All Kinds of Glass

Grape Design

The "intelligent Design" Distraction

In the United States in the second half of the 1980s, a theory known as "intelligent design" was launched against the theory of evolution, maintaining that all living things came into being not by chance--as Darwinism maintains--but as the result of an "intelligent design."

However, the proponents of this movement do not openly state that it is Allah, the Lord of the worlds, Who created all living things.

In describing the concept, Michael Behe, one of its most prominent advocates, says, "The theory of intelligent design is not a religiously based idea, even though devout people opposed to the teaching of evolution cite it in their arguments…" (See "Design for Living," New York Times, February 7, 2005.)

No Muslim Would Ever Say, "There Is Intelligent Design" Instead of "Allah Created"!

There are also proponents of the theory of "intelligent design" in Turkey. Notably, however, in defending this theory, they seek to imitate the style employed by their Western counterparts, and are careful to avoid any reference to the name of Allah.

Instead of saying, "Allah created the entire universe and everything in it, living and non-living" in their accounts, they resort to vague expressions along the lines of "There is an intelligent design in the universe"--creating the impression that they deliberately avoid mentioning the name of Allah.

Of course, there is nothing strange in non-Muslims, atheists, or some philosophers employing such a style.

However, it is unacceptable for anyone who claims to be a Muslim to constantly avoid saying, "Allah created" and instead using terms such as "A power created…" or "the work of intelligent design." That is an approach no Muslim can adopt, because it means, "I do not wish to say 'Allah', I mean 'There is a power, and there is an intelligent design'." And nothing in that is compatible with Islam and the Qur'an.

Avoiding saying "Allah created all things," and "Everything came into being with Allah, the Lord of the worlds, saying 'Be!'," and merely referring to "an intelligent design in the universe" can only be the product of a mindset that lacks true faith in the existence of Allah.

Even children at primary school know that it is Allah, and not "intelligent design," Who created the sky, gazelles, fish, lambs, apples, bananas, grapes and oranges.

Who Else, Apart from Allah, Could Expressions Like "Intelligent Design" and "An Intelligent Power" Refer To?

To put forward any claim of "intelligent design," while ignoring the existence of Allah (He is surely beyond that) is exceedingly irrational and illogical.

After a moment's reflection, anyone of normal intelligence and possessed of a conscience will understand that if the perfection in the universe appears to have been designed, then the Creator of that perfection can be none other than Allah.

He will see that all entities in the universe, living or otherwise, are manifestations of Allah's infinite wisdom, knowledge, might, and creative artistry.

In consequence, he will say, "Allah exists; Allah created" rather than "There is intelligent design," or "There exists an intelligent power."

As we know, the pagans in pre-Islamic Mecca attached the names of Allah to statues they carved out of stone and wood and took these as their idols.

They maintained that these idols--to which they attached such names as al-Lat, Manat and al-'Uzza--had created them, had provided for them and had power to protect them. In short, they ascribed partners to Allah by ascribing His attributes to them.

Today, similarly, some people are trying to turn others away from a belief in Allah by imposing His superior attributes onto such abstract concepts as "intelligent design" and "intelligent power." This is virtually the same as adopting an idol by the name of Intelligent Design.

The Qur'an tells us the following about this attitude of the pagans:

They are nothing but names which you yourselves have given, you and your forefathers. Allah has sent down no authority for them. They are following nothing but conjecture and what their own selves desire. And that when guidance has reached them from their Lord! (Qur'an, 53:23)

Freemasons, using the same logic, maintain in their writings that a "total power" or "a consciousness" directs the universe, but what they are referring to is definitely not Allah (Allah forbid).

Obviously, the "intelligent design" adherents are employing exactly the same logic as that to be found in Masonic accounts.

Allah Does Not Need to Make a Design in Order to Create

It must be appreciated that Allah, the Lord of the heavens and Earth, has no need of making a design in order to create. Allah is free of all such imperfections.

The perfection in Allah's creations may be expressed in such terms as "a perfection as if designed," but that is all.

It is sufficient for Allah to say "Be!" in order for any object or event to come into being as He wishes.

In verses it is revealed that:

His command when He desires a thing is just to say to it, "Be!" and it is. (Qur'an, 36:82)

[He is] the Originator of the heavens and Earth. When He decides on something, He just says to it, "Be!" and it is. (Qur'an, 2:117)

"Intelligent Design" Accounts Could Harm Individuals Sincerely Inclined toward Religion

Now, in the 21st century, the whole world is swiftly abandoning materialist and atheist views.

With every passing day, it becomes better understood that the theory of evolution is unscientific, irrational, and invalid; and there is a trend toward a sincere belief in Allah.

One of the most dramatic examples of this is Anthony Flew, the famous scientist who devoted his whole life to espousing atheism. In an interview he gave a few months ago, Flew announced that he had abandoned atheism and now believed in Allah.

