Adnan Oktar: Difference between revisions
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* [http://www.harunyahya.com/ Official Harun Yahya site] |
* [http://www.harunyahya.com/ Official Harun Yahya site] |
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* [http://www.cifiaonline.com/harunyahya.htm Correct Islamic Faith International Association (CIFIA)] |
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* [http://www2.truman.edu/~edis/writings/articles/hyahya.html Harun Yahya and Islamic Creationism] |
* [http://www2.truman.edu/~edis/writings/articles/hyahya.html Harun Yahya and Islamic Creationism] |
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* [http://www.richarddawkins.net/videos/3239-updated-richard-dawkins-on-harun-yahya-39-s-atlas-of-creation Richard Dawkins on Harun Yahya's Atlas of Creation] |
* [http://www.richarddawkins.net/videos/3239-updated-richard-dawkins-on-harun-yahya-39-s-atlas-of-creation Richard Dawkins on Harun Yahya's Atlas of Creation] |
Revision as of 09:14, 15 September 2010
Adnan Oktar | |
---|---|
Born | Adnan Oktar February 1956 (age 68) |
Other names | Harun Yahya, Adnan Hoca |
Occupation | Author |
Known for | Islamic creationism, Anti-Zionism, Anti-Masonry, Anti-Buddhism |
Website | www.harunyahya.com |
Adnan Oktar (born Ankara, February 2, 1956), also known by his pen name, Harun Yahya, is a Turkish proponent of Islamic creationism, anti-Zionism,[1] and, more particularly, supports Old Earth creationism.[2][3] Oktar denounces Zionism as racism and Freemasonry, and Darwinism as the source of terrorism.[4] In 2007 he sent out thousands of unsolicited texts advocating Islam and creationism to schools and colleges in several European countries and the USA.[3] Oktar has defended his views by litigation; he is responsible for the blocking of numerous, high-profile Web sites in Turkey.
Oktar runs two organizations: Bilim Araştırma Vakfı ("Science Research Foundation", BAV, established 1990), which promotes creationism and Milli Değerleri Koruma Vakfı ("Foundation to Protect National Values", established 1995), which focuses on "moral issues".[5]
After publication of his book, Judaism and Freemasonry, in 1986 he spent 19 months in jail for promoting a theocratic revolution, despite not being formally charged. [citation needed]. In 2008, he was convicted of creating an illegal organization for personal gain, and he and 17 other members of his organisation were sentenced to three years in prison.
Biography
Born in Ankara in 1956, Adnan Oktar lived there through his high school years. Oktar started his activities in 1979, while he was trying to finish his Interior Design-education at Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts. Three years later, he decided to go on with the philosophy department in Istanbul.[6]
In the early 1980s, he gathered young students around him to share his views of Islam. According to his former mentor, Edip Yüksel, Oktar was attempting to "[mix] mysticism with scientific rhetoric".[7] These students belonged to socially-active and prosperous families of Istanbul.[8] From 1982 to 1984, a group of 20 to 30 was formed.
