Page 390 - A Call for a Turkish-Islamic Union

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before Darwin, living creatures passed on the traits they ac-
quired during their lifetime to the next generation. He asserted
that these traits, which accumulated from one generation to an-
other, caused new species to be formed. For instance, he claimed
that giraffes evolved from antelopes; as they struggled to eat the
leaves of high trees, their necks were extended from generation
to generation.
Darwin also gave simi-
lar examples. In his book
The Origin of Species, for in-
stance, he said that some
bears going into water to
find food transformed
themselves into whales over
time. 80
However, the laws of
inheritance discovered by
Gregor Mendel (1822-84)
and verified by the science

Lamarck believed that giraffes evolved
from such animals as antelopes. In his
view, the necks of these grass-eating ani-
mals gradually grew longer, and they
eventually turned into giraffes. The laws of
inheritance discovered by Mendel in 1865
proved that it was impossible for properties
acquired during life to be handed on to
subsequent generations. Lamarck's giraffe
fairy tale was thus consigned to the waste-
bin of history.

A CALL FOR A TURKISH-ISLAMIC UNION