A Turkish professor has reportedly claimed in one of his research papers that Multiple Sclerosis disease is a “punishment from Allah”. Hüseyin Çaksen in his academic paper said that “many patients attributed the cause of their disease to supernatural causes with the religious context in many cultures in the world.”
An Ankara-based academician Urartu Şeker first tweeted about the works of Çaksen, who is a professor at the Necmettin Erbakan University and has published several research papers.
Şeker took to X, formerly Twitter, on 5th January, saying that the professor “almost blasphemed science”.
He wrote, “A faculty member of the Faculty of Medicine says that MS disease has supernatural causes; Saying that MS patients are sick because they are punished by God or put to the test is rude, to say the least! It’s terrible that he can print these garbage ideas as an editorial article. How this person, who almost blasphemed science, became a Professor is truly frightening! He also proved that H-index has no meaning on its own because h-index is 34!”
Şeker shared a screenshot of an excerpt from the paper published by Hüseyin Çaksen wherein he advises that health professionals should be trained about supernatural causes with religious context.
“In conclusion, we would like to emphasize that many MS patients attributed the cause of their disease to supernatural causes with the religious context in many cultures in the world. They have not shared that belief with health professionals because of fear of their reactions. Second, although it cannot be proven scientifically, we strongly believe that the main cause of the disease in some MS patients is supernatural causes such as fate, Allah’s will, and a gift or a test from Allah have found peace and comfort psychologically, mentally, and spiritually. Therefore, we believe that health professionals should be trained about supernatural causes with religious context and MS patients should be encouraged to discuss their supernatural beliefs with healthcare professionals,“ the except read.
The article titled “The importance of Religion, spirituality, and spiritual care in patients with Multiple Sclerosis” is only one among several such papers published by the Turkish professor.
A website called Retraction Watch reported that seven of Çaksen’s research papers were retracted by journal publishers which included the Journal of Pediatric Neurology, the Journal of Child Science, and the Journal of Pediatric Epilepsy. Feyza Çaksen is a co-author of two.
The seven retracted papers are:
22nd May 2023: “The Importance of Religion, Spirituality and Spiritual Care in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis” in Journal of Pediatric Neurology.
26th May 2023: “Hijab Protects Adolescent Girls and Women from Sexual Harassment” published in Journal of Pediatric Neurology.
16th November 2016: “Islamic Psychology: Historical Notes from Herbert George Wells (1866-1946) in Journal of Pediatric Neurology.
4th May 2023: “Marriage and Marital Fidelity in Interparental Relationship: A View from Religious Perspective” published in Journal of Child Science.
4th May 2023: “The Role of Religious Coping in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit” published in Journal of Child Science.
20th March 2023: “Ruqyah and Its Use among Patients with Cancer” published in Journal of Child Science.
June 2023: “Neonatal Hypoglycemia: Oral Dextrose Gel and Tahneek Practice” published in the Journal of Pediatric Epilepsy
The highly Islamist nature of these academic papers suggests just how far they are from scientific facts and attempt to Islamise the medical and scientific fraternity. According to the notices issued by the journals, the papers have been retracted as they “lack scientific base”. How this was missed in the peer review is unclear, Retraction Watch reported.
Another publication Duvar English pointed that one of the other such articles published by Çaksen was “The Sacrifice of Ismail by His Father Ibrahim (Alayhi As-Salam): An Example of Surrender for Today’s Children and Parents” and “Hijab Protects Girls and Women from Sexual Harassment” published in Journal of Pediatric Neurology.
Şeker reportedly pointed out that the editor-in-chief of the journal completed his medical residency in the Faculty of Medicine of the Necmettin Erbakan University at the same time when Çaksen was pursuing second residency there.