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Emirati wannabe space traveller: ‘Fatwa won’t stop me in my Mars mission’
7daysindubai.com/emirati-wannabe-space-traveller-fatwa-wont-stop-mars-mission/
7DAYS February 23, 2014
Despite a fatwa being issued last week in the UAE against Muslims making a one-way trip to Mars, a candidate planning to embark on the mission says it hasn’t put him off the epic journey.
The fatwa committee under the UAE’s General Authority of Isla*mic Affairs and Endowment (AWQAF) said Muslims cannot follow a proper Islamic way of life outside of planet Earth.
The Islamic ruling is influenced by the Mars One mission that is planning to establish permanent residency on the Red Planet by 2020. A mufti from AWQAF said going outside of Earth can be considered as “suicide”.
“If a person is to go and live on Mars, he cannot pray or fast properly. He will be putting himself in danger because the new planet can bring unexpected dangers,” the mufti said. However, the Emirati shortlisted candidate for the Mars residency, Khalid Al Jaaidi, said the fatwa has not affected his plans at all.
He said: “The fatwa does not make sense to me. If going to Mars is a suicide mission, than driving a car and crossing the street should be suicide too, because it is quite dangerous too.
“The only problem I see with living a normal Muslim life there is being able to fast properly because there will be two moons. Rulings like this will limit the amount of scientific breakthroughs we can discover.”
Al Jaaidi believes the reasons behind issuing the fatwa are “just not strong enough”. The Emirati has passed the medical examinations and will now be interviewed by the Martian committee in the next stage of the process for selection for the mission. If he passes, Al Jaaidi will begin his training in a simulated Mars environment.
The Mars One team responded to the fatwa on their website and requested AWQAF to withdraw it. They also said they are willing to work with the fatwa committee and invited the Islamic scholars to “assess the risk of the mission” while it is still in its’ training phase.
The Mars One team explained that before humans reach the Red Planet, there will be eight robotic unmanned vehicles that will prepare a habitable settlement.
“Water and a breathable atmosphere will be produced inside the habitat and the settlement will be operational for two years, even before the first crew leaves Earth,” the statement said.
7daysindubai.com/emirati-wannabe-space-traveller-fatwa-wont-stop-mars-mission/
7DAYS February 23, 2014
Despite a fatwa being issued last week in the UAE against Muslims making a one-way trip to Mars, a candidate planning to embark on the mission says it hasn’t put him off the epic journey.
The fatwa committee under the UAE’s General Authority of Isla*mic Affairs and Endowment (AWQAF) said Muslims cannot follow a proper Islamic way of life outside of planet Earth.
The Islamic ruling is influenced by the Mars One mission that is planning to establish permanent residency on the Red Planet by 2020. A mufti from AWQAF said going outside of Earth can be considered as “suicide”.
“If a person is to go and live on Mars, he cannot pray or fast properly. He will be putting himself in danger because the new planet can bring unexpected dangers,” the mufti said. However, the Emirati shortlisted candidate for the Mars residency, Khalid Al Jaaidi, said the fatwa has not affected his plans at all.
He said: “The fatwa does not make sense to me. If going to Mars is a suicide mission, than driving a car and crossing the street should be suicide too, because it is quite dangerous too.
“The only problem I see with living a normal Muslim life there is being able to fast properly because there will be two moons. Rulings like this will limit the amount of scientific breakthroughs we can discover.”
Al Jaaidi believes the reasons behind issuing the fatwa are “just not strong enough”. The Emirati has passed the medical examinations and will now be interviewed by the Martian committee in the next stage of the process for selection for the mission. If he passes, Al Jaaidi will begin his training in a simulated Mars environment.
The Mars One team responded to the fatwa on their website and requested AWQAF to withdraw it. They also said they are willing to work with the fatwa committee and invited the Islamic scholars to “assess the risk of the mission” while it is still in its’ training phase.
The Mars One team explained that before humans reach the Red Planet, there will be eight robotic unmanned vehicles that will prepare a habitable settlement.
“Water and a breathable atmosphere will be produced inside the habitat and the settlement will be operational for two years, even before the first crew leaves Earth,” the statement said.
