and that has survived down to the present day by being preserved under natural conditions. The fossils that come down to us are parts of an organism, or remains left behind when the living thing concerned was still alive (the latter are known as trace fossils.) They are formed when dead animals or plants are preserved before they completely decay and eventually become part of the earth's sedimentary rock. In order for fossilization to take place, the animal or plant concerned must be buried in a fairly rapid manner—generally by being covered in a layer of silt. This is generally followed by a chemical process, during which preservation is ensured by means of mineral changes that take place in the original tissues.
 A 50-MILLION-YEAR-OLD FROG FOSSIL There exists no difference between this frog, alive 50 million years ago, and those of today. |
Fossils are the most important evidence of the details of prehistoric life. From various regions of the world, hundreds of millions of fossils have been obtained, and they provide a window into the history and structure of life on Earth. Millions of fossils indicate that species appeared suddenly, fully-formed and with their complex structures, and have undergone no changes in the millions of years since. This is significant proof that life was brought into existence out of nothing—in other words that it was created. Not a single fossil suggests that living things formed gradually, in other words that they evolved. The fossil specimens that evolutionists maintain as "intermediate fossils" are few in number, and the invalidity of these has been scientifically proven. At the same time, some of the specimens depicted as intermediate fossils have actually been revealed as fakes, demonstrating that Darwinists are in such a state of despair as to resort to fraud.
For the last 150 years or so, fossils from excavations carried out all over the world prove that fish have always been fish, insects have always been insects, birds have always been birds and reptiles have always been reptiles. Not one single fossil has pointed to any transition between living species—in other words, from fish to amphibian or from reptile to bird. In short, the fossil record has definitively demolished the theory of evolution's basic claim, that species descended from one another by undergoing changes over long periods of time.
 This birch fossil from the Paleocene period (65.5 to 55 million years ago) found in Montana is three-dimensional. |
In addition to the information that fossils provide concerning life forms, they also supply significant data regarding the history of the planet, such as how the movements of continental plates have altered the surface of the Earth and what kind of climatic changes took place in past eras.
Fossils have attracted the interest of researchers ever since the days of ancient Greece, although their study as a distinct branch of science began only in the middle of the 17th century. This followed the works of the researcher Robert Hooke (author of Micrographia, 1665, and Discourse of Earthquakes, 1668) and Niels Stensen (better known as Nicolai Steno). At the time when Hooke and Steno carried out their investigations, most thinkers did not believe that fossils were actually the remains of living things that had existed in the past. At the heart of the debate over whether fossils were the actual remains of living things lay the inability to explain where fossils were discovered, in terms of geological data. Fossils were frequently found in mountainous regions, although at the time, it was impossible to account for how a fish, for example, could have been fossilized in a stratum of rock so high above sea level. Just as Leonardo da Vinci had previously suggested, Steno maintained that sea levels must have declined over the course of history. Hooke, on the other hand, said that mountains have been formed as the result of warming inside the Earth and earthquakes in the oceanic plates.
 A crab fossil that lived between 38 and 23 million years ago |
Following the accounts of Hooke and Steno, who explained that fossils were actually the remains of living things that had once lived in the past, geology developed during the 18th and 19th centuries, and systematic fossil collecting and research began turning into a branch of science. The principles that Steno had laid out were followed in the classification and interpretation of fossils. From the 18th century on, the development of mining and increased railway construction permitted greater, more detailed investigation of what lay below the ground surface.
Modern geology revealed that the Earth's crust consisted of enormous sections known as "plates," which moved across the surface of the globe, carrying the continents and forming the oceans. The greater the movement of the plates, the more changes in the Earth's geography. Mountain ranges were the result of the collisions between very large plates. Changes and upthrusts in the Earth's geography that took place over very long periods of time also showed that strata that today form portions of mountains were once under water.
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A 490- to 443-million-year-old starfish reveals that starfish have remained the same for hundreds of millions of years and have not evolved. |
A WINGED ANT THAT LIVED 20 TO 15 MILLION
YEARS
AGO. |
Shrimp that lived 250 million and 70 million years ago are the same as those that live in our day. Shrimp that have remained unchanged for millions of years show that evolution has never occurred. |
 A fossil researcher working at the Ediacara Formation in Australia.. |
In this way, fossils seen in rock strata emerged as one major means of obtaining information about the different periods of the Earth's history. Geological information showed that the remains of living things preserved after death in sediments—fossils, in other words—rose up in rock strata laid down over enormously long periods of time. Some of the rocks in which fossils were found dated back hundreds of millions of years.
During these studies, it was observed that specific fossil species were found only in specific strata and certain types of rock. Consecutive rock strata were observed to contain their own fossil groups, which could be regarded as that particular layer's "signature." These "signature fossils" could vary, according to time, period, and area. For example, two different environmental conditions and kinds of sediments—an ancient lake bed and a coral reef, for example—might be encountered in the same fossil-bearing stratum belonging to the same geologic period. Alternatively, one might encounter the same fossil "signature" in two different rock beds many kilometers apart from one another. Through the information imparted by these remains, scientists determined the geological time frame that we still use today.
Darwinists claim that by undergoing minor changes, living beings evolve from one species to another over millions of years. According to this claim which is refuted by scientific findings, fish transformed into amphibians, and reptiles transformed into birds. This so-called transformation process, asserted to last for millions of years, should have left countless evidence in the fossil record. In other words, during their intense researches for the last hundred years, researchers should have uncovered many grotesque living beings such as half-fish half-lizard, half-spider half fly or half-lizard half-bird. However, although almost every stratum on Earth has been dug, not even a single fossil has been found that Darwinists can use as an evidence for their so-called transition. On the other hand, there are innumerable fossils showing that spiders were always spiders, flies were always flies, fish were always fish, crocodiles were always crocodiles, rabbits were always rabbits and birds were always birds. Hundreds of millions of fossils clearly show that living beings have not undergone evolution, but were created. Hundreds of millions of fossils prove that living beings did not evolve, but were created. |
A satellite image of the Earth.
The Formation of Fossils
 A wasp of 54 to 28 million years old, petrified in amber. |
Following the death of a living thing, a fossil comes into being through the preservation of hard body components an animal leaves behind, such as bones, teeth, shell or nails. Fossils are generally thought of as parts of a plant or animal in a petrified state. However, fossils do not come into being only through petrifaction. Some have survived down to the present day without any impairment or decay of their structures, such as mammoths frozen inside ice or insects and small species of reptiles and invertebrates preserved in amber.
 This dragonfly trapped in mud may one day become fossilized and will reach the future generations as evidence that evolution has never happened. |
When a living thing dies, the soft tissues comprising its muscles and organs soon begin to decay under the effects of bacteria and environmental conditions. (In very rare occasions, such as in sub-zero cold or dry heat of deserts, decay does not take place.) The more resistant parts of the organism, usually mineral-containing parts such as the bones or teeth, can survive for longer periods of time, allowing them to undergo various physical and chemical processes. And these processes allow fossilization to take place. Therefore, most of those parts that become fossils are vertebrates' bones and teeth, shells of brachiopods and molluscs, the external skeletons of certain crustacean and trilobites, the general outlines of coral-like organisms and sponges, and the woody parts of plants.
An organism's surroundings and environmental conditions also play a major role in fossil formation. One can predict whether or not fossilization will take place on the basis of an organism's surroundings. For example, in terms of fossil formation, underwater environments are more advantageous than dry land ones.
The most common, widespread process of fossilization is known as permineralization or mineralization. During this process the organism is replaced by minerals in the liquid in the soil in which the body is immersed. During the process of mineralization, the following stages take place:
First, it is essential that by being covered in soil, mud or sand, the body of the dead organism should immediately be protected from contact with the air. Over the following months, new layers of sediments are laid down over the buried remains. These layers act as a thickening shield, protecting the animal's body from external agents and physical wear. Many more layers form, one atop the previous ones; and within a few hundred years the animal's remains lie several meters beneath the surface of the land or sea or lake bottom. As more time passes, structures such as the animal's bones, shell, scales or cartilage slowly begin their chemical breakdown. Underground waters begin to infiltrate these structures, and the dissolved minerals contained in these waters—minerals such as calcite, pyrite, silica and iron, which are far more resistant to erosion and chemical breakdown—gradually replace the chemicals in the tissues. Thus over the course of millions of years, these minerals give rise to an exact stone copy by replacing the tissues in the organism's body. Finally, the fossil comes to possess the exact shape and external form as the original organism, although now converted into stone.
 1. Reef: Calcareous sea animals that form the reef. 2. Radiolarian: a type of microscopic plankton with skeletons of silica. 3. Two-shelled mollusk, shelled with calcium carbonate. In fossils, such hard organs may be preserved unchanged. 4. Graptolite: Fossils with organic skeletons that generally left traces on black shale. These creatures lived in groups. 5. Shark teeth: Bones and teeth consist largely of phosphorus, for which reason they are more resistant, compared with many soft-tissue organs. 6. Trace fossils: Fossils that are formed by traces seen on sediments. 7. Ammonite: A specimen whose shell had been replaced by iron pyrites and fossilized. 8. A petrified tree: In time, the tree's wooden cells are replaced by silica and fossilized. 9. Amber: Small organisms are preserved in resin. 10. Carbonized leaves: Plants transformed into carbon fibers. |
Various situations may be encountered during mineralization:
1. If the skeleton is completely filled with liquid solution and breakdown takes place at a later stage, then the internal structure gets fossilized.
 This fossil fish, 50 million years old, is evidence that fish have always remained as fish. |
2. If the
skeleton is totally replaced by a different mineral from the
original,
a complete copy of the shell emerges.
3. If an exact template or "mould" of
the skeleton forms due to pressure, then the remains of the skeleton's
external
surface may remain.
 A 20- to 15-million-year-old midge preserved in amber. |
In plant fossils, on the other hand, it is carbonization caused by bacteria that applies. During the carbonization process, oxygen and nitrogen are replaced by carbon and hydrogen. Carbonization takes place by breaking down the tissue molecules by bacteria through changes in pressure and temperature or various chemical processes, causing chemical changes in the structure of the protein and cellulose in such a way that only carbon fibers remain. Other such organic materials as carbon dioxide, methane, hydrogen sulphate and water vapour disappear. This process gave rise to the natural coal beds that formed from the swamps that existed during the Carboniferous Period, 354 to 290 million years ago.
