Üsküdar University is hosting the “VIII. International Congress on Creation in the Light of Science,” organized in collaboration with TÜBİTAK with the main theme of "Holistic Approach to Creation," between October 24-26, 2024.
Congress President Prof. Dr. Hikmet Koçak: “I believe the congress will open new horizons for young people and future scientists.”
Congress Honorary President, Üsküdar University Founding Rector Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan: “We cannot solve the mysteries of the universe with five senses. Neuroquantology attempts to explain what evolutionary theory cannot. That also leads to the belief in tawhid.” Tarhan also pointed out that Allah can be seen not with the physical eye, but with the eye of reason.
Prof. Dr. İsmail Hakkı Aydın: “When a person dies, they physically transition to another dimension.”
Thomas J. Plevyak: “The emotions and information in our lives are too important to be discarded. We believe that human consciousness will be transferred to the afterlife by many individual beings.”
Prof. Dr. Arif Ali Nayed: “All the fine-tuning in the universe indicates that there is a manager, not a coincidence.”
Üsküdar University is hosting the “VIII. International Congress on Creation in the Light of Science,” organized in collaboration with TÜBİTAK with the main theme of "Holistic Approach to Creation," between October 24-26, 2024. The opening of the congress took place at the Ibn Sina Auditorium of Üsküdar University NP Health Campus.
Prof. Dr. Hikmet Koçak: “I believe it will open new horizons for future scientists.”
Speaking at the opening session of the congress, which will continue with simultaneous sessions for 3 days, Congress President and Üsküdar University Vice-Rector Prof. Dr. Hikmet Koçak said, “I believe the congress will open new horizons for young people and future scientists.”
Stating that humanity has been researching when the universe was created and when humans were created, Prof. Dr. Hikmet Koçak said that research has shown there is a creator who created all these.
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan: “Paradigm-shifting ideas will emerge”
Congress Honorary President, Üsküdar University Founding Rector Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, who has participated in all congresses held to date, said in his opening speech titled "Spinoza's Error, The Evolution of Evolution," “Many paradigm-shifting topics will be discussed here, and there will be debates. Paradigm-shifting ideas will emerge.”
Referring to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated, “At the top of this pyramid are self-actualization, self-transcendence, and working for others. Humans are not beings who only think of themselves. They also think of other people. Humans also have spiritual needs. They consider those too. This topic has always been neglected in the past.”
“Creation in the universe falls into place only with Tawhid”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan listed the paths that lead humanity to truth as physical reason, intuitive reason, and semantic reason, saying, “There are 4,300 religions. All these religions claim to be true. One of them must be logical and rational. Rational belief, logical belief, monotheistic belief (Tawhid). Only with Tawhid does creation in the universe fall into place.”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan pointed out that consciousness studies are currently the most confusing for people, and noted that there are studies on death not being the end of human life, stating that the idea of “Death is the end, the finish. Everything ends in this world.” is a scientific misconception.
“We see Allah with the eye of reason, not with the physical eye…”
Emphasizing that Spinoza’s philosophy has changed with today’s scientific approach, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan said, “When we say Spinoza's error, Spinoza deifies nature. He is the person who put forth the idea that 'Nature created, nature is God.' If Spinoza lived in today's world, he would most likely adopt scientific rationalism and rewrite his ideas according to fuzzy logic rules. His admiration for the workings of nature and his search for meaning within its order would be further strengthened by modern science.”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan also referred to the creation of the universe and humanity, saying, “We understand through reasoning that the universe and humanity were created in mathematical balance, in mathematical harmony, and that this can only be by a high will, a high power, an unseen will, by a creator. In other words, our reason tells us; ‘Yes, this can only be a creator.’ We don’t necessarily have to see. We see Allah with methods of reasoning, with the eye of reason. We cannot see with the physical eye.”