Following the publication of Judaism and Freemasonry in 1986, Adnan Oktar was arrested and imprisoned for 19 months.[7] According to the New Humanist, Oktar was arrested, charged with promoting a theocratic revolution for which he served 19 months, though he was never formally charged.[9] In a 2007 interview on Al Jazeera, he blamed Freemasons saying it was a "message" for him not to write about them anymore.[10]
In 1990, he founded the Scientific Research Foundation (SRF, or, in Turkish, Bilim Araştırma Vakfı, or BAV), through which he still effectively functions. Oktar founded the Science Research Foundation "to [establish]...peace, tranquility and love",[11] though some media describe the BAV as a "cult-like organization, that jealously guards the secrets of its considerable wealth".[12] Members of the BAV are sometimes referred to as Adnan Hocacılar ("Adherents of Adnan the Hodja") by the public[13]
In 1995, he founded Millî Değerleri Koruma Vakfı (Foundation for Protection of National Values), through which he networks with other traditional Islamist and nationalist organizations and individuals. Adnan built his organizations and by the mid-1990s his "Followers were especially active in the swanky summer resorts along the shore of the Sea of Marmara.[9]
In 2008, Oktar was sentenced by a Turkish court to three years in prison for "creating an illegal organization for personal gain".[14]
Oktar has been diagnosed paranoid schizophrenia in seven different reports issued by different hospitals from 1983 to 1993.[15]
Conspiracy theories
Oktar propagates a number of anti-Zionist and anti-Masonic conspiracy theories, beginning with his 1986 Yahudilik ve Masonluk (Judaism and Freemasonry), following the publication of which he was arrested and imprisoned.[7] According to his self-published biography he was released after 19 months.[16] The book suggests that the principal mission of Jews and Freemasons in Turkey was to erode the spiritual, religious, and moral values of the Turkish people and, thus, make them like animals, as stated in what Oktar refers to as the "Distorted Torah."[8][17] Oktar asserts that "the materialist standpoint, evolution theory, anti-religious and immoral lifestyles were indoctrinated to the society as a whole" by Jews and Freemasons.[8]
Oktar's theory of a global conspiracy of Freemasonry is expounded in his book Global Masonluk (English Global Freemasonry) and on his websites masonluk.net and globalfreemasonry.com. According to Oktar, Freemasonry is "the main architect of the world system based on materialist philosophy, but which keeps that true identity concealed." Otkar claims that the theory of evolution is a Masonic conspiracy initiated by the Rosicrucians.
In 1996, the BAV distributed a book which was originally published the previous year, entitled Soykırım Yalanı (The Holocaust Lie).[18][4] The publication of Soykırım Yalanı sparked much public debate.[19] This book claims that "what is presented as Holocaust is the death of some Jews due to the typhus plague during the war and the famine towards the end of the war caused by the defeat of the Germans."[20] In March 1996, a Turkish painter and intellectual, Bedri Baykam, published a strongly-worded critique of the book in the Ankara daily newspaper Siyah-Beyaz ("Black and White"). A legal suit for slander was brought against him. During the trial in September, Baykam exposed the real author of the book as Adnan Oktar.[19] The suit was withdrawn in March 1997.[21]
After 1998, Oktar stopped his attacks on Judaism, promoting "inter-faith dialogue" instead,[22] calling upon all Muslims to have "a tolerant and friendly attitude toward other religions".[23]
His main target now became Darwinism and Materialism, which he makes out to be Masonic conspiracies responsible for anti-semitism and terrorism.[9][24]
An example of Oktar's inter-faith dialogue is "An Open Letter To The Jewish People", published in the Islamic Times in 2006, where he argues that the Hebrew Bible " "contains references that encourage bloodshed, mass slaughter and ruthlessness" as it "has been altered by individuals for the sake of all kinds of gain".[25]
Creationism
In early 1998, Adnan Oktar and the BAV launched his first campaign against evolution/Darwinism.[9] Thousands of free copies of Adnan Oktar's book, The Evolution Deceit, and the booklets based on this book were distributed throughout Turkey.[26] Oktar regularly runs full-page ads against evolution in daily Turkish newspapers and even ran an ad in the U.S. magazine TIME.[5]
The BAV also spearheaded an effort to attack Turkish academics who taught evolutionary biology.[27] A number of faculty members were harassed, threatened and slandered in fliers that labeled them "Maoists" for teaching evolution. In 1999, six of the professors won a civil court case against the BAV for defamation and were each awarded a large sum of money.[28]
In 2005, Professor Ümit Sayın summed up the effect of the BAV's campaign when he said to The Pitch:[28]
In 1998, I was able to motivate six members of the Turkish Academy of Sciences to speak out against the creationist movement. Today, it's impossible to motivate anyone. They're afraid they'll be attacked by the radical Islamists and the BAV.
