Latest news with #NoahsArk
Times
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Times
Third Islamic centre in Glasgow linked to Iranian regime
Iran's 'malevolent' presence in Scotland must be investigated after a third Islamic centre was linked to the Tehran regime, senior politicians have claimed. The Ark, a Muslim media, charity and enterprise hub in Govanhill, Glasgow, was used as an electoral base by the Islamic Republic of Iran during its most recent presidential elections, it has emerged. The venue, which also houses the Muslim Council of Scotland — an umbrella organisation that advises the Scottish government — was twice used as an official polling station last summer. The revelation comes after The Sunday Times revealed last week that the Ahl al-Bait Society Scotland, which has received more than £400,000 in public funding, held a memorial vigil for Ebrahim Raisi, Iran's hardline president who ordered the execution of thousands of political dissidents. Previously we disclosed that the Al-Mahdi Islamic Centre, also based in Glasgow and the recipient of government grants worth more than £370,000, displayed the country's flag alongside images of Ayatollah Khomeini, who issued a death sentence on the British author Salman Rushdie. The Ark, run by a registered charity called Noah's Ark, insists that it seeks to be an 'ethical and independent organisation', and claims it is dedicated to 'inclusion' and nurturing 'positive change'. • Iran security risk to the UK now equal to that of Russia However, it agreed to collaborate with a regime that, according to Amnesty International, executed almost 1,000 people last year alone, including political prisoners and individuals arrested when they were children. Iran has also sentenced more than 6,000 citizens to death for being gay or lesbian since the 1979 revolution, which transformed the country into an authoritarian theocracy. 'It is deeply concerning to learn of yet another organisation in Scotland's largest city being linked to the Iranian regime which stands against our precious values of freedom and democracy, while being the world's largest state-sponsor of terrorism,' Russell Findlay, the Scottish Conservative leader, said. 'Going forward, not a single penny of taxpayers' money should find its way into these entities, and every effort should be made to expose and end their malevolent activities.' The Sunday Times has seen correspondence issued by the Iranian embassy in London which confirmed that The Ark served as its only Scottish polling station during the presidential election and run-off last June and July. It also shared images of individuals queueing up to vote in the venue's main hall which was decorated with Iranian flags. 'The process of collecting votes for compatriots has begun at the Glasgow branch,' the embassy stated on a Persian language social media channel. The Ark is based in Nicola Sturgeon's Glasgow Southside constituency. A spokeswoman for the former first minister said that she 'unequivocally condemns the continued repression, brutality, and systemic human rights abuses perpetrated by the regime in Tehran'. Andrew Bowie, a Conservative MP and shadow Scotland secretary, has also called for organisations linked to Tehran to be investigated, stating: 'I would expect a robust response from the UK government and security services, along with the authorities in Scotland.' Earlier this month, Westminster's intelligence and security committee warned that 'cultural and educational centres supported by Iran had been used to promote violent and extremist ideology'. A spokeswoman for the cross-party committee said: 'We encourage the intelligence community and wider government not to underestimate the potential espionage and interference threat that Iranian state-linked institutions pose. 'Whilst we are reassured that the Home Office is now investigating the threat posed by Iranian-aligned cultural groups, it is important that this is followed up with specific and timely action to ensure any threat from radicalisation, promotion of extremist material and intimidation of UK-based students and diaspora is addressed.' It is not clear if The Ark received payment from the Iranian state for the use of its premises or whether it granted access for free. The Muslim Council of Scotland insisted it was unaware that Iran had twice used the premises where it is based. 'The council is only a renter in a small, shared office space,' a spokesman said. 'We are not aware of the use of the rest of the building spaces, offices, meeting rooms or hall.' During the 2021 presidential election, Iran used the Al-Mahdi Islamic Centre, situated close to The Ark in the southside of Glasgow, as a polling station. Neither The Ark, Al-Mahdi, nor the Ahl al-Bait Society Scotland responded to requests for comment. The Home Office stressed it did not comment on individual organisations but said: 'We consider any organisation or activity that seeks to undermine our democratic society as unacceptable and work closely with a range of partners to ensure the safety and security of communities in the UK.' The Iranian embassy in London, which also operated polling stations in the city as well as Manchester, Newcastle, Birmingham and Cardiff, said: 'The suggestion that Iran engages in, or supports, acts of physical violence, espionage or cyber-aggression on British soil, or against British interests abroad, is wholly rejected. 'Such accusations are not only defamatory but also dangerous, fuelling unnecessary tensions and undermining diplomatic norms.'
