-Good evening, viewers. Today we are playing host to and conducting a short interview for you with Harun Yahya, one of the most exceptional figures to emerge from the Islamic world, in order to make you better acquainted with him and to air his views on subjects of interest to you. Welcome.  

-Thank you. And welcome to you. It is a privilege.

-Thank you. We at Tokat Radio and Television frequently broadcast your views on various subjects to the people of Tokat, but we now come here for this opportunity of getting to know you, talk with you and forward your greetings to the people of Tokat. Could you tell us something brief about your resume? 

-Yes. First of all, I come from your city.

-You have Tokat in your blood. They say your mother is from Tokat.

-I spent my childhood there, in Tokat. In the village of Batmantaş in Tokat province, in Turhal. But I am from Ankara. I was born in Ankara in 1956, on February 2. I spent my youth and my primary, middle and high school years there.  In that sense I am a native of Ankara. Then, in 1979, I won a place at the Fındıklı Academy of Fine Arts in Istanbul. I went there alone. My family then moved to Istanbul later. I studied at the Fındıklı Academy of Fine Arts between ’79 and ’83. After ’83 I continued my studies at the Istanbul University Philosophy Department. That was not easy, since there was widespread anarchy at that time, and it was not easy for us, it was impossible to continue. And I was really busy with my book work at the time. My CD and book work had begun in those days. As you know, I brought my first book out, Judaism and Freemasonry, in 1986. That was the most noteworthy thing. I had produced small pamphlets before, but that book really made a splash. I then began writing other books. The number of my books has now exceeded 300, masha’Allah.

-Masha’Allah. That is very good. We local television stations make much use of your works. They are even a subject of much curiosity. Some people say that Harun Yahya sends his books out without drawing any royalties,

-Of course.

-and everyone is agreed that you make a huge contribution to believers, and your struggle against deniers is plain for all to see.   

-Allah be thanked. What volume have you reached of the Atlas of Creation that you recently brought out?

-Masha’Allah. That will probably go on for some time yet.

-Seven volumes. A first part of 7 volumes. Then I will begin on the second part. That will also consist of 7 volumes, but those 7 will concentrate more on fossils. I mean they will mainly consist of pictures of fossils. The text will be very small. Because we have a huge number of fossil photographs available.  

-You know there are 100 million fossils that prove creation in the world. We are only able to publish a very few, a handful, of them.

-I would like to learn what you think of these latest developments.

-In terms of Turkish-Armenian relations. What do you think of the Armenian slaughter?

-The Armenians are very excellent people. They are loving, artistic people with pure spirits. That is how they always were in Ottoman times, they were always trustworthy subjects and people. You know we had Armenian generals, politicians, doctors and artists. Until when? Until Darwinism appeared. After the appearance of Darwinism, there began a time of fanaticism, racism and romantic nationalism, and a time of communist thinking. Shaytan made his presence felt there, and broke our Armenian brothers away from us. They deprived us of that beauty. Whereas the Armenians had been living very happily alongside us. The Turkish Nation never feels any enmity toward the Armenians, nor they for us. Who causes this fanaticism? The Freemasons. Freemasonry has enfolded the world like a spider’s web. There are millions of Masons in America. There are millions of Masons in Britain. There are 7,000 Masons in Turkey, but in key positions. They have worked Darwinism into the heart of the nation. Thanks be to Allah, we have demolished this across the world with the Atlas of Creation, and have destroyed it in Europe, starting with France, and America.  We have smothered it until Doomsday, insha’Allah.

-But they have also caused all this strife. The time has now come to put that right. The Armenians are our very dear brothers. The time has come to clasp these heroic, immaculate people to our bosom. Insha’Allah we will increasingly eliminate this division, this separation.  

-Everyone must forgive everyone else the events of the past; we must now forget the past. That was a scourge inflicted by Darwinism. It was irrational and Muslims and Armenians were set at one another’s throats in some place for no reason. But that dark time has now come to an end. It has disappeared, never to return, insha’Allah. The Armenians have also been claimed to have perpetrated massacres, such as the Hijali massacre, or in the South or South-East. The Armenian nation would never do that, the Masons forced and pressurized them into doing it. We give them our full blessings. But we harbor no feelings of hatred and revenge. They have done good deeds to us, so let them give us their blessings also.

Insha’Allah, there will now be a brand new beginning.

-Insha’Allah. And the situation in the Caucasus. We understand that you also have Caucasian origins...

