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Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus is a book by John Gray
As for the 2nd article below, 'How Mars Became Haram', authored by Abez, - o'parsing words e.g. suicide and sacrifice - Let me see ...It's OK to commit suicide in the name of a god; it is OK to murder innocent men, women, children and babies; it is OK to rape, torture, and kill women as inferiors; and it is OK to send others to certain deaths ....but not for a muslim to travel to further Man's exploration? Of this I am reminded: "How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries! Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. The effects are apparent in many countries, improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule or live. A degraded sensualism deprives this life of its grace and refinement, the next of its dignity and sanctity. The fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as his absolute property, either as a child, a wife, or a concubine, must delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men. Individual Moslems may show splendid qualities, but the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science, the science against which it had vainly struggled, the civilization of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilization of ancient Rome."
-- The Right Honorable Sir Winston Churchill, 1899
-- (The River War, first edition, Vol. II, pages 248-50 London)
-- The Right Honorable Sir Winston Churchill, 1899
-- (The River War, first edition, Vol. II, pages 248-50 London)
UAE Islamic affairs authority warns Muslims against a mission to Mars
"Gravity" is just a film. Imagine a similar real-life scenario: Would there be any chance of survival?
That's a concern for the General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments, or GAIAE, the United Arab Emirates' religious watchdog, for anyone who wishes to travel to Mars. The GAIAE has issued a fatwa, or an official Islamic ruling, to warn Muslims against a Mars mission.
So far, the UAE has supported space travel. Abu Dhabi's Aabar Investments teamed up with Richard Branson's Virgin group to create Virgin Galactic to provide spaceflights for tourists, starting this year. But a mission to Mars, it seems, is one step too far.
Mars One mission accepting applications
The mission is being planned by the Dutch nonprofit foundation Mars One. In April 2013, it announced its ambitions to establish a human settlement on the Red Planet by 2025.
But the GAIAE likens the journey to a suicide mission. On the authority's free 24-hour hotline, the issue was deliberated by the center's specialized muftis, or scholars, who released the following statement: "It is not permissible to travel to Mars and never to return if there is no life on Mars. The chances of dying are higher than living."
Taking one's life willingly is against Islamic principles.
In response, Mars One issued a statement asking the UAE's Islamic authorities to cancel the fatwa, saying every precaution would be taken to reduce the risk to life. "If we may be so bold: the GAIAE should not analyze the risk as they perceive it today," the statement says. "The GAIAE should assess the potential risk for humans as if an unmanned habitable outpost is ready and waiting on Mars. Only when that outpost is established will human lives be risked in Mars One's plan."
The statement includes a verse from the Quran that "encourages Muslims to go out and see the signs of God's creation in the 'heavens and the earth.' " It goes on to say the first Martian settlers would walk in the footsteps of great Muslim explorers like Ibn Battuta, the 14th century Moroccan journeyman whose travels took him across North Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
Indeed, space travel isn't alien to Muslim culture. There have been Muslim space explorers in the past.
The first ever Muslim space tourist was Saudi Arabia's Prince Sultan bin Salman Al-Saud, when he joined the crew of American space shuttle Discovery in 1985. In 2006, Anousheh Ansari became the first Iranian-born woman in space. And to help Muslims observe religious obligations in space, the Malaysian government has been instrumental in setting up guidelines.
In 2006, Malaysia's national space agency Angkasa convened a conference of Islamic scientists and scholars to address the religious obligations of Muslim astronauts. The result was a detailed set of rules called "A Guideline of Performing Ibadah (worship) at the International Space Station (ISS)." It tackles a number of issues, like the number of times a Muslim should observe daily prayers, when a day lasts just 90 minutes in orbit.
Mars One says 1,058 candidates have been shortlisted for the mission, from pool of more than 200,000 applicants around the world. It's not clear how many Muslims are among the candidates, but Mars One says applications came from 107 countries.
Since its inception in 2008, the GAIAE has released nearly 2 million fatwas. The fatwa on the Mars mission is now among them.
Water-ice clouds, polar ice and other geographic features can be seen in this full-disk image of Mars from 2011. NASA's Mars Curiosity Rover touched down on the planet on August 6, 2012. Take a look at stunning photographs of Mars over the years. Check out images from the Mars rover Curiosity. Viking 2, one of two probes sent to investigate the surface of Mars for the first time. NASA's Viking landers blazed the trail for future missions to Mars.
How Mars Became Haram
It all started with a Dutch Company called Mars One, whose mission is to establish a permanent human settlement on Mars. The company plans to start sending people up to the red planet by 2024, and they'll be sending them one-way.
According to the original story in the Khaleej Times, the General Islamic of Islamic Affairs and Endowment of the UAE - locally known as the Awqaaf, takes issue with this type of mission.
He is not, however, the Grand Mufti of the UAE, let alone all of Saudi Arabia as some of the headlines claim. A quick Google search shows that there doesn't seem to be a Grand Mufti of the UAE, but there is a Grand Mufti of Dubai. His name is Dr. Ahmad Al Haddad; in July of 2013, he made the news with some very sage advice, "Be careful about fatwas on twitter."
