 
# The Light of the Qur'an Has Destroyed Satanism

## Harun Yahya

... do not follow in the footsteps of satan. He truly is an outright enemy to you. (Surat al-Baqara, 168)

# About the Author

Now writing under the pen-name of HARUN YAHYA, Adnan Oktar was born in Ankara in 1956. Having completed his primary and secondary education in Ankara, he studied arts at Istanbul's Mimar Sinan University and philosophy at Istanbul University. Since the 1980s, he has published many books on political, scientific, and faith-related issues. Harun Yahya is well-known as the author of important works disclosing the imposture of evolutionists, their invalid claims, and the dark liaisons between Darwinism and such bloody ideologies as fascism and communism.

Harun Yahya's works, translated into 57 different languages, constitute a collection for a total of more than 45,000 pages with 30,000 illustrations.

His pen-name is a composite of the names Harun (Aaron) and Yahya (John), in memory of the two esteemed prophets who fought against their peoples' lack of faith. The Prophet's (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) seal on his books' covers is symbolic and is linked to their contents. It represents the Qur'an (the Final Scripture) and Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), last of the prophets. Under the guidance of the Qur'an and the Sunnah (teachings of the Prophet), the author makes it his purpose to disprove each fundamental tenet of irreligious ideologies and to have the "last word," so as to completely silence the objections raised against religion. He uses the seal of the final Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), who attained ultimate wisdom and moral perfection, as a sign of his intention to offer the last word.

All of Harun Yahya's works share one single goal: to convey the Qur'an's message, encourage readers to consider basic faith-related issues such as Allah's existence and unity and the Hereafter; and to expose irreligious systems' feeble foundations and perverted ideologies.

Harun Yahya enjoys a wide readership in many countries, from India to America, England to Indonesia, Poland to Bosnia, Spain to Brazil, Malaysia to Italy, France to Bulgaria and Russia. Some of his books are available in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Urdu, Arabic, Albanian, Chinese, Swahili, Hausa, Dhivehi (spoken in Mauritius), Russian, Serbo-Croat (Bosnian), Polish, Malay, Uygur Turkish, Indonesian, Bengali, Danish and Swedish.

Greatly appreciated all around the world, these works have been instrumental in many people recovering faith in Allah and gaining deeper insights into their faith. His books' wisdom and sincerity, together with a distinct style that's easy to understand, directly affect anyone who reads them. Those who seriously consider these books, can no longer advocate atheism or any other perverted ideology or materialistic philosophy, since these books are characterized by rapid effectiveness, definite results, and irrefutability. Even if they continue to do so, it will be only a sentimental insistence, since these books refute such ideologies from their very foundations. All contemporary movements of denial are now ideologically defeated, thanks to the books written by Harun Yahya.

This is no doubt a result of the Qur'an's wisdom and lucidity. The author modestly intends to serve as a means in humanity's search for Allah's right path. No material gain is sought in the publication of these works.

Those who encourage others to read these books, to open their minds and hearts and guide them to become more devoted servants of Allah, render an invaluable service.

Meanwhile, it would only be a waste of time and energy to propagate other books that create confusion in people's minds, lead them into ideological chaos, and that clearly have no strong and precise effects in removing the doubts in people's hearts, as also verified from previous experience. It is impossible for books devised to emphasize the author's literary power rather than the noble goal of saving people from loss of faith, to have such a great effect. Those who doubt this can readily see that the sole aim of Harun Yahya's books is to overcome disbelief and to disseminate the Qur'an's moral values. The success and impact of this service are manifested in the readers' conviction.

One point should be kept in mind: The main reason for the continuing cruelty, conflict, and other ordeals endured by the vast majority of people is the ideological prevalence of disbelief. This can be ended only with the ideological defeat of disbelief and by conveying the wonders of creation and Qur'anic morality so that people can live by it. Considering the state of the world today, leading into a downward spiral of violence, corruption and conflict, clearly this service must be provided speedily and effectively, or it may be too late.

In this effort, the books of Harun Yahya assume a leading role. By the will of Allah, these books will be a means through which people in the twenty-first century will attain the peace, justice, and happiness promised in the Qur'an.

First English Edition in December 2007

Translated by Ron Evans

Edited by Tam Mossman

Published by:

GLOBAL PUBLISHING

Talatpasa Mah. Emirgazi Caddesi Ibrahim Elmas İş Merkezi

A Blok Kat 4 Okmeydani - Istanbul / Turkey

Phone: (+90 212) 222 00 88

Printed and bound by Secil Ofset in Istanbul

100 Yil Mah. MAS-SIT Matbaacilar Sitesi 4. Cadde No: 77

Bagcilar-Istanbul/Turkey

Phone: (+90 212) 629 06 15

All translations from the Qur'an are from The Noble Qur'an: A New Rendering of its Meaning in English by Hajj Abdalhaqq and Aisha Bewley, published by Bookwork,

Norwich, UK. 1420 CE/1999 AH.

www.harunyahya.com

www.harunyahya.net

# To the Reader

A special chapter is assigned to the collapse of the theory of evolution because this theory constitutes the basis of all anti-spiritual philosophies. Since Darwinism rejects the fact of creation – and therefore, Allah's existence – over the last 150 years it has caused many people to abandon their faith or fall into doubt. It is therefore an imperative service, a very important duty to show everyone that this theory is a deception. Since some readers may find the chance to read only one of our books, we think it appropriate to devote a chapter to summarize this subject.

All the author's books explain faith-related issues in light of Qur'anic verses, and invite readers to learn Allah's words and to live by them. All the subjects concerning Allah's verses are explained so as to leave no doubt or room for questions in the reader's mind. The books' sincere, plain, and fluent style ensures that everyone of every age and from every social group can easily understand them. Thanks to their effective, lucid narrative, they can be read at one sitting. Even those who rigorously reject spirituality are influenced by the facts these books document and cannot refute the truthfulness of their contents.

This and all the other books by the author can be read individually, or discussed in a group. Readers eager to profit from the books will find discussion very useful, letting them relate their reflections and experiences to one another.

In addition, it will be a great service to Islam to contribute to the publication and reading of these books, written solely for the pleasure of Allah. The author's books are all extremely convincing. For this reason, to communicate true religion to others, one of the most effective methods is encouraging them to read these books.

We hope the reader will look through the reviews of his other books at the back of this book. His rich source material on faith-related issues is very useful, and a pleasure to read.

In these books, unlike some other books, you will not find the author's personal views, explanations based on dubious sources, styles that are unobservant of the respect and reverence due to sacred subjects, nor hopeless, pessimistic arguments that create doubts in the mind and deviations in the heart.

# Contents

Introduction: Recognizing the Danger of Satanism

Advocates of Satan in the Qur'an

The History of Satanic Worship

Satanists' Morality

Conclusion: Satan's Wiles are Feeble

The Deception of Evolution

Note

# Introduction: Recognizing the Danger of Satanism

Originating in the 1700's, satanism has recently made itself known once again in acts of horror, violence and suicide. At first glance, the way in which satanists describe themselves, their outlook on life, their values, and their horrible culture of bloodshed may seem incredible to people. But current events show that this perversion is a growing danger.

Satanists often identify themselves by the frightening make-up and outfits they wear. The media reports their bloody rites, depicting disquieting scenes of the slaughter of animals, torture of humans, rape and suicide. When these kinds of news reports are brought together, a frightening picture appears.

It may come as a surprise that people accept that this perverse way of life and thinking can be called a religion. How is this possible? How can anyone think that performing evil acts, injuring animals and other human beings and creating a world of fear and darkness to live in can give any purpose to life—much less be called a religion?

Many people are interested in seeking an answer to this question, but they tend to look in the wrong places. In order to understand how satanism developed and came to influence such masses of people, we must examine every aspect of this dark religion and uncover its underlying philosophy. How can people accept its perversity? Contrary to what many think, satanism is not merely the creation of some psychologically unbalanced young people; they have been drawn into a philosophy that makes them unbalanced. And as detailed evidence in the following pages will show, this philosophy regards human beings as merely a species of animal. It regards nature as cruel, and teaches that human beings must be cruel as well. It is a message that aligns with the Social Darwinism. During our examination of satanism, this fact should not be forgotten.

This book will examine satanism in all its aspects. How can a philosophy that turns violence and horror into a religious ritual and bloodshed into an act of worship be so widespread? We will show that the starting point of satanism is opposition to religion: Those who support this perversity have been brought up outside the practice of religious morality and been influenced by materialism. In fact, satanism is widespread and has an influence on young people particularly. But it is quite wrong to think that nothing can be done about it.

Indeed, it is quite simple to counter this perversity: The moral teachings of the Qur'an are the only way to rescue people from the grip of satanism. The light of the Qur'an can destroy satanism and, if Allah (God) wills, create a world of enlightenment, love and peace.

# Advocates of Satan in the Qur'an

Once again, the increasing instances of satanic murders and suicides in many countries have made many people curious about what satanism really is. But the research, discussions and publications attempting to answer this question have not gone very far.

Satanism has often been depicted as a strange movement among psychologically disturbed youth who are marginalized and alienated from their families and friends. But to reduce satanism to such a simple basic denominator phenomenon and not to make the public familiar with the violent side of this perverse religion is a grave omission.

Contrary to much that has been written and said about it, satanism has deep roots and rests on a dark philosophy. It has designs upon the future of the world, and its dark church with its thousands of members, together with its publications, make it one of the most dangerous organizations in the 21st century.

First, it must be said that among satanists, there are differences of practice and points of view. These differences have sometimes made it difficult to determine what satanists actually believe. For example, some assume that it was satan who created the Earth, and that they must therefore obey his will (the Yazidis are included in this group). Others view satan only as a personified symbol by which they can divinize their own desires.

Of course, these differences of philosophy do nothing to mitigate the perversity of satanist philosophy in general. Even if satanists are not united in one single organization, their basic beliefs are essentially the same—which beliefs can be summarized as follows:

Most satanists associate satan with such values as pride, independence, individuality, knowledge, achievement, thinking for oneself, and exploring unknown and forbidden realms. 1

We can see that the basic starting point of this perverse movement is the acceptance of satan and all his qualities as a guide, or model of how to live in the world.

In later chapters, we will consider the basic foundation and building blocks of satanism and look briefly at the history of this half-religion, half-movement that is gaining adherents every day from all around the world. To begin with, in order to understand satanism better, we will first examine relevant verses in the Qur'an that deal with satan and the mindset he represents.

To begin dealing with the subject of satanists, we must first realize that a great many of them are atheists and materialists; that is, they believe that only matter exists. It is vital to keep this preconception of theirs in mind when investigating the satanists' way of thinking. Many satanists entirely reject the existence of Allah and the otherworldly reality of angels and jinns mentioned in the Qur'an. Therefore, they do not even believe in satan as an actual being. For them, he is merely a symbol of hostility toward any kind of organized religion.

In spite of this, satanists have deified this symbolic figure in their eagerness to embrace their perverse ideologies and rituals as a religion. In keeping with their absurd rules, they worship satan, performing perverse ceremonies and rituals dictated by their clan leader. Their symbols, vestments, rules and rituals have brought their religion to the attention of the media.

In every word they speak, satanists praise satan; they ask help from him and claim to obey his every command. They believe that their clan leader is especially close to satan and that he communicates with him and receives commands from him. Newly initiated satanists feel a close attachment to their leader; they believe he can speak to satan and therefore, obey his commands to the letter. For this reason, in recent years we frequently hear of satanists who have committed murder, and who defend themselves by claiming that they had received a command from satan; and many who committed suicide left a note saying that satan had ordered them to kill themselves.

This unbalanced relationship between human beings and satan is described at length in the Qur'an. Allah has warned people with the verse, "What they call on is an arrogant satan" (Surat an-Nisa', 117). In many verses of the Qur'an, Allah clearly states that satan is the enemy of mankind.

Did I not make a contract with you, tribe of Adam, not to worship satan, who truly is an outright enemy to you? (Surah Ya Sin, 60)

In another verse, Prophet Abraham (pbuh) gives his father the following advice:

" **Father, do not worship satan. Satan was disobedient to the All-Merciful. Father, I am afraid that a punishment from the All-Merciful will afflict you, and turn you into a comrade of satan." (Surah Maryam, 44-45)**

In these verses the dangerous idea of worshipping satan is made clear. In all their writings and speeches, satanists talk about worshipping satan, to make pacts and contracts with him and to fulfill his wishes. But Allah has a severe warning for those who deny Him, instead taking satan as their deity and who live according to satan's incitements. Allah reveals the end that awaits satan and those who obey him—the eternal pangs of Hell:

" **. . . As for those of them who follow you, I will fill up Hell with every one of you." (Surat al-A'raf, 18)**

## Satan's Characteristics

In the Qur'an, Allah reveals the various characteristics of satan and his followers. We are told that satan has been trying to cause every human being since Adam (pbuh) to stray from Allah's path. The word satan is derived from a word meaning "the far thing" in Arabic. The Arabic roots of the word also imply the meaning of "being on fire with hatred" and worthless. Diabolis (or Iblis) is the leader of all the satans and of the satanic activities. The word Iblis means "to be peevish despairing of any good or happiness," "to be desperate and miserably sorry."2

After Allah created Adam (pbuh), He commanded the angels to prostrate themselves before him. All the angels obeyed except Diabolis. And as a result of his disobedience, he was driven from Allah's presence. The disobedience of Diabolis is related in the Qur'an in these verses:

Your Lord said to the angels, "I am going to create a human being out of clay. When I have formed him and breathed My Spirit into him, fall down in prostration to him!" So the angels prostrated all of them together, except for Diabolis who was arrogant and was one of the unbelievers. He said, "Diabolis, what prevented you prostrating to what I created with My own Hands? Were you overcome by arrogance or are you one of the exalted?" (Surah Sâd, 71-75)

We are told in other verses that the basic reason for the rebellion of Diabolis was his pride and arrogance, which made him see a mere human being as inferior to himself. The 76th verse of Surah Sâd— He [satan]) said, "I am better than him. You created me from fire, but You created him from clay"—shows how ungrateful and insolent he was.

Allah created the whole universe including human beings, angels, jinns and satan. He creates what He wills in the shape and form He chooses. And every created being is bound to give profound respect to our Lord. To disobey and refuse to serve the One Who created us from nothing would be inane ungratefulness.

But Diabolis behaved heedlessly. He was driven from Paradise because of his disobedience. He views human beings as his greatest enemy; he tries to divert all people from the true path, having obtained a period of time from Allah in which to bring trouble upon human beings. This is revealed in the following verses of the Qur'an:

[Allah] said, "Get out! You are accursed! My curse is upon you until the Day of Reckoning." [Satan] said, "My Lord, grant me a reprieve until the Day they are raised again." He said, "You are among the reprieved until the Day whose time is known." He said, "By Your might, I will mislead all of them except for Your chosen servants among them." He said, "By the truth—and I speak the truth—I will fill up Hell with you and every one of them who follows you." (Surah Sâd, 77-85)

For thousands of years now, satan has been working to achieve his goal. He will continue his stealthy activities until the Day of Judgment, when the life of this universe will come to an end. Throughout human history, he has approached everyone, without exception, to draw them into evil. He makes no distinction among those he misleads. He tries to draw people of every age, status, culture and race into his way. He wants to bring everyone of different social groups, rich and poor, under his influence.