In September 2008 Oktar issued a challenge offering "10 trillion Turkish lira to anyone who produces a single intermediate-form fossil demonstrating evolution". He has claimed, "Not one [fossil] belongs to strange-looking creatures in the course of development of the kind supposed by evolutionists." Dr Kevin Padian at the University of California has criticized the notion that such fossils do not exist, stating that Mr. Oktar "does not have any sense of what we know about how things change through time. If he sees a fossil crab, he says, 'It looks just like a regular crab, there's no evolution.'"[29]
Oktar is not only a critic of evolution, but is critical of intelligent design, which he regards as a New Age and Masonic doctrine.[30]
Writings
Oktar has had written for him, by ghostwriters, numerous books under the name Harun Yahya (Harun (Aaron) and Yahya (John)), arguing against evolution. He also asserts that evolution is directly related to the claimed evils of materialism, Nazism, communism, and Buddhism.[31] He also has produced various works on Zionism and Freemasonry, accusing Zionists of racism and arguing that Zionism and Freemasonry have had significant negative effects on world history and politics.
Oktar's books on faith-related topics attempt to communicate the existence and oneness of God according to the Islamic faith, and are written with the main purpose of introducing Islam to those who are strangers to religion. Each of his books on science-related topics stresses his views on the might, sublimity, and majesty of God. These books attempt to display for non-Muslims what Oktar claims to be signs of the existence of God, and the excellence of his creation. A sub-group within this series are the series of "Books Demolishing the Lie of Evolution", a critique of the ideas of Materialism, Evolution, Darwinism, and atheism.
Many of Oktar's books have been made into high-resolution videos which are freely downloadable on the Internet.[32]
Oktar asserts that Buddhism as being a false religion built upon idolatry and falsehood.[31] He calls Buddhist rituals "meaningless" and "empty". He has also charged that intelligent design is a tool of Satan.[33] In the introduction of his book ISLAM and BUDDHISM Oktar argues:
those who are taken into Buddhism are often drawn into a deep pessimism. Even people with a considerable level of education and modern worldview will become individuals who see nothing wrong with begging with their bowls in hand, who believe that in their next lives, human beings may be reborn as mice or cattle, and who expect help from idols carved from stone or cast in bronze. For these people, Buddhism's deviant beliefs inflict serious psychological damage. In countries where Buddhism is widespread, or in regions inhabited by many Buddhist priests, pessimism and gloominess are clearly prominent.[34]
The Atlas of Creation
Oktar published volume 1 of his Yaratılış Atlası (The Atlas of Creation), with Global Publishing, Istanbul, Turkey in October 2006.[35] Volumes 2 and 3 followed in 2007. A dedicated website (yaratilisatlasi.com, English atlasofcreation.com) registered to Global Yayıncılık (Global Publishing), Istanbul, went online also in 2007.
The first volume contains over 800 glossy pages and weighs 12 pounds (5.4 kg). The Turkish original was translated into English, German, Chinese, French, Italian, Urdu, Hindi and Russian. Tens of thousands of copies of the book have been delivered, on an unsolicited basis, to schools, prominent researchers and research institutes throughout Europe and the United States.[3][36] Some of the schools that received copies were in France as well as prominent researchers at Utrecht University, University of Tilburg, University of California, Brown University, University of Colorado, University of Chicago, Brigham Young University, the University of Connecticut, the University of Georgia, Imperial College London, Abertay University and several others.[3][37] When the book was sent to French schools and universities, controversy resulted and the book sparked further concern about Islamic radicalism in France.[3] In 2007, Harper's Magazine contributor Scott Horton reported that 35th U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez had Oktar's Atlas of Creation on a stand at the entrance to his US government office.[38] Gerdien de Jong, of five biologists at Utrecht University who received a copy of the book, has described its reasoning as "absurdly ridiculous".[2]
Blocking of Internet sites