In a similar way, many scientists, artists, and politicians have also declared their interest in and curiosity about the Qur'an.

That being so, clearly terms like "intelligent design," which lack sincerity and Islamic awareness, could have a negative effect on people with a sincere tendency to belief. Veiled and vague accounts of this kind may lead those with religious tendency to fall into doubt and inconsistency, confusion and mental turmoil.

"Intelligent Design" Is Another of Satan's Distractions

In rejecting one false claim such as evolution, one must be very careful not to fall prey to another of Satan's snares. One of Satan's main objectives is to prevent the recognition of Allah by any means possible, and to cause people to ignore His remembrance.

There are those whom Satan has not been able to deceive with the concept of evolution. But if he can divert them in another direction, such as that of "intelligent design" he will again have achieved his end, in turning people away from remembering Allah.

How Satan manages to appear in the name of truth and causes people to deviate by obstructing truth is revealed in the Qur'an:

He [Satan] said: "By Your misguidance of me, I will lie in ambush for them on your straight path. Then I will come at them, from in front of them and behind them, from their right and from their left. You will not find most of them thankful." (Qur'an, 7:16-17)

It should be known that overturning the theory of evolution and revealing the "chance" mindset as invalid both demonstrate the existence of Allah, by Whom everything was created, and not of "intelligent design."

To say, "If there is no evolution, then there is intelligent design" is nothing less than adopting yet another false idol to replace the one of evolution.

What Befits A Muslim Is to Adopt the Path of the Prophets and Messengers as Given in the Qur'an

Muslims are not obliged to follow this scientist or that scientific movement, but of the prophets and messengers whom the Qur'an cites as role models, and to follow the pattern of these blessed individuals.

When communicating their messages, the prophets in all ages have employed a very clear, distinct, decisive and comprehensible style. All made perfectly clear their message concerning the existence and oneness of Allah, that there is no god but Allah, and that He created all things; and they called on people to serve only Him. While preaching that message, none of them refrained from repeating the name of Allah courageously and openly.

Some of the verses describing these characteristics of the prophets are as follows:

We sent Nuh to his people and he said: "My people, worship Allah. You have no god other than Him. So will you not guard against evil?" (Qur'an, 23:23)

And Ibrahim, when he said to his people: "Worship Allah and have fear [and respect] of Him. That is better for you if you only knew." (Qur'an, 29:16)

[Yusuf said:] "My fellow-prisoners, are many lords better, or Allah, the only One, the Conqueror? What you serve apart from Him are only names which you and your forefathers have made up. There is no mandate for them from Allah. Allah alone is qualified to judge. His order is to worship none but Him. That is in truth the straight and upright religion, but most of mankind simply do not know." (Qur'an, 12:39-40)

When their brother Lut said to them: "Will you not guard against evil? I am a faithful messenger to you. So have fear [and respect] of Allah and obey me." (Qur'an, 26:161-163)

And to Madyan We sent their brother Shu'ayb who said: "My people, worship Allah! You have no other god than Him…" (Qur'an, 7:85)

['Isa said:] "Allah is my Lord and your Lord so worship Him. This is a straight path." (Qur'an, 43:64)

As we have seen, none of the prophets cited in the Qur'an even hinted at such concepts as "intelligent designer." Each of them clearly declared the commandment of Allah by calling on His Exalted name.

It is incumbent upon all Muslims who adopt the way of the Qur'an and our beloved Prophet Muhammad (saas) to adopt the prophets as their guide and their superior moral values, exemplary attitudes and style as their model.

Under the pen name of Harun Yahya, Adnan Oktar has written some 250 works. His books contain a total of 46,000 pages and 31,500 illustrations. Of these books, 7,000 pages and 6,000 illustrations deal with the collapse of the Theory of Evolution. You can read, free of charge, all the books Adnan Oktar has written under the pen name Harun Yahya on these websites www.harunyahya.com

About the Author

ABOUT THE AUTHOR, HARUN YAHYA
Born in Ankara in 1956, Adnan Oktar writes his books under the pen name of Harun Yahya. Ever since his university years, he has dedicated his life to telling of the existence and oneness of Almighty Allah, and to disseminating the moral values of the Qur'an. He has never wavered in the face of difficulties and despite oppression, still continues this intellectual struggle today exhibiting great patience and determination. For mor information pls visit: http://www.harunyahya.com/theauthor.php

Business Website Design Preparation and Planning

A website is an international advertisement, therefore business website design preparation and planning requires a combination of many skills: business acumen, visualization, advertising knowledge, creativity, technical know how, etc. Hoping to be excused by critics, I would dare to compare the entire website design process with “wine making” which involves planning, collecting the choicest grapes, fermenting, maturing, bottling, advertising and selling the product. The inner satisfaction felt by a wine maker when he watches the wine mature before his eyes is similar to the pleasure felt by a web designer when he observes his project evolve.