Fossils sometimes form when organisms are submerged in waters rich in calcium and get coated by minerals such as travertine. As the organism decays, it leaves behind traces of itself in the mineral bed.
 At times, fragile organisms may also get fossilized under extraordinary conditions. Pictured is a starfish from the Jurassic period (206 to 144 million years ago). There is no difference whatsoever between this fossil and the starfish of our day. |
The complete fossilization of a living thing's soft parts, even including fur, feathers or skin, is encountered only rarely. Remains of some soft-tissued life forms of the Precambrian Period (dating back 4.6 billion to 543 million years ago) have been very well preserved. There are also soft-tissue remains that permit internal structures from the Cambrian Period (543 to 490 million years ago), to be examined in addition to hard-tissue remains of living things right down to the present day. Fossil remains of animal fur and hairs preserved in amber, and fossil remains dating back 150 million years are other examples that permit detailed investigation. Mammoths compacted in Siberian ice packs or insects and reptiles trapped in amber in Baltic forests have also become fossilized together with their soft-tissue structures.
Fossils can vary considerably in terms of size, according to the type of organism preserved. Very different fossils have been obtained from the fossilized microorganisms to giant fossils from animals that lived together as groups or herds, in a communal lifestyle. One of the most striking examples of such giant fossils is the sponge reef in Italy. Resembling a giant hill, this reef is composed of 145-million-year-old limestone sponges that developed at the bottom of the ancient Sea of Tethys, and later rose up as the result of the movement of tectonic plates. It contains specimens of the life forms living in sponge reefs during the Triassic Period. The Burgess Shale in Canada and Chengjiang in China are among the largest fossil beds containing thousands of fossils from the Cambrian Period. The amber beds in the Dominican Republic and along the western shores of the Baltic Sea are other major sources of fossil insects. The Green River fossil beds in the U.S. state of Wyoming, the White River fossil beds in Central America, the Eichstatt beds in Germany and the Hajoula fossil beds in Lebanon are other examples that can be cited.
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| The skin and scales of this
fish from the Triassic Period (250 to 203 million years ago) are
fossilized with all their details intact. This sample reveals that fish
had the same scale structure 250 million years ago. |
 THE GREATEST SPONGE REEF ON EARTH This sponge reef of 145 million years old is a trace of the Tethys Ocean floor. The sponges of our day are no different from those that make up the hill. These sponges make it clear that they have not undergone any evolution. |
Under How Many Distinct Groups Are Fossils Studied?
Just as with the living species, fossils too are studied under sections referred to as "kingdoms." In the 19th century, fossils were grouped together under two basic categories: either plants or animals. Subsequent research and discoveries made it necessary for other main fossil groups to be established, including for life forms such as fungi and bacteria. Under the fossil classification developed in 1963, fossils began to be studied in the form of five separate kingdoms:
1. Animalia – fossils from the animal kingdom, of
which
the oldest known specimens date back 600 million years.
2. Plantae – fossils from the plant kingdom, of which
the oldest
known specimens date back 500 million years.
3. Monera – fossils of bacteria with no nucleus, the oldest
known
specimens dating back 3.9 billion years.
4. Protoctista – fossils of single-celled organisms. The oldest
known specimens date back 1.7 billion years.
5. Fungi – fossils of multi-celled organisms, of which the
oldest
known specimens date back 550 million years.
Geological Periods and Paleontology
The first basic information regarding the Earth's crust began to be acquired in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, during the buildings of railways and tunnels. William Smith, a British tunnel builder, saw that there were rocks along the North Sea coast similar to those unearthed in Somerset during building work that dated back to the Jurassic period (206 to 144 million years ago). With the rock and fossil specimens he collected from one end of the country to the other, Smith produced the first geological surface map of England. In addition, based on rock specimens in his possession, he also drew underground geological maps for some regions, which made a major contribution to the advancement of modern geology and to determining the Earth's geological time frame. Thanks to the information contained in his maps, the nature and contents (iron seams, coal, etc.) of the strata immediately beneath the surface could be known, even if the rocks themselves were covered in vegetation.
Fossils played a vital role in the acquisition of all his information. The geological time frame from the Precambrian Period to the Quaternary period was drawn up using the data indicated by fossil beds, and is still in use today. Thanks to investigations of rock structures, the stages undergone by the Earth at different periods were identified, and the fossils inside rocks provided information about the organisms that had existed during different periods. Combining these two together produced a chronology, according to which the history of the Earth is separated into two eons, with those eons being subdivided into eras and eras into periods.
1. The Precambrian Eon (4.6 billion to 543 million years ago)
The Precambrian is regarded as the oldest and also the longest period in the Earth's history and is subdivided into various eons and eras. The period between 4.6 and 3.8 billion years ago is referred to as the Hadean Eon. At this time, the Earth's crust was still forming. The Archean Eon was between 3.8 and 2.5 billion years ago, followed by the Proterozoic Eon, between 2.5 billion to 543 million years ago. In the fossil record, there are various traces of single- and multi-celled organisms from these periods.
2. The Phanerozoic Eon (543 million years to the present day)
Phanerozoic means "visible or known life." The Phanerozoic Eon is studied under three separate eras: the Paleozoic, the Mesozoic and the Cenozoic.
2A. The Paleozoic Era (543 to 251 million years ago)
This era, which lasted some 300 million years, is the first and longest part of the Phanerozoic Eon. Throughout the course of the Paleozoic, the climate was generally humid and temperate, though ice ages did take place from time to time.
The Paleozoic Era is studied under six distinct periods, the Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous and Permian :
  (on the right) Rocks from the Precambrian Period in Greenland (4.6 billion years to 543 million years ago). (on the left) The Ediacara Hills in Australia
contain rocks from the Precambrian
Era. The 570- to 543-million-year-old jellyfish
fossils pictured
are also found in Ediacara. These fossil records
dating back
to hundreds of millions of years deny the claim of
"evolutionary
process." According to the unscientific claims of
evolutionists: |
The Cambrian Period (543-490 million years ago)
This period is the geological age in which all the basic living groups (or phyla) still alive today, and even more that subsequently became extinct, appeared suddenly. (Phylum is the largest category after kingdom in the classification of living things. Phyla are determined on the basis of the numbers and variety of living things' organs and tissues, their bodily symmetry and internal organization. The number of today's phyla has been determined as 35, but around 50 existed during the Cambrian Period.)
The emergence of species was so sudden and so wide-ranging that scientists gave it the name of the "Cambrian Explosion." The evolutionist paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould has described this phenomenon as "the most remarkable and puzzling event in the history of life", while the evolutionist zoologist Thomas S. Ray writes that the origin of multi-cellular life is an event of comparable significance to the origin of life itself.
When one considers information about the Cambrian explosion as provided by the science of paleontology, it clearly confirms God's creation and refutes the theory of evolution. The Precambrian age before the Cambrian was populated mainly by single-celled organisms, with just a few multi-celled life forms with few specific characteristics and lacking such complex structures as eyes and feet. Therefore, no evidence supports the imaginary evolutionary transition to Cambrian life forms, and not a single fossil that can be claimed to represent their supposed forerunner. In this barren environment, inhabited by single-celled organisms, an astonishing variety of life with exceedingly complex features suddenly came into being. Through this explosion, moreover, there emerged life forms separated from one another by very distinct structural characteristics. Fossils reveal very profound gaps in terms of both relatedness and complexity among organisms living in the Precambrian and those in the Cambrian. So striking are these gaps that evolutionists, who need to be able to prove continuity among living groups, have been at a loss to establish any familial relationships among these phyla, on even a purely theoretical level.
The Cambrian Period shows that right at the beginning, very different life forms with exceedingly complex structures emerged suddenly—and in fact, this is exactly what is taught by creation. The origin of the perfect structures possessed by living things is God's creation. In the fossil record, these perfect structures appear in a flawless form without exhibiting any deficient, semi-completed or still-functionless stages of the kind predicated by the chance-based theory of evolution.
The Ordovician Period (490 to 443 million years ago)
 A 450-million-year-old fossil horseshoe crab, no different from those crabs of our day. |
 These rocks in Newfoundland show the transition from the Cambrian to the Ordovician Period. |
In this period, a large number of marine invertebrates lived. The fossil record has revealed a great wealth of families of marine creature during the Ordovician Period. There are also terrestrial plant fossils dating back to the same period. During the Ordovician Period, global climate changes caused by ice ages resulted in a number of species becoming extinct. This state of affairs is described as the "Ordovician extinctions."
Some life forms that existed during the Ordovician Period are still around today. One is the horseshoe crab. A 450-million-year-old fossilized horseshoe crab shows that nearly half a billion years ago, these creatures had exactly the same features and complex equipment. The oldest known and most perfect fossilized water spider also belongs to the Ordovician Period (425 million years) and is another important proof that living things have remained unchanged for long ages. In a period when—according to the Darwinist scenario—living things should have been undergoing evolution, these remains reveal that evolution never took place in any manner whatsoever.
The Silurian Period (443 to 417 million years ago)
 Crinoid from the Silurian Period |
As temperatures rose again, the glaciers melted and flooded some continents. There are many fossils of land plants dating back to this period, as well as fossilized echinoderms such as the sea lily, arthropods such as sea scorpions, and various species of jawless fish and armored fish, as well as a number of species of spider.
The Devonian Period (417 to 354 million years ago)
Countless fossil fish date back to this period. During the Devonian, a kind of "mass disappearance" took place and certain species became extinct. This mass disappearance affected coral reefs, with stromatoporoids (a form of reef-forming coral) disappearing entirely.
But there is no difference between the thousands of fossil fish that lived during the Devonian Period and many species of fish living today. This, once again, is important evidence that living things have undergone no changes over the course of millions of years, and that there can be no question of their having evolved gradually.
