Say Anything Blog

Summary of Article:

Can you believe it? Conservative U.S. Christians are teaming up with Turkish Muslims. For what you ask? To fight to promote creationism in Turkish schools.

Creationism advocates from the US traveled to Istanbul May 2007 to meet with their counterparts, seeking to galvanize their link in the fight to bring creationism to schools and universities in their respective countries.

The history of U.S. Christian involvement goes back to the 80’s when, according to Dr Ozgur Jenc, a professor at Bosphorus University, it was introduced as a wider state policy called the “Turkish Islamic synthesis.”

The country’s military rulers at the time, who had seized power in a 1980 coup, wanted to encourage religion to undermine the then-strong support in the country for left-wing ideas.

“They purged universities and high schools of thousands of liberal-minded teachers, replacing them with more religiously minded people. This opened the way to include creation in the curriculum.”

Education Minister Huseyin Celik, an AKP member ( Islamic Justice and Development Party), said he has an open mind over the debate about evolution, but in 2005, the Ministry reportedly suspended five teachers for advocating evolution too strongly.

One teacher, on the condition of anonimity, said the following: “In my school three out of five science teachers only teach creationism and I face pressure from them everyday. They also try to turn the children against us in their classes, saying we are atheists.”

http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?id=14772
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