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JimuelShinemakerIII t1_jdua9cq wrote

Face down toward Mecca. Now a little to the left. Now way to the left. Now it's actually going right again.

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Thiccaca t1_jdux5hv wrote

In reality, the requirement to pray towards Mecca is actually fairly reasonable here. It is only required that you pray towards the planet as best you can Prayer and fasting times are based on the departing time zone on earth. Pretty practical.

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RobleViejo t1_jduxnxg wrote

Remember the first Riddick movie? They prayed towards Earth. I always thought it was cool space traveling people knew in which direction Earth was at all times.

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Bmystic t1_jdvanej wrote

I caught that one on Netflix last night and had to rewatch. It shows it's age pretty hard. Still enjoyed it.

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Alpha433 t1_jdwc6ro wrote

Oh ya, pitch black really is showing its age, but in a way its simplicity helps to build the atmosphere better. It's a bunch of stranded travelers on a desolate world, going fantastical would have killed the bleak tone of the movie.

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oldar4 t1_jdwjxx8 wrote

Tbh even when it came out it looked cheap.

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mediumokra t1_jdvitof wrote

So Muslims in the future will be taught to pray 5 times a day facing the planet that Mohammed was born on.

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Mode3 t1_je33ph2 wrote

Facing the direction where the planet used to be…

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MandolinMagi t1_jdxp5a1 wrote

Also, IIRC if all else fails, default to Mecca time and Allah understands

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earthmann t1_jdzu9hg wrote

“Best you can” sounds very relative and something future space colonies will wage war over.

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Thiccaca t1_jdzzjnk wrote

Possibly. The thought of a Space Taliban is worrisome.

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Digger-of-Tunnels t1_je0mkwx wrote

My first reaction was, "Which way is Mecca? Down!" I'm kind of relieved that turns out to be the correct answer.

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Mundane-Ad-3142 t1_jdv59gd wrote

Praying to a supernatural entity based on conceptual timezones is pretty practical /s

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lord_ne t1_jdv78fa wrote

Rather than timezone, it's based on the sunrise/sunset times of where you departed from.

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Thiccaca t1_jdv6ekh wrote

I mean, compared to what groups like the Taliban demand people do, yes, it is reasonable.

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Mundane-Ad-3142 t1_jdv8jz6 wrote

I don't think you know what the word reasonable means lol.

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Archberdmans t1_jdvefyl wrote

Sounds like you don’t tbh

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Mundane-Ad-3142 t1_jdviv6e wrote

Reasonable: having sound judgement; fair and sensible.

To commit your entire belief system to an unjust, malignant, contradictory comsos creator and worship said being multiple times a day to appease its demands is not REASONABLE.

Words have meanings. You are being either intentionally ignorant or perhaps lack the critical thinking skills necessary to understand this concept.

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Archberdmans t1_jdvps9n wrote

So, it’s equally as unreasonable to be a science believing deist as it is to a Taliban member?

Sounds like a very unreasonable system of analysis if you ask me haha. Maybe belief and being a reasonable person isn’t that black and white and everyone does in some way believe in systems that aren’t exactly real. Economics assumes everyone’s a rational actor, and that’s not true at all. Yet we still find utility in economics.

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CrazedCreator t1_jdvkcwc wrote

To be fair, it's not about the exact times. It's about the religious discipline and community achieved by achieving consistent timing. Putting God above anything else that could be happening at that time. The times have historical/religious/cultural significance but these things will evolve as humans make the way out word. As more Muslim go to space each station will likely have it's own schedule. Near light ships will maybe have their own, as is it okay to go 100 years without payer if it felt like an hour to you.

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GBreezy t1_jdvv6h3 wrote

I'm not muslim, but I thought it was really cool on my flight from Chicago to Instabul and Instanbul to Kathmandu that Turkish Air had "this direction is Mecca" indicators on their information screens.

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KyivComrade t1_jdxik6w wrote

Yeah, it's all pretty useless and deep down he knows it. He could be praying towards nothing or not at all and it'd not make a difference in the world (this one or the next). Just goes to show how deep the brainwashing of a strict religion goes...

Sincerely a person who found his own faith, one that doesn't give dead people the right to control my life forever and make it worse in every way.

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dementorpoop t1_jduefqg wrote

Since it could be interpreted as travel, and travel is one of the exemptions for fasting, I doubt it was very hard for them to come up with the solution that he could make up his fast later. Also water isn’t necessary for ablutions (tayyammum), and neither is physical movement for prayer. All of these exclusions and exceptions were established when the religion was founded. It’s great that they made specific guidelines for space travel, but ultimately Islam is about intention, not inconvenience, so all of their solutions are based on established doctrine.