Daily Mail
11-07-2025
- Daily Mail
A mother's terrifying premonition... and the riddle of the Bible-obsessed Scots adventurer who went in search of Noah's Ark and was never seen again
When she stares out of her living room window, frail pensioner Maggie Jean Mackenzie rarely takes in the old, weathered landscape and low-rise townscape beyond her Hebridean home. Her mind's eye drifts instead, as it has for so long, to a far-off place of eternal wonder – a mythical mountain picked out in tourist brochures against skies of purest blue or sunsets of sherbet orange. When Mrs Mackenzie returns day after day to the snow-capped slopes of Mount Ararat in Turkey, however, it is not to cherish treasured holiday memories but to pick through her troubled thoughts in search of answers. It is here, 15 years ago, that her beloved son Donald vanished as he pursued an obsessive search to identify the last resting place of Noah's Ark. Alongside the allure of the Holy Grail, the quest for Noah's Ark ranks as the great chimera in the history of religion. The Genesis story, shared by Judaism, Christianity and Islam, has it that God, angry at human wickedness, flooded the earth. He saved just Noah and his family, along with all living species, by advising him to build a survival ark. According to the story, when the waters subsided, Noah's ark came to rest somewhere on the vast expanse of Mount Ararat. It has long been assumed by scriptural literalists that its remains really are to be found somewhere on the rubble-strewn mountainside. One such was Donald Mackenzie. Each summer, this self-styled Scots missionary would set off alone to the same hazardous region on the fringes of Iran to track down the final resting place of the fabled vessel. Each autumn, he would beat a reluctant retreat before the first snowfalls brought a temporary halt to his efforts to prove the truth of the great Bible story. Except, in 2010, he failed to return home to his native Stornoway, on the Isle of Lewis. Like the object of his obsession, he simply disappeared into the heavy mists that swirled around the summit of Turkey's most famous peak. The only tangible evidence that he had even been in the area was his white Vauxhall Combo van, parked in a village at the bottom of the mountain. Of its owner, there has been no sign and the silence surrounding this most perplexing of mysteries has pushed Mrs Mackenzie beyond despair. In the absence of news, her thoughts churn with the scant theories of what may have befallen her son, none particularly cheering – murder, kidnap or a climbing accident seem to be the unpleasant choices. With the passage of time, the picture has been complicated by layers of intrigue – suggestions of army corruption, unlikely hoaxes, bitter religious politics, civil war, and toothless international diplomacy. For the Mackenzie family, trapped between hope and grief, only one question really matters – the truth. Privately, Mrs Mackenzie fears that her son will be forgotten about long before they find it. 'In the last 15 years, we have heard absolutely nothing – it's as if Donald never existed,' she told the Mail. 'That is what I find so difficult. But he did exist and we have to make sure to remind people of that. Keeping his memory alive is made all the harder, because we still don't know what happened. We don't know if anyone is to blame for his disappearance or if it was an accident. We need answers. And if Donald is forgotten, we may never find out what happened to him.' In order to fill the void and revive awareness in Donald's story, the Mackenzies plan to hold a church service this autumn for their missing relative. Meantime, they fall back on their font of stories about a man as tough and complex as Lewisian gneiss. They recall a boyhood full of mischief, a headstrong child drawn to danger who never backed away from confrontation. Yet, they also describe a youngster left bereft by an absent father, who only found a purpose as a born-again Christian. Despite being brought up in the cradle of Free Presbyterianism in the Western Isles, Donald Mackenzie had resisted any real interest in religion until he found God much later in life. Once converted, however, the 47-year-old seized his new faith with alacrity – it drew this newly-evangelised missionary back time and again on his pilgrimage to a politically unstable corner of the Muslim world. It now seems increasingly likely it led him directly to his doom. It was only due to the catastrophic break-up of his mother's marriage to Fleet Street journalist, Ken Mackenzie, that Donald and his three brothers, Ross, Derick and Kenneth, grew up in a council house in Stornoway rather than a large family house in a well-to-do suburb of Glasgow. 'My father had a really good, well-paid job and he got sucked into gambling,' said Kenneth. 'We had a big house in a nice part of Glasgow but my mother told me stories later about people telling her how they saw him put a £25 bet down on the turn of a card and lost. Now £25 in those days was like £1,000 now; it was a ridiculous amount. 'He was so addicted he lost everything; his job, the house, everything. He was even pinching stuff from my mother and selling it for gambling. He never even owned up, he just kind of disappeared.' Mrs Mackenzie, a noted Gaelic singer, returned to her native Stornoway to stay with her mother for two years until they got back on their feet. Single-handedly raising four pre-school age sons was always going to be hard work, but Derick and Donald soon earned a reputation as tearaways. 'They were pretty wild, into drink and women and getting involved in fights and riding motorcycles,' said Kenneth. 