-Yes, my people came there from Medina. I am descended from the blessed Hasan. As you know, descendants of the Prophet’s (saas) were being killed at that time. They fled to the high plateaux. They fled to South-East Turkey, to the Caucasus, to the higher parts of the Caucasus where they could not be reached.  My forebears came there. I had my family tree drawn up. It goes back some 30 generations, right back as far as Medina.

-Yes, but I have Caucasian roots. My maternal line came from the Caucasus to Tokat. They settled in the village of Batmantaş, on the high plateau.  

-Yes, it is a plateau village, on the way to the Dumanlı Plateau.

-The Dumanli Plateau, yes. My father’s forebears came to Bala, which is also quite high up. It is a cold, high-altitude place. I was very happy when I went to Tokat, I really liked it. My aunt had an Ottoman-type house adjoining the Ali Paşa Mosque. It was made of brick and timber. It was really lovely, a large Ottoman house. The Ali Paşa Mosque had a cypress tree. I wonder if it is still there?

-It’s still there? Masha’Allah. I used to sit in its shade. I drank water from the fountain and wandered around. There was a coppersmiths’ market at the back where I would go. And there was a library there when I was a child. The State Library, I used to go there and read books. There was even a small tomato plant in my aunts’ garden that used to give huge tomatoes. I really liked that. When I rubbed my hands over it they would smell of tomato. I never forget my childhood.  

-The Tokat tomato is very famous.

-We never planted tomatoes in our garden in Ankara. But they were really very good there. I had an uncle who had an attractive house in Tokat. That was also an Ottoman house, with a vineyard. I used to visit when I was a child. There were tomatoes and peppers and mulberry tree there, and apple trees we used to climb, and huge peach trees. Tokat is a really fertile place, really wonderful. The air there is totally different. The bread and water and everything there are completely different. It is lovely. There was even a kebab shop just beyond the Ali Paşa Mosque.

-Yes, it was a most perfect place. Everywhere is made out of earth there. I remember the stoves being made of earth, and the places to sit on. Every time I went there I ate a delicious Tokat kebab.  

-Insha’Allah, you will come back again.

-Let us hear a word from you in Tokat.

-You have foundations, of which you are president.

-Of which you are honorary president. What do they do? What kind of work do you do?  

-Our best known foundation is the Science Research Foundation.

-Yes, and we also have a Foundation for the Preservation of National Values. I am honorary president of both. We do whatever is needed for Turkey to be a pleasant place. Everything within a pro-Ataturk, nationalist, patriotic, conservative and religious mindset that loves the flag and the nation. Everything good. Turkish-Islamic Union is the fundamental goal of both of the foundations. Indeed they had very good activities. Anti-Darwinist activities, activities critical of Darwinism have been carried out.  Activities on behalf of the Turkish-Islamic Union have been carried out. For Cyprus, there was a conference on Cyprus. Rauf Denktas, our president, politicians and senior military officers attended. Very select people, Masha’Allah. There have been similar meetings in Ankara attended by ministers, generals and retired generals. Excellent activities have taken place, and are still continuing and will continue in the future, insha’Allah. But we have broad horizons, of course. We want as much as possible, for it to be as good as possible.

-Do you have overseas activities? In the Turkic republics? 

-Of course. The Turkic Republics in particular are part of us, our flesh and blood. For me, the Turkic states are no different to Konya or Kırşehir or Eskişehir or Kayseri. All of the Turkic states. We have excellent activities everywhere, in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and all the Turkic states. And in Russia, America, Britain, France, Italy and even in Israel. We hold conferences everywhere. Conferences on faith, on the existence and oneness of Allah and that prove that Darwin lied. We hold excellent scientific conferences of that kind. And we will continue to do so.

-Do you arrange these conferences personally, or is it the foundation? How can contact be established? For example, if a group or organization from Anatolia want to invite you, how can they do so?  

-If they send a message over the internet they get an answer straight away. Our address is written down, or they can phone, but the internet is the easiest way. If they state it over the net, by Allah’s leave, my colleagues will get straight back to them, insha’Allah.

-Is it possible for people who want to know you better, who want to come, to meet you during you everyday life in Istanbul?  

-Of course. They can come to my home, to where I am, or we can meet and talk in any restaurant or anywhere suitable. But they must send a message over the net first and introduce themselves. If they provide some brief details about themselves they can have a preparatory talk with my colleagues who will then forward them to me. I will be happy to meet them. I will see them right away, insha’Allah.  