Since 2007 Oktar has successfully had the Turkish government block public access to several websites. In April 2007, Oktar filed a libel lawsuit against the owners of Ekşi Sözlük, a virtual community similar to everything2. The court reviewed the complaint and ordered the service provider to close the site to public access. The site was temporarily suspended so the entry on Oktar could be expunged and locked. Then access to Süper Poligon, a news website, was also restricted following Oktar's complaint.[39] In August 2007, Oktar got a Turkish court to block WordPress.com in all of Turkey. His lawyers argued that blogs on WordPress.com contained libelous material on Oktar and his colleague, which WordPress.com staff was unwilling to remove.[40]
In addition, Edip Yuksel, a Turkish writer who knew Oktar in the 1980s and is now critical of him, had his website banned in Turkey from Oktar's complaints.[41] In addition, Yuksel wrote a Turkish-language book about Oktar called The Cult of the Antichrist, but he has yet to find "a publisher willing to brave Mr. Oktar's lawyers."[41]
On September 19, 2008, a Turkish court banned Internet users in Turkey from viewing the official Richard Dawkins Web site after Oktar claimed its contents were defamatory, blasphemous and insulting religion, arguing that his personality was violated by this site.[42][43][44][45][46] One week later a complaint by Oktar led to the banning of the internet site of the Union of Education and Scientific Workers (Türk Eğitim Sen).[47][48] This was followed by a block of the country's third-biggest newspaper site, Vatan, in October.[49][50][51][52][53]
Legal issues, arrest, trial, and sentencing
Over the last twenty years Oktar has had several problems with law enforcement. In 1991, Oktar was arrested for possession of cocaine, which he claimed security agents planted in his food.[41] He was later acquitted.[41] In September 1999 Adnan Oktar was arrested following multiple scandals and further allegations that were fully covered by the Turkish media.[28] In that court case, Oktar was charged with using threats for personal benefit and creating an organization with the intent to commit a crime.[54] The judicial process lasted over two years, during which most of the complainants retracted their claims, reportedly because of threats or bribes from BAV members. As a result, cases against Oktar and other BAV members were dismissed, with only two members receiving jail sentences for 1 year each.[27]
A 2008 indictment from the prosecutor’s office, cited by the daily Cumhuriyet, said Oktar's organisation used its female members to attract young scholars from rich families with the promise of sex in exchange for attending events.[55] The sexual activities were videotaped with the purpose of blackmail, and the group recorded thousands of people in compromising positions.[9] According to the indictment, one of the women had to perform oral sex with 16 men, which was recorded with hidden cameras and the tapes were given to Oktar.[55] The women who want to leave the group are threatened that the tapes will be made public.[55]
Amidst ambiguous circumstances, all charges were dropped by that court, only to be picked up by another court eight years later. In 2008 Oktar was convicted of creating an illegal organization for personal gain, and he and 17 other members of his organisation were sentenced to three years in prison.[46][54][54][56] though a BAV spokeswoman claimed that the judge was pressured by special-interest groups.[54] Oktar also denies the charges and is appealing the verdict.[57][58]
Bibliography
Oktar's books and brochures appear in Turkish with "Vural Yayıncılık" ("Global Publishing"), Istanbul. English translations of Oktar's books appear with "Ta-Ha Publishers", London, UK; "Global Publishing", Istanbul, Turkey; "Al-Attique Publishers", Ontario, Canada and "Goodword Books", New Delhi, India. The total number of books and brochures published by Oktar number in the hundreds.[59]
- 1986, Yahudilik ve Masonluk (Judaism and Freemasonry)
- 1995 Soykırım Yalanı (The Holocaust Lie)
- 1996, A Chain of Miracles
- 1996, The Miracle in the Atom
- 1999, The Evolution Deceit
- 2000, Allah is Known Through Reason
- 2000, Miracle in the Ant
- 2000, Allah is Known Through Reason
- 2000, Allah's Artistry in Colour
- 2000, The Creation Of The Universe
- 2001, The Disasters Darwinism Brought to Humanity
- 2002, Global Freemasonry
- 2002 The Glory in the Heavens
- 2002, The Design in Nature
- 2002, The Alliance of the Good '
- 2002, The World of Animals (Children, Have You Ever Thought?)