 A Coelacanth fossil, 410 million years old Coelacanth of our day |
The Carboniferous Period (354 to 290 million years ago)
 355- to 295-million-year-old spider fossil |
Also known as the Coal Age, this period is subdivided into two separate periods, the Lower Carboniferous or Mississippian and the Upper Carboniferous or Pennsylvanian. Land rising and falling, resulting from collisions between continents, and rises and falls in sea levels linked to the polar ice caps were significant events that shaped the world during this period. Many fossils of marine and terrestrial life forms date back to the Carboniferous Period. The coelacanth, which Darwinists for many years depicted as a supposedly intermediate form, is still alive today, proving the invalidity of this claim. It has undergone no change over the course of millions of years and has never undergone "evolution." Contrary to Darwinists' claims that the coelacanth was a "missing link" that corroborated evolution, it is actually an example of a "living fossil" that totally refutes evolution. The coelacanth had been the subject of countless forms of evolutionist speculation, but its emergence as a living fossil presents evolutionists with a major dilemma.
The Permian Period (290 to 248 million years ago)
At the end of the Permian Period, another mass disappearance took place that represented the final end of the Paleozoic Era. The fossil record shows that during this huge disappearance, 90%-95% of living species became extinct. Nonetheless, some Permian life forms have survived right down to the present day. Fossil specimens from the Permian such as dragonflies and spiders prove that evolution never took place at any time in the past.
2B. The Mesozoic Era (248 to 65 million years ago)
The Mesozoic Era is divided into three separate periods: the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous. It was during this era that dinosaurs lived and became extinct.
The Triassic Period (248 to 206 million years ago)
The Mesozoic Era began with the Triassic Period. A large number of Triassic fossils from all over the world show a wide variety of both marine and terrestrial life forms. As is the case with all other periods, there appears not a single intermediate fossil of the kind that evolutionists hope for.
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Scientists working on fossils from the Triassic Period |
The Petrified Forest in Arizona—of fossilized, opalized logs—is one of the most famous structures of the plants from the Triassic Period. This forest, consisting of trees now known as the Chilean aracauria is evidence that plants have not evolved. These trees, which lived 248 to 206 million years ago, are no different from ones living today. |
The Jurassic Period (206 to 144 million years ago)
This part of the Mesozoic saw large numbers and varieties of dinosaurs. At the end of the Jurassic, some ammonites, sea sponges, oyster and mussel species had become extinct.
But many life forms have survived unchanged since the Jurassic—in other words, without undergoing any form of evolution. The fossil record is full of examples of such creatures. One of the earliest known fossil crocodiles, for instance, is around 200 million years old. There are also examples of fossilized Tuatara lizards that are more than 200 million years old. The many fossil shrimp dating back to the Jurassic Period all possessed exactly the same perfect systems and complex structures as they do today.
  A dragonfly fossil, 150 million years old. It is the same as the dragonflies of our day. |
  A 206- to 144-million-year-old shrimp fossil. It is no different from the shrimp living in our day. |
 A 200-million-year-old tuatara lizard, and the same lizard alive today. |
The Cretaceous Period (146 to 65 million years ago)
 A fish between 146 and 65 million years old, and a fossil bat uncovered in France. |
This, final stage of the Mesozoic, is known as the age in which the dinosaurs became extinct, as did a large number of terrestrial reptiles and plant species.
On the other hand, a great many species of aquatic animals such as starfish, crabs, some species of fish, water scorpions, spiders, dragonflies, turtles and crocodiles, and various plant species managed to survive down to the present day. Fossil specimens such as a 135-million-year-old starfish, a 140-million-year horseshoe crab, and a 125-million-year ginkgo tree leaf are just a few of the proofs of this. Despite the intervening millions of years, these life forms still possess the same complex systems, totally invalidating Darwinist claims regarding natural history.
2C. The Cenozoic Era (65 million years ago to the present day)
The Cenozoic Era, in which we are still living, began with the end of the Cretaceous Period. Until recently, geologists and paleontologists divided the Cenozoic into two separate periods of unequal length: the Tertiary and the Quaternary. The Tertiarycomprised a time frame from 65 million to 1.8 million years ago, and the Quaternary encapsulated the last 1.8 million years. Recently, however, the Cenozoic Era has been divided into three separate periods. Under this new system, its three components are the Paleogene, the Neogene and the Quaternary.
 This 54- to 37-million-year-old crocodile fossil was found in Germany. |
The Cenozoic Era's fossil record contains large numbers of specimens that, just as with other ages, show that the theory of evolution—which maintains that living things descended by chance from a common ancestor—is not true.
One distinguishing feature of the fossil specimens obtained from all these geological periods is that the species in question never underwent any changes. To put it another way, whenever a species first appears in the fossil record, it preserves its same structure for tens of millions of years, until it becomes extinct or else survives until the present day—again, without experiencing any change. This is clear evidence that living things never underwent evolution.
The fossil history of species definitively and clearly refutes the theory of evolution. It is Almighty God, with His sublime power and boundless knowledge, Who creates completely different living species out of nothing and makes the world suitable for life.
Where Are Fossils Mostly Discovered?
Fossils are widely dispersed just about everywhere on Earth. Almost no fossils are encountered in some types of rock, but large numbers are found in others. Geologists have divided rock types into three main groups:
1. Igneous
2. Sedimentary
3. Metamorphic
The igneous category includes granite or basalt-type rocks formed by the cooling of magma present in the depths of the Earth, or else emitted by volcanoes in the form of molten lava. Sedimentary rocks form when sand, silt, mud, and other small particles or substances carried in water are deposited on top of one another. Metamorphic rocks are igneous or sedimentary ones that have undergone structural changes due to high temperature and pressure deep in the Earth.
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The age of rocks are determined by the researches made on the decay of radioactive minerals. |
The world's oldest rocks are in Greenland, between 3.9 and 3.8 billion years old. |
Few fossils are generally encountered in igneous seams. The rare examples discovered are fossils that have resulted when a plant or animal gets trapped inside molten lava. Very few fossils can survive the high temperatures and pressures that transform sedimentary strata into metamorphic rock. Almost all fossils are found in sedimentary seams or deposits.
Nearly all sedimentary rocks are formed by substances carried by wind or water or else from the erosion of still other rocks. Some forms, such as coal, are made of plant or animal remains. Clastic is the name given to sedimentary rock formed by minute particles or grains. Sandstone and schist are examples of such rocks. If there has been dissolution in the substances transported, then due either to chemical solution or vaporization, "organic" sedimentary beds form. Examples of such rocks are limestone and dolomite. In general, sedimentary rock seams are a mixture of clastic and organic seams. Fossils are usually seen in shales, schists, sandstone and limestone formed from calcium carbonate.
How Are Fossils Found and Extracted?
 Collecting sedimentary rocks and stones and carefully breaking open those ones predicted to consist fossils is an important stage of collecting fossils. |
The tools used to collect fossils are simple ones such as those used by geologists: hammers, trowels, various cutting implements, compasses, brushes and sieves.
Fossils sometimes appear on the surface when eroded out of the soft rock strata around them. In such cases, it is sufficient to clean the fossils with a brush. However, fossil collecting is not usually that easy. The rocks inside which they are concealed are generally very hard, and it can take hours to extract a fossil from its rocky matrix. First, it is important to determine from what point the rock should be broken. Fracture lines are identified in the light of the rock bed itself. Every type of rock is broken in different ways. Schists, for example, have layers through which fracture lines can be established. Chalk, on the other hand, offers no such layers. At the same time, it is very important to watch for such indications as color changes or structural differences, if the fossils contained inside are not to be damaged.
After the fossil has been extracted from the rock, it undergoes a number of different processes. It must be protected and reinforced while being transported to the laboratory where it will be examined. One of the methods employed is to stabilize the fossil with chemical adhesives. Plaster casts are used for very large fossils. Those parts of the fossil that will be at risk during transportation are wrapped in dampened newspaper and then dipped in plaster.
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During transportation, sometimes fossils have to be protected by plastering. In the picture is shown how a fossil bone is covered by plaster. |
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The fossil then must be cleaned in order for all its details to become visible. If the fossil is harder than the rock surrounding it, then the cleaning process is a great deal easier. However, if the fossil has a softer structure, then chemical substances need to be used. One of the most commonly used methods is to clean away the matrix with acid. This enables all the fossil's details to be brought out. In some situations—particularly when the fossil is very delicate and possesses the same structure as the rock surrounding it—X-rays and computer-scanning devices are used to determine the fossil's structure before it is extracted from its location.
FOSSIL CLEANING BY ACID |
The Truth That Fossils Reveal about Living Things: Creation
 Charles Darwin |
Fossils unearthed to date possess two very important features, both of which conflict with the claims of the theory of evolution:
1. Stasis: Species exhibit no changes throughout the course of their existence on Earth. Whatever the structure they display when they first appear in the fossil record, they have that same structure when they finally disappear from it. Morphological (shape) change is generally minor and follows no specific direction.
2. Sudden Appearance: No species ever emerges gradually through differentiation from its alledged forebears; it appears suddenly and "fully formed."
The significance of these two points is that living things were created, with no process of evolution and no intermediate stages to go through. They did not subsequently acquire the characteristics they possess, but had them since the moment of their creation.
Darwin himself knew that the fossil record refutes his theory of evolution, but Darwinists have been reluctant to ever admit it. In the chapter titled "Difficulties on Theory" in his book The Origin of Species, Darwin admitted that the fossil record could not be explained in terms of the theory of evolution:
 The oldest known fossil specimens of the snail pictured belong to the Jurassic Period (206 to 144 million years ago). The first samples of the class of living beings to which this species belongs have existed since the Cambrian Period (543 to 490 million years ago). Snails have remained the same for hundreds of millions of years, revealing the invalidity of evolution. |
Why, if species have descended from other species by insensibly fine gradations, do we not everywhere see innumerable transitional forms? Why is not all nature in confusion instead of the species being, as we see them, well defined? ... But, as by this theory innumerable transitional forms must have existed, why do we not find them embedded in countless numbers in the crust of the earth?… Why then is not every geological formation and every stratum full of such intermediate links? Geology assuredly does not reveal any such finely graduated organic chain; and this, perhaps, is the most obvious and serious objection which can be urged against my theory.(Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species, Oxford University Press, New York, 1998, pp. 140, 141, 227)
 A 54- to 37-million-year-old bee fossil |
The argument that Darwin proposed in the face of the lack of intermediate form fossils—to the effect that "there are no intermediate forms now, but they may be found through subsequent research"—today no longer applies. Present-day data show that the fossil record is extraordinarily rich. Based on hundreds of millions of fossil specimens obtained from different regions of the world, some 250,000 separate species have been described—many of which bear an extraordinary resemblance to the approximately 1.5 billion species alive today. Given the absence of any intermediate form despite such a wealthy fossil record, it is impossible any such intermediate forms will emerge from new excavations.