-Do you have any activities apart from these intellectual ones? Like commercial activities, or...

-Thanks be to Allah. Turkey is a very suitable place for free enterprise. My friends and brothers enjoy excellent commercial activities in Turkey and abroad. Allah gives to them in great abundance. Alhamdulillah.

-They earn very nicely. I do enough to meet my own needs. But I have no great desire for accumulating property and wealth. I have no property in my own name, but I do enough to meet the day’s expenditure, insha’Allah.

-Excellent. From what I understand, your noble endeavors are probative in the struggle against the unbelievers. To give strength to believers. Thanks be to Allah. Your works in this area are very successful and find readers everywhere, and are increasingly valued and researched. What is the price, the economic cost, of these works, I wonder?  

-It is basically not what people imagine.

-In fact, it seems a bit cheaper to me.

-Yes. Paper prices and printing costs are very good in Turkey. They cannot compare with Europe.  

-Much, much cheaper. Masha’Allah. Alhamdulillah. The company sells them at a very low profit margin. Enough for it to meet its own needs and not make a loss, in other words.  

-All right. You say there is a low profit margin.

-There are no efforts made to make a huge profit. The earnings come from high turnover. Thanks be to Allah, they sell very fast. My book sales have exceeded 10 million this year, for example. Last year it was 8 million.  

-Free-of-charge download levels are very high, Alhamdulillah. Let me give some brief details about the levels last year and this. Let me start with books. We have more than 300 web sites in 32 different languages. They are visited by more than 4 million people from 167 countries every month. And every month, some 1 million documentary films and 50,000 audio presentations are downloaded. More than 35 million works were downloaded onto computers in the year 2007 alone, free of charge.

-It is 60 million free downloads this year, Masha’Allah.  

-More than 150,000 people visit the sites every day. There are more than 300 books on my site. They have been translated into a total of 57 languages. That is really wonderful. They are sold in bookstores in 40 countries. More than 5,000 articles continue to be published in newspapers and magazines and on web sites in many countries of the world. There are some 200 documentary films. These are broadcasted on 100 separate TV channels in 20 countries, Masha’Allah. 

-My book has had a huge impact in Europe. It has been distributed in France, you know.

-French President Sarkozy wrote that he had been enormously influenced by my books and has completely changed the language he uses. Let me quote from one of those statements.  

-“It is Almighty Allah Who is in everyone’s thoughts and hearts.” A delightful statement. He never spoke in such terms before. “It is Allah Who constantly gives people a message of humility and love, a message of peace and brotherhood, a message of tolerance and respect. It is Allah Who is a bastion against human beings’ unbridled pride and madness. It is Allah Who makes people free, not captives.” There has been a splendid change in Tony Blair, for instance. I sent him my books, and he read them. In the 4 April, 2008, issue of the Guardian, he says his view of life has altered fundamentally. “Protect religion and help make it a force for good.” In a story given to another agency, Tony Blair said called for religion to be given a central place in solving the world’s problems. “Religion can awaken the world’s conscience,” he said.   He was a socialist, a leftist, a Darwinist. He has changed very, very much, masha’Allah. In those terms it is very good.

-Thank you very much. Allah be pleased. You are shedding a lot of light. Answers and ideas are coming out.

-Masha’Allah. There have been sensational news reports about my books in Europe. Stern magazine in Germany, for instance, referred to “a book exploding like thunder.” Like thunder, a lightning bolt in other words. Another major German daily said, “Darwin is in trouble in Europe, too.” One of Holland’s main news agencies said the book has “set up a whirlwind.” A large Italian daily said, “What we know for certain is that we shall be the losers.” It is apparent in all of them. The book has literally taken Europe by the scruff of the neck and been hugely effective. Another in Belgium resembles it to a cross fire. A science magazine in France said the book has “come as a cold shower.” These are all very welcome tidings, of course. Masha’Allah. Very positive developments are taking place. These are quite amazing, of course; insha’Allah, Europe will undergo a profound culture shock by the end of all this and entirely alter its beliefs. Belief in Allah will prevail in Europe and across the world, insha’Allah.

-Turkey will be the leader of the Turkish-Islamic world and a great Turkish-Islamic Union will be set up, insha’Allah, within the next 10 years. Everyone will see this. Turkey will assume the leadership and eliminate anarchy, terror and chaos from the world, insha’Allah. By Allah’s leave.  

