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posted by LaminatorX on Thursday February 20 2014, @03:00PM   Printer-friendly
from the 685.98-and-1-nights dept.

girlwhowaspluggedout writes:

Hoping to be a pioneer on the Red Planet? First seek permission from your local cleric. Dubai's Khaleej Times reports that the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowment in the UAE has ruled that promoting or being involved in a one-way trip to Mars is prohibited by Islam. The fatwa appears to be a response to Mars One's call for volunteers to make the pioneering trip to the red planet.

According to the General Authority, 'Such a one-way journey poses a real risk to life, and that can never be justified in Islam. 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.' Because of the inherent dangers of the trip, those who choose to go there are likely to die for no 'righteous reason,' thus incurring 'punishment similar to that of suicide in the Hereafter.'

The Khaleej Times further states that the General Authority fears that some of the volunteers, among whom are 500 Saudis and other Arabs, may be interested in traveling to Mars to escape punishment or to avoid standing before Allah for judgment. The General Authority decreed that 'this is an absolutely baseless and unacceptable belief because not even an atom falls outside the purview of Allah, the Creator of everything.'"

[ED Note: Likening the one-way-ticket to suicide does make some theological sense, but I am saddened that the Authority does not consider space exploration a "righteous reason" to risk one's life. In times past, many great explorers hailed from Muslim societies, and were part of what made them great.]

 
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  • (Score: 2, Interesting) by Angelwind on Thursday February 20 2014, @06:01PM

    by Angelwind (1439) on Thursday February 20 2014, @06:01PM (#3602)

    I wonder what they call the flu, or cancer, or other less "righteous" ways to die. At least going to Mars serves a purpose. Someone needs to go to put their hand in the alien device to terraform Mars.

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  • (Score: 1) by mojo chan on Thursday February 20 2014, @10:27PM

    by mojo chan (266) on Thursday February 20 2014, @10:27PM (#3798)

    Death by disease is punishment from God. If you get cancer and die it is because you pissed him off somehow. Occasionally he created special diseases just for groups he particularly hates, such as AIDS for gay people. Disease is the manifestation of God's love.

    --
    const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
    • (Score: 1) by Angelwind on Friday February 21 2014, @06:32PM

      by Angelwind (1439) on Friday February 21 2014, @06:32PM (#4448)

      This is why I bowed out of religions a long time ago. God's love is deadly.