Turkey Denies Christians Church
And this from a country which wants to join the EU!
BBC: The Turkish government says it is "out of the question" for it to hand over a revered medieval church where Catholics want to hold Christian services.

The church, currently run as a museum, stands in the south-eastern town of Tarsus, where St Paul was born.

The Turkish constitution guarantees freedom of religion, but Christian groups in the country believe that in practice they face discrimination.

Next week the Vatican will hold a Catholic-Muslim forum to improve ties.

It was the Cardinal Archbishop of Cologne in Germany who first challenged the Turkish government to hand over the church in Tarsus.

He has pointed out that Muslims of Turkish origin in Germany are free to worship and build new mosques, but that Christians in Turkey face substantial obstacles to their religious freedom.

The Turkish government's response to the BBC leaves no room for doubt about its intention to retain control of the church. [Source: BBC] By Christopher Landau, BBC religious affairs correspondent | October 31, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>

Turkish Singer Defiant in Court
BBC: A popular Turkish singer has defended public statements that Turkey's long conflict with Kurdish rebels needs a solution - not more deaths.

Bulent Ersoy made her comments at a court hearing in Istanbul, after being charged with attempting to turn the public against military service.

The transsexual singer also suggested that if she had a son she would not send him to fight.

If found guilty, she faces up to four-and-a-half years in prison.
Ms Ersoy made her comments about Turkey's powerful military on television last February.

The Turkish army was conducting a major operation against the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq at the time.

Some 40,000 people have died since the conflict with the PKK began in 1984. Turkish Singer Defiant in Court >>> | September 24, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Dust Jacket Hardcover, direct from the publishers (UK) >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback, direct from the publishers (UK) >>>

Creationism: Taking on Darwin in Turkey
SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Fundamentalist Christians in America are not the only ones leading a crusade against Darwin. Creationism and "intelligent design" are becoming increasingly popular among Turkey's Muslims, too.

The man who wants to save the world goes by the name of Harun Yahya and resembles an actor from the age of silent films. He wears a white silk suit, gold cufflinks and has a finely trimmed beard on his chin. "In 20 years," he says in serious tone, "humanity will enter a golden age."

Yahya says that he discovered these joyful tidings in the Bible and the Koran. He maintains that it is a "scientific fact" that Jesus and Mahdi, the Muslim messiah, will return to mankind to solve all global conflicts. Beforehand, however, he says that these two heavenly emissaries will have to tackle another challenge: They must eradicate the heresy of British naturalist Charles Darwin, who postulated that all life arose from a process of natural selection.

As Yahya sees it, Darwinism is the root of all the world's evils. In order to help rid the world of this theory, he has had thousands of copies of The Atlas of Creation printed and shipped around the world. This large-format 800-page tome aims to prove that there never was a natural evolution of species. Instead, it contends that all forms of life on earth have remained unchanged for millions of years. Brightly colored illustrations of fossils have been included so as to document the lack of so-called transitional forms.

Yahya, 52, a onetime student of architecture, is without a doubt his country's most colorful adherent of creationism. He claims that he has already sold 8 million copies of his various books. Last year, thousands of copies of The Atlas of Creation were delivered -- on an unsolicited basis -- to schools around Europe. The identity of the person or institution footing the bill for this initiative remains unclear.

In addition to Yahya, who is currently being prosecuted "for illegal personal gain," there are other vehement opponents of evolution in Turkey. One of these is Kerim Balci, a journalist who works for the pro-government newspaper Zaman. His message: "God isn't the one who's dead; it's Darwinism." Taking on Darwin in Turkey >>> By Daniel Steinvorth in Istanbul | September 23, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback (US) Barnes & Noble >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Hardcover (US) Barnes & Noble >>>

Turkey: Muslim Converts to Christianity Face Up to 3 Years in Jail

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Dust Jacket Hardcover (US)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback (US)