In order to understand the scope of satan's activities and his influence on human beings, we must realize that he understands human beings very well; he knows our cultures, ideologies and our points of view. He is particularly well acquainted with the desires and weaknesses of humans. He is, therefore, able to plan and set snares. He wants to bring everyone without exception, under his influence—even those who live in the farthest corners of the world.

But most people are unaware of the true extent of this danger. They live their lives without thinking that satan can prompt them into doing evil and later, lead them to Hell. They do not realize the influence that satan wields over them or what kind of end he is drawing them to.

One of the major reasons for their nonchalance is that few people know satan very well.

One of the most common errors people make about him is assuming that satan is a power wholly independent of Allah and that he is engaged in a struggle with Him. (Surely Allah is beyond that!) This is also one of the satanists' greatest errors: thinking that satan is a separate power; and so they regard his rebellion and disobedience as an example for them to follow. When they in turn rebel against order and virtue, they believe that they are supporting satan in his own struggle.

In fact, satan is a creation of Allah and subordinate to Him. His rebellion against Allah was predetermined in his destiny by Allah. Moreover, satan does believe in Allah and fear Him deeply. He knows that the time until the Day of Judgment has been allotted to him, and that in the Hereafter he will pay the penalty for his deeds.

This is revealed in the Qur'an:

They are like satan when he says to a human being, "Disbelieve," and then when he disbelieves, says, "I wash my hands of you. Truly I fear Allah, the Lord of all the worlds." (Surat al-Hashr, 16)

Satan has obtained no benefit from his disobedience; on the contrary, he has attained eternal loss. He has been exiled from Paradise and drawn into the pangs of Hell. Now his chief goal is to drag as many humans as he can along with him to suffer those same pangs. This is the essence of his struggle—against human beings and human goodness. As we can see in the Qur'an, even while persuading people toward rebellion, error and alienation from Allah, satan remains very well aware of the truth. And when Judgment Day comes, he will abandon his followers. It will then become obvious to them that his promises were all lies.

Satan's plans and the traps he set to mislead those under his spell will then end in huge disappointment for them all. Allah reveals in the Qur'an:

When the affair is decided, satan will say, "Allah made you a promise, a promise of truth, and I made you a promise but broke my promise. I had no authority over you, except that I called you and you responded to me. Do not, therefore, blame me but blame yourselves. I cannot come to your aid, nor you to mine. I reject the way you associated me with Allah before." The wrongdoers will have a painful punishment. (Surah Ibrahim, 22)

One day, satanists, like all others who are deceived by satan's promptings into adopting evil ways, will certainly understand their error. But what is vital is that they understand this while they are still in this world, as soon as it is told to them.

Their leader, satan, will never defend them and will always leave them abandoned. Certainly, to believe his lies and to think that his promptings are valid is nothing but inane nonsense.

## Satanists are Deceived by Satan

Satan is humanity's greatest enemy, because his goal is to alienate people on Earth from believing in Allah and to prevent them from living according to the Qur'an. Allah reveals that satan sees people at all times (Surat al-A'raf, 27), whispering insidiously in their hearts (Surat an-Nas, 4-5), and intimidating them (Surah Al'Imran, 175). He lies in ambush for them on Allah's straight path (Surat al-A'raf, 16).

But people who do not recognize the characteristics of satan as described in the Qur'an cannot recognize the influence he exerts on human beings. And for this reason, they listen to satan's intimations, follow his promptings, and believe what he says. One of the main reasons why people remain unaware of satan's influence is because he appears to them in various guises.

Satan may appear as a counselor, guiding people towards what is good for them. And, because he knows human weaknesses and suggestibility all too well, he can take advantage of these shortcomings to forge a temporary friendship with individuals. He does not allow people to understand his real intentions. Rather, he tries to make them believe that he wants to help and want what is best for them, that he wants to rescue them from awkward situations and bring them to a better place. He intimates all these things in order to bring people over to his side. His chief claim, however, is that salvation will come only when they obey him.

It was this sly falsehood that caused Adam (pbuh) to be taken in and expelled out from Paradise. Satan came to him and his wife as a friend and swore that he was giving them good advice.

The following is revealed in the Qur'an:

Then satan whispered to them, disclosing to them their private parts that had been concealed from them. He said, "Your Lord has only forbidden you this tree lest you become angels or among those who live for ever." He swore to them, "I am one of those who give you good advice." (Surat al-A'raf, 20-21)

Satan deceived Adam (pbuh) and his wife and had them expelled from Paradise. This is one of the main indications of how sly and false this enemy is, whom human beings are confronted with throughout their lives.

It was Diabolis, the greatest of the satans, who suggested to Adam (pbuh) that he was advising him; satans in human form do the same to other people today. (These kinds of satans either take the form of a human being, or are humans directly inspired by satan. In the Qur'an, Allah speaks of the existence of satans that are human and satans that are jinns in the company of Diabolis.)

One example of this is Pharaoh, who said the following to his people in an attempt to prevent them from following the path of Allah:

" **. . . I only show you what I see myself and I only guide you to the path of rectitude." (Surah Ghafir, 29)**

These suggestions are quite similar to those made by satanists. They are human satans who deceive people with similar ruses in order to draw them into satan's darkness. Satanists present satanism as a system wherein a person can do anything he wants, in which he can have strength, banish his worries, avoid his responsibilities and give free rein to his selfish impulses. Satanists seek to mislead him, just as their leader does. They appear to want what is good for an individual but their intimations are all elaborate lies.

When anyone first falls under this deception, he immediately discovers that living as a satanist does not offer freedom but increasing dependence; and that unlimited evil is turning him into a fiend. This avenue that he took to what he thought was personal salvation will draw him into a morass.

Satan may use this tactic of giving people advice from within their own personal circle. The suggestion of a friend or admired member of his community can have a very persuasive effect on a person. For example, individuals who came to faith, but were later led astray by satan and by their own friends are mentioned in the Qur'an. The friendly words, "come with us on the right road. . . " illustrate satan's tactics very clearly.

The following is a verse in which these tactics are fully described:

Say: "Are we to call on something besides Allah which can neither help nor harm us, and to turn on our heels after Allah has guided us, like someone the satans have lured away in the Earth, leaving him confused and stupefied, despite the fact that he has companions calling him to guidance, saying, 'Come with us!'?" Say: "Allah's guidance, that is true guidance. We are commanded to submit as Muslims to the Lord of all the worlds." (Surat al-An'am, 71)

People must be very careful of this enemy. And only one who has perfectly submitted to Allah and praises Him constantly will have the necessary awareness to exercise this kind of care. Such a person will immediately detect the source of satan's intimations and remove them from his mind. If he does not do so, he will think that they are his own thoughts and he will submit his will to the satan.

In the Qur'an, Allah reveals the state of a person who obeys the intimations of satan and acts together with him according to his commands:

. . . Anyone who has made satan his comrade, what an evil comrade he is! (Surat an-Nisa', 38)

But we must conform ourselves to what Allah tells us we must do:

Satan is your enemy, so treat him as an enemy. He summons his party so they will be among the people of the Searing Blaze. (Surah Fatir, 6)

Again, Allah tells us the end of an individual who responds to satan's call:

Among people there is one who argues about Allah without knowledge, and follows every rebellious satan. It is written of him that if anyone takes him [satan] as a friend, he will mislead him and guide him to the punishment of the Searing Blaze. (Surat al-Hajj, 3-4)

So far, we have seen the various methods that satan uses to deceive human beings and alienate them from the revelation of Allah. But one should never forget that Allah created satan and all his various wiles. Allah created satan and his cunning wiles as part of a mechanism by which He determines those who were faithful, and tests and trains them in this Earthly life. Allah has commissioned satan to use the test of this Earthly life to try to divert people from the true path. These commands are mentioned in Surat al-Isra' as follows:

[Allah said,] "Stir up any of them you can with your voice and rally against them your cavalry and your infantry and share with them in their children and their wealth and make them promises! The promise of satan is nothing but delusion." (Surat al-Isra', 64)

In a later verse, Allah tells satan:

" **But as for My servants, you will not have any authority over them." Your Lord suffices as a guardian. (Surat al-Isra', 65)**

Notice that satan has no influence over people with faith. It is mentioned which kind of people satan may affect:

If someone shuts his eyes to the remembrance of the All-Merciful, We assign him a satan who becomes his bosom friend—they debar them from the path, yet they still think they are guided. (Surat az-Zukhruf, 36-37)

## Why Do People Become Satanists?

This recent proliferation of satanism and the frequent reports in the press of satanist murders and suicides makes the public ask this question. Articles dealing with why people become satanists always posit economic distress or lack of communication within their family, as if to excuse or even legitimize the choice of satanism and other such perversions. But none of these explanations is truly valid.

As pointed out earlier, one of the chief reasons why people turn to satanism is their espousal of materialism, atheism and the Darwinist view. There are those who harbor hostility to the Divine religions that lead others to what is good and wholesome; and such people variously express their hostility by openly displaying their satanistic resentments.

Satan has taken them under his influence with his suggestions that satanism is a mystical and exciting adventure. In the Qur'an, Allah tells us;

. . . Satan has made their actions seem good to them and debarred them from the Way so they are not guided. (Surat an-Naml, 24)

By suggesting that satanism is a practical and attractive alternative, satan draws people into a dark world that will ultimately lead them to Hell:

Do you not see those who claim that they believe in what has been sent down to you and what was sent down before you, still desiring to turn to a satanic source for judgment in spite of being ordered to reject it? Satan wants to misguide them far away. (Surat an-Nisa', 60)

Those who knowingly choose satanism are eager to lead others along the same path. We are told in the Qur'an that only those who have rejected Allah's verses can be friends of satan:

If someone shuts his eyes to the remembrance of the All-Merciful, We assign him a satan who becomes his bosom friend—they debar them from the path, yet they still think they are guided—so that, when he reaches Us, he says, "If only there was the distance of the two Easts between you and me!" What an evil companion! It will not benefit you today, since you did wrong, that you share equally in the punishment. (Surat az-Zukhruf, 36-39)

The second group who choose satanism is composed of the ignorant, the uneducated and the troubled who are often the topic of newspaper articles and television talk shows. These troubled individuals become satanists to clear a place for themselves in society, to make friends and satisfy their obsessions, to forget their failures and problems and to draw attention to themselves. These young people become dis-attached and deceived by satan into thinking that in this way they will earn the respect of others.

The basic problem with each of these groups is that they are not familiar with Allah's religion, nor with the moral teachings of the Qur'an. They do not know why the universe is created and their part in it; and so they lead empty lives based on a lie. But Allah has created the world as a test that everyone must go through. Everyone is responsible for leading his or her life in a way of which Allah approves: This is the purpose of human creation.

Throughout history, Allah has revealed the purpose of His creation, the proper ways of worship, and the moral behavior that pleases Him by means of true religions. He sent down the Qur'an as a guide for His servants who believe in Him; in this book He reveals that human beings were created in perfection and for a purpose:

I only created jinn and man to worship Me. (Surat adh-Dhariyat, 56)

While human beings live in this world, it is essential that they act with the knowledge that in light of the eternal life, this Earthly life is very short. Every person living in this world will surely die and will give an account to Allah, Who subjects everyone to various tests throughout their lives:

He Who created death and life to test which of you is best in action . . . (Surat al-Mulk, 2)

A person's behavior in this world will determine where he will spend eternity. Those individuals who follow perverse ways, acting according to satan's commands, and despise moral behavior, wrongly think that they are free to do all manner of evil. But they are greatly deceived. They ignore this fact, however, and act with careless disregard for any real purpose they have in this life. They loiter from day to day, caught up in satan's intimations, and unaware that he is leading them toward the pangs of Hell.

We are told in the Qur'an about such people who make satan their friend:

One group He guided; but another group got the misguidance they deserved. They took the satans as friends instead of Allah and thought that they were guided. (Surat al-A'raf, 30)

Satan has gained mastery over them and made them forget the remembrance of Allah. Such people are the party of satan. No indeed! It is the party of satan who are the losers. (Surat al-Mujadala, 19)

## Allah is Forgiving and Merciful

Up to this point, we have seen how satan diverts people away from the true path and how the perverse doctrine called satanism has gained many followers. These people, caught up in satanism out of ignorance or deceived by satan's wiles, must be brought to realize that Allah is merciful and forgiving and that He accepts the repentance of His servants.

No matter how great their sin or how much evil they have done, if they sincerely regret what they have done, repent and amend their lives, Allah has promised to accept their repentance. Here are some verses that illustrate this:

Except for those who repent and put things right and make things clear. I turn towards them. I am the Ever-Returning, the Most Merciful. (Surat al-Baqara, 160)

Except for those who, after that, repent and put things right. Truly Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (Surah Al 'Imran, 89)

Allah desires to turn towards you, but those who pursue their lower appetites desire to make you deviate completely. (Surat an-Nisa', 27)

But if anyone repents after his wrongdoing and puts things right, Allah will turn towards him. Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (Surat al-Ma'ida, 39)

In the following verses, the happy end awaiting those who regret their transgressions, repent of them sincerely, and submit themselves to Allah is mentioned:

Ask your Lord for forgiveness and then repent to Him. He will let you enjoy a good life until a specified time, and will give His favor to all who merit it. But if you turn your backs, I fear for you the punishment of a Mighty Day. (Surah Hud, 3)

You who believe! Repent to Allah. It may be that your Lord will erase your bad actions from you and admit you into Gardens with rivers flowing under them on the Day when Allah will not disgrace the Prophet and those who believed along with him. Their light will stream out ahead of them and on their right. They will say, "Our Lord, perfect our light for us and forgive us! You have power over all things." (Surat at-Tahrim, 8)

## How to Avoid Satan's Influence

Satan can exert a powerful influence over a person, eventually dominating every moment of that person's life. But this state is not inescapable: The important thing is for a person to know how he can free himself. No matter how pervasive satan's influence may be, it is very easy to escape from it, as we are told in the Qur'an. Allah shows in the Qur'an many ways to neutralize satan's influence:

If an evil impulse from satan provokes you, seek refuge in Allah. He is All-Hearing, All-Seeing. As for those who guard against evil, when they are bothered by visitors from satan, they remember and immediately see clearly. (Surat al-A'raf, 200-201)

To fear Allah, to consider His verses and sincerely welcome His guidance is a key against satanic influence. Allah says that He "will give discrimination and erase bad actions" from those who fear Him (Surat al-Anfal, 29). It must never be forgotten that one can discern negative influences simply by listening to one's conscience.

Anyone who is sincere and listens to his conscience can easily extract himself from satan's influence. Your conscience is an unerring guide and a great blessing from Allah to every human being.

