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October 31, 2006
Turkish Minister Supports Intelligent Design
In a recent TV debate on the Turkish educational system, the country's Minister of Education, Mr. Hüseyin Çelik**, argued in favor of intelligent design and for incorporating the theory into Turkish high school biology textbooks. The debate was aired on CNNTurk* on 17 October 2006, on the popular TV show Tarafsiz Bölge (Neutral Zone), which is hosted by the trendy Turkish journalist Ahmet Hakan Coskun.
During the 2.5 hour-long program, the minister was challenged by another leading journalist, Ismet Berkan, who has previously argued for Darwinism and against ID in his columns. Berkan contended that the vague reference to "creation" in Turkish biology textbooks as an alternative to Darwinian evolution should be omitted, since it presents faith, not science. Minister Çelik responded by pointing that the idea of creation is not necessarily based on religious texts and that it can be based solely on objective evidence and the latter is what Turkish textbooks refer to. Moreover he gave a brief description of ID, by quoting an op-ed piece of mine — that was, interestingly enough, published in the newspaper that Mr. Berkan edits (Radikal) — and argued that it should be in Turkish textbooks as an alternative theory to Darwinian evolution. The 15-min discussion between Minister Çelik and Mr. Berkan is available here in audio, albeit only in Turkish.
So, watch out. ID might become a part of science standards soon in unexpected places!
* CNNTurk is a joint-venture of CNN International and the Dogan Media Group, Turkey's no. 1 media empire. It is one of the two most prestigious and popular newschannels in Turkey.
** Mr. Çelik is a member of the incumbent AKP, Turkey's moderate Muslim party.
Posted by Mustafa Akyol at October 31, 2006 2:07 AM
I feel sad when I hear this, as I have heard the "objective evidence" that the ID movement presents, and besides the fact that most of the arguments have been around for decades (irreducible complexity for instance, also "argument from design") they have also been dismissed by the science community. Why is that? Does a giant scientist conspiracy exist or could it be that ID can only convince the weak-minded and/or those who believe in a personal god?
Posted by: Korinthian at November 5, 2006 2:06 AM
according to you what would be the educational philosoph of turkish educational system .this iss very important for me .have good days
Posted by: haydar at November 6, 2006 7:53 PM