The fossil record offers not a single example of an "intermediate form" that evolutionists can use as evidence, but does provide millions of specimens that demonstrate the invalidity of evolution. The most important of these are "living fossils," of which living specimens are in existence today. They can be seen from the fossil record to have lived in differing geological periods, and are proof of creation, since no difference exists between the living things of hundreds of millions of years ago and present-day specimens. Darwinists are helpless in the face of this situation.
All the living creatures in the fossil record appear intact and in their perfect forms. For instance, before crocodiles and squirrels, there exist no fossils belonging to any strange creature partly resembling a crocodile, and in other parts to a squirrel or other living creatures. Squirrels have always remained squirrels, and crocodiles have always remained crocodiles. All these facts reveal that the claim of the theory of evolution, that "Living beings have gradually evolved over millions of years of time" is simply a product of imagination. |
 There are many species of plants whose structures have remained unchanged since the Triassic Period (248 to 206 million years ago). One of these is a ginkgo tree. The fossil pictured is from the Jurassic Period (206 to 144 million years ago). A branch of ginkgo tree living today |
The evolutionist Niles Eldredge admits that they have no explanation to offer on the subject of living fossils, which represent just one of the countless secrets evolution is unable to unravel:
... there seems to have been almost no change in any part we can compare between the living organism and its fossilized progenitors of the remote geological past. Living fossils embody the theme of evolutionary stability to an extreme degree.... We have not completely solved the riddle of living to an extreme degree... We have not completely solved the riddle of living fossils. (http://www. nwcreation.net/fossilsliving.html)
The "secret" that Niles Eldredge attempts to unravel is actually a perfectly clear fact. Living fossils prove that species did not undergo evolution, but were created. However, Darwinists seek to ignore this fact out of ideological concerns and persist in keeping alive the dogmas of 150 years ago.
But the facts can now be determined much more clearly than in Darwin's day. The number of people who understand and choose to go along with the facts is rising, while those who believe in fairy tales and never seek to question them are ever fewer in number. Facts can no longer be concealed and swept aside, as was the case in Darwin's time. Genetics, microbiology, paleontology, geology and all other branches of science constantly reveal a truth that Darwin and the supporters of Darwinism never wanted and perhaps never expected—the fact of creation.
The irrational and unscientific claims that Darwinists make, the frauds they perpetrate to deceive the public, and the propaganda they employ to mislead people are only signs of their despair. Subsequent generations will be amazed at how people once believed in the Darwinist myth. Because all scientific findings show the manifest fact that evolution never happened, and that God created the universe and all living things.
[God is] the Lord of the heavens and the Earth and everything in between them, if you are people with certainty. There is no deity but Him—He gives life and causes to die—your Lord and the Lord of your forefathers, the previous peoples. Yet they play around in doubt. (Surat ad-Dukhan, 7-9)
Among
His signs is the creation of the heavens and Earth and all the
creatures He has spread about in them. And He has the power to gather
them together whenever He wills.
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INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
 Charles Darwin |
Some 150 years ago, the British naturalist Charles Darwin proposed a theory based on various observations made during his travels, but which could not be supported by any subsequent scientific findings. In essence, his theory of evolution consisted of various scenarios, assumptions and conjectures that Darwin dreamed up in his own imagination.
According to his evolution scenario, inanimate substances came together by chance to give rise to the first living cell. No doubt this claim was highly inaccurate, and one that could not be corroborated by any scientific evidence or findings. Again according to that myth, this single-celled life form gradually—and again by chance—turned into the first living species of microbe—in other words, it evolved. According to the evolution error, all the life forms on Earth, from bacteria on up to human beings, emerged as the result of this same imaginary process.
Darwin's claims were of course based on no scientific evidence or findings. But since the scientific understanding and technological means available at the time were at a fairly primitive level, the full extent of the ridiculous and unrealistic nature of his assertions did not emerge fully into the light of day. In such a climate, Darwin's scenarios received general acceptance from a wide number of circles.
 The single-lensed microscope that Darwin used reveals the limited and underdeveloped technological means of that era. |
The foundation of Darwin's theory of evolution was materialism.
Therefore,
it didn't take long for his theory to be adopted by
materialists. Since
materialist circles denied the fact of creation, they blindly
grasped
at the theory of evolution, and even declared that it was
supposedly
the scientific basis of their own world views.
By carrying out a great deal of research and investigation, and
by establishing
artificial environments in laboratories, they sought to come up with
findings
that would corroborate Darwin's theory. However, every piece of research
and
every new finding they obtained, only constituted evidence that refuted
evolution
rather than confirming it. Science and technology had made rapid
progress since
the beginning of the 20th century, and refuted the theory of
evolution.
All the branches of science concerned with the subject–such as
microbiology,
biomathematics, cell biology, biochemistry, genetics, anatomy,
physiology, anthropology
and paleontology- -revealed countless proofs that totally undermined the
theory
of evolution.
The fossil record is perhaps the most important evidence that demolishes
the
theory of evolution's claims. Fossils reveal that life forms on Earth
have never
undergone even the slightest change and have never developed into one
another.
Examining the fossil record, we see that living things are exactly the
same today
as they were hundreds of millions of years ago—in other
words, that they never underwent evolution. Even during the most ancient
periods,
life forms emerged suddenly with all their complex structures–with the
perfect and superior features, just as do their counterparts today.
This demonstrates one indisputable fact: Living things did not come into
being
through the imaginary processes of evolution. All the living things that
have
ever existed on Earth were created by God. This fact of creation is once
again
revealed in the traces left behind them by flawless living things.
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One of the major findings that invalidates the theory of evolution is the fossil records, which reveal that the structures of living species remained unchanged for tens of millions of years. Pictured is an insect living in our day and its 50-million-year-old fossil. This species, which remains the same after 50 million years, refutes evolution. |
A 125-million-year-old salamander fossil and its today's counterpart. |
Ferns have kept their same structure since the day they were created. Ferns that have remained the same for approximately 300 million years are one piece of evidence verifying the invalidity of the evolution theory. |
This book will provide you with not only such information as what fossils are and where and how they are found, but also a closer examination of a variety of fossil specimens, millions of years old, that are still able to declare, "We never underwent evolution; we were created." The fossils discussed and illustrated in this book are just a few examples of the hundreds of millions of specimens that prove the fact of creation. And even these few are enough to prove that the theory of evolution is a major hoax and deception in the history of science.
ATLAS OF CREATION VOLUME II >>>
ATLAS OF CREATION VOLUME III >>>
Living By The Qur'an Brings About Real Justice
Living By The Qur'an Brings About Real Justice
Justice is one of the essentials
maintaining social
order. Every country employs its individual judicial system.
However,
owing to the persistent difficulties experienced in the
contemporary
judicial systems, the quest for an ideal model has never
ended.
There is one essence of the ideal judicial system aspired to
across
the world: the establishment of a judicial mechanism in
which each
and every person is fully repaid for his acts without being
subject
to any form of prejudicial discrimination. Despite new
methods, different
approaches, and projects and solutions devised to attain
this ideal
model, however, exercising justice remains a steep road yet
to be
taken.
The moral deterioration of society accounts for these
unfavourable
situations. Deterioration, a simple consequence of
non-adherence to
the values commanded by Allah, brings harm to societies in
all domains
of life.
Again, this deterioration accounts for swindling, bribery,
cheating,
injustice and many social evils. Daily life abounds with
examples
of this sort. A frequently encountered situation in business
life,
for instance, is businessmen who cheat on their partners and
deceive
them by embezzling their money, houses or cars. Meanwhile, a
longstanding
friendship and the material and spiritual losses the other
party suffers
do not mean anything to the swindler. Primarily concerned
about his
self-interests, values such as friendship, family ties,
spirituality,
social cohesion and good morals have no meaning whatsoever
to the
swindler.
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All relations this person establishes with anyone else will
be under
the influence of such a rationale since he fails to reflect
that Allah
is aware of all that he does, and that he will account for
every act
he commits. Never remembering that swindling is an unfair
gain and
unjust behaviour contributes to this crooked rationale.
The following example will contribute to a better
understanding: a
person who believes that swindling is a horrible crime, will
strictly
avoid it throughout his life. Once, however, someone thinks
he can
derive personal benefit, the same person may bear false
witness against
another or slander him for something of which he is
completely innocent.
Meanwhile, he may find refuge in some excuse: that
conditions compelled
him or his responsibilities to his family laid the ground
for such
a crime… No matter what these excuses are, the fact remains
that
slander is wicked under all circumstances.
This aforementioned pattern appears particularly at times
when people
feel their interests are at stake. This rationale also holds
true
for thieves, swindlers and oppressors. In a society riddled
with people
with vested interests, the existence of injustice, interest
conflicts
and chaos is unavoidable.
Nevertheless, no matter what compelling forces there are, a person living by the Qur'an would never stoop to these wicked deeds and never display attitudes inconsistent with its values. Someone having strong fear of Allah never forgets the fact that one day he will meet each and every deed in which he engages and each and every word he utters. Injustice, which is an outcome of moral deterioration such as only pursuing one's own interests, hoarding possessions, ignoring the needy and those in trouble, has a unique solution: the dissemination of the values of the Qur'an among people. That is because in the Qur'an, Allah commands His slaves who believe and live by these superior values to be just:
You who have iman! Be upholders of justice, bearing witness for Allah alone, even against yourselves or your parents and relatives whether they are rich or poor, Allah is well able to look after them. Do not follow your own desires and deviate from the truth. If you twist or turn away, Allah is aware of what you do. (Surat an-Nisa': 135)
Allah commands justice and doing good and giving to relatives. And He forbids indecency and doing wrong and tyranny. He warns you so that hopefully you will pay heed. (Surat an-Nahl: 90)
In a society where people have an understanding of justice as described in the aforementioned verse, injustice does not prevail. That is because in an environment where the values of the Quran and the Sunnah are observed, the strict exercise of justice is essential. In the practice of this justice, one's kinship, wealth, status or other factors allow for no exceptions. Nevertheless, current implementations of systems of justice around the globe are rather varied. In some cases, in consideration of someone's wealth, status and social environment, his crimes are simply ignored or his punishment is alleviated. This is unlikely to happen in a society where real justice prevails. Factors such as kinship, wealth or status never become reasons to deviate from justice.
