Text Ticker: Propagating Islamic Creationism on the Internet
In this useful paper (via Ruth at The Immanent Frame), Martin Riexinger explores the impact of Harun Yahya’s Islamic creationism through the medium of the internet. Some of his claims, however, don’t seem justified to me. By “using the Internet as main means of propaganda,” he suggests, Yahya “may restrict [his] political impact” or the likelihood of being taken seriously as a religious scholar.
From all I gather, however, Yahya’s books, not his websites, are the primary means for spreading his message. Among his disciples, he is talked about as an author of books, not a webmaster. And in Islamic bookstores from Istanbul to Chicago, the popularity of these books attests that, in the eyes of many, he is regarded as an authority. Many more know of him, I am sure, than Mustafa Akyol, whom Riexinger discusses. Akyol is cited as having attracted some patronage of Turkish authorities, but I have heard rumors about Yahya’s growing official recognition (here, for instance). It also must take considerable clout for Yahya to arrange to ban access in the country to just about every website that offends him, including WordPress.com and RichardDawkins.net.
Additionally this paper neglects the extent to which Yahya has recently been courting conventional media outlets, inviting them to interview him in Istanbul, as I did in October. There is a pretty thorough list of these interviews on Yahya’s website. [go!]
December 4th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
Well point b is true, point a to 50 pc. But actually I do not see any contradiction. People consider him an author of books, but at least outside of Turkey they became aware of his writings via the internet, and I think many of them download them for free instead of buying them. And I think this hold true even more for his audiovisual publications.
December 4th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
Yes — not so much contradiction as where to place the emphasis. It is true, all the books are available for download on the internet. But Global Publishing, the company that oversees the production of all the media materials, says this hasn’t affected sales. (The owner of an Islamic bookstore I talked to in Istanbul disagreed.) My sources at GP tell me that they sell about 18 million books per year, and only a about a quarter million of those are in Turkey. But still that’s enough to maintain a 30-member call center in Istanbul to receive domestic orders.
In an upcoming article, I will emphasize the aesthetic impact of the books, which often have dramatic illustrations and full color, glossy pages. Also, a growing part of Yahya’s effort involves traveling exhibitions of fossils, often invited by Muslim student societies in Western universities.
Perhaps Yahya’s most important outreach effort (see, for instance, how people describe him in cursory news articles) is through the Atlas of Creation, a massive book which he physically sent to thousands (I’m told over 150,000) for free around the world. This is obviously a massively expensive operation, and GP tells me that the book sales are considerable enough to cover the costs for it.
I think you’re right to point out the online side of his effort, which is very considerable—and in fact your findings are of great use to me. But for quite some time Yahya has made his presence felt strongly in Islamic bookstores and, most recently, by mailing copies of the Atlas to lots and lots of influential people who would otherwise never know about him or bother to find him on the internet.
December 5th, 2008 at 7:55 am
As far as I know about the last numbers, some 16 millions books of Harun Yahya were sold worldwide this year
December 5th, 2008 at 10:37 am
I was told that the average was 18 million per year, as I said in a comment above. Does this mean that sales went down 2 million this year?
December 7th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
Well I doubt both numbers. Who should by them when he sells a quarter of a million on his home market? Only a few books have been translated in the other major languages of the Islamic World yet. Much of the material is in Western languages but the Muslim population is rather tiny, and at least in Europe avid book readers are an exception. Libraries usually do not buy such stuff either.
I think this assumption is problematic too. The books are printed on art paper and everybody not affilated to Harun Yahya’s following agrees that they are sold at a price below the production costs.
For example, “Yahudilik ve Masonluk” (Judaism and freemasonry) at the moment his bestseller in Turkey is sold for YTL 22,-, whereas Iletisim, one of Turkey’s most renowned publishing houses sells Orhan Pamuk’s “Kar” (Snow) on average paper quality and in small size for the same price. This seems also to be the standard price for historical studies of about 400 pp. The paperback version of the volume “Sol” (The Left”) in the internationally acclaimed series on political thought in modern Turkey is sold for YTL 66,- (almost 1400 pp but a larger format). Just to give an idea about book prices in Turkey.
December 7th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
[...] für Adnan Oktar das Internet so wichtig ist wie ich behaupte. Wir diskutieren dass beim ihm im Ruderboot. Bookmark [...]
December 7th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
I agree that, until a third-party accounting can be made, there is reason not to trust Global Publishing’s figures. In fact, when I met with the director of GP in Istanbul, he told me that the free Atlases were paid for “by the hand of God”—presumably, by outside financial backing. In contrast, Oktar himself and his close associates (among whom that director did not seem to be one), they say that the books can be sold inexpensively or given away because no money is taken from the royalties. This is also what sympathetic booksellers tell me when I ask how the books are so inexpensive. Once again, only a third-party audit could confirm this.
Friends of mine have confirmed that the books are clearly sold at below production costs also. But whether the books are subsidized or not doesn’t change the fact of their importance.
But one way or another, the books are in generous circulation. They are plentiful in Islamic bookstores around the world. The Atlas of Creation is clearly at the rhetorical center of Oktar’s recent campaigns, suggesting that he puts a great deal of emphasis on the power of print. There are dramatized photos of Oktar writing and reading his books, but I’ve yet to see one of him proudly perusing his website. This isn’t to say that the web isn’t an extremely important part of his efforts—your paper does a fantastic job of showing that it is.
December 7th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
Thank you, by the way, for checking back and commenting. Your remarks have pushed me to phrase certain things more carefully in an upcoming article.
December 10th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
A contact of mine associated with Oktar sent me a reply to some of these points. Among other things, she explained:
- “Turkey in general is cheaper in printing sector.”
- “We do not have any financial support from any other country. But we’d love to, and we would not reject that. People think that Saudi Arabia is behind this. But unfortunately not. They are still not aware of the importance of our intellectual struggle. If they were aware, they would definitely support our methods.”
- “‘by the hand of God’ means that we are small in number but very influential with the help of God. We believe that this is happening because of our sincere belief in Allah, and we are not expecting any recompense in this world. Bigger religious groups have not achieved this.”
- “In general, our financial accounts have been checked by the official institutions and were cleared several times. Please see here.”
- “A few days ago, a school from Florida made a huge book order for their educational curriculum like many others before. So the number does not only include solitary readers but also educational institutions.”
- “In Indonesia, the president is recommending that his people read Harun Yahya books.”
December 13th, 2008 at 12:29 am
In the end, I tend to believe Yahya and his followers that the books support themselves. After all, they admit to me that the foundations (Truth Research Foundation, Science Research Foundation) are supported by contributors. What is there to lose by saying that the books are too?
December 23rd, 2008 at 2:06 am
[...] | RSS | [...]