BBC NEWS | Middle East | Muslim call to adopt Mecca time — So what is stopping any group from doing whatever they want? Just do it and see what happens.
Muslim scientists and clerics have called for the adoption of Mecca time to replace GMT, arguing that the Saudi city is the true centre of the Earth. Mecca is the direction all Muslims face when they perform their daily prayers.
The call was issued at a conference held in the Gulf state of Qatar under the title: Mecca, the Centre of the Earth, Theory and Practice. One geologist argued that unlike other longitudes, Meccas was in perfect alignment to magnetic north.
He said the English had imposed GMT on the rest of the world by force when Britain was a big colonial power, and it was about time that changed.
A prominent cleric, Sheikh Youssef al-Qaradawy, said modern science had at last provided evidence that Mecca was the true centre of the Earth; proof, he said, of the greatness of the Muslim “qibla” – the Arabic word for the direction Muslims turn to when they pray.
 Says Mecca is the True Center of the Earth |
Found by Neil Jordan.
Ha, Ha. This is great. If they will just switch over to a muslim calendar, those hotels are going to have real headaches confirming reservations?
I remember flying over Mecca. Rule was not to let your shadow cross the temple. One day, I looked down, and sure enough, the planes shadow was on a bee line for the place. I turned the aircraft to make sure of a miss.
When you look at those aeronautical charts, you notice something quite strange about time zones. Its not just hours counted off on the map. Some places are 45 minutes or 23 minutes off the “naturally assumed” even hour marks. I think that is all done in acknowledgement of local requests.
Local Time, Muslim Time, GMT==all equatable.
So what time is it?
Actually, we are already on “Muslim” time. It’s just offset some number of hours and minutes from Greenwich and the US. Are they saying we should equate “zero” with the Muslims. Surely not. ;->
STOP! Mecca time!
They don’t seem to realize that it really doesn’t matter, so long as there’s a standard.
I have some questions for the Mecca time FAQ
Would adopting Mecca time also require me to set my calendar back a couple of hundred years as well?
How would this affect my enjoyment of bacon, and other swine based products?
As an infidel, am I allowed to use Mecca time?
Actually, I think a better method is to abolish this antiquated idea of “time zones” and just go with a global time. With the rise of instant global communications, time zones just get in the way and cause confusion.
Not only that, does it really make any sense that 100 miles west from me there is a line where the time magically shifts an hour even though its still the same time of day? No.
#7–pj==”time of day?” boy, that’s right on point. So, 100 miles away it is still one hour past sunrise, or two hours past noon, or whatever?
It may be the same instant, and maybe even the same time, but not the same time of day.
Should get on nuclear time quick.
The French are still pissed off that the Prime Meridian doesn’t go through Paris, like they think it should. Now Muslims want it to pass through Mecca. Yeah, right.
And what the hell does magnetic north have to do with time? Nothing at all. Besides, the magnetic pole moves…. sometimes to the south pole.
The problem with the Paris/Mecca/Whatever idea is that it would also shift the Intl. Date Line east or west on the other side of the globe. Having the IDL cut down the middle of the Pacific Ocean, where is now, leaves the least chance of leaving a country sitting in two days at the same time.
So they have it backwards. The longitude that best serves the IDL is what drives the need for current location of the PM.
Besides… who cares? That what time zones are for. That way it is noon where you are when the sun is directly overhead.
The thing about Muslim time is that it is ultimately determined by human experience — usually visual observation of the moon by a cleric.
It used to bug me — we could never plan a holiday because we’d never know exactly what day a holiday would land on until the night before, often in the wee hours of the morning.
Also, it was common that mullahs in one country would not agree with another so two places might have different holidays.
@ #5 (Sean)
Their standard is better than your standard! Didn’t you get the memo!
“Muslim scientists”!!??
Oxymoron!
So what happens if we don’t accept? I guess it will a huge insult (like the cartoons) so they will start a new jihad (or whatever they call it) to kill us all.
‘And Muhammad said, “Go forth and whine your penis will not be getting any bigger” and they did.’ – Chapter of the Inevitable
If Allah wanted Mecca to be at the center of the earth He, in His infinite wisdom, would have placed Mecca 6378.16km straight down from its present location. Word from the timeless age is He tried but hell refused, they have standards.
I bet they don’t do it.
How are their kids going to hijack airplanes if their kids can’t figure out when the planes leave?
Ha ha, we invented the time zones so we get to be meridian. Sucks to be everyone else!
Really, if we are going to change the meridian shouldn’t it be Redmond? Or maybe the former location of the twin towers in New York?
All they want is for the world to revolve around them. Is that too hard for you infidels to understand??
Where does that put the international date line? Doesn’t that have to move too… Will it now run through California?
Took me a moment, #4
Global time isn’t a bad idea. I know that Swatch actually came out with a “Swatch Time” several years ago. It didn’t catch on.
“One geologist argued that unlike other longitudes, Meccas was in perfect alignment to magnetic north.”
Wow, I guess everyone else’s north is just fucked up. It’s a wonder we can all get anywhere…
it will make it that much easier for them to synchronize their vests!
So the Muslim religious scientist(s) have determined that Mecca is in perfect alignment with an ever changing incorrect indication of true north. This sounds like the whole religion, ever-changing, incorrect and not true.
It is not surprising that prominent Muslim clerics agree, history has demonstrated they practice all of the above.
One has to also wonder if they succeed will women be allowed to tell time or is that too now a sin?
@Bobbo: It didn’t come across clearly, but I meant that the instant you cross that line, the Sun is still in the same position in the sky as it was before you crossed it. And yet, magically, the time has shifted an hour. I always wondered what people do who have houses through which a timezone cuts. Must be mighty confusing.
@Bobbo: It didn’t come across clearly, but I meant that the instant you cross that line, the Sun is still in the same position in the sky as it was before you crossed it. And yet, magically, the time has shifted an hour. After all, that’s what earth time really is, right? Measuring the position of the sun in the sky.
I always wondered what people do who have houses through which a timezone border cuts. Must be mighty confusing.
these people are getting out of control, all religions are getting that way, i mean look at Ben Stein what was he thinking, Time to adopt stoner time for crying out loud
How is a man-made city the natural center of the Earth?
#7 – A Global Time for everyone? So do you want to be in the location where the sun rises at 10pm, and sets at 9am?
(you would eat your breakfast at 11 at night, lunch at 4 in the morning and supper at 10 in the morning)
#4, Grant;
You win! 😀
Forget everyone. i am going to Swatch’s BEAT system. 1000 beats a day. Easy peasy.