- 2002, Before You Regret
- 2002, Fascism The Bloody Ideology of Darwinism
- 2002, Islam Denounces Terrorism
- 2002, Romanticism: A Weapon of Satan
- 2003, Wonderful Creatures: Children! Have You Ever Thought? 3
- 2003, 24 Hours in the Life of a Muslim
- 2003, The Courage Of The Faithful
- 2003, A Definitive Reply to Evolutionist Propaganda
- 2003, The Errors the American National Academy of Sciences
- 2003, Why Darwinism Is Incompatible with the Quran
- 2004, Signs of the Last Day
- 2004, The Muslim Way of Speaking
- 2004, Passivity in Religion
- 2004, The Signs of Jesus' Second Coming
- 2004, Answers from the Quran: For Newcomers to Islam
- 2004, Communist China's Policy of Oppression in East Turkestan '
- 2006, Atlas Of Creation (Volume 1)
- 2007, Biomimetics: Technology Imitates Nature
- 2007, Miracle in the Eye
- 2007, Allahs Miracles in the Quran
- 2007, Atlas of Creation Volume 2
- 2007, Atlas of Creation Volume 3
- 2007, Consciousness in the Cell
- 2007, Global Impact of the Works of Harun Yahya
- 2009, Miracles of The Qur'an
References
- ^ Seeing the light - of science Salon.com
- ^ a b Enserink, Martin (2007). "FAITH AND SCIENCE: In Europe's Mailbag: A Glossy Attack on Evolution". Science. 315 (5814): 925a. doi:10.1126/science.315.5814.925a. PMID 17303725.
- ^ a b c d e Dean, Cornelia (2007-07-17). "Islamic Creationist and a Book Sent Round the World". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-07-17.
- ^ a b Steinvorth, Daniel (2008-09-23). "'All Terrorists Are Darwinists': Interview with Adnan Oktar". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 2008-11-13.
- ^ a b Songün, Sevim (February 27, 2009). "Turkey evolves as creationist center". Hurriyet Daily News. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
- ^ Harun Yahya - The Author
- ^ a b c Harun Yahya or Adnan Oktar: the Promised Mahdi? by Edip Yüksel
- ^ a b c LIFE STORY OF ADNAN OKTAR Jamiatul Ulama, Ask the Jamiat
- ^ a b c d e "Sex, Flies and Videotapes: the secret lives of Harun Yahya". New Humanist. October 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
- ^ "Interview with Harun Yahya". Al Jazeera. AUGUST 6, 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
{{cite news}}
: Check date values in:|year=
(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ About the SRF
- ^ Birch, Nicholas (2007-05-24) TURKEY: SCIENTISTS FACE OFF AGAINST CREATIONISTS
- ^ Which Justice? "Adnan Oktar, who is the head of the group known as Adnan Hocacýlar stays in Kartal prison which has very comfortable wards..."
- ^ ""Harun Yahya" sentenced to prison". National Center for Science Education. 2008-05-09. Retrieved 2008-05-17.
- ^ Sabah, Adnan Hoca'nın deliliği tescillendi (20 November 1999).
- ^ Harun Yahya – The Author harunyahya.com
- ^ PALESTINE ZIONISM: A SECULAR NATIONALISM THAT BETRAYED JUDAISM, Harun Yaha, An Invitation to the Truth
- ^ Harun Yahya and Holocaust Revisionism
- ^ a b AXT 1996 report on antisemitism in Turkey
- ^ Shooting the Messenger. The Guardian, August 20, 2007.
- ^ AXT 1998 report on antisemitism in Turkey
- ^ In 2004, the Stephen Roth Institute, of Tel-Aviv University, expressed the opinion that Adnan Oktar had increased his tolerance toward others, asserting that "he now works towards promoting inter-religious dialogue".Stephen Roth Institute: Antisemitism And Racism
- ^ Antisemitism Is Racism Totally Contrary to Islam, Harun Yahya
- ^ Islam Denounces Antisemitism .com
- ^ Islamic Times - An Open Letter To The Jewish People
- ^ "Cloning Creationism in Turkey". National Center for Science Education. RNCSE 19 (6): 30–35. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
{{cite news}}
: Check date values in:|year=
(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ a b Koenig, Robert (18 May 2001). "Creationism Takes Root Where Europe, Asia Meet". Science. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
- ^ a b c Ortega, Tony. Your OFFICIAL program to the Scopes II Kansas Monkey Trial, The Pitch, May 5, 2005.
- ^ Green, Toby (29 September 2008). "Creationist offers prize for fossil proof of evolution". London: The Independent. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
- ^ Yahya, Harun (2008). "INTELLIGENT DESIGN: A NEW AGE THEORY". harunyahya.com. Retrieved 2009-05-28.