“Humans are the only beings who can find Allah”
Referring to the approach, “If bees disappeared, the world would perish in 50 years; if humans disappeared, the world would be much more beautiful in 50 years,” Prof. Dr. Tarhan said, “This means that humans are not a product of this world. They came later. Because abstract thinking, conceptual thinking, symbolic thinking – all these features exist in humans, humans are the only beings who can find Allah.”
Prof. Dr. Tarhan also stated that neuroquantology rejects evolution, and concluded his words by saying, “We cannot solve the mysteries of the universe with five senses. Neuroquantology attempts to explain what evolutionary theory cannot. That also leads to the belief in tawhid.”
Prof. Dr. İsmail Hakkı Aydın: “When a person dies, they physically transition to another dimension”
Prof. Dr. İsmail Hakkı Aydın gave a speech titled "I Started from Stem Cell," pointing out the need to break paradigms, saying, “The paradigm is already broken. Death doesn’t exist. Allah sent us to kill death. Biologically, death is the transition of nucleotides and amino acids into another form. They go into the soil. Even memory now goes into the soil. When a person dies, they physically transition to another dimension. Because we don’t exist anyway. There is no such thing as existence. We are in a state of nothingness.”
“Transfer of Consciousness to the Afterlife…”
Thomas J. Plevyak, who participated in the congress via Zoom from the USA and presented on "Creation and Afterlife Instincts and the Transfer of Consciousness to the Afterlife," stated that billions of people believe in a creation and the continuation of existence after life ends, and that this belief scientifically triggers interest.
Stating that human emotions accumulate in this world over time, Thomas J. Plevyak expressed that some scientific research shows that consciousness is carried over to the other life, and in this context, the continuity of consciousness of all people who have lived in the world is in question.
Referring to studies on the transfer of consciousness to the afterlife conducted with neuroimaging and other technologies, Plevyak said, “The emotions and information in our lives are too important to be discarded. We believe that consciousness will develop in the afterlife and that human consciousness will be transferred to the next life by many individual beings.”
“The Universe as a Field of Divine Sign”
Libyan Islamic scholar Prof. Dr. Arif Ali Nayed also gave a speech titled “The Universe as a Field of Divine Sign.”
Prof. Dr. Arif Ali Nayed pointed out that the world should not be interpreted solely from a scientific perspective, saying, “Ayatology reminds us of the fact that the universe is a grace to us. As Muslims, when we look at the world, we need to see the design and the designer who designed the universe. We need a more spiritual cosmology.”
Referring to the divine order in the universe, Prof. Dr. Arif Ali Nayed said, “All the fine-tuning in the universe indicates that there is a manager, not a coincidence.”
84 presentations to be delivered in 24 sessions during the 3-day congress
With over 100 participants from 5 countries, 84 presentations will be delivered in 24 simultaneous sessions at the Ibn Sina Auditorium and Emir Nebi 3 Hall during the 3-day congress.
Among the presentations to be made at the congress are titles such as Prof. Dr. Muhsin Konuk "Which Evolution", Prof. Dr. Ali Osman Beldüz "Do Orphan Genes Support Evolution?", Prof. Dr. Adem Dölek "Attributing All Creation to Allah According to the Qur'an", Prof. Dr. İbrahim Özdemir "Social Darwinism as the Source of Social Problems", Prof. Dr. Sevim Işık "Matter and Life: Molecular Order and Traces of the Creator", Prof. Dr. Türker Tekin Ergüzel "Nature-Inspired Optimization Algorithms and Neuroscience Applications", Author Adnan Kalkan "Benefits of Including the Creation Model in the National Education Curriculum".
The congress, which is also broadcast live on ÜÜTV and Üsküdar University's official YouTube account, aims to address the topic of creation from a scientific perspective in the fields of natural, social, health, engineering, education sciences, and religious sciences. Scientists and researchers are expected to make significant contributions to the academic world and society at the congress, where important topics such as the criticism of evolutionary theory, artificial intelligence, and creation will be discussed.