To those who sincerely believe and trust in Allah, He announces that satan's snares will be foiled and have no power over His faithful servants:

" **Except Your servants among them who are sincere." He [Allah] said, "This is a Straight Path to Me. You have no authority over any of My servants except for the misled who follow you." (Surat al-Hijr, 40-42)**

Allah tells us in the Qur'an that in order to escape satan's influence, all we need to do is to be sincere, form our ideas according to the Qur'an and take refuge in Allah whenever satan's whisperings are heard. And none of these steps is difficult. It is certain that satan cannot do harm to any of Allah's pure-hearted servants who believe in Him.

Allah is the guardian of all who believe in Him; His mercy will always protect believers and show them the Way that pleases Him.

To dispel the influence of satan, it is very important for a person to keep some additionally important things in mind. For example:

Remember that everyone will die one day.

Everything has been determined by destiny to work out in the best possible way.

This life is only a temporary place of testing, and

One must always consider—and trust in—Allah's absolute, eternal existence.

Knowing these truths and holding them in one's awareness brings great joy and contentment. The blessings of faith cannot be compared with any other good.

In this world, satan has strewn all kinds of riches and things of material value with the intent of enticing people; but he has not succeeded. The greatest proof is that most of the people derive no happiness or contentment from the things they possess. Against the joy, liveliness and wisdom that comes from faith, satan has no recourse at all.

# The History of Satanic Worship

What we have outlined so far illustrates the true face of satan who has taken so many satanists under his influence. At this point, it now will be useful to consider a brief history of how satanism came to be.

Satanists have long been associated with the Cabbalists, Rosicrucians and other secret, mystical orders of the Middle Ages and later. Modern, organized satanism first appeared in California in the 1960s.

In 1966, Anton Szandor LaVey announced that he had founded the Church of Satan. But actually, at the beginning of the 20th century, long before LaVey, Aleister Crowley laid the foundations of what would become modern satanism. Known as "The Beast 666," Crowley became infamous for his evil spells, and rituals with liberal use of narcotics in masses and in which animals were sacrificed. Crowley's basic philosophical principle was "Do what thou wilt."

His philosophy was expounded in The Book of Law, which, according to Crowley, satan made him write. This perverse admonition dictates that, no matter what disaster of evil may ensue, a person must follow whatever impulse comes to mind. For example, if anyone feels like having some excitement, he shouldn't restrain himself. If he feels angry at someone, he shouldn't hold it in. And, if he thinks about killing someone, he should do it right away.

These abnormal ideas are bound to destroy the peace and harmony of any community. Yet Crowley defends them in the following words:

I want blasphemy, murder, rape, revolution, anything, bad or good, but strong.3

Of course, Crowley's idea that power can be attained by being evil and doing evil things is clearly wrong. Evil brings more harm back on the perpetrator than it inflicts on anyone else. Besides this, any power attained through evil means is always short-lived. Every system of ideas based on cruelty, injustice and the denial of conscience is bound to collapse. Crowley's "Do whatever you want" philosophy would create a system in which people would feel unrestrained from doing every evil deed that came to mind and from satisfying their every desire. In other words, people should be allowed to rule themselves by obeying every impulse commanded by their lower selves.

But such a system would prove very dangerous. Allah tells us in the Qur'an that lower self indeed commands man to wreak evil acts (Surah Yusuf, 53). But at the same time, Allah also inspires us in how to avoid depravity (Surat ash-Shams, 8).

Besides, He tells us that satan's primary purpose is to lead man into evil:

. . . Anyone who follows in satan's footsteps should know that he commands indecency and wrongdoing. . . (Surat an-Nur, 21)

And one of his chief weapons is the own self of a human. Because one's lower self always urges one towards evil, the person who obeys it is in a great danger. Human happiness and salvation are possible only by rejecting the commands of the lower self and obeying one's conscience absolutely. The fated end of a person who does evil, thinking that he will achieve salvation as a result, is utter disappointment:

That Day, man will remember what he has striven for and the Blazing Fire will be displayed for all who can see. As for him who overstepped the bounds and preferred the life of this world, the Blazing Fire will be his refuge. (Surat an-Nazi'at, 35-39)

Indeed, satanism is a philosophy that leads its followers to divinize—and to honor and worship—their own selves and to think that attaining their own desires is their only goal in life. In this, satanism is much akin to the philosophy of humanism. Contrary to what most people think, humanism is not a philosophy of love, peace and brotherhood; but an anti-religious way of thinking that focuses on the concept of humanity—of simply being human, and nothing more—as a person's single goal.

As its adherents openly state, humanism is an atheistic movement. According to humanism, man and the universe were not created. Man came into being spontaneously and is not responsible to any other beings. The essential thing is man himself, and no entity is more important than man.

As you have gathered, moreover, what dominates humanism is the idea of self-interest. According to this, human beings come to Earth only once. And the more benefits they can obtain while they are here, the better. In that case, the chief criteria that should determine a person's attitudes and behavior will be his own wishes and desires. However, these are views that will inflict terrible harm on humanity.

First of all, contrary to what humanists maintain, the universe is not the work of blind chance. Almighty and Omnipotent Allah created it. And, as He states in one verse, "I only created jinn and man to worship Me" (Surat adh-Dhariyat, 56), we humans are servants of our Lord Who created us from nothing, and are charged with exhibiting the moral values He has commanded.

It must not be forgotten that the only moral values that will bring people true peace and happiness are those commanded by Allah in the Qur'an. Ideas supported by those who turn their backs on religious moral values under the influence of ideologies like humanism will produce individuals who consider only their own interests, and who grow ruthless, disloyal, loveless and devoid of compassion.

As you can see, humanism holds views that pose a grave threat to humanity. Satanism, which employs humanism as one of its main foundations, has developed an even more perverted and perilous perspective, and has made violence, rage, blood and savagery into its fundamental values.

## The Church of Satan

After Aleister Crowley, Anton Szandor LaVey is the chief architect of modern-day satanism. LaVey, noted for his spells and strange rituals, first founded an anti-Christian group called "the Magic Circle." Later, he wrote The Satanic Bible with its famous nine satanic principles and called his group "the Church of Satan." The doctrine of this organization was founded on books that LaVey wrote (The Satanic Rituals, The Satanic Witch, The Devil's Notebook and Satan Speaks). It is estimated that the Church of Satan still has about 10,000 adherents throughout North America. Its doctrines are quite heretical; as the Encyclopedia of American Religions states:

The basic themes of LaVey's brand of satanism are self-assertion, antiestablishmentarianism and the gratification of man's physical or mental nature. Satan is a Promethean figure, representing ... The notion that man is just another animal, and so-called sin which lead to physical or mental gratification. It is LaVey's opinion that Satan represents the source of these values. Rituals are conceived both as psychodramas and as magical acts that focus psychokinetic force, as in the ritual magick tradition.

Satanic philosophy is very close to the teachings of Aleister Crowley in "The Book of the Law". Each person is seen as living according to his own set of rules.4

One basic feature of satanism is its opposition to religious morality and everything related to it. And this opposition is not limited to the realm of ideas; satanists are atheists and are hostile to all religious values. The basic purpose of LaVey's brand of satanism is to oppose Christianity. He expresses his hostility to religion in the following words:

Satanism isn't just an atheistic stance but an *anti*-theistic stance. Mankind is quickly overpopulating this planet; we can no longer afford the luxury of faith . . . In order to survive, we must smash this 2000-year-old habit of passivity and death-adoration. There are realistic solutions that can be implemented immediately. Christianity, as always, is the only thing standing in the way of progress.5

These words of LaVey's express a world view strikingly similar to that of 19th-century materialism. This is very instructive because it shows us once again the danger inherent in any attempt to remove religion from society and how such attempts can lead to disaster. Satanism is the perfect example of how every perversity can flourish where religion is absent. When they do not fear Allah, people may even devolve into fiends who take delight in bloodshed.

If many people, especially youth, are drawn into the scourge of satanism, it is due directly to those ideologies envisaging a life free of religion. Therefore, it will be useful to examine the connections between satanism and ideologies whose basic principles include the legitimacy of living a life that's free and unrestrained, the rejection of law and order, and opposition to every moral value.

## Satanism: An Atheist and Materialist Religion

Satanism arises from a spiritual void. The ideas developed in the 19th century—that this world is no more than an aggregation of material elements—drove people into that spiritual emptiness. Until then, religious values were inseparable from society. But afterwards, social values changed, and religious morality came to be regarded as unimportant. Indeed, religious values were deliberately excluded from social life.

Entailed in this way of thinking that developed in the 19th century was an opposition to religious morality and those who practiced it, and a belief in the possibility of a morality without the fear of Allah. But the removal of religious morality from society has produced a great vacancy, and experience has shown the impossibility of morality without the fear of Allah.

For those living in this void, good and evil have lost their value and meaning, resulting in a conceptual chaos. The kind of people now finding acceptance in society have become those who live the "good life" of prosperity, who earn more and spend more and, if necessary, use and exploit others to get what they want. Their self-interest is paramount, and they regard self-sacrifice as naiveté. People are willing to help others only after they have looked after themselves. As a result, the essential virtues and basic needs of the human spirit—love, mercy, compassion, friendship, loyalty and faithfulness—are all forgotten, and evil has taken the place of goodness.

But this is an artificial state of affairs, managed by the removal of spiritual values and specially planned by elements opposed to religious morality.

Satanism is one of the most dangerous movements that has arisen from this process of social change. It is a product of materialist and atheist currents of thought of that time, and one of the worst examples of how these philosophies have normalized violence and perversity. Notice that the values espoused by these ideologies and those of satanism are roughly the same.

Materialism and atheism both assert that everything is made up of elements of this world; and that, when life ends, so does everything else. Therefore, people are not responsible for anything that they may do. And, if they have no responsibility, there is nothing to stop them from committing evil.

But anyone who maintains this is deceiving himself. The whole universe, including human beings, is the work of the supreme power of a Creator—Allah; and everyone is responsible to Him.

Human existence in this world is limited by time. When one's time is fulfilled, that individual will die. After physical death, every individual will enter the Presence of our Lord to give an account for every moment of his life. For those who live out their lives without responsibility, thinking they are liable to no accounting, will be without recourse on that day.

In order to better understand the influence of materialism and atheism on satanism, we need only examine its publications. For example, when we look at what the Church of Satan has published, we see that all its authors are atheists. And satanists are materialists, who believe only in the existence of matter. And because satanists deny the existence of Allah, they also deny the existence of supernatural beings such as angels. Therefore, they actually deny the existence of satan! Despite their designation of themselves as satan worshippers, they do not believe in a literal being called satan. For them, satan is merely a symbol of the opposition to religion. These ideas are expressed in a document entitled "A Description of Satanism" published by the Church of Satan:

Satanism is an atheist religion like Buddhism. Nothing to answer to other than the consequences of our actions. Satanists do not believe in the existence of God, Angels, Heaven, or hell, the devil, Satan, Evil Spirits, Good spirits, Tooth fairies, or demons. Materialism and realism are the order of the Satanist. Real life and real emotions come first. Satanism is atheistic. Satanism can be considered to be Autodeists—we worship ourselves. Satanism can be considered to be opposition of religions. Satanism is an un-religion.6

Again, a publication of the Church of Satan entitled "Satanism: The Feared Religion," reveals what satanists really believe:

Satanists do not believe in the supernatural, in neither God nor the Devil. To the Satanist, he is his own God. Satan is a symbol of Man living as his prideful, carnal nature dictates . . . . Satan is not a conscious entity to be worshipped, rather a reservoir of power inside each human to be tapped at will.7

Similarly, an article on satanism in The Washington Post reports that LaVey's group does not believe in satan or worship him. According to LaVey, the devil is a symbol of man's carnal nature—his lust, greed, vengeance, but most of all, his ego.8 You will notice that satanism's basic tenet is that human nature is savage and pitiless. However, pitilessness, violence, savagery, greed, selfishness and vengeance are not human qualities; they belong to the lower self. And, as pointed out earlier, every individual has the ability to overcome them by his will and conscience.

The chief reason why satanists are so insistent in their claims about human nature is that they've been greatly influenced by Darwin's theory of evolution. This dogma goes under the guise of a scientific theory and forms the ideological basis of satanism, as it has in the case of many other ideas that have been disastrous to humanity. The words "Man living as his prideful, carnal nature dictates," expresses in a sense the essence of satanism. According to the perverse views of satanists, human evolution has produced a species of animal that must survive as other animals do.

In an article entitled "Satan Really Wants You," Rick Hall, an advocate of satanism, describes satanist materialism and its relation with Darwinism:

The materialism of Satanic philosophy dismisses any so-called spiritual life that's divorced from, or "higher than," physical existence . . . LaVey was an elitist and Social Darwinist.9

Another important fact satanists fail to comprehend is that human nature is not prideful or carnal. Allah has breathed His own spirit into human beings and created them in the best possible way. The human spirit is delicate, created to delight in mercy, compassion, love, subtlety, humanity and friendship. The urge that directs people to evil and pitilessness is the voice of the lower self, dispatched by satan. And by listening to that self, a person brings terrible consequences on himself.

## Satanism and Darwin's Theory of Evolution

Among the salient data that an investigator of satanism will discover concerns its relation to Social Darwinism. The element that shapes satanist aspirations with regard to social life and that forms the basis of their worldview is Darwinism. Many satanists openly admit this fact. The fact that satanists advocate Darwinism is stressed in many publications.

Known for his investigations of satanism, Dr. Roald E. Kristiansen of Pomor University in Russia describes satanism as follows:

Satanism is best conceived as a radical form of atheistic social Darwinism which views Christianity as its primary enemy . . . . The point is not to experience some kind of super-normal unity with some kind of personal force of evil, but to develop the human abilities to use their natural power to such an extent that it transforms one's life and enables one to succeed in the personal struggle for survival. The development of these abilities is the reason for engaging in ritual and magical practices.10

Shortly before the death of Anton LaVey, the founder of the Church of Satan, MF magazine reported that he was the main impetus in communicating Social Darwinism to the masses:

In the late 1960s, Anton LaVey brought forth an easily understandable doctrine of social Darwinism, and strong positive thinking (magic) to the growing mass of individuals sick of both hippieism and the stagnant morals of Christianity.11

Indeed, the reason why satanists find Christianity stagnant and boring is because of the abnormalities of their own judgment. For satanists, overcoming boredom means shedding blood, committing evil, hurting others and destroying the order of society. This is why they consider the values of religious morality—which bring with them contentment, security and peace—boring because they cannot comprehend the virtues of religious morality.

In a publication from the Church of Satan entitled "Satanism: The Feared Religion," these words appear: "Satanism stands for acceptance of Man as an animal."12 This shows that one of Satanism's most urgent purposes is to propagate the Darwinian worldview throughout society.

Another document that shows the illogical doctrine of the Church of Satan is "The Nine Satanic Statements." The seventh statement of which reads as follows:

Satan represents man as just another animal, sometimes better, more often worse than those that walk on all-fours. . . .13

## "Carnal Beast"

All publications of the Church of Satan insist on using the term "carnal beast" to describe a human being, like an animal that lives only to satisfy its own desires. In the words of satanist high priest Peter H. Gilmore: "Man is an animal, and must go back to acting like one." This perverse logic lies behind their view of human relationships and of the human attitude toward other creatures: Since human beings are animals, they should not hesitate to behave like animals.