Peace: The Natural
Consequence
of Securing Real Justice
Once all these facts are considered, we arrive at the
conclusion that
only living by the Qur'an will ensure a completely fair
social structure.
That is because only the morality of the Qur'an brings moral
conduct
and wisdom. Selfish, egotistical, heedless people will
change into
merciful, just people who think for the good of others and
thus provide
solutions. This simply means the end of many problems.
In societies enjoying real justice, people do not stoop to
moral weaknesses
such as pursuing vested interests, fraud or violating
other's rights.
The basic Qur'anic teachings command matters such as
co-operation
and mercy, which are the essence of a just society. In such a
society,
everyone safeguards each other's interests and thus the
rights and
interests of all are secured. This is what brings overall
peace and
security to society. In this sense, the responsibility of
all believers
is to communicate the values praised by Allah and the just
religion
to the whole world. This is one of the most important
attributes of
the believers:
Let there be a community among you who call to the good, and enjoin the right, and forbid the wrong. They are the ones who have success. (Surah Ali 'Imran: 104)
Those who make tawba(repent), those who worship, those who praise, those who fast, those who bow, those who prostrate, those who command the right, those who forbid the wrong, those who preserve the limits of Allah: give good news to the believers. (Surat at-Tawba: 112)
Allah mentions the existence of people who live by these values and accordingly summon people to them. Only those making people avoid wicked deeds will attain salvation:
Then when they forgot what they had been reminded of, We rescued those who had forbidden the evil and seized those who did wrong with a harsh punishment because they were deviators. (Surat al-A'raf: 165)
Solution: The Morals Of The Qur'an
Solution: The Morals Of The Qur'an
People
who are persecuted and tortured to death, innocent babies,
people who
cannot even afford a loaf of bread, who sleep, in cold weather,
in tents
and even on the streets, who cannot afford medical treatment, or
who,
despite being old and weak, have to wait for hours, or even
days, for
hospital care, people who are killed just for belonging to a
certain race,
women, children and old people who are thrown out of their homes
because
of their religion, enormous extravagance alongside poor people
suffering
from starvation and neglect, who are just left to die, children
too young
and defenseless to be able to look after themselves, children
who leave
school to work or beg for money to help their families survive,
people
who live with the constant fear of being slaughtered by their
enemies…
Everybody is aware of the existence of such people as these.
Almost
every day we come across pictures of these helpless,
miserable, homeless
and needy people in the papers or on TV. Many people see
their plight
and pity them. However, they then either turn off the
channel they
have been watching, or turn over the pages of the newspaper
they have
been reading and forget they exist once more. Most people
never think
that they have to make an effort to save these people from
the terrible
conditions they live in. They ask "is it up to me to save
these
people when there are so many rich and powerful people in
the world",
and leave the responsibility to others.
However, prosperity and power alone are not enough to save
these people,
and to make this world a place where justice, peace,
security, and
well being prevail. For instance, despite the existence of
many rich
and developed countries in the world, people in Ethiopia are
still
dying from hunger. That people are still going hungry
despite the
present advanced state of technology and the many resources
in the
world is a clear indication that wealth and power by
themselves are
not enough.
In
order for wealth and power to be used for the well being of
these poor
and needy people, first of all, people have to be conscientious.
The sole
way of being conscientious is belief. Only people who believe
consistently
act conscientiously.
Finally, there is only one solution to injustice, chaos,
terror, massacres,
hunger, poverty, and oppression: the Morals of the Qur'an.
When we look at the problems in the world in general, we see
that
they are all caused by feelings such as hatred, malice,
antagonism,
self-interest, selfishness, indifference, and cruelty. The
way to
finding a solution to these and eliminating them entirely
lies in
love, compassion, mercy, pity, the zeal to serve without
expecting
anything in return, sensitivity, sacrifice, brotherhood,
tolerance,
reason and wisdom. These traits are only found in those who
fully
live by the morals in the Qur'an. In one of His verses,
Allah refers
to the Qur'an's aspect of leading people out of darkness to
light:
… A light has come to you from Allah and a Clear Book. By it, Allah guides those who follow what pleases Him to the ways of peace. He will bring them from the darkness to the light by His permission, and guide them to a straight path. (Surat al-Ma'ida: 15-16)
In another verse, Allah states that everything which conflicts with the Qur'an will end in corruption and confusion:
If the truth were to follow their whims and desires, the heavens and the earth and everyone in them would have been brought to ruin. No indeed! We have given them their Reminder, but they have turned away from it. (Surat al-Muminun: 71)
At
the very moment you are reading this, millions of poor people
are either
suffering, or trying to avoid dying from hunger or cold. Or else
they
are being torn away from their homes, families and children, and
forced
to leave their homelands. For this reason, conscientious people
must think
about all this and act as if these troubles, adversities, and
hardships
had befallen themselves or their loved ones. Or they must look
for ways
to help those who ask for spiritual or material help. In one
verse, Allah
orders conscientious and faithful people with common sense to
assume this
responsibility:
What reason could you have for not fighting in the way of Allah-for those men, women and children who are oppressed and say, "Our Lord, take us out of this city whose inhabitants are wrongdoers! Give us a protector from You! Give us a helper from You!"? (Surat an-Nisa': 75)
When one considers the verse in the
Qur'an, it becomes
obvious how to do this. The most important thing for Muslims
to do
is to struggle in the intellectual domain so that the morals
of the
Qur'an prevail against lack of religion. The only salvation
for the
weak, helpless, homeless, and destitute is the widespread
practice
of the morals of the Qur'an by all the people of the world.
For this
reason telling people about the morals in the Qur'an and
communicating
the message is a very important and pressing way of
worshipping for
all Muslims. As is also stated in the Qur'an, "Our
duty is only to proclaim the clear Message." (Surah
Ya
Sin: 17)
Those who do not use their consciences, who behave
indifferently and
uninterestedly towards orphans, the poor, and the unhappy,
who spend
the possessions given to them on vain things in the life of
this world,
who coldly watch women, children and old people under
oppression,
who feel happy at the spread of all kinds of immorality and
ugliness
in the world, and who encourage this point of view, will
certainly
account for all that in the hereafter:
Have you seen him who denies the religion? He is the one who harshly rebuffs the orphan and does not urge the feeding of the poor. So woe to those who establish prayer, and are forgetful of their prayer, those who show off and deny help to others. (Surat al-Ma'un: 1-7)
The Eminence Islam Attaches To Women
The Eminence Islam Attaches To Women
The mentality that
despises women,
excludes them from society and regards them as second class
citizens
is a wicked pagan attitude which has no place in Islam. The
Qur'an summarizes
the civilized social relationship between the two genders.
The position of women in Islam has recently been an issue of
debate.
Some misconceptions arise, either from traditional practices
which are
thought to be "Islamic," but are not, or else from prejudices.
However, the real issue is how women are regarded in the
Islamic faith,
and when we look at this, we see that Islam gives women great
social
value, freedom and comfort.
Women In
The Qur'an
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| God has commanded in the Qur'an that women should be cherished, respected, and protected. In the eyes of God, superiority does not lie in race, sex or rank, but in closeness to Him and strength of belief. |
God's commandments about the
status of
women and the relations between men and women, which have
been revealed
to us through the Qur'an, consist of full justice. In this
regard,
Islam suggests equality of rights, responsibilities and
duties between
the two genders. Islam is based on sympathy, tolerance and
respect
for human beings, and does not discriminate against women in
this
matter.
The examples of good morals communicated to us in the Qur'an
are universally
compatible with human nature, and are valid for all stages
of history.
Respect for women and women's rights fall within this. In
the Qur'an
God insists that the tasks and responsibilities of women are
the same
as those of men. Furthermore, while performing these tasks
and responsibilities
men and women must help and support each other:
The men and women of the believers are friends of one another. They command what is right and forbid what is wrong, and establish prayer and pay alms, and obey God and His Messenger. They are the people on whom God will have mercy. God is Almighty, All Wise. (Qur'an, 9:71)
God emphasizes that believers will be rewarded in the same manner according to their deeds, regardless of their gender.
Their Lord responds to them: "I will not let the deeds of any doer among you go to waste, male or female-you are both the same in that respect..." (Qur'an, 3:195)
Anyone who acts rightly, male or female, being a believer, We will give them a good life and We will recompense them according to the best of what they did. (Qur'an, 16:97)
In another verse, Muslim men and women are considered together, and it is stressed that both have the same responsibility and status in God's sight:
Men and women who are Muslims, men and women who are believers, men and women who are obedient, men and women who are truthful, men and women who are steadfast, men and women who are humble, men and women who give alms, men and women who fast, men and women who guard their private parts, men and women who remember God much: God has prepared forgiveness for them and an immense reward. (Qur'an, 33:35)
In the Qur'an there are many
more verses
stating that men and women are exactly equal in terms of
their tasks
and responsibilities and their rewards or punishments in
return. There
are a few differences in social issues, but these are for
the comfort
and protection of women. The commands of the Qur'an regard
the congenital
differences between the two genders resulting from their
creation,
and suggest a system maintaining equal justice for men and
women in
this light.
Islam does not see women as objects. Therefore, it is not
seen appropriate
that a woman of good morals should marry a man of bad
morals. In the
same way, it is not permitted for a woman of bad morals to
marry a
man of good morals:
Corrupt women are for corrupt men and corrupt men are for corrupt women; good women are for good men and good men are for good women. The latter are innocent of what they say. They will have forgiveness and generous provision. (Qur'an, 24:26)
Also as regards marriage, the duties and responsibilities of couples towards each other require equality. God demands that both spouses be protective of and supervise each other. This duty is expressed in the Qur'an in the following words:
They are covers for you and you for them... (Qur'an, 2:187)
Many rules and commandments exist in the Qur'an regarding the protection of women's rights on marriage. Marriage is based on the free will of both parties; the husband has to provide economic support for his wife (4:4); the husband has to look after his ex-wife after divorce (65:6).
