Anti-God Bestseller Sparks Anger in Turkey

By Ethan Cole, Christian Post Reporter Friday, November 30, 2007

International bestseller "The God Delusion" by Oxford biologist Richard Dawkins is sparking anger in religious Turkey, where the publisher of the Turkish edition of the book could face prosecution for insulting believers.

A reader of the anti-God, atheist manifesto complained that the book is an insult to Muslims, Christians, and Jews, said publisher Erol Karaaslan after speaking to the prosecutor on Thursday.

"A Turkish citizen complained, saying that this book was hurtful to members of religions living in Turkey, and wanted the book banned and the publishers punished," Karaaslan told Reuters.

In the book, Dawkins – sometimes called "Darwin's rottweiler" – wrote in one chapter that the custom of assuming children share the religious belief as their parents before they are old enough to think for themselves is "child abuse."

Karaaslan's company, Kuzey Publications, has printed 6,000 copies of the book and is among the some 30 foreign editions of the bestseller.

The prosecutor has not yet press charges but was considering taking action under a law against "stirring hatred among people," Karaaslan said.

He is now preparing a written defense and seeking a lawyer.

Turkey, although officially a secular nation, is still considered highly religious with 99.8 percent of the population being Muslim, and the other 0.2 percent mostly Christians and Jews, according to the CIA World Factbook.

A survey measuring public of acceptance of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution in 34 countries found that Turkey ranked last, just behind the United States, according to Reuters.