For example, satanists regard rape legitimate because it is commonly practiced among wild animals in nature. In the same way, satanists regard sacrificing human life as natural because of the savage struggle for survival among animals in nature. Torturing animals to death is a product of the same attitude. If a human being is a carnal beast living only to satisfy its own desires, it should act accordingly. For satanists, this life of savagery must be defended—and practiced—to the very end. But it is not difficult to imagine the kind of society that would be formed if all its members acted on the basis of their bestial desires. In this situation, people would live in their own dark world, commit horrible crimes and swiftly become unbalanced.

How, then, have satanists become convinced of the idea that men are wild animals out only to satisfy their own desires? The one answer to this question is the theory of evolution. In his thesis on satanism, Roald Kristiansen describes it as "a form of social Darwinistic religion" and emphasizes the place that the theory of evolution occupies in satanism's logical structure:

Satanism can be considered as a form of social Darwinistic "religion" which seeks to promote the rights of the strongest to dominate the weaker because that is the way in which humanity will advance as a biological species and thereby take care of its role at the spearhead of natural and social evolution.14

A satanist website states that the basic foundation of satanism and its worldview is inseparable from Darwinism:

. . . our principles that all people and animals share a common source in mere biology. Satanism is the belief that Humans are nothing more than higher animals – we have no special place in creation other than being lucky to have evolved and survived... Satanists call themselves (and all people) animals, and regard themselves as not having the life breathed into men by God.15

It is interesting that satanists continue to defend so insistently a theory that has been discredited, and whose errors and distortions have been revealed. In fact, all branches of science have come to agree that creation cannot be denied. Those who maintain their connections with Darwinism out of ideological concerns are misled. Darwinism is gone, never to return, buried in the annals of history.

Allah has created the universe and all the creatures in it. Nothing has come to be by chance. When someone sees the plentiful evidence of creation in so many places of the universe, it is sheer ignorance to claim that all this perfect balance and perfection are the result of chance. Only satanists and other mentally disturbed individuals could claim such a belief.

As a result of their association with Darwinism, satanists do not accept that all people are equals. They think that over time, some races and individuals have evolved more highly than others, who have not advanced beyond the lower steps on the evolutionary chart. As we shall see, this accounts for the natural association between satanism and Fascism. But unlike Fascism, satanism asserts not only differences between societies and races, but also that within any one society, some members are superior to others.

Predictably, the superior ones are those who understand the power of evil and believe in it—and this superiority gives them the right to treat others as they like.

All this shows that satanism in an atheist belief system centered on the evolutionary theory, which theory asserts that human beings are a species of animal. It's on this basis that satanists develop their modes of thinking and acting. When you examine books written by evolutionist biologists, philosophers and intellectuals, you can see that they repeat almost word for word the satanist principles cited above.

For example, we can see such similar satanist expressions in the books of Darwinists and atheists such as Richard Dawkins, Stephen J. Gould, Daniel Dennett and Carl Sagan. They all believe that human beings are a higher species of animal and that life is a struggle. And when they state that in this struggle, only the strong will survive, they describe human nature in the same way that satanists do.

For example, in an article entitled "Meet My Cousin, the Chimpanzee," noted evolutionist Richard Dawkins presents the nonsensical view that human ancestors were apes:

We admit that we are like apes, but we seldom realize that we are apes. There is no natural category that includes chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans but excludes humans. . . All the great apes that have ever lived, including ourselves are linked to one another by an unbroken chain of parent-child bonds.16

In his book Ever Since Darwin, Stephen J. Gould, an avid supporter of Darwinism, writes "These are the shackles of our apish ancestry—brutality, aggression, selfishness—in short, general nastiness." 17 In another publication, he claims that human beings and the universe are works of blind chance:

We are here because one odd group of fishes had a peculiar fin anatomy that could transform into legs for terrestrial creatures; because the earth never froze entirely during an ice age; because a small and tenuous species, arising in Africa a quarter of a million years ago, has managed, so far, to survive by hook and by crook. We may yearn for a "higher" answer—but none exists.18

We can see that the unscientific claims that these authors have made in the name of science form the basis of many perverse ideologies such as satanism. By defending their distorted ideas, they are drawing the whole of humanity into an immense disaster.

The fact is, however, that Allah created the universe and human beings with great artistry. Every individual is responsible to Allah Who created him. This is a plain fact; and those who try to avoid it, together with those who spread such lies, will realize at the moment of their deaths how wrong they were.

## The Satanist Ideal of a Social Darwinist Society

Satanists have based their philosophy on the principle of the evolutionary theory that a human being is a species of animal; accordingly, they desire to establish a world in which human beings live and behave like animals. For satanists, the ideal society would be totally ruled by Darwinist values, and its basic principle would be that the powerful crush the weak. According to satanism's distorted beliefs, a human being must develop himself and evolve in order to survive and be successful in this "struggle for life." One who cannot do this is abandoned and left behind to die.

The same law is seen to apply to societies. Societies that do not evolve must see their cultures—and nations—die. For satanism, which is a fully fledged social Darwinist ideology, the best way of population control would be to eliminate the weak.19

Burton H. Wolfe, a priest of the Church of Satan and also an author, described satanism's view of life in the introduction he wrote to The Satanic Bible, published in 1976:

Satanism is a blatantly selfish, brutal philosophy. It is based on the belief that human beings are inherently selfish, violent creatures, that life is a Darwinian struggle for survival of the fittest, that only the strong survive and the earth will be ruled by those who fight to win the ceaseless competition that exists in all jungles—including those of urbanized society. 20

For Wolfe, the way of life envisioned by satanism is based on conflict, competition, violence, selfishness and lack of pity. A high priest of the Church of Satan, Peter H. Gilmore, plainly states:

Let us instead look at contemporary Satanism for what it really is: A brutal religion of elitism and social Darwinism that seeks to re-establish the reign of the able over the idiotic, . . . and for a wholesale rejection of egalitarianism as a myth that has crippled the advancement of the human species for the last two thousand years . . . 21

By "the last two thousand years," Gilmore is of course referring to Christianity. Before Christianity, European culture was either pagan or atheist; and people were barbarous, violent and cruel. It was through Christianity that European societies learned the moral concepts of Divine religion such as compassion, mercy, justice, helping the weak and human equality. The goal of satanism is to eradicate these moral concepts, based on "Right is might" and replace them with the principle, based on Social Darwinism, of "Might is right."

Gilmore does not hesitate to state this in the rest of this passage:

Satanists see the social structure of humanity as being stratified, thus each person reaches a level commensurate with the development (or lack thereof) of their natural talents. The principle of the survival of the strong is advocated on all levels of society, from allowing an individual to stand or fall, to even letting those nations that cannot handle themselves take the consequences of this inability. Any assistance on all levels will be on a "quid pro quo" basis. There would be a concomitant reduction in the world's population as the weak are allowed to experience the consequences of social Darwinism. Thus has nature always acted to cleanse and strengthen her children. This is harsh, but that is the way of the world.22

In commenting on Gilmore's article, Dr. Kristiansen said that in any such society where this ideology is put into practice, the social fabric and the various programs to aid the poor and needy would come to an end. In place of these support programs, means would be put in place to make it easy for the rich and powerful to achieve their goals. And those who balked against these laws would receive their punishment: for example, they would be used as forced labor in order to supply the needs of the prominent members of society.23

As we see, in societies ruled by satanism and its guiding idea, Darwinism, the people will be led into disaster. But the moral commands of Allah found in the Qur'an will always bring a society prosperity, contentment and peace. Where the morality of the Qur'an is practiced, the weak and the needy are cared for, everyone is treated equally, and the rights of the downtrodden are protected.

Aleister Crowley, who exerted considerable influence on modern satanism, claimed that he received messages directly from satan. One of these said:

Let my servants be few and secret: they shall rule the many and the known . . . . We have nothing with the outcast and the unfit; let them die in their misery. . . . Pity not the fallen! I never knew them. I am not for them. I console not; I hate the consoled and the consoler.24

In short, the Church of Satan says, "Do not help the poor, the hungry or the weak; let them die. This is the law of nature. Thus, the population will grow smaller. And the powerful will have more opportunities!" The order of a society founded on this insane satanist ideology will not be far different from life in a savage jungle.

Of course, this cruel and pitiless doctrine is not the invention of satanists themselves. These ideas were first expressed in the 19th century by the English economist Thomas Malthus in his book, An Essay on the Principle of Population. In this work he wrote that, in order to prevent an excessive increase in world population, society must abandon the care of the poor and the weak. An article entitled "The Scientific Background of the Nazi 'Race Purification' Program" relates Malthus' views on population and the importance they attained among the 19th-century European leaders:

In the opening half of the nineteenth century, throughout Europe, members of the ruling classes gathered to discuss the newly discovered "Population problem" and to devise ways of implementing the Malthusian mandate, to increase the mortality rate of the poor: "Instead of recommending cleanliness to the poor, we should encourage contrary habits. In our towns we should make the streets narrower, crowd more people into the houses, and court the return of the plague. In the country we should build our villages near stagnant pools, and particularly encourage settlements in all marshy and unwholesome situations," and so forth and so on.25

Malthus' theory was not fully put into practice, but it gave rise to another theory: Darwin's theory of evolution. It is evident from his writings that Darwin was influenced by Malthus to develop the foundations of his own theory: namely, the struggle for life, and the elimination of the weak. Clearly, the satanist world view springs from the same source as Darwin's theory, and the conclusion reached by both is "social Darwinism"—which is nothing other than the application of Darwin's theory to society.

Besides this, in any environment that harbors hostility toward moral values, there will be all manner of amorality. Robbery and murder will go unchecked. According to this ignorant philosophy, these evils are a part of human nature and should not be curbed.

Of course, Allah has forbidden all these things. He has commanded human beings to help the poor, treat other people well, defend the needy, help one another, overcome evil with good and to be patient, gentle, merciful and tolerant.

Here is a relevant verse from the Qur'an:

Those of you possessing affluence and ample wealth should not make oaths that they will not give to their relatives and the very poor and those who have migrated in the way of Allah. They should rather pardon and overlook. Would you not love Allah to forgive you? Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (Surat an-Nur, 22)

Communities of people who live according to Allah's commands will have a high moral character; they will love and respect one another and approach one another with mercy and compassion. This will ensure the dominance of peace, contentment, tranquility and security in their community.

## Satanism and Fascism

As already pointed out, the affinity that satanists felt for Darwinism led naturally to an alliance between satanism and Fascism. We know that Fascism, like satanism, rests on the basic philosophy of Social Darwinism. According to Fascism, the world is an arena of conflict between various races in the struggle for survival. For a Fascist, bloodshed, wars and inflicting pain on others is a sacred duty as well as a pleasure. (For a detailed discussion of this link, see Harun Yahya's Fascism: The Bloody Ideology of Darwinism .)

Another point in common between satanism and Darwinism is their admiration for the anti-religious 19th-century philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, who published many hateful writings against true religions. He called himself the Antichrist and died insane. His writings attacked moral virtues such as love, compassion and mercy, saying instead that harsh forces should control the world and only those with power should rule.

The Nazis were the main group to adopt Nietzsche's ideas, and today it is the neo-Nazis who continue to do so. As mentioned earlier, satanists also admire Nietzsche; a satanist website says that:

Friedrich Nietzsche is often referred to as the quintessential Satanist philosopher. It is undoubted that LaVey was influenced by Nietzsche as he would often quote from him.26

Satanists are not hesitant to admit their collaboration with fascist groups in Europe and America. For example, Anton LaVey and Blanche Barton, another prominent name in satanism, answered questions about the relationship between satanism and Fascism:

LaVey: It's an unholy alliance. Many different types of such people [fascists] have made contact with us in the past. The anti-Christian strength of National Socialist Germany [Nazi Germany] is part of the appeal to Satanists—the drama, the lightning, the choreography with which they moved millions of people [against religion]. . . .

Blanche Barton: Aesthetics more than anything else are the common ground between Satanism and fascism. The aesthetics of National Socialism and Satanism dovetail.27

The "aesthetics" that Barton mentions are nothing other than the ugliness that reflects the spiritual state of both these two dark ideologies. One of the best examples of the satanist-Fascist aesthetic idea can be seen in the concerts and videos of the heavy metal and black metal bands that have adopted this philosophy. For example, one of the best known satanist-Fascist bands is the British band Cradle of Filth, whose repertoire is built on ugliness and darkness. This band's videos are made in dark, dingy places with floors covered in mud and pitch, and walls dripping with blood and filth. The band members are made up with frightening and repulsive make-up and wear disgusting outfits such as degenerates would wear. In their concerts, religion is insulted and audience tears up religious books.

The soloist of another band and a member of the Church of Satan, Marilyn Manson, sends messages to his fans suggesting that they should assault their families, religious institutions and society in general. When Manson was asked in a 1995 interview what he thought of evolution, he gave this answer:

I tend to believe in Social Darwinism, so I believe the evolution of society. I guess I believe, to a certain degree, the Darwin Theory . . . I'm not, however, open to the idea of Genesis and Creationism. It doesn't work for me.28

One of satanism and Fascism's favorite theories is the theory of eugenics, which argues that the handicapped and the sick should be "cleansed" from society and that healthy individuals should multiply by marrying one another. This was actually practiced especially in Nazi Germany. According to this theory, just as healthy animals produce healthy offspring, so the human race could be improved. And any elements in society that prevented this improvement (namely, the chronically ill and the physically and mentally handicapped) must be weeded out. In keeping with this distorted way of thinking, tens of thousands of people with mental and hereditary illnesses were murdered.

Yet satanism still defends these terrible crimes. The satanists' view of eugenics can be read in their own publications:

Satanists also seek to enhance the laws of nature by concentrating on fostering the practice of eugenics. . . It is the practice of encouraging people of talent and ability to reproduce, to enrich the gene pool from which our species can grow. This was commonly practiced throughout the world. . . Until the genetic code is cracked and we can choose the character of our offspring at will, Satanists seek to mate the best with the best.29

## Satanism and Communist Ideology

Another element of satanism's dark world is the Communist ideology. In the past century, more than 120 million people have lost their lives due to Communism,30 which was the product of self-styled satanist ideologues.