'Donald would never back down from a fight. In a way, I think he quite enjoyed the element of danger. He ran to danger when others, like me, run a mile from it.' Often Donald's impulsiveness landed him in serious bother. He was 19 when he was riding pillion on a friend's bike which crashed at 100mph and almost cost him his life. After months in hospital, he studied to be a draughtsman, but drifted between jobs, frequently returning to live with his mother. A dab hand with engines, he joined the Territorial Army, where he proved a crack shot and learned the survival skills he would later rely on during his trips to Ararat. Kenneth, now 59, who works in the pharmaceutical industry in London, believes his brother was particularly affected by the loss of a father figure. 'Donald needed that kind of stability and guidance. I think he would have turned out a more rounded, better person if our father had been around,' he said. 'I wouldn't say he was a bad person – he was what he was – but he might have had a good job, he would have had a stable career, and stable relationships.' Years later, Donald did meet his father, who died in 2003, and Kenneth was surprised how accepting his brother was: 'It just seemed all plastic and false to me because there was only one question at the top of my head, which was: 'Why did you leave? Where did you go?' 'But Donald was happy to make small talk and I thought, 'Really? You miss him that much, you're not going to give him a row? You're just going to accept him back?' But I wasn't happy at all.' Then, in his late twenties, Donald found God. A heavenly father would give his life the purpose and direction which his earthly one could not. Unsurprisingly, it happened when he was badly beaten up in a fight. He took it as a sign and when his Army chaplain brother Derick, another convert, visited him in hospital with a Bible, it marked a shift in outlook. If there was any doubt about his commitment, his Facebook social media page was titled 'Donald Proddy'. Having found God, he embarked on his greatest adventure – a bid to prove the existence of Noah's Ark on Mount Ararat. 'I'm not sure how much he truly believed in the Ark's existence, you know, but it was his excuse to go over there and have some thrills,' said Kenneth. 'I think he pictured himself as a kind of Indiana Jones with two lives – the Turkish life was the exciting life.' Unlike Dr Jones, Donald was also a preacher. Kenneth said that although Donald made many friends in Turkey and even started a business there buying and selling motorbikes, 'he had a thing about Islam being the wrong faith and he was pushing Christianity which did not go down well at all'. Kenneth added: 'And I think that's where he made some real enemies. We used to have conversations about how much danger he was putting himself in. But I think he thought if he changed one person from Islam to Christianity, that's his job done.' At four times the height of Ben Nevis, Mount Ararat's imposing bulk has always been dangerous for visitors. For decades the highly militarised frontline between Nato and the Soviet bloc, it only opened up to tourism again in 2001. Armed militants from the Kurdish Workers Party, or PKK, roamed its 16,854ft peak, drawing support for their fight for an independent Kurdistan from residents of the impoverished hamlets which cling to the inhospitable slopes of this dormant volcano. Donald's 2010 trip, his fifth, was driven by an astonishing claim the Ark had been found. A shadowy organisation called Noah's Ark Ministries International – based in Hong Kong but with links to Turkish officials – insisted it had uncovered a 'wooden construction' on Ararat's northern side. Within months it had been denounced as a hoax, but Donald was determined to see for himself, pressing ahead despite the obvious danger and without sorting the necessary government permits and mandatory local guide required to set foot on Ararat. 'Everyone told him not to go. My mother had a premonition and pleaded with him, but he wouldn't listen and got quite angry with me when I spoke to him about it,' said Kenneth. He loaded up his van and drove to the town of Dogubayazit at the foot of Ararat. His last contact with his family was a call that September to his brother Ross, now 64, an IT analyst living in Luxembourg, as he tried to make food at 12,000ft in a thunderstorm. He said the storm was dying down and he should get some sleep. By October 14, he had been reported overdue by a friend. Since then, nothing. No bank account or mobile phone activity. The family have accused the Turkish authorities of failing to take Donald's case seriously and of delaying their initial search. That has made it harder to fathom the chain of events leading up to his disappearance. When Derick went over with a film crew in 2012, they were intercepted by Turkish authorities at the airport and warned off climbing Ararat. After recovering Donald's van and some of his possessions, they encountered a wall of silence. One thing Kenneth Mackenzie is clear on, however, is that his brother will never be coming home. 'I have no doubt that Donald is dead. I believe the Turkish Army are to blame, because somebody came down the mountain the day he disappeared and said, 'I hope there's nobody else up there because the Army means business up there. Anybody else up there is in trouble.' 'They are hiding something. Why would they say to Derick at the airport, 'Don't you dare come near Mount Ararat' unless they had something to hide?' While he accepts his brother is gone, things are harder for his mother, who struggles with failing health and crippling despair. 'She still clings to the hope that, maybe, he's in jail over there and might come home. Every so often, she just bursts into tears. It is as if time stood still from that moment for her.' The same could be said of her son. Fifteen years on, what befell Donald Mackenzie remains every bit as mysterious as the ancient ark he searched for in vain.