{{cite news}}
: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=
(help) - ^ a b ISLAM and BUDDHISM, Harun Yahya
- ^ Movies, Harun Yahya.
- ^ The "Intelligent Design" Distraction, Harun Yahya, Harun Yahya International © 2007
- ^ Harun Yahya, ISLAM and BUDDHISM
- ^ "ATLAS OF CREATION".
- ^ "In the beginning". The Economist. 2007-04-19. Retrieved 2007-04-28.
{{cite news}}
: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=
(help) - ^ "Controversial creationist book hits Scots universities: Academics fear the book could also end up in schools". Sunday Herald. December 10, 2008. Retrieved 2007-04-28.
{{cite news}}
: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=
(help) - ^ New Theory Uncovered in Commerce Secretary Gutierrez’s waiting room: Darwin behind 9/11
- ^ IFEX Alert
- ^ Eteraz, Ali (2007-08-20). "Shooting the messenger". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2008-11-13.
{{cite news}}
:|section=
ignored (help) - ^ a b c d Higgins, Andrew (Msrch 17, 2009). "An Islamic Creationist Stirs a New Kind of Darwinian Struggle". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 30 March 2009.
{{cite news}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ Hooper, Rowan (2008-09-19). "Turkey bans evolutionist's website". New Scientist Blogs. Retrieved 2008-09-20.
- ^ Butt, Riazat (2008-09-19). "Missing link: creationist campaigner has Richard Dawkins' official website banned in Turkey". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2008-09-20.
- ^ Staff writer (2008-09-17). "Evolutionist Dawkins' Internet Site Banned In Turkey". Bianet. Retrieved 2008-09-20.
- ^ Arpa, Yasemin (2008-09-17). "Evrimci yazarın sitesini Adnan Oktar kapattırdı". NTV-MSNBC (in Turkish). Retrieved 2008-09-20.
- ^ a b Ozimek, John (2008-09-22). "The Turkish court bans Dawkins' website". The Register. Retrieved 2008-09-22.
- ^ Creationist Adnan Oktar Manages To Shut Down Another Internet Site
- ^ Cached version of the criticized article
- ^ "Vatan'ın internet sitesine sansür". Radikal (in Turkish). 2008-10-15. Retrieved 2008-10-15.
Her gün 1.5 milyondan fazla ziyaret alan, Türkiye'nin en büyük 3 gazete sitesinden biri olan gazetevatan.com...
{{cite news}}
:|section=
ignored (help) - ^ "Turkish newspaper website blocked after creationist's complaint". The Guardian. London. 16 October 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-15.
A court ruled that Turkish web users should be denied access to the Vatan site after deciding it had insulted Adnan Oktar, a prolific writer who has disputed the theory of evolution.
- ^ Hooper, Rowan (2008-09-19). "Turkey bans evolutionist's website". New Scientist Blogs. Retrieved 2008-09-20.
- ^ Staff writer (2008-09-17). "Evolutionist Dawkins' Internet Site Banned In Turkey". Bianet. Retrieved 2008-09-20.
- ^ Arpa, Yasemin (2008-09-17). "Evrimci yazarın sitesini Adnan Oktar kapattırdı". NTV-MSNBC (in Turkish). Retrieved 2008-09-20.
- ^ a b c d Grove, Thomas (2008-05-09). "Turkish Islamic author given 3-year jail sentence". Reuters. Retrieved 2008-05-09.
- ^ a b c Tres años de cárcel para el autor del polémico 'Atlas de la creación', El Periodico Template:Es
- ^ "Polislerin "Harun Yahya" yargılaması sürüyor". Cumhuriyet. September 10, 2008. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
- ^ "Muslim creationist preaches Islam and awaits Christ". Reuters. 2008-06-19. Retrieved 2009-08-05.
- ^ Ortega, Tony (June 20, 2008). "Muslim creationist preaches Islam, awaits Christ". Christianity Today. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
- ^ harunhaya.net as of May 2010 lists 274 items in Turkish (dated October 1991 to January 2010), 197 items in English, or 771 items counting all languages.