The Islamic Emancipation of Women
As the verses make clear, Islam
brings
justice to male-female relations and puts an end to harmful
practices
resulting from customs and traditions of pre-Islamic
societies. One
example is the situation of women in pre-Islamic Arab
society. The
pagan Arabs regarded women as inferior, and having a
daughter was
something to be ashamed of. Fathers of daughters sometimes
preferred
to bury them alive rather than announce their birth. By
means of the
Qur'an, God prohibited this evil tradition and warned that
on the
Judgment Day such people will definitely have to account for
their
actions.
In fact, Islam brought with it a great emancipation for
women, who
were severely persecuted in the pagan era. Prof. Bernard
Lewis, known
as one of the greatest Western experts on the history of
Islam and
the Middle East, makes the following comment:
In general, the advent of Islam brought an enormous improvement in the position of women in ancient Arabia, endowing them with property and some other rights, and giving them a measure of protection against ill treatment by their husbands or owners. The killing of female infants, sanctioned by custom in Pagan Arabia, was outlawed by Islam. But the position of women remained poor, and worsened when, in this as in so many other respects, the original message of Islam lost its impetus and was modified under the influence of pre-existing attitudes and customs.1
Karen Armstrong, another Western expert on Islam, makes the following comment:
We must remember what life had been like for women in the pre-Islamic period when female infanticide was the norm and when women had no rights at all. Like slaves, women were treated as an inferior species, who had no legal existence. In such a primitive world, what Muhammad achieved for women was extraordinary. The very idea that a woman could be witness or could inherit anything at all in her own right was astonishing.2
In fact, during the many centuries that followed Prophet Muhammad, women of the Islamic societies had a much higher social position than the women of Christendom. Karen Armstrong emphasizes that, during the Middle Ages;
... the Muslims were horrified to see the way Western Christians treated their women in the Crusader states, and Christian scholars denounced Islam for giving too much power to menials like slaves and women.3
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| In a society where true Islamic morals are practiced, immense respect and sympathy will be shown to women, and it will be ensured that they can live in freedom and comfort. |
Anna King, a modern Muslim woman and a convert- or, better to say, a revert-to Islam, explains the Islamic emancipation of women as follows:
Islam first gave women their rights in a time when women were nothing but the property of men. Islam gave women the right to buy and sell on their own, own businesses and express her views politically. These were all basic rights which the American woman was not granted until relatively recently!
It also encouraged women to study and learn Islamic knowledge, breaking a ban which several religions had stipulated, which forbid women to acquire any religious knowledge or touch religious texts...
It also abolished the practice of marrying a woman without her consent.
Thus, one would have to be very stubborn indeed to refuse such obvious facts and proofs that Islam was women's first liberator.
The tendencies to see women as "an inferior species" who has no right for education and that must be totally secluded from the society arose much later in the Islamic world, as a result of deviations from the right Qur'anic path.
Conclusion
Thus we can say that the
mentality that
despises women, excludes them from society and regards them
as second
class citizens is a wicked pagan attitude which has no place
in Islam.
In fact, devout women are depicted as good examples for
mankind in
the Qur'an. One is Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. Another
is the
wife of the Egyptian Pharaoh who, despite her husband's
wickedness,
is also described as an ideal Muslim. (see, 66:11-12) The
Qur'an also
describes very gentle conversations between the Prophet
Solomon and
the Queen of Sheba (27:42-44), and between Moses and two
young ladies
(28:23-26), which symbolize the civilized social
relationship between
the two genders.
Therefore, it is impossible for a Muslim to have a bigoted
approach
to women. In a society where true Islamic morals are
practiced, immense
respect and sympathy will be shown to women, and it will be
ensured
that they can live in freedom and comfort.
The fundamental rule in Qur'anic exegesis is ensuring that
the derived
meaning is in conformity with the integrity of the Qur'an.
When this
is considered, it is seen that all the rules mentioned to us
by God
regarding women form a social structure allowing them to
live in the
most comfortable and happiest way. In a society where all
the moral
values mentioned by Islam are practiced comprehensively, the
social
position of women becomes even more exalted than in
societies that
we today regard as modern.
1 Bernard Lewis, The
Middle East, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1995, p.
210
2 Karen Armstrong, Muhammad A Biography of The Prophet,
Harper
Collins Publisher, USA, 1992, p.191
3 Ibid,. p.199
Solution To Economic Crisis From The Qur'an
Solution To Economic Crisis From The Qur'an
Following two terrible world wars, the "post-war rapid growth model" finally failed at the end of the 1960s. In other words, programs aimed at increasing productivity still further within the framework of that model collapsed.
After The Oil Crisis
The
troubles that began in those years and erupted in the 1974 oil
crisis
did so when the growth rate in developed economies began to
slow down
and profit margins to fall. The situation was so bad that in
OECD countries
alone, which consist of developed nations such as Western
Europe, the
United States, Canada and Japan, unemployment reached tens of
millions.
In such an atmosphere, capital that was unable to find
investment opportunities
in the real sector began seeking profits all over the world
and turned
instead to developing countries. In this way, it was the
finance sector,
together with the possibilities and advantages bestowed by
technology,
that developed the most rapidly over the last 20 years.
Capital that turned its attention to developing nations during
that
process obtained great profits from those regions. The
international
companies that set their eyes on those countries invested only
a very
small part of the profits they made in real production.
However, money
can only increase its value when used for production, and that
would
have made it possible for those countries to repay debts and
develop
their economies. However, a large part of the loans extended
were used
unproductively, and yet more re-entered the international
finance system
because of corruption. The way that developing countries'
capital was
kept away from those areas that most use could be made of it
brought
them face to face with great difficulties when it came to debt
repayment.
The Dilemma of
Accumulated Debt
and Loans
Economies unable to repay accumulated debts have sought a
solution in
increased borrowing, and have been trapped in a vicious circle
from
which there is no escape. That was then followed by further
unproductive
borrowing and higher interest rates. Trying to borrow to repay
loans
led to a process of further borrowing caused by interest
repayments.
As the productivity of real investments fell during this
process, some
investors were forced into bankruptcy, and others to seriously
reduce
the scope of their activities.
Money
that retreated from the market caused producers to have
problems selling
their products and to be unable to repay their bank loans.
Banks and
financial organizations that are unable to get their money
back from
industrialists try to pay their own debts to other
international lenders
(international capital) by using deposits belonging to the
public. In
such a situation the slightest rumour (if we bear in mind that
rumours
have a serious effect on economies that are not performing
well) leads
to customers who want to withdraw their money being unable to
do so.
The bank will then announce that it has gone bankrupt and turn
over
the whole of its debt to the state.
Argentina and The
Unbearable
Weight of Interest
States suffering under such a burden again seek a solution in
further
borrowing, this time falling under a greater interest burden.
Yet that
is still no solution. The important point is that it is only
possible
to pay back loans by means of the use of capital in real
production.
The fundamental cause of the crises in the 1980s and 1990s was
the fact
that such capital was not used in real production in
sufficient quantities.
The latest example of a country caught in the interest trap is
Argentina,
whose economy collapsed under foreign debt of 130 billion
dollars. Business
closures, the hungry unemployed and desperate people unable to
make
their voices heard all give rise to social unrest. In fact,
the social
problems that have already started and are likely to continue
are being
followed with great unease.
First of all, loans must not be eaten away unproductively or
unjustly,
but must all be benefited from in the field of production.
Industrialists
must keep prices low and raise quality thanks to these
investments.
In that way imports from other countries must be reduced, and
the country's
exports raised.
The Solution To
Economic Chaos
Lies In Qur'anic Morality
In the same way that a country which sees increased cash
inflow into
its economy can easily repay its debts, it can also easily
become
a trustworthy investment destination due to the confidence
that it
inspires. It will then attract capital, by investing in
profitable
enterprises and making gains. In this way, that country's
companies
will gain value, its currency will become stable,
unemployment levels
will fall, and most important of all, the public will feel
confident
again and look to the future with hope.
The deep chaos caused by the interest economy has revealed
itself
in many countries so far, and has caused the heavy price to
be paid
by the public in those nations. These problems, caused by
individual
interests and lack of ethics, refuse to disappear from many
countries,
and clearly demonstrate that the solution lies in the
morality of
the Qur'an. In the same way that Allah has condemned as a
sin the
unjust consumption of others' property and the waste of
existing resources,
so He has also forbidden people to ignore others and plunge
them into
difficulties for the sake of their own gain. The solution to
the problems
plaguing the economy lies in all of mankind abiding by the
morality
of the Qur'an, which recommends a human model
that is productive, just and enterprising.
In the same way that an atmosphere of peace, security and
justice
can only come about when people live by the morality of the
Qur'an,
it is possible to resolve the problems in the economy and
increase
every individual's standard of living by implementing that
morality
in every sphere of life.
The Importance Of Education For Muslims
The Importance Of Education For Muslims
As
we know, madrasahs are one of Islamic societies' oldest
education-teaching
institutions. Before madrasahs, education and teaching
activities in
the Islamic world were carried out in places of such varying
names and
characters as masjids, mosques, scholars' homes, palaces and
bookshops.
Since mosques and masjids in particular were used for
instruction in
the essentials of religion, they were also employed for
education and
teaching purposes.
According to Islamic history, following the first revelation
to our
Prophet (saas), the first Muslims who converted to Islam
secretly
assembled in the house of al-Arqam, one of the companions of
the Prophet,
where they were instructed and taught by our Prophet (saas).
It is
said that this is how the school and madrasah were born in
Islam.
The Dar-al-Arqam (House of Arqam), known as the first
madrasah in
Islam, is still preserved in memory of those days. With the
founding
of the Islamic State in Medina by our Prophet (saas)
following the
Hegira, the Masjid Nabawi constructed there became a centre
of Islamic
education and teaching. Muslims would gather there, study
the Qur'an
and Islam and improve themselves. The gradual increase in
need caused
our Prophet (saas) to found other education centres in
different parts
of the city. Madrasah education continued in the same way
during the
period of the four caliphs.
Not only religious knowledge was taught in the madrasahs;
sciences
of the time, such as astronomy, mathematics, geometry and
medicine
were also given an important place. Later still, courses in
Western
languages, Persian, history, geography, astronomy,
mechanics, trigonometry,
chemistry, painting, physical training, hygiene, social
sciences,
philosophy, economics and finance were added to the
curriculum. These
institutions continued to be known as "medreses" during
the time of the Turks.