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JMEEKER86 t1_jdunrr4 wrote

Yeah, from what I understand of their customs it really is the thought that counts. If you thought you had your prayer rug pointed the right direction and discover 30 years later that it should have been 40 degrees in the other direction that's not a big deal. Just fix it and then go about things like normal. No need to say 100 prayers to atone for your poor furniture arrangement skills.

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coolpapa2282 t1_jdw3bco wrote

Makes much more sense than when the Catholic church finds out a priest said one word wrong his whole career and so none of the baptisms he did count any more....

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MaxillaryOvipositor t1_jdwoxvy wrote

I worked with a family of Bosnian Muslim refugees, and a short time after I started working there the mother of the group had learned she had been praying in the wrong direction for 25 years. It became a hilarious joke for the rest of them and they were always teasing her about it.

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Tough_Music4296 t1_jdwxu3w wrote

Its incredible, to me, to find a religion where your intentions count as much as your actions.

If you set out to do a good thing but for some reason couldnt, you get the rewards as if you had done the good thing.

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OrgJoho75 t1_jduo39n wrote

We called it Rukhsah : "exemption while in difficult situation".

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Jamesaliba t1_jduyvn3 wrote

Travel is when you’re on your way not when you’ve settled

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imevul t1_jdv9cgu wrote

We're all traveling at great speeds through space/time, so according to which frame of reference are we talking here?

An outside observer would say you are traveling at great speed on a train for example, while in your own reference frame you would be stationary (until you accelerate).

Or maybe it's more philosophical? I know I don't feel quite settled until I'm at home, taking a dump while sitting on my own toilet. That, to me, is one of the places where I feel most at peace.

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Amishhellcat t1_jdvaqth wrote

I know I don't feel settled until my second scout and a monument has been produced.

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PaxNova t1_jdx9frs wrote

The frame of reference would be towards Mecca, would it not? As long as we're on the same planet as Mecca, the planet traveling wouldn't count.

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Faye_dunwoody t1_jdv9rsl wrote

I had this question pop into my head at like four am one day. Fortunately I work the night shift in the hospital and the er doctor happened to be Muslim so I had the opportunity to ask. At first, I think he thought I was giving him shit but when he realized I was serious, he told me that it was more important to pray than to face the correct direction. He also showed me an app he had on his phone that used gps to show him the correct direction to pray. I was surprised to see the direction was north. They pray over the top of the world, which makes sense when you think about it.

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DeadandGonzo t1_jdvag07 wrote

It is interesting to think of astronauts, specialized in physics, biology, and technical material (naturalistic) explanations of our universe as theists.

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Pain_Proof t1_jdya0bg wrote

I've never felt like my belief contradicted my love of science. I figured the big bang could've easily been orchestrated by a higher being

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Pay08 t1_jdw2tzl wrote

Quite a lot of astronauts are religious. And a lot turn religious after they've been to space.

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Bear-Ferr t1_jdvk0wl wrote

All the education in the world can't solve everything.

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[deleted] t1_jdwhrnk wrote

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Bear-Ferr t1_jdwl30r wrote

Religion has an excellent track record of that.

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Wasabi_Guacamole t1_jdwm8rq wrote

Well, this is an individual(s) choosing to abide by their beliefs, not a group of extremists. Might not be wise to generalize.

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Bear-Ferr t1_jdwrx3u wrote

I agree. Shame the 3 most popular religions generalize all people outside of their religion and condemn them to execution. Shoot! If only there were more educated theists to stop it.

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brokenB42morrow t1_jdv1y2s wrote

What will happen when humans live on the moon and Mars?

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ModmanX t1_jdv8w1l wrote

According to the article, you pray towards the general direction of earth

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brokenB42morrow t1_jdv90sy wrote

What if humans can travel through wormholes one day or travel to another dimension?

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Bmystic t1_jdvagag wrote

Pick a direction in which you believe Earth should be, even if that is the direction of where the wormhole was. Problem solved.

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MandolinMagi t1_jdxpd93 wrote

At some point I imagine you'd start sending little bits of the Kaba (Mecca sacred stone) to new planets/galaxies

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Who_DaFuc_Asked t1_jdwo0ut wrote

Muslims aren't going to be around in the year 56020 on TRAPPIST-1 HUME COLONY 1-A, humans will have either gotten rid of religion or get wiped out well before then.

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John_Fx t1_jdvo9bs wrote

a dimension isn’t a place. do you ever travel to “width”?

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brokenB42morrow t1_jdvs3u8 wrote

"A parallel universe, also known as a parallel dimension, alternate universe, or alternate reality, is a hypothetical self-contained plane of existence, co-existing with one's own."

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John_Fx t1_jdyaavf wrote

Putting quotes around an inaccurate statement doesn't give it any more credibility.