Daily Mail
12-06-2025
- Science
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Bombshell discovery in soil at 'site of Noah's Ark' that has convinced me Bible story is TRUE
A mysterious geological formation perched high in the mountains of Turkey could be the site where Noah's Ark landed around 4,300 years ago. That is the view of researchers who uncovered what they believe are man-made structures beneath the Durupinar Formation near Mount Ararat, a dormant volcano in eastern Turkey.
South China Morning Post
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Is the Bible true? US attractions like huge Noah's Ark replica argue that it all is
With a colossal replica of the biblical Noah's Ark rising incongruously from the countryside of America's Kentucky state behind him, Ken Ham gives a presentation he has often repeated. Advertisement The ark – the main feature at the Ark Encounter theme park – stretches 155 metres (510 feet), making it 'the biggest freestanding timber-frame structure in the world', Ham says. It holds three massive decks with wooden cages, food-storage urns, life-size animal models and other exhibits. It is all designed to argue that the biblical story was literally true – that an ancient Noah really could have built such a sophisticated ship, and that he and a handful of family members really could have sustained thousands of animals for months, floating above a global flood that drowned everyone else in the wicked world. 'That's what we wanted to do through many of the exhibits, to show the feasibility of the ark,' says Ham, the organiser behind Ark Encounter and its related attractions. Ken Ham poses with an animal model at the Ark Encounter. Photo: AP With that, Ham furthers his goal to assert the entire biblical Book of Genesis should be interpreted as written – that humans were created by God's fiat on the sixth day of creation on an Earth that is now only 6,000 years old. Advertisement All this defies the overwhelming consensus of modern scientists – that the Earth developed over billions of years in 'deep time' and that humans and other living things evolved over millions of years from earlier species.
Fox News
26-05-2025
- Science
- Fox News
Researchers find 'compelling evidence' of possible Noah's Ark remains in one country
A group of international researchers say they're getting closer and closer to identifying the possible remains of Noah's Ark – and new test results are promising. The focus of the research, the Durupinar site in eastern Turkey, was first identified in the 1950s. For decades, it's been speculated that the boat-shaped site once harbored Noah's Ark, but no definitive proof has emerged. Now, an organization called Noah's Ark Scans believes that recent soil samples point toward the site once housing "ancient wood." (See the video at the top of this article.) Researchers collected soil samples from the site last September and analyzed them through this winter. The results "show significantly higher levels of organic matter and potassium compared to surrounding areas," according to a recent statement from the organization. "[The results] provide compelling evidence of a unique, potentially man-made structure beneath the surface, distinct from the surrounding mudflow," Noah's Ark Scans said. "These findings suggest the presence of decayed wood or other organic materials, consistent with a large, ancient structure preserved within the mudflow," the statement added. Lead archaeological researcher Andrew Jones told Fox News Digital that researchers are registering 2.72 times more carbon inside the "boat-shaped object" compared to its immediate outside location. "The soil composition is markedly different from the natural mudflow, indicating something extraordinary at this site." "The rotting ancient wood inside the boat-shaped area is likely creating a localized soil microenvironment by lowering pH … increasing organic matter [and] elevating potassium," he said. "Rotting wood directly contributes to soil organic matter," he added. "As wood decomposes, it breaks down into humus, a stable form of organic matter rich in carbon. This increases the organic matter content in the soil where the wood is located." In a statement, soil scientist William Crabtree said the results indicate "something extraordinary." "The soil composition is markedly different from the natural mudflow, indicating something extraordinary at this site," Crabtree stated. But not all proof of the hypothesis is scientific. The 515-foot-long formation "aligns exactly with the biblical dimensions of Noah's Ark," according to Noah's Ark Scans. "Unlike the surrounding volcanic mudflow, the site's unique soil and subsurface anomalies set it apart," the project noted. The research builds on previous 3-D ground penetrating radar scans from 2019 that "struck subsurface features," and found anomalies. "The scans show a 234-foot central corridor and angular structures – potentially rooms or corridors – extending up to 20 feet deep," the project noted in a statement. "These right-angled formations, uncommon in natural geological processes, suggest intentional design. " Jones said the "presence of hallways and room-like structures points to a man-made origin for the boat shape." "The re-analysis confirms what we suspected: These are not random shapes in the mudflow," Jones said. Though no excavations are planned this year, Jones told Fox News Digital the analysis of the site will continue, with additional geophysical surveys and possible core drilling slated for next year. "We are focused on more non-destructive techniques to understand what's below the ground and more soil analysis as well," Jones said. The expert added, "Our plan is to do a much larger soil test and take deeper samples from the ground." Fox News Digital's Kyle Schmidbauer contributed reporting.