The Nizamiyah madrasahs opened by Sultan
Alparslan's
vizier Nizam al-Mulk during the Great Seljuk Empire and
named after
him are very well known. Following this new line adopted by
the Seljuk
Empire, there was a rush to open madrasahs just about
everywhere in
the Islamic world.
In the 13th and 14th centuries, centres such as Cairo,
Damascus, Basra
and Bukhara, and particularly the Transoxania region, became
the most
important powers in the development of Ottoman institutions
of learning
under the influence of the madrasahs they possessed. Their
instruction
was very definitely one of the major factors in the success
of the
Ottoman Empire, one of the greatest empires in the world and
which
survived for six centuries.
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A Muslim needs to know the Qur'an in order to correctly
understand
and interpret the world, human beings, natural events and
everything
in the universe. Knowing for what purpose Allah created the
universe,
human beings and all other living things is of the greatest
importance
from the point of view of appreciating Him properly.
Engaging in activities
based solely on artificial knowledge, without a knowledge of
the Qur'an
and without considering the hidden aspects of events, cannot
lead
to productive results. In the Qur'an, Allah summons humanity
to investigate
and reflect upon the heavens, the earth, mountains, stars,
plants,
seeds, animals, the alternation of the night and the day,
the creation
of man, the rain and many other created things. Examining
these, man
comes to recognize the artistry of Allah's creation in the
world around
him, and ultimately, to know our Creator, Who created the
entire universe
and everything in it from nothing.
"Science" offers a method by which the universe, and all
the beings therein, may be examined to discover the artistry
in Allah's
creation, thereby communicating it to mankind. Religion,
therefore,
encourages science, adopting it as a tool by which to study
the subtleties
of Allah's creation.
Religion not only encourages scientific study, but also
permits that,
supported by the truths revealed through religion,
scientific research
be conclusive and expeditious. The reason being, that
religion is
the only source to provide accurate and definitive answers
as to how
life and the universe came into being. As such, if initiated
upon
a proper foundation, research will reveal the truths
regarding the
origin of the universe and the organization of life, in the
shortest
time, and with minimum effort and energy. Science can only
achieve
true results if it adopts the aim of studying the infinite
might of
Allah and the proofs of creation in the universe, and if it
pursues
its activities solely in that light. Only if science is
properly directed,
if it is kept on a correct course in other words, can it
become a
vehicle whereby mankind achieves useful information and
progress.
As stated by Albert Einstein, considered one of the greatest
scientists
of the 20th century, "science without religion is lame",
which is to say, that science, unguided by religion, cannot
proceed
correctly, but rather, wastes much time in achieving certain
results,
and worse, is often inconclusive.
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| Religious instruction imparted from an early age will enable that individual to have a strong character and to have pleasing moral values and a healthy way of looking at the world. |
In the event that the purpose behind the
creation
of man, the transitory nature of this world, the fact that
what matters
is the life of the hereafter, death, the certain existence
of destiny
and the hereafter, the fact that every individual will have
to account
for his deeds, and the existence of heaven and hell are all
fully
known, then this will shape the individual's way of looking
at events,
his way of living and his reactions to the events he
encounters. If
these truths are not known, then even if a person receives
the very
best education in the very best schools and/or participates
in academic
studies at the very highest level, that education will still
not be
enough. That is because the important thing is for the
individual
to have a lifestyle and moral values which are pleasing to
Allah.
This world is very transitory and is created as a place of
testing.
The individual is tested here, and will receive a recompense
in the
hereafter based on the moral values and behaviour he
displayed in
the life of this world. This is an unavoidable fact for all
people.
For that reason, as well as receiving a modern scientific
education
the individual should also be immersed in religious matters.
That
is because someone who has adopted the moral values of the
Qur'an
and comprehended the religion will use this knowledge and
technology
he has learnt in the manner most pleasing to Allah, and thus
for the
benefit of mankind.
No matter what an individual's profession, status or
education may
be, he will still need religious instruction. Indeed,
religious instruction
imparted from an early age will enable that individual to
have a strong
character and to have pleasing moral values and a healthy
way of looking
at the world. Muslims must therefore attach the greatest
importance
to education in all respects. Allah reveals the importance
of knowledge
in a holy verse:
Only those of His servants with knowledge have fear of Allah. Allah is Almighty, Ever-Forgiving. (Qur'an, 35:28)
The Call For An "Islamic Union"
The Call For An "Islamic Union"
The
Sept. 11 terrorist attacks were a turning point for the world,
one that
completely altered its political and strategic balances. Some
political
commentators even say that Sept. 11, 2001 marked the real
beginning
of the twenty-first century. Looking back at the century just
passed,
the most important elements of opinion and belief shaping it
were ideologies
and the relations between these ideologies. Similarly,
civilizations,
beliefs and the relationship between these two will work to
shape the
twenty-first century.
There are claims from some quarters that relations between
civilizations
and beliefs will be fundamentally characterized by
"clashes."
However, quite to the contrary, it is our hope that these
relations
will be based upon peace and friendship. The Qur'an will
serve as
the guide for us, Muslims, in this realm. In the Qur'an, God
tells
us that the differences between people should be a reason
for them
to seek to know one another better:
Mankind! We created you from a male and female, and made you into peoples and tribes so that you might come to know each other. The noblest among you in God's sight is the one who best performs his duty. God is All-Knowing, All-Aware. (Qur'an, 49: 13)
In another verse, God specifically calls upon Muslims to treat the People of the Book, i.e., Jews and Christians, well:
Only argue with the People of the Book in the kindest way-except in the case of those of them who do wrong-saying, "We believe in what has been sent down to us and what was sent down to you. Our God and your God are one and we submit to Him." (Qur'an, 29: 46)
Thus, Muslims should
collectively
work to establish a system that brings societies different
from one
another into relationships of mutual tolerance and peace.
Certainly
it is one of the main duties of a Muslim to invite people of
other faiths
to join Islam, but at the same time they must treat such
people well
and justly whether they answer their call or not. Muslims'
constant
goal should be the welfare of all humanity, for as God said, "You
are the best nation ever to be produced before mankind." (Qur'an,
3: 110).
In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, however, a dire
problem emerged.
Certain circles that claim to speak on behalf of Islam, but
clearly
lack the understanding of the essence of it, work to wreak
suffering
on humanity rather than striving for its benefit. In attacking
and killing
innocent people, they committed the vilest sin forbidden by
Islam-in
other words, they brought chaos to the world. Their violent
methods
and aggressive messages seething with anger are wholly at odds
with
Islam. And at the same time, these circles are putting the
world's one-billion-plus
Muslims into a very difficult spot.
The Qur'an speaks about such people who misinterpret religion
and commit
terrorism in the name of faith (3: 7; 27: 48-49). God warned
Muslims
to steer clear of the forces that are obdurate in "disbelief
and
hypocrisy," and against people who fail to perceive the noble
morality
lying at the core of religion and so employ violence due to
their hardened
natures (9: 47; 49: 14). In the history of Islam, such groups
as the
Hashashins and Kharijites used terrorism in the name of
religion and
sowed disorder in the world due to their own ignorance.
Clearly, this is a truly pressing matter crying out for a
solution.
Islam should be cleansed of such wicked tendencies, and
extremism and
superstitions should be wiped away. Muslims must instead be
educated
about true Islamic morality based on the Qur'an, and in the
words of
the theologian Imam al-Ghazali, the Islamic world should be
"revitalized."
Problems
In The
US Policy
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| The evils in the world will come to an end when Muslims, Christians and Jews all worship God in unity, tolerating their differences of faith. |
Westerners, and especially the
United States,
the target of the Sept. 11 attacks, have come to recognize
this issue,
at least in part. Therefore the US administration has begun an
attempt
to "reorganize the Islamic world" over the next 10-15 years.
However, its strategy has two serious shortcomings:
1. The United States should not employ military methods.
The US operation in Afghanistan ushered in an era of military
interventions
which so far shows little sign of letting up. To take one
example, consider
the war against Iraq. Some observers predict that after it
deals with
Iraq, the US will proceed to still more military operations
against
other countries in the Middle East. Such a path, however, will
not help
the US to reach its goals, and will moreover claim the lives
of many
innocents. Military methods will inevitably be interpreted as a
"war
against Islam," which will in turn only add further fuel to
the
fires of tension and conflict.
If the United States truly wants to wage a "war against
terrorism"
it should do so in the realm of ideas and opinion. Terrorism
is not
a tangible enemy, rather it is a method used by people guided
by mistaken
ideas. One cannot fight against a method, one can only fight
against
a force that uses this method. If this force is an opinion,
then it
should be defeated on the field of opinion. The ideology and
psychology
that lead to terrorism must be done away with. In their place,
people
should instead be taught the real religion based upon the
Qur'an, instead
of mistaken religious interpretations that result in
terrorism.
2. The United States should not try to impose a solution from
"the
outside."
The reasoning laid out above shows that it is not right for
the United
States to try to solve the problem from "the outside." The
problem lies in misinterpretations and distortions of Islam at
the hands
of certain people, therefore the solution should come from the
world
of Islam. Muslims could work to promote a proper understanding
of Islam
and at the same time fight misinterpretations of it. The
United States
should support a solution originating from within the Islamic
world.
Were the United States to support such an approach, this would
be better
for the US, better for the world's Islamic community and
indeed better
for the entire world. Those who claim the opposite should
reconsider
their stances, realizing in the process that such views are
leading
the world into a bloodbath. The US administration must be
careful not
to give credit to the erroneous suggestions of some forces
with various
ulterior motives. These forces are some ideologues and
strategists who
want fervently to see a bloody war erupt between the West and
the Islamic
world, and moreover are trying to portray US anti-terrorist
policies
as part of a "war against Islam." The US government, and in
particular President George W. Bush, has made sensible
statements rejecting
such "the-West-versus-Islam" interpretations, and these
efforts
have yielded some good results. However, it is also necessary
that the
policies of the US government fully reflect a more enlightened
viewpoint
in the eyes of international public opinion.
How
Should An
Islamic Union Be?
So then, the war against terrorism should be carried out in
the realm
of opinions and ideas, and its solution should originate
from within
the world of Islam. But how will this come about?