-We will live very pleasantly as brothers alongside Armenians, Jews and Greeks, in love, peace and abundance, insha’Allah. 

-But it essential for Turkey to assume the leadership for this. That is in any case how destiny lies, insha’Allah. The future has been described by our Prophet (saas); this century, the End Times, have been described. As if they had been seen in a film, all these events of the End Times have been described in detail, and they have all come about in exactly that form.  Hundreds of events, such as the Iran-Iraq War, the invasion of Afghanistan, the severing of the waters of the Euphrates and Iraq being occupied by foreign countries. There was the smoke and dust of September 11. He speaks of “a smoky, dusty corruption” being seen. Our Prophet (saas) has described all similar events. The Mahdi will appear and the Prophet ‘Isa (a.s.) will return in the End Times. Insha’Allah, Muslims and Christians will join together and onIy Islam religion will be left. The world will then find true happiness in peace and security, insha’Allah.

-Insha’Allah. Is there anything else you would like to say...

-I like Tokat very much. But my fellow citizens from Tokat must keep an eye on it, as it is a lovely place. The people there are very pleasant and attractive. It is an Ottoman city, as you know, and they speak with a different accent there, saying ‘shep’ instead of ship and that sort of thing. That is how my grandmother used to speak.  

-They say ‘Togat’ instead of Tokat. I can safely say it was my favorite place when I was a child. Amasya was another. We used to travel there by way of Amasya. The bus used to scrape past the branches of the apple trees. Bright red apples used to hang down. As a child, as soon as we arrived we would dive into the Yeşil Irmak River. My older brother used to dive into the water to swim in it. We stayed in the water until evening, constantly swimming about in the Yeşil Irmak. There were gardens there, along the banks of the Yeşil Irmak. We would go into one of them. The sweet corn was unbelievably tall.

-The apples are huge and very good for you. I remember that from my childhood. Masha’Allah. There was the Çay Quarter in Tokat.

-There was a small stream running through the middle of it. And there were classic Tokat houses there, very attractive. There was an installation known as the Kıjkıj, and after that the Gümenek Mesire Park. I went there once with my uncle. Everywhere in Tokat is very attractive. It is a lovely place.

-Tokat has beauties all its own.

-And the people are very devout. They have excellent moral virtues, like everyone in Anatolia. It is very important to preserve Tokat’s natural beauty.  

-It is not being protected that much, but then again, in comparison to other cities...  

-Please. I do ask that of my fellow citizens from Tokat. They really must preserve its natural beauty, it is very important to preserve those classic Tokat houses.

-The houses in the Çay Quarter have been repaired.

-They are now very attractive. We have really historic houses.

-Yes, great care needs to be taken of all historic houses. The gardens must not be touched. Gardens and vineyards must absolutely not be touched. If they want to expand the city they can extend it in an appropriate direction. But not the center of Tokat. That place where I spent my childhood must be preserved with all its beauty. Please also extend my greetings to my fellow citizens in Batmantaş.

-The same applies to Batmantaş. They must keep Batmantaş in its natural state.

-It would be a terrible risk to lose its natural beauty for the sake of building a tourist facility.  

-They were thinking about that at one time, but it was not particularly successful. They thought of building country houses, a tourist facility, in Batmantaş, but it never happened.

-In my view the best thing is for it to remain as it is in its natural state. It is lovely as it is. But I have noticed the houses. I saw on the internet that they have put sheet iron on the roofs. That is not right. They should be corrugated tiles. The same applies to the fronts; they should be left with as many Ottoman traces as can be managed. That needs to be done. But in general the village is very pretty, Batmantaş. I spent all my summer holidays there. Me and my older brother would go fishing with a rod and basket. There was a lovely river there. One of us would chase the fish in the water and the other would fill the basket. My older brother and I would catch all the fish there, take them away, and light a small fire. My brother and I would gut them by the banks of the river. Then we would fry them. We would bring salt with us. And bread. Everyone worked, and we worked at that.

-I hope to come to Tokat, by Allah’s leave.

-We can arrange an excellent conference, insha’Allah. Let us do something more useful for the instruction of the people of Tokat.

-That would be very good. Let me also send a few more books to libraries in Tokat.

-It would be good if you could act as a vehicle, insha’Allah.

-Allah be pleased. It has been a privilege.

-Thank you for giving up your time. Thank you for sharing your views with the people of Tokat. Good evening.

-My thanks to you, good evening.