The life of the founder of Communism, Karl Marx, contains some interesting implications on this matter. Marx was a violently hostile to any kind of religious expression, and at the base of this hostility lay his interest in the doctrines of satanism. On this matter, the noted historian of Vatican University, Malachi Martin, says that Marx "at Berlin University indulged in a virulent form of ceremonial Satanism. Dating from that period, his youthful poems [were] in adoration of Oulanem—a ritualistic name for Satan. . ."31

Not only was Marx a satanist, but so also was Michael Bakunin, who played an important part in the history of Communism. Bakunin is known as the founder of anarchism, which is nothing other than a radical version of Communism. Bakunin formulated the ideology of anarchism which aims to destroy state, religion, and the family and all manner of social values. He openly admitted that his inspiration was in satanism, likening satan's rebellion against Allah to Communism's rebellion against religion, the state and society. Bakunin saw Satan "as the spiritual head of revolutionaries."32

Today Bakunin's words are reported with admiration on satanist Internet sites and publications, and the anarchist-Communist ideology shaped by Bakunin they use as propaganda. For example, on an Internet site called "Satanic Reds," the satanist-Communist ideology is defended in these words:

Why Reds? Oh the dreaded name! Red has always been associated with "The Radical." The Soviet Union, a real Communist country, is the only country in the world where their top officials not only read the Satanic Bible but considered it worth putting in their Museum.33

The symbol of the Satanic Reds is a hammer and scythe within a satanist star. The group is organized with a General Secretary, a Commissar and Comrades, which structure is explained on their Internet site. This website also features articles defending Communist ideology and praising Stalin and Mao, two of Communism's bloodiest dictators.

For example, article entitled "Stalin Was Right" praises this murderer of 40 million people and explains how these slaughters were justified.34

## An Appeal to Parents, Educators and Social Scientists

Youth who are beginning to fall under the influence of the dark urgings of satanism may not know what a great danger they are in. They enter this morass based on the suggestion that they can live freely, disregard their elders' rules and stand on their own two feet. But they may not realize that this ideology will soon bring disaster on them and their friends. Thinking that they are being introduced to an interesting new secretive world, they may easily get caught up in its current. Therefore, it is vitally important that young people be fully informed about satanism and become aware of its dangers.

What we have considered so far should be a guide for any guardian, educator or social scientist who wonders where this satanism problem came from. If someone tells people that they are a species of animal evolved from apes, and if this deception is regularly and habitually repeated in newspapers, magazines, and even supposedly scientific textbooks and professional literature, it is quite understandable that satanism and similar violent ideologies should develop throughout that society.

This situation must be taken seriously; and education systems, cultural and social policies must be determined accordingly. Otherwise, if you ask young satanists why they have murdered an innocent someone in a frenzy, they will answer that wild animals live to kill and that they—like all humans—are wild animals.

For this reason, the first step in challenging satanism must be to dry up the wellsprings that feed this perverse ideological current. And to do so, the basic requirement is to reveal the errors and deceptions in Darwinism and similar ideologies from their beginnings. Together with this "de-programming," young people must be spiritually sensitized. Anyone who knows that Allah created the universe from nothing will be equally aware of his responsibilities to Him and that he will arise after death to give an account of every moment he spent on Earth. Knowing this, he cannot possibly misguided into doing anything that would harm himself or those around him.

# Satanists' Morality

Up to this point, we have seen that satanism rejects every kind of religious and moral value and is completely hostile to everything reminiscent of Divinely inspired religions. It aims to oppose every good quality elucidated by religious morality and to do the exact opposite. Satanism perversely teaches that to do these things is to serve satan.

Satanists are totally opposed to the love, compassion, righteousness and honesty that are the basis of Divinely revealed religions such as Islam, Christianity and Judaism; and they reject the strictures of these religions that forbid lying, stealing, murder and doing harm to others. Satanism regards it as a sign of superiority to commit every act that revealed religions call a sin; for this reason, it urges its members to commit these same acts. According to this perverse doctrine, there is no limit to evil. People should give free rein to their every feeling of resentment, anger and revenge.

In the Qur'an, the situation of those who follow satan is described in these words:

. . . Satan caught up with him. He was one of those lured into error. (Surat al-A'raf, 175)

As a result of their attachment to satan, these people become slaves to their own lower selves, and their lives become filled with greed and every kind of excess. Such individuals who enter a relationship with satan are described in the Qur'an:

Shall I tell you upon whom the satans descend? They descend on every evil liar. They give them a hearing and most of them are liars. (Surat ash-Shu'ara', 221-223)

Those who habitually obey satan and live according to his morality regard Hell as a kind of ideal model for life. The places where they live are dark and dingy; their aesthetic taste is based on scenes of violence and bloodshed that suggests to them the same violence and horrors of Hell. They long for a society in which the people of Hell can live according to this same morality. In a society where satanist morality is practiced, no one will truly love any other. No one can trust anyone else. There will be anxiety and horrors in all aspects of life; betrayal and disloyalty will be rife. There will be widespread prostitution, thievery, murder, torture, slaughter and countless other crimes; and citizens will be overwhelmed by unhappiness and despair.

Here we come to another major satanist error: Their expressions of a longing for Hell comes from the fact that they do not know what Hell is actually like. Nor can they fully imagine it in their minds. In the Qur'an, Allah describes in detail what a terrifying and horrible place it is—so much so that those who have seen it, or heard its roar even from a distance, beg and plead to be protected from it.

Those who have tasted its pangs, beg our Lord to take them out of it. They swear that, if they are given the opportunity, they will never again commit the crimes they committed on Earth. But on that day, regrets will be too late:

When it [the Blaze] sees them coming from a long way off, they will hear it seething and rasping. When they are flung into a narrow place in it, shackled together in chains, they will cry out there for destruction. "Do not cry out today for just one destruction, cry out for many destructions!" (Surat al-Furqan, 12-14)

If only you could see when they are standing before the Fire and saying, "Oh! If only we could be sent back again, we would not deny the signs of our Lord and we would be among the believers." (Surat al-An'am, 27)

So, how can anyone believe that this kind of life is the ideal? The answer to this question contains the satanist attitude toward life:

1. Satanists believe that they are responsible for nothing and to no one. They assert that no one can show them what is right and that they will decide what is right for themselves. (Actually, however, they make their decisions under satan's inspiration.) For a satanist, his only responsibility is to himself. For this reason, he fulfils every perverse command of his own lower self. He takes pleasure in lies, holding resentment, taking revenge, and doing harm to himself and others.

He prefers a dirty, dingy physical environment that reminds him of Hell. Images reported in the press of satanist meeting places, rituals, and the physical appearance of satanist bands and artists are important reflections of this kind of morality. The fact that satanists take pleasure in this kind of life—preferring filth, savagery, violence and dinginess—is a manifestation of Allah's word.

In Surat al-An'am, Allah reveals:

. . . Satan made what they were doing seem attractive to them. (Surat al-An'am, 43)

That is, satan shows them that the filth they are doing is attractive. In so doing, he leads them into error and draws them away from the way of Allah.

2. Satanism is founded on the satisfaction of the lower self. The lower self fulfills the commands of satan and thus pleases him. Satanists say that they want to live according to their own desires, selves and that this constitutes freedom. For them, therefore, the immorality of drugs, alcohol, prostitution and thievery have become a normal part of life. And, as you see in the press, this immorality often reaches advanced stages. For example, satanists describe with pride their rapes, child molestation, slaughter of animals, drinking blood (their own or from a slaughtered animal), and other disgusting acts. In line with this, they regard murder as legitimate.

In Surat al-Baqara, Allah reveals that satan " . . . bids you to conduct unseemly . . . " (Surat al-Baqara, 268). And they fulfill this command of satan perfectly. In Surah Nur, Allah warns us about the deceptions of satan:

You who believe! Do not follow in the footsteps of satan. Anyone who follows in satan's footsteps should know that he commands indecency and wrongdoing. Were it not for Allah's favor to you and His mercy, not one of you would ever have been purified. But Allah purifies whoever He wills. Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing. (Surat an-Nur, 21)

3. Satanists are most noted for their rebellious character. They are opposed to religious morality and every law of social order. In fact, they instill in one another the idea that laws were made to be broken. This rebelliousness begins in the family and continues in school and among their friends. They grow into problematic individuals who cause trouble and do not want to obey any law. They say that satan is the great rebel and they want to be known for their similarly rebellious character.

Satan manipulates these people, using the feelings of hatred, vengeance, greed, violence and lust already in their hearts to help them follow his path. Allah tells us in Surah Maryam:

Do you not see that We send the satans against those who disbelieve to goad them on? (Surah Maryam, 83)

He informs us that the satans always goad those who are remote from the remembrance of Allah. The founder of modern satanism, Anton LaVey, wrote The Satanic Bible which contains the basic principles of satanism. In his book, he urges his followers to practice in their lives all the evil their hearts desire and to spread it. In an interview, LaVey said: "I feel laws are, obviously, made to be broken . . . I see nothing wrong with robbing somebody on the street."35

These words are perfectly explicable in terms of the ideas of Social Darwinism considered in the first chapter of this book. Satanism is a materialist, Darwinist doctrine and therefore, it cannot be denied that it embodies violence in its very nature. According to this absurd belief, human beings should give limitless expression to the violence that is their "nature." It is unnatural—against human nature—to try to restrain these violent impulses; in fact, it is impossible to prevent them. For this reason, satanism is the enemy of human beings and society; it brings about chaos and eventually, a violent collapse.

And, contrary to what satanists claim, the natural world is not in constant conflict. Living creatures are capable of extraordinary self-sacrifice to protect their young or defend their communities. But satanists and Darwinists ignore this for the most part. Satanists are totally wrong in representing conflict as inevitable. Human beings and communities do not survive by conflict, but through cooperation and acting together. Conflict and violence typically mean the end of a society.

4. Satanism, like Social Darwinism, has no sense of respect or compassion for the weak, needy or the elderly. It regards them as parasites to be eliminated. It views love, compassion, mercy and self-sacrifice as signs of weakness. The fact that these fine qualities are suggestive of religious morality makes satanists very uncomfortable. For satanists, in order to survive and thrive, human beings must resort to all kinds of evil. Satanism regards all these evil acts as legitimate. The so-called justification is the Darwinist view that life is a savage arena where only the strong survive. But as we considered earlier, this is wrong. Satanism's cruel, aggressive character comes from this understanding. Therefore, satanism, being founded on individualism, does not consider the harm it does to society and to the good of others.

They say, "Do something if it's to your advantage; if it is to someone else's advantage, don't waste your time." The result of this attitude is a society composed of selfish, unjust, inhumane, cruel and merciless individuals. The following words of Anton LaVey describe their ideal order of a society; the passage is a striking indication of how merciless satanism is:

. . . there should be, ideally, . . . not rules, not regulations, but an arrangement whereby the hunted know they're the hunted, the hunters know they're the hunters and that's it. A little more self-awareness on the part of the human beings, the human animals of this world, would go a great deal toward affecting some advancement for mankind or some progress, I think.36

In LaVey's view, society is a herd of animals in which there must not be any law and order. LaVey envisions society as divided into two classes: The hunters and the hunted; every social relationship will be determined by the idea of predator or prey, just as it is in a savage arena.

How will order be kept in a society that recognizes no rules? That question shows another aspect of the savage face of satanism. The leader of a satanist clan in Turkey gives his opinion on this matter:

The ["Do whatever you want"] rule may hasten the evolution of man, which has slowed down since the beginning of the 18th century. That is because when a completely free person suffers a little, he will constrain himself without any pressure.37

Actually, satanists' hostility to rules and laws is not logical, because a society lacking rules and regulations will not be to their advantage. In order to ensure a society's continued existence, the necessary contentment and stability can be obtained only by the enforcement of laws made by the state. Religious morality requires obedience to the state. In the kind of society advocated by satanists, where people commit merciless crimes against others, satanists will themselves become the hunted.

History is full of such examples. All those who advocate terror and bloodshed end up being targets of it themselves. The Jacobins sent tens of thousands of individuals to the guillotine during the French Revolution, and all of their leaders eventually lost their heads as well. Likewise, satanists who defend such illogical views are fanning the flames of their own ruin and that of the world as well.

5. Arrogance and pride are two qualities fostered by satanism that all its members must possess. For this reason, satanists regard anyone who does not share their views as being naive and lacking in intelligence. However, they view themselves as intelligent, logical, shrewd and capable. But as revealed in the Qur'an, they will never be able to satisfy their passion for grandeur, for they:

. . . have nothing in their breasts except for pride which they will never be able to vindicate. (Surah Ghafir, 56)

Those who think that, by associating themselves with such a seemingly movement, they will be grand and important are already doomed to be contemptible. And those who seek honor and respect in this absurdly deviant doctrine are very much in error. True honor and respect come only from Allah's Presence.

Those who do enjoy this honor and respect are believers who submit themselves to Allah with sincere hearts; knowing that salvation comes only by faith; and are determined to lead every moment of their lives with moral rectitude. In the Qur'an, Allah announces these glad tidings to those who have faith:

But those who believe and do right actions—they are the best of creatures. Their reward is with their Lord: Gardens of Eden with rivers flowing under them, remaining in them timelessly, for ever and ever. Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him. That is for those who fear their Lord. (Surat al-Bayyina, 7-8)

## Satanism Leads People to a Terrible End

The word "satanism" evokes in peoples' minds images of satanic ceremonies, rituals of animal sacrifice, black magic, drinking blood and other deviant acts difficult for most people to imagine. Such ceremonies are inseparable from satanism. One may group satanic rituals and arrange them under different headings, partly because satanist groups in different countries have their own understanding of these ceremonies. One can see these rituals depicted clearly in satanist books, magazines, Internet sites and in the song lyrics of satanist bands.

New satanists are introduced to these rituals slowly. They are advised to practice them even on their own in order to strengthen their relationship with satan. One Website advises a new Satanist, "Don't be disturbed or frightened or think you're crazy when you feel at one with the Dark Ones . . . When in ritual, approach the Infernal Ones with the proper degree of respect and decorum."38

Satanist ritual is described as follows:

_You don't need everything mentioned in Dr. LaVey's books to do an effective ritual. Maybe you don't have the money to obtain—or the private space to store—items such as swords, chalices, black robes, gongs, and elaborate altars. . . Light the candle and set it before you. . . say in your mind or out loud,_ _"I am ready, oh, Dark Lord. I feel your strength within me and wish to honor you in my life. I am one of the Devil's Own. Hail Satan!"_ _. . . This is a simple way of aligning yourself with what Satan means to us . . . 39_

The special importance given to shedding blood during satanic rituals is a symbolic expression of satan's plan for human beings. Satan hates the human race and will do anything in his power to bring misery upon it. Therefore, he has made it his purpose to shed blood in the world. Satanists obey his command to do this, and shedding blood is practiced as an open ritual.

The main implements in satanic rituals are axes, swords and robes. Colors—red, the color of blood, and black, symbolizing the dark powers—are indispensable elements of the rituals. The most horrifying rituals are those in which animals—and at a more advanced level, human beings—are killed and dedicated to satan. Indeed, one of the most horrifying aspects of satanism is that the rituals do not end only the lives of animals, but of human beings as well.

We are used to hearing about cats, and goats being killed in satanist rituals; their blood is later put into a chalice and drunk. Satanists believe that the energy that comes from this blood increases the strength of the priest who performs the ritual and those who are in attendance. When a human is to be killed, the decision of who is to be slaughtered is very simple: anyone who has irritated a satanist by doing something he didn't like is an ideal choice for these rituals.40

In a statement about the necessity of murder and slaughter to establish a relationship with satan, one satanist clearly shows what kind of morality satanism draws people into:

For our adherence to Satan, I killed goats for 4 to 5 times . . . About killing a man, first of all the person who will be killed should want to be immolated for Satan. I kill someone only under these circumstances.41

There are known instances in these rituals of young girls being raped and individuals being murdered to provide enough blood for the rituals.