Before answering this question, we must point out one fact:
the current
divided nature of the Islamic world. Today many different
religious
interpretations, views and models exist in the world of
Islam. However,
the Islamic world currently lacks a central authority to
separate
out doctrines which contradict the faith, a service which
would guide
all Muslims. The world's Roman Catholics can look to the
Vatican,
and Orthodox Christians have the patriarchs, but there is
currently
no central authority in the Islamic world.
However, there is no division and uncontrolled structure in
the essence
of Islam itself; on the contrary, there is unity. After the
death
of the Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him), the Islamic
world was
guided by the Caliphate, and this authority became the guide
for all
Muslims in religious matters.
Today, it is still possible to set up an authority to act as
a guide
to all Muslims. In the Qur'an, God orders all Muslims to
obey "those
in command among them." (Qur'an, 4: 59). Now, the methods
used
to select "those in command" can be altered according to
the requirements of the age (such asappointment or popular
vote).
Thus is possible to establish an Islamic Union and a central
Islamic
authority, based on democratic principles and the supremacy
of law,
which should do a number of things:
1. It should address the entire Islamic world, and have a
firm foundation
in basic Islamic values and principles. It should not be the
representative
of a particular sect or school of Islam.
2. It should support human rights, democracy and free
enterprise.
The economic, cultural and scientific development of the
Islamic world
should be its aim.
3. It should establish peaceful, harmonious relations with
other nations
and civilizations. This Union should work together with the
United
Nations and the international community to control weapons
of mass
destruction, fight terrorism and international crime, and
protect
the environment.
4. The rights of minorities living in Muslim countries-such
as Jews
and Christians-should be protected, and they should be made
to feel
both safe and respected. Inter-faith dialogue and
cooperation should
be given priority.
5. Just and peaceful solutions should be proposed to solve
conflicts
between Muslim and non-Muslim communities, such as the ones
in Palestine,
Kashmir and the Philippines. These solutions should involve
both benefits
and concessions for both sides. Such solutions should
protect the
rights of Muslims and furthermore prevent the escalation of
conflicts
to the point of intractability at the hands of radical
Islamist groups.
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| Compassion, peace and tolerance constitute the very basis of the values of the Qur'an, and Islam aims to wipe mischief out of the earth. The commands of the Qur'an and the ways Muslims practised them throughout history are so clear as to leave no room for dispute. |
Bringing such fair, rational
leadership
to the Islamic world would be good for both its 1.2 billion
Muslims
who face so many problems today and for the world at large.
The world
needs such a Union. Muslims, since the time of the Prophet
Mohammed
(pbuh), have led the way forward for humanity in science,
philosophy,
art, culture and civilization, and the masterpieces they
created benefitted
humanity. While Europe was still living in the Middle Age,
Muslims
were teaching science, medicine, art, rational thinking,
hygiene and
many other virtues to the world. Today, just as in the past,
a guiding
principle based on Qur'anic morality is needed to restart
this Islamic
revival stemming from the light and wisdom of the Qur'an.
How can we make this project a reality? Among its fellow
Muslim countries,
Turkey in particular bears a great responsibility in this
area. This
is because Turkey carries the proud heritage of the Ottoman
Empire,
which in fact set up such an Islamic Union and ruled it for
over five
centuries. It boasts this social background and state
tradition. Additionally,
Turkey enjoys the best relations with the West, which will
help it
to intermediate between the West and the Islamic world in
the solution
of any problem that may emerge. Throughout its history
Turkey has
had a moderate, tolerant tradition, and it represents not
some narrow
faction but rather Sunni Islam, which is followed by a
majority of
the world's Muslims, a factor which should not be
underestimated.
Finally, we must emphasize that this solution should be
realized urgently,
because the possibility of "a conflict of civilizations"
between the Islamic world and the West is growing with each
passing
day. If the current situation doesn't change, other wars
will surely
follow the war in Iraq. Such conflicts will claim the lives
of many
innocent people. Prejudices and misunderstandings against
Muslims
and Islam are a persistent problem, and this is also causing
difficulties
for Muslims living in Western countries. Westerners
themselves are
living in a state of anxiety due to their fears of
terrorism, not
feeling safe even in their own homelands. We need a solution
that
would make these problems a thing of the past.
Truly, the founding of an Islamic Union is such a solution,
one that
would bring to all these problems a remedy both permanent
and peaceful.
Distinguishing Between Zionism And Judaism
Distinguishing Between Zionism And Judaism
In the summer of 1982 there began a great
savagery
that caused the whole world to cry out in protest. The
Israeli Army
entered Lebanon in a sudden attack, and moved forward
destroying every
target that appeared before it. The Israelis surrounded the
refugee
camps, where Palestinians lived who had fled the Israeli
occupation
years before, and for two days used Lebanese Christian
militias to
slaughter innocent civilians. Within a few days, thousands
of innocent
people had been massacred.
This terrible Israeli terrorism outraged the whole world.
The interesting
thing, however, is that some of the protests came from Jews,
even
Israeli Jews. Professor Benjamin Cohen of Tel Aviv
University penned
a statement on June 6, 1982, saying:
I am writing to you while listening to a transistor that has just announced that "we" are in the process of "realizing our objectives" in Lebanon: to insure "peace" for the residents of Galilee. These lies worthy of Goebbels make me mad. It is clear that this savage war, more barbaric than any of those preceding it, has nothing to do with the attempt in London or the security of Galilee ... Jews, sons of Abraham ... Jews, victims themselves of so much cruelty, how can they become so cruel? ... The greatest success of Zionism is the "dejudaisation" of the Jews.1
Benjamin Cohen was not the
only
Israeli to oppose the Israeli occupation of Lebanon. Many
Jewish intellectuals
living in Israel condemned the savagery carried out by their
own state.
This
attitude was not restricted to the occupation of Lebanon.
Israel's oppression
of the Palestinians, its insistence on its policy of
occupation, and
its links with the semi-fascist administrations in the former
racist
regime in South Africa had been criticized for many years by
many prominent
intellectuals in Israel. This Jewish criticism was aimed not
just at
the policies of Israel, but also at Zionism, its official
ideology.
This situation is the expression of a very important truth:
Israel's
policy of occupation and state terrorism from 1967 up to the
present
stems from the ideology of Zionism, and many Jews in the world
are opposed
to it.
For Muslims, therefore, the concept that should be criticized
is not
Judaism or the Jewish race, but Zionism. In the same way that
an anti-Nazi
can have no hatred for the German people, so he can have none
for the
Jewish race because he opposes Zionism.
The
Racist Roots
of Zionism
After the Jews were expelled from Jerusalem in 70 AD, they
began to
spread to different parts of the world. During this period
of the
"diaspora," which lasted up to the 19th century, the vast
majority of Jews saw themselves as a religious group. Over
time, most
Jews adopted the religion of the countries they lived in.
Hebrew was
left as a sacred language used in prayers and religious
texts. Jews
in Germany began to speak German, and those in Britain,
English. When
certain social restrictions on Jews in European countries
were lifted
in the 19th century, Jews began to assimilate with the
societies they
were living in. Most Jews saw themselves as a "religious
community,"
not as a "race" or "nation." They described themselves
as "Jewish Germans," "Jewish Britons," or "Jewish
Americans."
As
we know, however, there was a huge rise in racism in the 19th
century.
Racist ideas, influenced in particular by Darwin's theory of
evolution,
grew enormously and found many supporters in Western
societies. Zionism
was the effect this racist storm had among the Jews.
The Jews who propagated the idea of Zionism were people with
very
weak religious beliefs. They saw Judaism as the name of a
race, not
as a community of belief. They suggested that the Jews were a
separate
race from European nations, that it was impossible for them
to live
together and that it was essential they establish their own
homeland.
They did not rely on religious thinking when deciding where
that homeland
should be. Theodor Herzl, the founder of Zionism, once
thought of
Uganda, and this became known as the "Uganda Plan." The
Zionists later decided on Palestine. The reason for this was
Palestine
was regarded as "the Jews' historic homeland" rather than
for any religious significance it had for them.
The Zionists made great efforts to get other Jews to accept
these
non-religious ideas. The World Zionist Organization that was
set up
undertook vast propaganda work in almost all countries with
Jewish
populations, and began to suggest that Jews could not live
peacefully
with other nations and that they were a separate "race,"
for which reason they had to go and settle in Palestine.
Most Jewish
communities ignored these calls.
In this way, Zionism entered world politics as a racist
ideology which
maintained that Jews should not live with other nations.
First of
all, this mistaken idea created grave problems for and
pressure on
Jews living in the diaspora. Then for Muslims in the Middle
East,
it brought the Israeli policy of occupation and annexation,
together
with bloodshed, death, poverty and terror.
Many Jews today criticize the ideology of
Zionism.
Rabbi Hirsch, one of the foremost Jewish men of religion,
said, "Zionism
wants to define the Jewish people as a national entity ...
which is
a heresy."2
The famous French Muslim thinker Roger Garaudy wrote this on
the subject:
The worst enemy of the prophetic Jewish faith is the nationalist, racist and colonialist logic of tribal Zionism, born of the nationalism, racism and colonialism of 19th century Europe. This logic, which inspired all the colonialisms of the West and all its wars of one nationalism against another, is a suicidal logic. There is no future or security for Israel and no peace in the Middle East unless Israel becomes "dezionized" and returns to the faith of Abraham, which is the spiritual, fraternal and common heritage of the three revealed religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.3
For this reason, therefore, we
must
distinguish between Judaism and Zionism. Not every Jew in
the world
is a Zionist. True Zionists are a minority in the Jewish
world. Moreover,
there are a great many Jews who oppose Zionism's crimes
against humanity,
who want Israel to withdraw at once from all the territory
it has
occupied, and say that instead of being a racist "Jewish
state"
Israel should be a free state where all races and
communities can
live together in equality.
While Muslims rightfully oppose Israel and Zionism, they
must also
bear these truths in mind, and remember that it is not the
Jews who
are the problem, but Zionism.
1 "Professor
Leibowitz
calls Israeli politics in Lebanon Judeo-Nazi", Yediot
Aharonoth,
July 2, 1982
2 Washington Post, October 3, 1978
3 Roger Garaudy, "Right to Reply: Reply to the Media
Lynching
of Abbe Pierre and Roger Garaudy", Samizdat, June 1996