Also i see you took that from a Wikipedia article "Parallel universes in fiction" Perhaps you should look up the word "fiction" too.

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brokenB42morrow t1_jdyb3op wrote

"Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary."

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knghaz t1_jdy88ck wrote

It's a strange ruling to require even facing earth because of this verse I think it would annul any requirement to follow a direction if it's difficult or impractical.

2:177 Piety is not to turn your faces towards the east and the west, but pious is one who believes in God and the Last Day, and the angels, and the Book, and the prophets, and who gives money out of love to the relatives, and the orphans, and the needy, and the wayfarer, and those who ask, and to free the slaves; and who upholds the prayer, and who seeks purification; and those who keep their pledges when they make a pledge, and those who are patient in the face of adversity and hardship and when in despair. These are the ones who have been truthful, and these are the righteous.

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caTBear_v t1_jdw46sm wrote

We'll hopefully have abolished religion by then

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spaghoni t1_jdvqlfh wrote

Religion is hilarious 😂

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Gtfocuzidfc t1_jdvaain wrote

Wonderful people in these comments, I wonder if they get invited to family gatherings

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Bewaretheicespiders t1_jdxa9st wrote

I really hate the idea that we'll export all of this religious nonsense out of the planet.

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alwayslooking t1_jdvqhfb wrote

also Christians used to Pray/Buried facing Jerulasem !

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deliciouschickenwing t1_jdvgmoc wrote

When I watched interstellar i remember the movie finishing and in the ensuing moment i asked my friend how you would establish the direction of mecca from one of them planets. It was supposed to be a joke but ots actually a valid question.

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MrMitchWeaver t1_jdvj51r wrote

Official by whom? Aren't there many kinds of Islam?

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TonahVilla OP t1_jdvu6rp wrote

the Islamic National Fatwa Council, I wanted to put the name in the title but it was too long.

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MrFiendish t1_jdwgm9d wrote

We had this discussion at the hospital I worked at last week. I’m happy that I can definitively answer the query we had next time I see them.

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Berdinderindas t1_jdxi8x5 wrote

I find it really funny how you didn't capitalize "muslims" because now being a muslim sounds like a profession.

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seeasea t1_jdxqqfd wrote

There also were guidelines when the first practicing Jewish person went (Columbia)

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janksnake t1_jdyo5s4 wrote

It's amazing to me that a human brain can encompass such phenomenal cognitive dissonance.

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selkiesidhe t1_jdwl4up wrote

Correct me if I'm wrong but I feel like I read somewhere that Muslims were "forbidden" to space travel and explore Mars because that was akin to risking their life?

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ilovepopalah t1_jdz2bio wrote

driving is risking life, flying on and aeroplane, being a soldier, we do all those things. Im pretty sure it would mean reckless danger for no reason

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cmasey1410 t1_jdvksyh wrote

Completely fucking rational. Good fuck.

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Neutronova t1_jdvlxee wrote

lets leave religion as an earth bound thing, yah?

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Doxbox49 t1_jdw8fu9 wrote

Lot of hate here for people doing something that doesn’t effect them in the least bit. Some people are religious, get the fuck over it

Edit: you guys really need to be a bit more open and accepting. The all religion is bad crowd is just as annoying as a religious person shoving it down your throat. I bet most of you are atheist which is funny. You believe lack of evidence is proof. Truth is, no one knows the answers so let people have their faith

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Charlielx t1_jdwb6jo wrote

Major religions affect everyone though, it's a huge part of the problems we're having in the US right now("Christianity" though primarily)

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[deleted] t1_jdwe2ra wrote

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Charlielx t1_jdwehvi wrote

> it’s manipulation of people that’s the problem rather than religion itself.

Hard disagree, religion is and always has been a means of control.

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[deleted] t1_jdwghrk wrote

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Charlielx t1_jdwhccp wrote

I don't think I would consider that a religion then, maybe personal spirituality. What would be the point though unless you're just making something new up for yourself? All major religions that currently exist have been endlessly corrupted since they were introduced, and their raw original forms would likely just have revealed how different society was back when they were created.

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Doxbox49 t1_jdwbws2 wrote

But individuals that practice a religion on the space station while also doing their duties isn’t a fucking issue. The guy was accepted to work on the ISS and we are focusing on the fact he’s a Muslim who prays. Could be any religion though and people would still hate on it. This man probably worked his ass off for the chance but here we are, focusing on trivial shit

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notaedivad t1_jdx0p42 wrote

> You believe lack of evidence is proof.

Proof of what?

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Doxbox49 t1_jdx2yv0 wrote

That there is nothing. No higher power. The same way religious people believe in what they can not prove. Atheist believe since they can’t find evidence, it does not exist. No one has proven there is or isn’t a higher power to the universe. No one knows the answers.

