The Theory of Evolution in the Ottoman-Arab Lands

Before 1876, which was the year Abdul Hamid II ascended to the throne, no books or articles had ever been written in the Arabic world about Darwin or his theory of evolution. The first time something about Darwin was ever written was in 1882. It should be noted that when the British deep state invaded Egypt in 1881, Al-Azhar University became a haunt of the evolutionists.

Darwin's theory was first mentioned in the Arab world in a series of three articles published in the monthly Arabic magazine al-Muqtataf. This magazine was founded by Yaqub Sarruf and Faris Nimr in Beirut in 1876. All three pieces were penned by Rizq-Allah al-Berbari and ascribed human origins to so-called evolutionary mechanisms. He referred to Lamarck and praised Darwin. Vol. 2 had three more articles written by Bishara Zalzal Efendi on anthropology.

Bishara Zalzal published a 368-page book in Alexandria, Egypt in 1879. This book, which was dedicated in both prose and poetry to Sultan Abdul Hamid II, was entitled Tanwir al-adhhan (The Enlightenment of Minds). In the book, Lord Cromer was praised as "a typical example of the Anglo-Saxon people". Obviously, Zalzal was an evolutionist that had a deep admiration for Abdul Hamid II, British Lord Cromer and the whole Anglo-Saxon people in general.¹²⁰

These supposedly 'scientific' magazines quickly proliferated in Egypt, Lebanon and Syria between 1865 and 1929. The most popular three of the evolutionist magazines were as follows:

Al-Muqtataf (Anthology, Harvest, or Selection) (1876-1952)

Al-Hilal (The Crescent) (1892-1930)

Al-Mashriq (The East) (1898-1930)

The so-called enlightenment movement in the Arabic world called 'al-Nahda' originated in Egypt and possessed largely evolutionist views. Unsurprisingly, its founder, Rifa'a al-Tahtawi, was an evolutionist who deeply admired Britain. Jamal al-Din al-Afghani and Muhammad Abduh were among the leading figures of this movement.

Jamal al-Din al-Afghani was a social Darwinist. He claimed that the Islamic world could progress only if Islamic nations fought each other. Many violent radical organizations were built on this premise and the vicious cycle of violence that continues even today in the Islamic world was based on his Darwinist ideas.

In the meantime, evolutionist Christian Arabs began to spread social Darwinism, which quickly resulted in the popularity of a racist form of nationalism among Arabs. Young Turks were also embracing social Darwinism at the time, and began to pursue the Turkish version of the same racist understanding. These two clashing ideas drove a wedge between Muslims that had lived together peacefully for more than a thousand years, and civil unrest began erupting across the lands of the Empire. Over the next 20 years, the entire empire came crashing down. The social Darwinist indoctrination and propaganda under Abdul Hamid II's administration had taken its toll and tore a vast Empire into pieces.

Darwinism's Fortress: Al-Azhar University

Al-Azhar University in Egypt is an important educational institute. However, there is a lingering British deep state influence, which started when Egypt came under British rule. Some of its famous graduates have been tasked with doing the bidding of the British deep state.

It was Al-Azhar University that helped the theory of evolution make its true entry into the Muslim Arab world. As a matter of fact, it is where evolutionists such as al-Jisr have been taught. Darwinist Lord Cromer made changes in the university and appointed evolutionist Muhammad Abduh as the Grand Mufti of Egypt. A graduate of Al-Azhar, Abduh was one of the first Muslim evolutionists and the founder of the so-called Islamic modernism.

Mohammed Amin al-Husseini, appointed by the British as the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem in 1921, also was a graduate of Al-Azhar, not to mention a fan of Muhammad Abduh. The British deep state set up armed Jewish units while simultaneously supporting radical Palestinian nationalist movements in Palestine. The goal was turning two nations against each other when they had co-existed peacefully for centuries before. On the other hand, Ahmed 'Urabi (known as Ahmad Arabi), who was the leader of the unrest which resulted in the invasion of Egypt by the British, was also a graduate of Al-Azhar. Taqi al-Din al-Nabhani, the founder of the Hizb ut-Tahrir party, was also an Al-Azhar graduate. Furthermore, Omar Abdel-Rahman, who was held responsible for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, also graduated from Al-Azhar University. Most of these people are also evolutionists.

This entire evolutionist group was trained by Evelyn Baring, known as Lord Cromer, who was British controller-general and Consul-General in Egypt between 1878 and 1907. Cromer was a racist and an ardent evolutionist. He was convinced in the superiority of Western societies and claimed that the Islamic world and Egyptian people were inferior, and that those societies could never govern themselves (Turkish- Islamic societies are above such claims). He claimed that all races should be ruled by the supposedly 'superior' races, and maintained that Anglo-Saxons were superior and, just like parents, had to rule the world. Claiming that Western societies should discipline Eastern people, Lord Cromer elaborated why he appointed Muhammad Abduh as the Grand Mufti of Egypt:

They are the natural allies of the European reformer. Egyptian patriots –sua si bona norint– will find in the advancement of the followers of Mohammed Abdu the best hope that they may gradually carry out their programme of creating a truly autonomous Egypt.¹²¹

Today, many of the radical groups that shed blood supposedly in the name of Islam are the products of this creed. The British deep state presents these people, who in truth have nothing to do with Islam and who are indeed diametrically opposed to Islam with their evolutionist and therefore racist views, as the 'main players of radicalism' and plays out its own scenario with the help of these actors. These Darwinist spies, who were raised with the inculcation of the British deep state, are charged with bolstering instability and carrying out terror attacks in countries, all in line with the orders of the deep state.

Evolutionist Views Take a Toll on Ottoman India and Pakistan

It was Syed Ahmad Khan, an Indian Muslim, that introduced the theory of evolution to the Muslims of India and Pakistan. Heavily influenced by Muhammad Abduh, Syed Ahmad Khan was deeply loyal to Britain and was knighted by the British government. Once he explained his thoughts on the British rule as follows:

We are loyal and dedicated to the British government. We don't answer to the Islamic caliphate. Instead of reporting to a distant caliph, we will rather report to the British administrators in our country.¹²²

The Aligarh Muslim University, founded by Syed Ahmad Khan, served as the center of Darwinism in the region and raised many evolutionists - and it had a multitude of Indian and Pakistani politicians among its graduates. This university played a significant role in the systematic spread of Darwinism and set the stage for Pakistan's and India's departure from the Ottoman Caliphate. It also helped introduce certain individuals with an inferiority complex to the British deep state, and created a front in India and Pakistan against the Ottoman Empire.