WEBVTT

00:00.000 --> 00:04.000
A life dedicated to God.

00:04.000 --> 00:07.000
The year was 1979.

00:07.000 --> 00:11.000
Turkey was fraught with anarchy, conflicts and political instability,

00:11.000 --> 00:16.000
where the threat of illegal communist terrorist organizations loomed over urban life.

00:16.000 --> 00:22.000
In that year, a young man moved to Istanbul to begin his university education at Mimar Sinan University,

00:22.000 --> 00:26.000
the Faculty of Fine Arts, as the third highest scoring student.

00:26.000 --> 00:30.000
During this time, where unsolved murders were a common occurrence,

00:30.000 --> 00:35.000
Adnan Akhtar set out to preach the existence of God amidst militant communists.

00:35.000 --> 00:40.000
He would engage in debates with fanatical Marxists on dialectic materialism.

00:40.000 --> 00:44.000
Every day he would walk alone all the way to the Mola Mosque,

00:44.000 --> 00:49.000
ridden with illegal leftist militants to perform his daily prayers.

00:49.000 --> 00:54.000
Adnan Akhtar continues his intellectual effort that he embarked upon with great enthusiasm and courage

00:54.000 --> 01:00.000
four decades ago with an ever-increasing resolution.

01:00.000 --> 01:04.000
Let us summarize these 40 remarkably productive years.

01:04.000 --> 01:10.000
Adnan Akhtar's series of books, which began with the very first The Theory of Evolution booklet

01:10.000 --> 01:14.000
he published against the atheist movements in Mimar Sinan University,

01:14.000 --> 01:17.000
has brought the downfall of the theory of evolution.

01:17.000 --> 01:22.000
While the rate of those who believe in Darwinism in Turkey was 90% in the 70s,

01:22.000 --> 01:26.000
today it has plummeted to a staggering 5%.

01:26.000 --> 01:32.000
The 2005 survey carried out by the Science magazine in 34 countries revealed that Turkey

01:32.000 --> 01:35.000
is the country with the lowest acceptance of evolution.

01:35.000 --> 01:42.000
In the wake of the September 11 attacks, one of the root causes that resulted in Islamophobia spreading like wildfire,

01:42.000 --> 01:45.000
Adnan Akhtar published his book,

01:45.000 --> 01:47.000
Islam Denounces Terrorism,

01:47.000 --> 01:50.000
which has now become a widely used slogan worldwide.

01:50.000 --> 01:55.000
Adnan Akhtar has opened new horizons on issues people cannot even dare to consider together,

01:55.000 --> 01:59.000
through a rational discourse based on the Quran and tangible evidence.

01:59.000 --> 02:11.000
Islam in the arts.

02:11.000 --> 02:13.000
Islam in science.

02:13.000 --> 02:14.000
Islam in modernity.

02:14.000 --> 02:16.000
Freedom.

02:16.000 --> 02:17.000
Beauty.

02:17.000 --> 02:18.000
Women.

02:18.000 --> 02:20.000
Joy.

02:20.000 --> 02:37.000
On one hand, Adnan Akhtar has promoted the bright face of Islam,

02:37.000 --> 02:41.000
while on the other hand, he erected the soundest intellectual barrier

02:41.000 --> 02:46.000
against the Marxist, Leninist, atheist and separatist PKK terrorist organization.

02:46.000 --> 02:50.000
The copies of his books and brochures on the atrocities of the PKK

02:50.000 --> 02:54.000
and the justified struggle of the Turkish Republic against this terrorist organization

02:54.000 --> 02:57.000
have been widely distributed, particularly in Europe.

02:57.000 --> 03:04.000
The dozens of conferences held throughout Turkey helped establish and maintain a resolute stance against the PKK.

03:04.000 --> 03:09.000
So far, Adnan Akhtar has not received a single penny in royalties from his books,

03:09.000 --> 03:15.000
which have been translated into 73 languages and are available at bookshops in over 100 countries.

03:15.000 --> 03:21.000
He has been preaching God and Islam with fondness and great patience for the last 40 years

03:21.000 --> 03:26.000
through hundreds of documentary films, over 5,000 international conferences

03:26.000 --> 03:31.000
and through more than 1,000 websites based on his books, which are visited by millions.

03:31.000 --> 03:38.000
Adnan Akhtar has been waging a 40-year-long effort in raising a pious, modern and enlightened Turkish youth

03:38.000 --> 03:43.000
who is loyal to its state and protects the integrity of its homeland and independence of its nation

03:43.000 --> 03:47.000
no matter how high the cost, as envisioned by Ataturk.

03:47.000 --> 03:54.000
May God bless the ever-alturistic Adnan Akhtar, who has never spent a moment of his life for self-interest.

03:54.000 --> 03:55.000
Thank you.

03:55.000 --> 03:56.000
Thank you.

