ADNAN OKTAR: They have put the Islamic World into a very strange situation. They have given them a savage appearance and they have had Muslims oppressed. They have said that photos have no place in Islam. Muslims have been left behind greatly in science and technology. They did not let them take photos. They have said that science has no place in Islam and had them left behind in science as well. There is no place for science, for art, for music. There is no place for laughing, no place for architecture. No place for that, no place for this, so there is nothing left. And in the end Islamic world had been devastated, that vast Islamic world has been made wretched in the face of unbelief. A handful of unbelievers; three or five hundred people are playing with the vast Islamic world. People ruling the world at the moment are three or five hundred people. They have no power. Without pictures would technology or science develop. How could you preach religion, how can you communicate religion without fine arts? For instance on the internet or here in TV now, my picture is being seen here. So how are you going to do this? Claiming that it would be "capturing the shadow" or so.. leave such artistic expressions like "capturing the shadow" or so..  That  is an outright picture.  They have the wrong information. There is no such thing. That is why, Muslims have been tragically crushed  in the world. I mean we publish the pictures of a shrimp and we publish the pictures of birds and pictures of fish. How are you going to preach the religion, how are you going to preach the word how are you going to communicate otherwise?  For instance music is very important, it has an effect on a person's soul. Music can be used, so can pictures, so can architecture. All kinds of techniques can be used. You progress in science as much as you can. There is no restriction in respect of that in the Qur'an.

For instance in the time of our Prophet (saas), some people painted pictures saying that it was the Prophet Jesus (pbuh) and put it in the churches. Our Prophet (saas) would of course forbid it. That is because they idolize it. Idol is something, picture is something completely different. Why would a picture be forbidden unless it has been idolized? But if you do it as an idol, specifically for that reason, then it is obvious that it would be forbidden. That is because in the Qur'an it has already been explained and described that idols are unlawful anyway. They are taking the most important weapons of Muslims from their hands. I mean art is the most important influential power. Bediuzzaman says so; the power of the system of the Mahdi is art, talent and union. He says that we will stand against them with three weapons. Look the first one is art, the second one is talent and the third one is union. And he says that our enemies are ignorance, poverty and dissidence. People being ignorant; poverty, that is poorness; and dissidence, that is Muslims falling out with each other, meaning communities and sects fiddling with each other. And he says we will stand against this with art- the first weapon is art-, the second is talent -that is being skillful, general culture, talent, and alliance, being in unity he says we will hit back. For that reason their such claims are wrong.