Sometimes the savagery of satanism can reach an advanced stage that a person may kill himself. The spiritual void and imbalance that satanism creates in human beings is the reason why anyone should be prepared to end his life for the sake of this inane doctrine.

In just the same way as they are very wrong about life, satanists' view about death and what happens afterwards are equally deviant. For some satanists, suicide is a way of attaining the life in Hell that they do long for in this world; for others, it is a public display to prove their courage and rebelliousness. Contrary to what satanists think, however, death is no salvation at all for those who deny Allah. It is much more difficult and distressing and it is the beginning of an eternal life.

Also, those who see suicide as a kind of rebellion are quite wrong. Allah has clearly forbidden a person from taking his own life.

All these things are examples of the terrible end that satan wants to lead people to. Those who have gotten themselves tangled up in satanism have lost every human quality and become like savage, aggressive animals. Unaware that all the transitory allurements of the world and satan's false promises are part of the worldly test, they have received the reward for their erroneous suppositions.

In Surah Saba', Allah explains this situation to us:

Diabolis was correct in his assessment of them and they followed him, except for a group of the believers. He had no authority over them except to enable Us to know those who believe in the Hereafter from those who are in doubt about it. Your Lord is the Preserver of all things. (Surah Saba', 20-21)

And this is only the end they may expect in this Earthly life. In Allah's Presence, they will receive their painful rewards for neglecting to praise Him, for their hostility toward His Divine religions, and for calling others to serve satan.

In the Qur'an, Allah reveals the truth on this matter:

Satan is your enemy so treat him as an enemy. He summons his party so they will be among the people of the Searing Blaze. (Surah Fatir, 6)

By Allah, We sent messengers to communities before your time, but satan made their actions seem good to them. Therefore today he is their protector. They will have a painful punishment. (Surat an-Nahl, 63)

When they are told: "Follow what Allah has sent down," they say, "No, we will follow what we found our fathers doing." What! Even if satan is calling them to the punishment of the Blazing Fire? (Surah Luqman, 21)

Among people there is one who argues about Allah without knowledge, and follows every rebellious satan. It is written of him that if anyone takes him as a friend, he will mislead him and guide him to the punishment of the Searing Blaze. (Surat al-Hajj, 3-4)

And when they finally encounter the pangs of Hell, satanists will have another surprise. They will discover that satan, whom they followed in their Earthly lives, whose promptings they obeyed and whom they regarded as their friend and protector, has gone away and left them completely alone.

When the unbelievers see that satan has rejected them, they will be very regretful. But for them there will be no way out. On that day, Allah will not accept their repentance, and they will receive the just reward for the deeds they have done.

In the Qur'an, Allah reveals the state of these people in these words:

The Day when a wrongdoer will bite his hands and say, "Alas for me! If only I had gone the way of the messenger! Alas for me! If only I had not taken so-and-so for a friend! He led me astray from the Reminder after it came to me." Satan always leaves man in the lurch. (Surat al-Furqan, 27-29)

# Conclusion: Satan's Wiles are Feeble

The information examined in this book has shown the dangerous and horrifying worldview of satanism and the ideas it is based on. One obvious conclusion to be made in the light of this information is that satanism grows and develops in any environment where spiritual values are disregarded, where religious morality is ignored, and where there is no fear of Allah or proper respect for Him.

Another important conclusion is that satanism cannot be stopped by judicial means alone. This could serve to strengthen it as a rebellious illegal movement.

Therefore, the opposition to be launched against satanism may be summarized under the following basics:

1. This opposition must be carried on most importantly in the realm of ideas. An ideology defeated in this realm is bound to disappear, no matter how many adherents it has, or how widespread it may be. For this reason, it is very important to uncover the illogicality, perversity and errors in the ideas satanism espouses. Demonstrating that satanism is made up of glittery slogans, false propaganda and empty words will prevent its gaining new adherents and permit its present members to understand the great deception they are caught up in.

2. In this struggle of ideas, the most important step must be to destroy the ideological foundations that support satanism. Obviously, no ideology can survive if its foundations are destroyed and it has nothing to hold on to. Throughout this book, we have seen that one of the most important elements that keep satanism alive is materialism; and another is Darwinism.

But Darwinism is an ideology that has collapsed scientifically; its errors have been proven many times. However, the theory is still defended in some quarters as being scientific. And to the extent that it is not shown to be a huge deception, it allows satanism and other deviant movements to continue unchecked. In this situation, a person who lacks the opportunity to investigate the matter or acts on the basis of piecemeal information may assume that Darwinism is still valid and be caught in the error that satanism has a legitimate point of departure. The only way to prevent this error is to demonstrate to people that Darwinism is a bankrupt ideology.

3. There is something else that must be done in conjunction with the above: People must be helped out of the spiritual void into which they have fallen. A spiritually aware individual who knows the purpose of life will never fall under the influence of any perverse movement. Therefore, it is necessary to tell young people, especially, about the proofs for the existence and unity of Allah; to teach them that they are responsible to Allah for everything they do; and to warn them about what they may encounter in the Hereafter.

4. In doing all this, it is very important to enlist the support of the mass media—newspapers, magazines and television—and to organize the educational system accordingly. When the press reports this absurd movement to the public, it must be careful not to spread its propaganda; it must sensitize the public by revealing all the perversions of satanism. Also, the educational system must warn students about this problem and train succeeding generations that are aware and that will not fall under the influence of such perversions. A young person who is brought up to know that life is not the product of blind chance, to recognize the power and might of Allah and to learn the moral teachings of the Qur'an, will not be seduced into such a morass.

Remember that some fall into the net of this perverse movement out of curiosity. They see it as an adventure or because they are looking for some novelty. Whatever their motives, these people obviously do not know what they are doing. They are in a spiritual void. In this situation, everyone—anyone of faith, especially—has an important responsibility to carry out in the struggle of ideas with satanism.

In one verse of the Qur'an, Allah reveals that:

Satan is your enemy so treat him as an enemy. He summons his party so they will be among the people of the Searing Blaze. (Surah Fatir, 6)

First of all, people of faith must announce this truth to everyone and warn them against this situation. They must make every effort so that people can learn religious morality and spread the moral teachings of the Qur'an, for, with Allah's permission, the light of the Qur'an will destroy all perverse movements, satanism included, and lead people into the good and beautiful life they always long for.

# The Deception of Evolution

Darwinism, in other words the theory of evolution, was put forward with the aim of denying the fact of creation, but is in truth nothing but failed, unscientific nonsense. This theory, which claims that life emerged by chance from inanimate matter, was invalidated by the scientific evidence of miraculous order in the universe and in living things. In this way, science confirmed the fact that Allah created the universe and the living things in it. The propaganda carried out today in order to keep the theory of evolution alive is based solely on the distortion of the scientific facts, biased interpretation, and lies and falsehoods disguised as science.

Yet this propaganda cannot conceal the truth. The fact that the theory of evolution is the greatest deception in the history of science has been expressed more and more in the scientific world over the last 20-30 years. Research carried out after the 1980s in particular has revealed that the claims of Darwinism are totally unfounded, something that has been stated by a large number of scientists. In the United States in particular, many scientists from such different fields as biology, biochemistry and paleontology recognize the invalidity of Darwinism and employ the fact of creation to account for the origin of life.

We have examined the collapse of the theory of evolution and the proofs of creation in great scientific detail in many of our works, and are still continuing to do so. Given the enormous importance of this subject, it will be of great benefit to summarize it here.

## The Scientific Collapse of Darwinism

Although this doctrine goes back as far as ancient Greece, the theory of evolution was advanced extensively in the nineteenth century. The most important development that made it the top topic of the world of science was Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species, published in 1859. In this book, he denied that Allah created different living species on Earth separately, for he claimed that all living beings had a common ancestor and had diversified over time through small changes. Darwin's theory was not based on any concrete scientific finding; as he also accepted, it was just an "assumption." Moreover, as Darwin confessed in the long chapter of his book titled "Difficulties on Theory," the theory failed in the face of many critical questions.

Darwin invested all of his hopes in new scientific discoveries, which he expected to solve these difficulties. However, contrary to his expectations, scientific findings expanded the dimensions of these difficulties. The defeat of Darwinism in the face of science can be reviewed under three basic topics:

1) The theory cannot explain how life originated on Earth.

2) No scientific finding shows that the "evolutionary mechanisms" proposed by the theory have any evolutionary power at all.

3) The fossil record proves the exact opposite of what the theory suggests.

In this section, we will examine these three basic points in general outlines:

## The First Insurmountable Step: The Origin of Life

The theory of evolution posits that all living species evolved from a single living cell that emerged on the primitive Earth 3.8 billion years ago. How a single cell could generate millions of complex living species and, if such an evolution really occurred, why traces of it cannot be observed in the fossil record are some of the questions that the theory cannot answer. However, first and foremost, we need to ask: How did this "first cell" originate?

Since the theory of evolution denies creation and any kind of supernatural intervention, it maintains that the "first cell" originated coincidentally within the laws of nature, without any design, plan or arrangement. According to the theory, inanimate matter must have produced a living cell as a result of coincidences. Such a claim, however, is inconsistent with the most unassailable rules of biology.

## "Life Comes From Life"

In his book, Darwin never referred to the origin of life. The primitive understanding of science in his time rested on the assumption that living beings had a very simple structure. Since medieval times, spontaneous generation, which asserts that non-living materials came together to form living organisms, had been widely accepted. It was commonly believed that insects came into being from food leftovers, and mice from wheat. Interesting experiments were conducted to prove this theory. Some wheat was placed on a dirty piece of cloth, and it was believed that mice would originate from it after a while.

Similarly, maggots developing in rotting meat was assumed to be evidence of spontaneous generation. However, it was later understood that worms did not appear on meat spontaneously, but were carried there by flies in the form of larvae, invisible to the naked eye.

Even when Darwin wrote The Origin of Species, the belief that bacteria could come into existence from non-living matter was widely accepted in the world of science.

However, five years after the publication of Darwin's book, Louis Pasteur announced his results after long studies and experiments, that disproved spontaneous generation, a cornerstone of Darwin's theory. In his triumphal lecture at the Sorbonne in 1864, Pasteur said: "Never will the doctrine of spontaneous generation recover from the mortal blow struck by this simple experiment."42

For a long time, advocates of the theory of evolution resisted these findings. However, as the development of science unraveled the complex structure of the cell of a living being, the idea that life could come into being coincidentally faced an even greater impasse.

## Inconclusive Efforts of the Twentieth Century

The first evolutionist who took up the subject of the origin of life in the twentieth century was the renowned Russian biologist Alexander Oparin. With various theses he advanced in the 1930s, he tried to prove that a living cell could originate by coincidence. These studies, however, were doomed to failure, and Oparin had to make the following confession:

Unfortunately, however, the problem of the origin of the cell is perhaps the most obscure point in the whole study of the evolution of organisms.43

Evolutionist followers of Oparin tried to carry out experiments to solve this problem. The best known experiment was carried out by the American chemist Stanley Miller in 1953. Combining the gases he alleged to have existed in the primordial Earth's atmosphere in an experiment set-up, and adding energy to the mixture, Miller synthesized several organic molecules (amino acids) present in the structure of proteins.

Barely a few years had passed before it was revealed that this experiment, which was then presented as an important step in the name of evolution, was invalid, for the atmosphere used in the experiment was very different from the real Earth conditions.44

After a long silence, Miller confessed that the atmosphere medium he used was unrealistic.45

All the evolutionists' efforts throughout the twentieth century to explain the origin of life ended in failure. The geochemist Jeffrey Bada, from the San Diego Scripps Institute accepts this fact in an article published in Earth magazine in 1998:

Today as we leave the twentieth century, we still face the biggest unsolved problem that we had when we entered the twentieth century: How did life originate on Earth?46

## The Complex Structure of Life

The primary reason why the theory of evolution ended up in such a great impasse regarding the origin of life is that even those living organisms deemed to be the simplest have incredibly complex structures. The cell of a living thing is more complex than all of our man-made technological products. Today, even in the most developed laboratories of the world, a living cell cannot be produced by bringing organic chemicals together.

The conditions required for the formation of a cell are too great in quantity to be explained away by coincidences. The probability of proteins, the building blocks of a cell, being synthesized coincidentally, is 1 in 10950 for an average protein made up of 500 amino acids. In mathematics, a probability smaller than 1 over 1050 is considered to be impossible in practical terms.

The DNA molecule, which is located in the nucleus of a cell and which stores genetic information, is an incredible databank. If the information coded in DNA were written down, it would make a giant library consisting of an estimated 900 volumes of encyclopedias consisting of 500 pages each.

A very interesting dilemma emerges at this point: DNA can replicate itself only with the help of some specialized proteins (enzymes). However, the synthesis of these enzymes can be realized only by the information coded in DNA. As they both depend on each other, they have to exist at the same time for replication. This brings the scenario that life originated by itself to a deadlock. Prof. Leslie Orgel, an evolutionist of repute from the University of San Diego, California, confesses this fact in the September 1994 issue of the Scientific American magazine:

It is extremely improbable that proteins and nucleic acids, both of which are structurally complex, arose spontaneously in the same place at the same time. Yet it also seems impossible to have one without the other. And so, at first glance, one might have to conclude that life could never, in fact, have originated by chemical means.47

No doubt, if it is impossible for life to have originated from natural causes, then it has to be accepted that life was "created" in a supernatural way. This fact explicitly invalidates the theory of evolution, whose main purpose is to deny creation.

## Imaginary Mechanism of Evolution

The second important point that negates Darwin's theory is that both concepts put forward by the theory as "evolutionary mechanisms" were understood to have, in reality, no evolutionary power.

Darwin based his evolution allegation entirely on the mechanism of "natural selection." The importance he placed on this mechanism was evident in the name of his book: The Origin of Species, By Means of Natural Selection...

Natural selection holds that those living things that are stronger and more suited to the natural conditions of their habitats will survive in the struggle for life. For example, in a deer herd under the threat of attack by wild animals, those that can run faster will survive. Therefore, the deer herd will be comprised of faster and stronger individuals. However, unquestionably, this mechanism will not cause deer to evolve and transform themselves into another living species, for instance, horses.

Therefore, the mechanism of natural selection has no evolutionary power. Darwin was also aware of this fact and had to state this in his book The Origin of Species:

Natural selection can do nothing until favourable individual differences or variations occur.48

## Lamarck's Impact

So, how could these "favorable variations" occur? Darwin tried to answer this question from the standpoint of the primitive understanding of science at that time. According to the French biologist Chevalier de Lamarck (1744-1829), who lived before Darwin, living creatures passed on the traits they acquired during their lifetime to the next generation. He asserted that these traits, which accumulated from one generation to another, caused new species to be formed. For instance, he claimed that giraffes evolved from antelopes; as they struggled to eat the leaves of high trees, their necks were extended from generation to generation.