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notaedivad t1_jdx4ub9 wrote

Atheism is the lack of belief in any gods. No more, no less. Atheism is the absence of a belief, not the assertion of another belief. Your inability to understand the definitions of the words you're using is not a valid argument against them.

Here's a simple aid to help you to understand:

Theist: My god is real

Atheist: Can you demonstrate it?

Theist: No

Atheist: Then I don't believe you

That's atheism. Nothing more.

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Doxbox49 t1_jdx5zzt wrote

You pretty much just agreed with what I said lol. You believe lack of evidence is proof there is nothing. And you believe you have the answer just like religious people believe they do. There is or there isn’t. Two sides of the same coin.

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notaedivad t1_jdx9eyb wrote

You're claiming that the absence of a belief is a belief? Seriously!?

Is abstinence a sex position?

Is amoral the same as moral?

Is bald a hair colour?

Is NOT collecting stamps a hobby?

> proof there is nothing

You're conflating nihilism with atheism.

Your inability to understand the definitions of the words you're using is not a valid argument against them.

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Doxbox49 t1_jdxc3av wrote

Well since we’re trying to insult each other now. I think your comparisons are pretty dumb. Absence of a belief is a tad different from absence of a tangible object. Also recommend calming down and not getting so upset over an internet conversation.

Let’s make it super simple.

You believe there is nothing. Some people believe there is something. Neither group can either prove or disprove their theory with current human knowledge and technology.

We haven’t even mastered fusion yet, one of the most common things in the universe. We haven’t left our solar system (voyager sort of). We haven’t even sent a man to the next planet over. We have no way to prove atoms exist in the form we currently believe is correct. Hell, gravity is still a theory because we technically can’t prove it. So many unknowns and yet you are 100% certain you know there is no higher power. Yes, I’d call that a bit of faith considering all the unknowns still to be discovered

Edit: downvoted every comment, replied, then blocked me before I could even read the reply. Oh well

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notaedivad t1_jdxcoqk wrote

Insult? I've been clear, concise and factual - and you see this as an insult!? Why drag your ego into this?

I've given you clear, dictionary definitions, which you are choosing to disregard.

Atheism is the lack of belief, not the assertion of another - your inability to separate this from nihilism is your deficiency, no one else's.

You're obviously just trolling...

Best just to block your particular brand of wilfully delusional toxicity.

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Doxbox49 t1_jdxubvh wrote

I feel like you haven’t read a single word I wrote or thought about it. You seem pretty dead set that you are right which is fine. Just remember to keep an open mind. We are still a young species trying to grasp at very large subjects which we have no or very limited understanding of

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myusernamehere1 t1_jdxx6bk wrote

>If a person claims that X exists and is real then the burden is on that person to supply some support for that claim, some evidence or proof that others can and should examine before accepting it. It is incorrect to think that X exists and is real until someone can prove that there is no X.

source

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MattyKatty t1_jdzkczt wrote

Actually the funny thing is all I’m thinking is that Mission Control must hate having to schedule blocks 5 times a day for prayer. It makes me unsurprised it took so long for a Muslim to get ISS time

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Doxbox49 t1_je2mwqq wrote

So it has nothing to do with the fact that it’s mostly US and Russian personal manning it because we have/had the space programs? And Muslims don’t make up a large percentage of either population. Seems pretty straight forward why it took so long. But ya, religion, that’s why.

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Mundane-Ad-3142 t1_jdviek9 wrote

Reasonable: having sound judgement; fair and sensible.

To commit your entire belief system to an unfounded, contradictory, evil cosmos Creater and to also pray multiple times a day to appease its demand of worship is not reasonable.

You are being intentionally ignorant or perhaps lack critical thinking skills necessarily to understand definitions of words.

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Mundane-Ad-3142 t1_jdvck25 wrote

That is a completely false equillancy. Shame on you and shame on your warped brain for defending such ridiculous behaviours.

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LimpPeanut5633 t1_jduzcdd wrote

Strange, you'd think Allah been prepared for what he knew would happen. Dare I say or her!

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alwayslooking t1_jdvcgqr wrote

Don't Muslims believe the Planet is flat as when I worked in Oman was informed that Pilots had to sign a form/document that they acknowledged the Planet wasn't flat !

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gettinmoola t1_jdvd49h wrote

As a Muslim, I can confirm that this is NOT true 😂

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semiomni t1_jdwylol wrote

Ya do believe the moon was split in two though and put back together, and depending on what is convenient it was either fused perfectly, or some valley on the moon is proof it happened.

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xenocarp t1_jdupiw9 wrote

I wonder, are they supposed to carry stones from earth or procure in space if a certain ritual require use of those ?

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solblurgh t1_jduqqvy wrote

Never in my life I had to carry or perform salah using stones

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