"Preparation is half the game" in almost every area of life and thoroughly planning a website design is absolutely critical for its success. Having been in the industry for several years, often I have found that web designers spend some time seeing competitor websites & template concepts and then immediately start making the home page. This is a frivolous, merely presentational approach that does not show the web architect in a good light. In this article we will study some important steps of website design preparation and planning that can result in an international standard, user-oriented business website.

1. (Warren Buffett time) The CEO perspective: Read the information / material of the company and interact with their CEO / marketing head to acquire an understanding of their business and website design requirements. Create what I call a “CEO sheet” and note down the information they give you. What does the company want to achieve through the website? Which products, services or ideas do they want to highlight? What about the company’s brand image and customer focus? Naturally a CEO would think about business, more business, yet more business. While understanding the company’s business perspective do not forget the customers who allow the business to exist. Your website design planning should focus on building an enduring enterprise through the website, not just rapid fortune.

2. (David Ogilvy time) The Advertising perspective: Mental gymnastics is not effortless but if you have a strong imagination you will be able to comprehend many focus areas of the company’s advertising department. If possible, meet the Advertising Head. If the company does not have a dedicated PR / advertising department try changing the questions in the CEO sheet from “what/which” category to “how”? Think HOW you can use the website design to increase awareness of most important products, how to create a good reputation, how to improve customer perception etc.? Get information or think up punch lines that hit the customer, banners that catch the eye, special offers etc. Write down all of this on the second website design preparation sheet - “Advertising Objectives Sheet”.

3. (Chanakya Strategy Time) R & D: Before any website design concepts begin to take shape in your mind, it is time to do thorough research. Analyze (not view) design and functionality of competitor websites to assess their weaknesses and strengths. Look at the navigation, organization, performance, customer impact etc. and record what they are doing well and how you can do it better. For noting these points, I suggest that you create your third website design planning sheet titled “Competition Analysis”. Create a table with features as rows and competitor names as headings. Then write down your views about each feature in the relevant boxes.

4. (Srinivasa Ramanujan style) Dream time: By now your should have some idea about the business objectives and advertising strategies that your website design will incorporate. You also know what your website is going to be competing against. To avoid “analysis paralysis”, take a short mental break and indulge in daydreaming. This is the special prerogative of website designers – being paid to day dream on the job Allow what you have done so far to draw a rough image of the website in your mind. Imagination is the true measure of intellect. Dream languidly or even fantasize about your website design till you begin to feel the excitement that indicates you are getting close to completing your website design preparation. Compare your dream image with hard business facts and mould the website design mentally.

5. (Common Man Time) Be thy customer: This is perhaps the single most important factor in website design preparation and planning. Customers’ website experiences not only affect brand satisfaction but also directly translates into sales. Imagine that you visit the website that you have mentally visualized. Would you feel at home with its colors, usability, functionality, personalization, level of detail, aesthetics, speed and security?

6. Leonardo Da Vinci Time: Mental refinements can only go so far. It is time now to amalgamate the mental imagery more concretely with our website design planning sheets. I have frequently stressed upon website designers to first draw their concepts on paper with colored pencils before starting their favorite editing software. It allows free expression without constraining your ideas to tool limitations. Draw, redraw and refine your concept. Refer to the CEO, Advertising and Competitive Analysis sheets frequently. Stop only when you are satisfied that all the mental exercise you have done in the above steps is well reflected in your drawing. Now consider the web designing tools that you will need yourself and consult with your web programming team regarding scripts, databases and other technical requirements of the website. I strongly suggest expanding knowledge of tools or finding alternate methods rather than completely distorting your drawn concept due to software limitations. If you try hard enough the solution will present itself.

7. (Sherlock Holmes Time) Resign: Sherlock himself did play the violin at strange hours and was acutely aware of the power of detachment. A well-rested free mind is a potent weapon. Let go of all thoughts related to website designing for a while and do something else. After a short total break begin designing your website.

Names of some famous people have been mentioned above for a reason. The more astute website designer can read about them in free time or on a holiday to acquire insights into requisite perspectives.

Talent fuels passion. Many would be inclined to think that after spending so much time and energy on website design preparation and planning, would one have enough left for implementing the same. Strange are the neuron pathways. The conscious and sub conscious are both far more powerful than we comprehend. You will pleasantly surprise yourself when occasionally the entire website design planning takes a few hours. One last word: Remember to savor and cherish your creation when it is complete.

About the Author

Article written by Rajiv Kakar of Centaurhosting.com (Website Design Company India) actively engaged in SEO Services, Web Designing and Web Hosting. He recommends visiting their Web designing Delhi Studio for more information on website design processes.