Darwin also gave similar examples. In his book The Origin of Species, for instance, he said that some bears going into water to find food transformed themselves into whales over time.49

However, the laws of inheritance discovered by Gregor Mendel (1822-84) and verified by the science of genetics, which flourished in the twentieth century, utterly demolished the legend that acquired traits were passed on to subsequent generations. Thus, natural selection fell out of favor as an evolutionary mechanism.

## Neo-Darwinism and Mutations

In order to find a solution, Darwinists advanced the "Modern Synthetic Theory," or as it is more commonly known, Neo-Darwinism, at the end of the 1930s. Neo-Darwinism added mutations, which are distortions formed in the genes of living beings due to such external factors as radiation or replication errors, as the "cause of favorable variations" in addition to natural mutation.

Today, the model that stands for evolution in the world is Neo-Darwinism. The theory maintains that millions of living beings formed as a result of a process whereby numerous complex organs of these organisms (e.g., ears, eyes, lungs, and wings) underwent "mutations," that is, genetic disorders. Yet, there is an outright scientific fact that totally undermines this theory: Mutations do not cause living beings to develop; on the contrary, they are always harmful.

The reason for this is very simple: DNA has a very complex structure, and random effects can only harm it. The American geneticist B. G. Ranganathan explains this as follows:

First, genuine mutations are very rare in nature. Secondly, most mutations are harmful since they are random, rather than orderly changes in the structure of genes; any random change in a highly ordered system will be for the worse, not for the better. For example, if an earthquake were to shake a highly ordered structure such as a building, there would be a random change in the framework of the building which, in all probability, would not be an improvement.50

Not surprisingly, no mutation example, which is useful, that is, which is observed to develop the genetic code, has been observed so far. All mutations have proved to be harmful. It was understood that mutation, which is presented as an "evolutionary mechanism," is actually a genetic occurrence that harms living things, and leaves them disabled. (The most common effect of mutation on human beings is cancer.) Of course, a destructive mechanism cannot be an "evolutionary mechanism." Natural selection, on the other hand, "can do nothing by itself," as Darwin also accepted. This fact shows us that there is no "evolutionary mechanism" in nature. Since no evolutionary mechanism exists, no such any imaginary process called "evolution" could have taken place.

## The Fossil Record: No Sign of Intermediate Forms

The clearest evidence that the scenario suggested by the theory of evolution did not take place is the fossil record.

According to this theory, every living species has sprung from a predecessor. A previously existing species turned into something else over time and all species have come into being in this way. In other words, this transformation proceeds gradually over millions of years.

Had this been the case, numerous intermediary species should have existed and lived within this long transformation period.

For instance, some half-fish/half-reptiles should have lived in the past which had acquired some reptilian traits in addition to the fish traits they already had. Or there should have existed some reptile-birds, which acquired some bird traits in addition to the reptilian traits they already had. Since these would be in a transitional phase, they should be disabled, defective, crippled living beings. Evolutionists refer to these imaginary creatures, which they believe to have lived in the past, as "transitional forms."

If such animals ever really existed, there should be millions and even billions of them in number and variety. More importantly, the remains of these strange creatures should be present in the fossil record. In The Origin of Species, Darwin explained:

If my theory be true, numberless intermediate varieties, linking most closely all of the species of the same group together must assuredly have existed... Consequently, evidence of their former existence could be found only amongst fossil remains.51

## Darwin's Hopes Shattered

However, although evolutionists have been making strenuous efforts to find fossils since the middle of the nineteenth century all over the world, no transitional forms have yet been uncovered. All of the fossils, contrary to the evolutionists' expectations, show that life appeared on Earth all of a sudden and fully-formed.

One famous British paleontologist, Derek V. Ager, admits this fact, even though he is an evolutionist:

The point emerges that if we examine the fossil record in detail, whether at the level of orders or of species, we find – over and over again – not gradual evolution, but the sudden explosion of one group at the expense of another.52

This means that in the fossil record, all living species suddenly emerge as fully formed, without any intermediate forms in between. This is just the opposite of Darwin's assumptions. Also, this is very strong evidence that all living things are created. The only explanation of a living species emerging suddenly and complete in every detail without any evolutionary ancestor is that it was created. This fact is admitted also by the widely known evolutionist biologist Douglas Futuyma:

Creation and evolution, between them, exhaust the possible explanations for the origin of living things. Organisms either appeared on the earth fully developed or they did not. If they did not, they must have developed from pre-existing species by some process of modification. If they did appear in a fully developed state, they must indeed have been created by some omnipotent intelligence.53

Fossils show that living beings emerged fully developed and in a perfect state on the Earth. That means that "the origin of species," contrary to Darwin's supposition, is not evolution, but creation.

## The Tale of Human Evolution

The subject most often brought up by advocates of the theory of evolution is the subject of the origin of man. The Darwinist claim holds that modern man evolved from ape-like creatures. During this alleged evolutionary process, which is supposed to have started 4-5 million years ago, some "transitional forms" between modern man and his ancestors are supposed to have existed. According to this completely imaginary scenario, four basic "categories" are listed:

1. Australopithecus

2. Homo habilis

3. Homo erectus

4. Homo sapiens

Evolutionists call man's so-called first ape-like ancestors Australopithecus, which means "South African ape." These living beings are actually nothing but an old ape species that has become extinct. Extensive research done on various Australopithecus specimens by two world famous anatomists from England and the USA, namely, Lord Solly Zuckerman and Prof. Charles Oxnard, shows that these apes belonged to an ordinary ape species that became extinct and bore no resemblance to humans.54

Evolutionists classify the next stage of human evolution as "homo," that is "man." According to their claim, the living beings in the Homo series are more developed than Australopithecus. Evolutionists devise a fanciful evolution scheme by arranging different fossils of these creatures in a particular order. This scheme is imaginary because it has never been proved that there is an evolutionary relation between these different classes. Ernst Mayr, one of the twentieth century's most important evolutionists, contends in his book One Long Argument that "particularly historical [puzzles] such as the origin of life or of Homo sapiens, are extremely difficult and may even resist a final, satisfying explanation."55

By outlining the link chain as Australopithecus > Homo habilis > Homo erectus > Homo sapiens, evolutionists imply that each of these species is one another's ancestor. However, recent findings of paleoanthropologists have revealed that Australopithecus, Homo habilis, and Homo erectus lived at different parts of the world at the same time.56

Moreover, a certain segment of humans classified as Homo erectus have lived up until very modern times. Homo sapiens neandarthalensis and Homo sapiens sapiens (modern man) co-existed in the same region.57

This situation apparently indicates the invalidity of the claim that they are ancestors of one another. Stephen Jay Gould explained this deadlock of the theory of evolution, although he was himself one of the leading advocates of evolution in the twentieth century:

What has become of our ladder if there are three coexisting lineages of hominids (A. africanus, the robust australopithecines, and H. habilis), none clearly derived from another? Moreover, none of the three display any evolutionary trends during their tenure on earth.58

Put briefly, the scenario of human evolution, which is "upheld" with the help of various drawings of some "half ape, half human" creatures appearing in the media and course books, that is, frankly, by means of propaganda, is nothing but a tale with no scientific foundation.

Lord Solly Zuckerman, one of the most famous and respected scientists in the U.K., who carried out research on this subject for years and studied Australopithecus fossils for 15 years, finally concluded, despite being an evolutionist himself, that there is, in fact, no such family tree branching out from ape-like creatures to man.

Zuckerman also made an interesting "spectrum of science" ranging from those he considered scientific to those he considered unscientific. According to Zuckerman's spectrum, the most "scientific" – that is, depending on concrete data – fields of science are chemistry and physics. After them come the biological sciences and then the social sciences. At the far end of the spectrum, which is the part considered to be most "unscientific," are "extra-sensory perception" – concepts such as telepathy and sixth sense – and finally "human evolution." Zuckerman explains his reasoning:

We then move right off the register of objective truth into those fields of presumed biological science, like extrasensory perception or the interpretation of man's fossil history, where to the faithful [evolutionist] anything is possible – and where the ardent believer [in evolution] is sometimes able to believe several contradictory things at the same time.59

The tale of human evolution boils down to nothing but the prejudiced interpretations of some fossils unearthed by certain people, who blindly adhere to their theory.

## Darwinian Formula!

Besides all the technical evidence we have dealt with so far, let us now for once, examine what kind of a superstition the evolutionists have with an example so simple as to be understood even by children:

The theory of evolution asserts that life is formed by chance. According to this claim, lifeless and unconscious atoms came together to form the cell and then they somehow formed other living things, including man. Let us think about that. When we bring together the elements that are the building-blocks of life such as carbon, phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium, only a heap is formed. No matter what treatments it undergoes, this atomic heap cannot form even a single living being. If you like, let us formulate an "experiment" on this subject and let us examine on the behalf of evolutionists what they really claim without pronouncing loudly under the name "Darwinian formula":

Let evolutionists put plenty of materials present in the composition of living things such as phosphorus, nitrogen, carbon, oxygen, iron, and magnesium into big barrels. Moreover, let them add in these barrels any material that does not exist under normal conditions, but they think as necessary. Let them add in this mixture as many amino acids and as many proteins – a single one of which has a formation probability of 10-950 – as they like. Let them expose these mixtures to as much heat and moisture as they like. Let them stir these with whatever technologically developed device they like. Let them put the foremost scientists beside these barrels. Let these experts wait in turn beside these barrels for billions, and even trillions of years. Let them be free to use all kinds of conditions they believe to be necessary for a human's formation. No matter what they do, they cannot produce from these barrels a human, say a professor that examines his cell structure under the electron microscope. They cannot produce giraffes, lions, bees, canaries, horses, dolphins, roses, orchids, lilies, carnations, bananas, oranges, apples, dates, tomatoes, melons, watermelons, figs, olives, grapes, peaches, peafowls, pheasants, multicoloured butterflies, or millions of other living beings such as these. Indeed, they could not obtain even a single cell of any one of them.

Briefly, unconscious atoms cannot form the cell by coming together. They cannot take a new decision and divide this cell into two, then take other decisions and create the professors who first invent the electron microscope and then examine their own cell structure under that microscope. Matter is an unconscious, lifeless heap, and it comes to life with Allah's superior creation.

The theory of evolution, which claims the opposite, is a total fallacy completely contrary to reason. Thinking even a little bit on the claims of evolutionists discloses this reality, just as in the above example.

## Technology in the Eye and the Ear

Another subject that remains unanswered by evolutionary theory is the excellent quality of perception in the eye and the ear.

Before passing on to the subject of the eye, let us briefly answer the question of how we see. Light rays coming from an object fall oppositely on the eye's retina. Here, these light rays are transmitted into electric signals by cells and reach a tiny spot at the back of the brain, the "center of vision." These electric signals are perceived in this center as an image after a series of processes. With this technical background, let us do some thinking.

The brain is insulated from light. That means that its inside is completely dark, and that no light reaches the place where it is located. Thus, the "center of vision" is never touched by light and may even be the darkest place you have ever known. However, you observe a luminous, bright world in this pitch darkness.

The image formed in the eye is so sharp and distinct that even the technology of the twentieth century has not been able to attain it. For instance, look at the book you are reading, your hands with which you are holding it, and then lift your head and look around you. Have you ever seen such a sharp and distinct image as this one at any other place? Even the most developed television screen produced by the greatest television producer in the world cannot provide such a sharp image for you. This is a three-dimensional, colored, and extremely sharp image. For more than 100 years, thousands of engineers have been trying to achieve this sharpness. Factories, huge premises were established, much research has been done, plans and designs have been made for this purpose. Again, look at a TV screen and the book you hold in your hands. You will see that there is a big difference in sharpness and distinction. Moreover, the TV screen shows you a two-dimensional image, whereas with your eyes, you watch a three-dimensional perspective with depth.

For many years, tens of thousands of engineers have tried to make a three-dimensional TV and achieve the vision quality of the eye. Yes, they have made a three-dimensional television system, but it is not possible to watch it without putting on special 3-D glasses; moreover, it is only an artificial three-dimension. The background is more blurred, the foreground appears like a paper setting. Never has it been possible to produce a sharp and distinct vision like that of the eye. In both the camera and the television, there is a loss of image quality.

Evolutionists claim that the mechanism producing this sharp and distinct image has been formed by chance. Now, if somebody told you that the television in your room was formed as a result of chance, that all of its atoms just happened to come together and make up this device that produces an image, what would you think? How can atoms do what thousands of people cannot?

If a device producing a more primitive image than the eye could not have been formed by chance, then it is very evident that the eye and the image seen by the eye could not have been formed by chance. The same situation applies to the ear. The outer ear picks up the available sounds by the auricle and directs them to the middle ear, the middle ear transmits the sound vibrations by intensifying them, and the inner ear sends these vibrations to the brain by translating them into electric signals. Just as with the eye, the act of hearing finalizes in the center of hearing in the brain.

The situation in the eye is also true for the ear. That is, the brain is insulated from sound just as it is from light. It does not let any sound in. Therefore, no matter how noisy is the outside, the inside of the brain is completely silent. Nevertheless, the sharpest sounds are perceived in the brain. In your completely silent brain, you listen to symphonies, and hear all of the noises in a crowded place. However, were the sound level in your brain measured by a precise device at that moment, complete silence would be found to be prevailing there.

As is the case with imagery, decades of effort have been spent in trying to generate and reproduce sound that is faithful to the original. The results of these efforts are sound recorders, high-fidelity systems, and systems for sensing sound. Despite all of this technology and the thousands of engineers and experts who have been working on this endeavor, no sound has yet been obtained that has the same sharpness and clarity as the sound perceived by the ear. Think of the highest-quality hi-fi systems produced by the largest company in the music industry. Even in these devices, when sound is recorded some of it is lost; or when you turn on a hi-fi you always hear a hissing sound before the music starts. However, the sounds that are the products of the human body's technology are extremely sharp and clear. A human ear never perceives a sound accompanied by a hissing sound or with atmospherics as does a hi-fi; rather, it perceives sound exactly as it is, sharp and clear. This is the way it has been since the creation of man.

So far, no man-made visual or recording apparatus has been as sensitive and successful in perceiving sensory data as are the eye and the ear. However, as far as seeing and hearing are concerned, a far greater truth lies beyond all this.

## To Whom Does the Consciousness that Sees and Hears within the Brain Belong?

Who watches an alluring world in the brain, listens to symphonies and the twittering of birds, and smells the rose?

The stimulations coming from a person's eyes, ears, and nose travel to the brain as electro-chemical nerve impulses. In biology, physiology, and biochemistry books, you can find many details about how this image forms in the brain. However, you will never come across the most important fact: Who perceives these electro-chemical nerve impulses as images, sounds, odors, and sensory events in the brain? There is a consciousness in the brain that perceives all this without feeling any need for an eye, an ear, and a nose. To whom does this consciousness belong? Of course it does not belong to the nerves, the fat layer, and neurons comprising the brain. This is why Darwinist-materialists, who believe that everything is comprised of matter, cannot answer these questions.