What Dr Farooq Hamada said was:
A third alligator option exists, where I'm going in to take a selfie, but the alligator is either tame, toothless, or safely restrained. In that case, I don't need to have a righteous reason, because I'm not risking my life. That would be like going to Mars if/when traveling by space is like taking a cruise, but one where we'd drink recycled urine.
Is that allowed? Can we get a fatwa on that?
The bottom line is that life is precious, so if I'm deliberately putting mine at risk, I'd better have a good reason for it. If not, my death may be judged as suicide versus sacrifice. If there is more to this fatwa, it's not in the original story, and the Martian fatwa in question does not appear in the archives of General Islamic of Islamic Affairs and Endowment of the UAE.
Last year alone, the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments issued over 337,000 fatawa, and you'd be hard-pressed to find another one in the international news. They are maintained in a searchable archive here, and contain such sensational questions as:
If, however the content you're looking at could pass as a chain letter, or suddenly isn't funny if Muslims aren't involved, then please delete it and do something better with your life.
Thank you.
According to the original story in the Khaleej Times, the General Islamic of Islamic Affairs and Endowment of the UAE - locally known as the Awqaaf, takes issue with this type of mission.
"Such a one-way journey poses a real risk to life, and that can never be justified in Islam," the committee said. "There is a possibility that an individual who travels to planet Mars may not be able to remain alive there, and is more vulnerable to death."
Whoever opts for this 'hazardous trip', the committee said, is likely to perish for no 'righteous reason', and thus will be liable to a 'punishment similar to that of suicide in the Hereafter.
The committee, presided by Professor Dr Farooq Hamada, said: "Protecting life against all possible dangers and keeping it safe is an issue agreed upon by all religions and is clearly stipulated in verse [4:29] of the Holy Quran: Do not kill yourselves or one another. Indeed, Allah is to you ever Merciful."
Professor Dr. Who?
Dr. Farouk Al Hamada is real person. In fact, he's even really in the UAE. He is a published author, and according to his personal website, he is currently an adviser at the Crown Prince Court of Abu Dhabi, Emirates. His website was last updated on Jan 8, 2012.He is not, however, the Grand Mufti of the UAE, let alone all of Saudi Arabia as some of the headlines claim. A quick Google search shows that there doesn't seem to be a Grand Mufti of the UAE, but there is a Grand Mufti of Dubai. His name is Dr. Ahmad Al Haddad; in July of 2013, he made the news with some very sage advice, "Be careful about fatwas on twitter."
What Dr Farooq Hamada said was:- Taking an unnecessary risk with your life is not allowed in Islam
- A one-way ticket to Mars means you'll probably die
- If you do go and die, you may be held accountable for killing yourself for no good reason
- Travel to Mars (versus Jupiter) is not allowed
- Flying to Mars (versus walking) is not forbidden
- Colonizing Mars (versus visiting) is not allowed
- Housing on Mars (versus education?) is haram
- Living on Mars is sinful
- Even wanting to live on Mars is sinful
- Muslims traveling to Mars will suffer punishment
A third alligator option exists, where I'm going in to take a selfie, but the alligator is either tame, toothless, or safely restrained. In that case, I don't need to have a righteous reason, because I'm not risking my life. That would be like going to Mars if/when traveling by space is like taking a cruise, but one where we'd drink recycled urine.
Is that allowed? Can we get a fatwa on that?
The bottom line is that life is precious, so if I'm deliberately putting mine at risk, I'd better have a good reason for it. If not, my death may be judged as suicide versus sacrifice. If there is more to this fatwa, it's not in the original story, and the Martian fatwa in question does not appear in the archives of General Islamic of Islamic Affairs and Endowment of the UAE.
Last year alone, the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments issued over 337,000 fatawa, and you'd be hard-pressed to find another one in the international news. They are maintained in a searchable archive here, and contain such sensational questions as:
- Is it halal (permissable) to hunt pigeons within city limits? (Hunting in cities or sanctuaries is not allowed without authorization from the competent authorities out of respect of public order.)
- Are the zakat values of stocks based on their original purchase price, or the current market value, and how much is a Nisab? (Commercial shares and stocks are determined according to their current market value. The Nisab is 85 grams of gold. And Allah knows best.)
[..]
Advice for Journalists
If you're a journalist, and you're not sure whether a funny story you read about a Muslim is news-worthy, copy the text of the story and remove all references to Islam, Muslims, and Saudi Arabia- and then read it again. Now, ask yourself a few questions:- Can the story be verified?
- Is the content genuinely interesting, significant, or relevant to your readership?
- Was a real person willing to put their name on this? Is there an original, reliable source or byline?
- Could the text of this email be mistaken for a chain letter?
- If you published this religion-free version, would your editor call you an idiot with no news sense?
If, however the content you're looking at could pass as a chain letter, or suddenly isn't funny if Muslims aren't involved, then please delete it and do something better with your life.
Thank you.
About Abez
