Muslim astronaut in space worship problem [HOW do you pray facing Mecca five times a day in space?]

news.com.au ^ | May 02, 2007 01:00am | staff writer

[bedolido]

HOW do you pray facing Mecca five times a day when you are circling the Earth 16 times every 24 hours?

This is one of the problems facing Malaysian authorities as they prepare to send their first man into space. There are others: how to hold the prayer position in zero gravity, ensure that only halal freeze-dried food is in your space cupboard and perform your ritual ablutions before worship?

They have all been answered by a team of Islamic scholars and scientists that has spent more than a year working on guidelines for the astronaut.

[FormerLib]

Tell him to stand on his head.

[sam_paine]

Anti-satellite missile. Problem solved.

[Wombat101]

Hang him upside down..preferably outside the spacecraft.

[EagleUSA]

It happens when you let a fanatic cult religion run your life...

[kittymyrib]

Yep...I guess we’ll have to retrofit the space station with a Muslim foot washing station. It’ll only cost a few billion more, which the taxpayer will have no vote in paying.

[tm61]

tell him to wait for muslim technology to get him there,

[sageb1]

And they wonder why Islamic countries have remained so backward.

[Grimmy]

Trick question. Islam will never have a space program and if someone is that devout a muslim, he wont make it past the psycho screening for astronauts that functional cultures put into space.

[Anti-Bubba182]

OK guys walk out of the Airlock naked and.............

[dirtboy]

Muslim astronaut in space worship problem [HOW do you pray facing Mecca five times a day in space?]

Easy. Point spacecraft at Mecca. Engage thrusters.

[reagan_fanatic]

Spin the spacecraft around at 30,000 rpm. He'll face mecca 500 times every second.

That should do the trick.

[loungitude]

Vaporize Mecca, distribute it about the Earth’s atmosphere, then it should be easier for Ramsey Al-Kaboom to find it from space.

[dirtboy]

They have all been answered by a team of Islamic scholars and scientists that has spent more than a year working on guidelines for the astronaut.

Wait until the guy figures out that they were too busy figuring this out and didn't spend enough time developing a zero-G toilet for him.

[Izzy Dunne]

Maybe they could find a god that wasn't so damn finicky.

Just a thought.

[P-40]

Space travel is for advanced people. If such trivial sh*t is on your mind while you are cruising at thousands of miles per hour in the vacuum of space...you have no business being there.

[dragonblustar]

HOW do you pray facing Mecca five times a day when you are circling the Earth 16 times every 24 hours?

Easy, spin the person like a satellite and tell them to keep praying until they land back on earth.

[American Quilter]

I had some comments to make about this, but those of you who’ve already commented have said it all!

[azhenfud]

Pat, I think I’ll spin....

[xcamel]

Reminds me of an old Star Trek joke....

[starlifter]

Who cares?

[doctor noe]

I heard they now make a tasty pork-flavored space food stick.

[Wombat101]

“muslim technology” is an oxymoron.

Even the “technology” involved in creating an IED comes from Western sources.

I can’t recall a Muslim technological or technical breakthrough in the last 1,000 years, and even then, many of the accomplishments normally accredited to Muslim society is actually of foreign (Greek or Indian) origin..

[American Quilter]

Ping to you, PF—I think you’ll enjoy this thread!

[pigsmith]

I’m stealin’ your tagline.

[bedolido]

Pigs in Space!!!"

[dragonblustar]

And don't forget lunch!!!!

[dragonblustar]

Oh my god!! You and I were thinking alike!

[svcw]

Sounds like a Saturday Night Live skit.

[reagan_fanatic]

:)

[r9etb]

Feh. Stupid article. Already been figured out, over 20 years ago, when a Saudi flew on the Shuttle.

They set a clock to Mecca time, and he prayed according to that.

[bedolido]

Oh my god!! You and I were thinking alike!

Very scary!!!

[qam1]

At that distance, even being off an inch you could be pointing 1000 miles away from Mecca

If we colonize Mars, Muslims certainly can't go as when there are long periods of time where Mecca will be facing the other way on the other side of the sun. And of course even if they manage to point in the right direction, due to orbital speeds one second later they won't be

[Ghost of Philip Marlowe]

Make the Christians on-board acquiesce something, anything, through guilt?

[massgopguy]

Why are there no Muslims on Star Trek? That’s right. Because it’s in the future.

[Redleg Duke]

Put him in the airlock, close the inside door, open the outside door, then de-pressurize the airlock.

Did I put something in the wrong sequence? Oppsie!

[HamiltonJay]

Well if your society can’t quit killing each other long enough to build a rocket its not a problem...... So, its not really an urgent concern.

What are the odds the rocket will be attacked by rebels before launch?

[Master Shake]

Sounds like their moon “god” wants to make sure they don’t get too close. I guess he’s worried about suicide bombers, too.

[KingRonnie9]

Give the guy a GPS.

Mecca-lecca-Hi, Mecca-heinie-ho!

[hunter112]

Would an Orthodox Jew have the same sort of questions? (OK, don’t clutter this thread with all the “Jews in Space” stills you can find from that Mel Brooks movie!)

[SkyPilot]

"Which way is towards Mecca?"

[newcthem]

Reminds me of an old Star Trek joke....

Yup.......these are the real Klingons.

[StormEye]

"HOW do you pray facing Mecca five times a day when you are circling the Earth 16 times every 24 hours"

The best solution to this problem is to NEVER allow muslims to be involved in our space program. Why are we even allowing these enemies of humanity to participate in something they don't understand, have not contributed to and would like to destroy? For a muslim to fly on the space shuttle an American who isn't muslim must give up his/her seat and lose out on the experience. No muslims at NASA!

[andyk]

The Malaysian will travel to Russia's International Space Station in October, in exchange for a lucrative arms deal.

Russia has an International Space Station? Wow! Is it me, or does Russia seem to be able to send whoever they want to up to the station? Didn't they just make some money sending some chick up in space to the ISS?

[bedolido]

Malaysian authorities as they prepare to send their first man into space

this is talking about the Malaysian space program (I know... who knew?). Not NASA.

[texson66]

Tell him to stick his head up his a$$; same difference!

[Gritty]

Mentally disturbed people should not be astronauts, so Muslims shouldn't be on space voyages and this should not be a problem.

Next question?

[tkathy]

Stick their heads up their hindies and float around in circles.

[bmwcyle]

He must stand out side with no suit on.

[onedoug]

I’d think it sacreligious to Islam to go into space at all.