For this consciousness is the spirit created by Allah, which needs neither the eye to watch the images nor the ear to hear the sounds. Furthermore, it does not need the brain to think.

Everyone who reads this explicit and scientific fact should ponder on Almighty Allah, and fear and seek refuge in Him, for He squeezes the entire universe in a pitch-dark place of a few cubic centimeters in a three-dimensional, colored, shadowy, and luminous form.

## A Materialist Faith

The information we have presented so far shows us that the theory of evolution is incompatible with scientific findings. The theory's claim regarding the origin of life is inconsistent with science, the evolutionary mechanisms it proposes have no evolutionary power, and fossils demonstrate that the required intermediate forms have never existed. So, it certainly follows that the theory of evolution should be pushed aside as an unscientific idea. This is how many ideas, such as the Earth-centered universe model, have been taken out of the agenda of science throughout history.

However, the theory of evolution is kept on the agenda of science. Some people even try to represent criticisms directed against it as an "attack on science." Why?

The reason is that this theory is an indispensable dogmatic belief for some circles. These circles are blindly devoted to materialist philosophy and adopt Darwinism because it is the only materialist explanation that can be put forward to explain the workings of nature.

Interestingly enough, they also confess this fact from time to time. A well-known geneticist and an outspoken evolutionist, Richard C. Lewontin from Harvard University, confesses that he is "first and foremost a materialist and then a scientist":

It is not that the methods and institutions of science somehow compel us accept a material explanation of the phenomenal world, but, on the contrary, that we are forced by our a priori adherence to material causes to create an apparatus of investigation and a set of concepts that produce material explanations, no matter how counter-intuitive, no matter how mystifying to the uninitiated. Moreover, that materialism is absolute, so we cannot allow a Divine [intervention]...60

These are explicit statements that Darwinism is a dogma kept alive just for the sake of adherence to materialism. This dogma maintains that there is no being save matter. Therefore, it argues that inanimate, unconscious matter created life. It insists that millions of different living species (e.g., birds, fish, giraffes, tigers, insects, trees, flowers, whales, and human beings) originated as a result of the interactions between matter such as pouring rain, lightning flashes, and so on, out of inanimate matter. This is a precept contrary both to reason and science. Yet Darwinists continue to defend it just so as "not to allow a Divine intervention."

Anyone who does not look at the origin of living beings with a materialist prejudice will see this evident truth: All living beings are works of a Creator, Who is All-Powerful, All-Wise, and All-Knowing. This Creator is Allah, Who created the whole universe from non-existence, designed it in the most perfect form, and fashioned all living beings.

## The Theory of Evolution: The Most Potent Spell in the World

Anyone free of prejudice and the influence of any particular ideology, who uses only his or her reason and logic, will clearly understand that belief in the theory of evolution, which brings to mind the superstitions of societies with no knowledge of science or civilization, is quite impossible.

As explained above, those who believe in the theory of evolution think that a few atoms and molecules thrown into a huge vat could produce thinking, reasoning professors and university students; such scientists as Einstein and Galileo; such artists as Humphrey Bogart, Frank Sinatra and Luciano Pavarotti; as well as antelopes, lemon trees, and carnations. Moreover, as the scientists and professors who believe in this nonsense are educated people, it is quite justifiable to speak of this theory as "the most potent spell in history." Never before has any other belief or idea so taken away peoples' powers of reason, refused to allow them to think intelligently and logically, and hidden the truth from them as if they had been blindfolded. This is an even worse and unbelievable blindness than the totem worship in some parts of Africa, the people of Saba worshipping the Sun, the tribe of Abraham (pbuh) worshipping idols they had made with their own hands, or the people of Moses (pbuh) worshipping the Golden Calf.

In fact, Allah has pointed to this lack of reason in the Qur'an. In many verses, He reveals that some peoples' minds will be closed and that they will be powerless to see the truth. Some of these verses are as follows:

As for those who do not believe, it makes no difference to them whether you warn them or do not warn them, they will not believe. Allah has sealed up their hearts and hearing and over their eyes is a blindfold. They will have a terrible punishment. (Surat al-Baqara, 6-7)

... **They have hearts with which they do not understand. They have eyes with which they do not see. They have ears with which they do not hear. Such people are like cattle. No, they are even further astray! They are the unaware. (Surat al-A'raf, 179)**

Even if We opened up to them a door into heaven, and they spent the day ascending through it, they would only say: "Our eyesight is befuddled! Or rather we have been put under a spell!" (Surat al-Hijr, 14-15)

Words cannot express just how astonishing it is that this spell should hold such a wide community in thrall, keep people from the truth, and not be broken for 150 years. It is understandable that one or a few people might believe in impossible scenarios and claims full of stupidity and illogicality. However, "magic" is the only possible explanation for people from all over the world believing that unconscious and lifeless atoms suddenly decided to come together and form a universe that functions with a flawless system of organization, discipline, reason, and consciousness; a planet named Earth with all of its features so perfectly suited to life; and living things full of countless complex systems.

In fact, the Qur'an relates the incident of Moses (pbuh) and Pharaoh to show that some people who support atheistic philosophies actually influence others by magic. When Pharaoh was told about the true religion, he told Prophet Moses (pbuh) to meet with his own magicians. When Moses (pbuh) did so, he told them to demonstrate their abilities first. The verses continue:

He said: "You throw." And when they threw, they cast a spell on the people's eyes and caused them to feel great fear of them. They produced an extremely powerful magic. (Surat al-A'raf, 116)

As we have seen, Pharaoh's magicians were able to deceive everyone, apart from Moses (pbuh) and those who believed in him. However, his evidence broke the spell, or "swallowed up what they had forged," as the verse puts it:

We revealed to Moses: "Throw down your staff." And it immediately swallowed up what they had forged. So the Truth took place and what they did was shown to be false. (Surat al-A'raf, 117-118)

As we can see, when people realized that a spell had been cast upon them and that what they saw was just an illusion, Pharaoh's magicians lost all credibility. In the present day too, unless those who, under the influence of a similar spell, believe in these ridiculous claims under their scientific disguise and spend their lives defending them, abandon their superstitious beliefs, they also will be humiliated when the full truth emerges and the spell is broken. In fact, world-renowned British writer and philosopher Malcolm Muggeridge, who was an atheist defending evolution for some 60 years, but who subsequently realized the truth, reveals the position in which the theory of evolution would find itself in the near future in these terms:

I myself am convinced that the theory of evolution, especially the extent to which it's been applied, will be one of the great jokes in the history books in the future. Posterity will marvel that so very flimsy and dubious an hypothesis could be accepted with the incredible credulity that it has.61

That future is not far off: On the contrary, people will soon see that "chance" is not a deity, and will look back on the theory of evolution as the worst deceit and the most terrible spell in the world. That spell is already rapidly beginning to be lifted from the shoulders of people all over the world. Many people who see its true face are wondering with amazement how they could ever have been taken in by it.

They said, "Glory be to You! We have no knowledge except what You have taught us. You are the All-Knowing, the All-Wise." (Surat al-Baqara, 32)

# Notes

1. http://www.angelfire.com/ny5/

dvera/bgoat/essays/What-Is-S.html

2. Yaşar Nuri Öztürk, Kuran Açısından Şeytancılık ("Satanism According to the Qur'an"), p. 54.

3. Aleister Crowley, A Legacy of Satanism,

http://www.gothicpress.freeserve.co.uk/Aleister%20Crowley.htm

4. J. Gordon Melton, Encyclopedia of American Religions, Volume III, Triumph Books, 1991, pp. 141-142 (emphasis added).

5. Blanche Barton, The Church of Satan, Hell's Kitchen Productions, 1991, pp. 79-88.

6. "A Description of Satanism," http://simon.crabtree.com/satanism/modern.html. (emphasis added)

7. Peter H. Gilmore, "Satanism: The Feared Religion," A New Age: Essays on Current Religious Beliefs and Practices, Merrimac Books, 1992 (emphasis added).

8. The Washington Post Magazine, 8 February 1986 (emphasis added)

9. Rick Hall, "Satan Really Wants You," SCREW, No.1, 548, 2 November 1998

10. Roald E. Kristiansen, "Satan in Cyberspace," http://www.love.is/roald/satanism.html (emphasis added)

11. http://www.churchofsatan.com/

Pages/MFInterview.html

12. Peter H. Gilmore, "Satanism: The Feared Religion" (emphasis added)

13. Anton Szandor Lavey, The Satanic Bible, The Nine Satanic Statements 1969, pp. 25-33 (emphasis added)

14. Roald E. Kristiansen, "Satan in Cyberspace"

15. "Satanism: Minor Topics," http://www.dpjs.co.uk/misc.html and "The Traditional Satan," http://www.dpjs.co.uk/thedevil.html

16. Richard Dawkins, "Meet my cousin, the chimpanzee," New Scientist, issue 1876, 05 June 1993, p. 36

17. Stephen Jay Gould, Ever Since Darwin, p.260 (emphasis added)

18. http://braving-the-elements.blogspot.

com/2004_09_01_braving-the-elements_archive.html

19. Roald E. Kristiansen, "Satan in Cyberspace"

20. Burton H. Wolfe, Introduction of The Satanic Bible, San Francisco, 25 December 1976

21. Peter H. Gilmore, "Satanism: The Feared Religion"

22. Ibid.

23. Roald E. Kristiansen, "Satan in Cyberspace"

24. Aleister Crowley, A Legacy of Satanism,

http://www.gothicpress.freeserve.co.uk/Aleister%20Crowley.htm

25. Theodore D. Hall, "The Scientific Background of the Nazi 'Race Purification' Program," http://www.trufax.org/avoid/nazi.html

26. "A Defence of Common Attacks on Satanism," http://www.dpjs.co.uk/counter/fraud.html

27. Micheal Moynihan, Didrik Soderlind, Lords of Chaos, http://www.dpjs.co.uk/modern.html

28. An Interview with Marilyn Manson at the Capitol Ballroom, Washington D.C., 9 November 1995

29. Peter H. Gilmore, "Satanism: The Feared Religion"

30. The Black Book of Communism: Crimes, Terror, Repression

31. Malachi Martin, The Keys of This Blood, p. 200

32. Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh & Henry Lincoln, The Messianic Legacy, Delta Book, p. 146

33. http://apodion.com/vad/article.

php?id=20&aid=142

34. "Stalin Was Right," http://www.geocities.com/satanicreds/stalin-w-right.html

35. Birth of Tragedy, Issue No. 4, November '86 - January '87 (emphasis added)

36. Ibid.

37. Tempo Magazine, 14-20 February 2002, Vol. 7/740

38. http://www.churchofsatan.

com/Pages/Youthletter.html

39. Ibid. (emphasis added)

40. Diyanet Europe, 15 January-15 February, 2002, no 34, p. 33

41. Tempo Magazine, 14-20 February 2002, Vol. 7/740

42. Sidney Fox, Klaus Dose, Molecular Evolution and The Origin of Life, W.H. Freeman and Company, San Francisco, 1972, p. 4.

43. Alexander I. Oparin, Origin of Life, Dover Publications, NewYork, 1936, 1953 (reprint), p. 196.

44. "New Evidence on Evolution of Early Atmosphere and Life", Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, vol 63, November 1982, 1328-1330.

45. Stanley Miller, Molecular Evolution of Life: Current Status of the Prebiotic Synthesis of Small Molecules, 1986, p. 7.

46. Jeffrey Bada, Earth, February 1998, p. 40.

47. Leslie E. Orgel, "The Origin of Life on Earth", Scientific American, vol. 271, October 1994, p. 78.

48. Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, The Modern Library, New York, p. 127.

49. Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species: A Facsimile of the First Edition, Harvard University Press, 1964, p. 184.

50. B. G. Ranganathan, Origins?, Pennsylvania: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1988, p. 7.

51. Darwin, The Origin of Species: A Facsimile of the First Edition, p. 179.

52. Derek A. Ager, "The Nature of the Fossil Record," Proceedings of the British Geological Association, vol. 87, 1976, p. 133.

53. Futuyma, Science on Trial, p. 197.

54. Solly Zuckerman, Beyond the Ivory Tower, Toplinger Publications, New York, 1970, pp. 75-14; Charles E. Oxnard, "The Place of Australopithecines in Human Evolution: Grounds for Doubt," Nature, vol. 258, p. 389.

55. "Could science be brought to an end by scientists' belief that they have final answers or by society's reluctance to pay the bills?" Scientific American, December 1992, p. 20.

56. Alan Walker, Science, vol. 207, 7 March 1980, p. 1103; A. J. Kelso, Physical Antropology, 1st ed., J. B. Lipincott Co., New York, 1970, p. 221; M. D. Leakey, Olduvai Gorge, vol. 3, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1971, p. 272.

57. Jeffrey Kluger, "Not So Extinct After All: The Primitive Homo Erectus May Have Survived Long Enough To Coexist With Modern Humans", Time, 23 December 1996.

58. S. J. Gould, Natural History, vol. 85, 1976, p. 30.

59. Zuckerman, Beyond The Ivory Tower, p. 19.

60. Richard Lewontin, "The Demon-Haunted World," The New York Review of Books, January 9, 1997, p. 28.

61. Malcolm Muggeridge, The End of Christendom, Grand Rapids:Eerdmans, 1980, p. 43.

# Back Cover

This book examines satanism in all its aspects. How can a philosophy that turns violence and horror into a religious ritual and bloodshed into an act of worship be so widespread?

This book shows that the starting point of satanism is opposition to religious morality: Those who support this perversity have been brought up outside the practice of religious morality and been influenced by materialism. In fact, satanism is widespread and has an influence on young people particularly. But it is quite wrong to think that nothing can be done about it.

Indeed, it is quite simple to counter this perversity: The moral teachings of the Qur'an are the only way to rescue people from the grip of satanism. The light of the Qur'an can destroy satanism and, if Allah wills, create a world of enlightenment, love and peace.

When the affair is decided, satan will say, "Allah made you a promise, a promise of truth, and I made you a promise but broke my promise. I had no authority over you, except that I called you and you responded to me. Do not, therefore, blame me but blame yourselves. I cannot come to your aid, nor you to mine. I reject the way you associated me with Allah before **." The wrongdoers will have a painful punishment. (Surah Ibrahim, 22)**

## About the Author

Adnan Oktar, who writes under the pen-name Harun Yahya, was born in Ankara in 1956. He studied arts at Istanbul's Mimar Sinan University, and philosophy at Istanbul University. Since the 1980s, the author has published many books on political, faith-related and scientific issues. Greatly appreciated all around the world, these works have been instrumental in helping many to return their faith in Allah, and, in many others, to gain a deeper insight into their faith. Harun Yahya's books appeal to all kinds of readers, regardless of their age, race, or nationality, for they focus on one objective: to broaden the reader's perspective by encouraging him or her to think about a number of critical issues, such as the existence of Allah and His unity,

and to live by the values He prescribed for them.

