'Islamic bike' proposed by Turkish scholars

ISTANBUL

An employee of company Zuri poses behind a bicycle made of bamboo at the bicycle trade fair Ipso Bike in Munich, Germany, 16 August 2012.

It is possible to build an "Islamic bicycle" if it is constructed with the intention of serving God's grace, Professor Alparslan Açıkgenç has said.Açıkgenç put forward the idea of an Islamic bicycle during a meeting titled, "Technology, Civilization and Values" held at Istanbul's Yıldız Technical University last week, broadcaster NTV reported on its website.Açıkgenç, the director of the social sciences institute at Yıldız, said an Islamic bicycle could be produced if God's grace was born in mind and the bicycle was constructed to do good for humans.Professor Türkay Dereli from Gaziantep Unviersity said "a bicycle which was coated with paint harmful to humans could not be Islamic," while Professor Bedri Gencer said "any technology that tampered with humans' nature was un-Islamic." "For instance carpets made of nylon materials charge especially children with negative electricity and make them irritable. This can cause chronic illnesses at later ages," he said.The meeting's attendants also discussed the conditions required for a technology to be deemed "Islamic" during the gathering.Kemal Özer, the chairman of the Food Initiative Association, said genetically modified organisms (GMO) made humans sterile. "Research shows 95 out of 100 people will not be able to reproduce naturally by the year 2050. A powerful technology aimed at sterilizing mankind is spreading around the world, it is the reason why 35 percent of couples who want to have children in Turkey are undergoing fertility treatment currently," he said. "Can a technology that aims to exterminate the human race be Islamic?"