Ramadan in space
Malaysia's Department of Islamic Development issued a booklet with advice on observing the fasting month of Ramadan and other religious rituals in space. They provided the information to help two Malaysian Muslims who are involved in a contest for a ticket to the International Space Station. From the AFP:
The booklet covers Islamic washing rituals required before prayer, saying that if water is not available the astronaut can symbolically "sweep holy dust" onto the face and hands "even if there is no dust" in the space station.Link
There are also suggestions on how to pray in a zero-gravity environment.
"During the prayer ritual, if you can't stand up straight, you can hunch. If you can't stand, you can sit. If you can't sit, you should lie down," according to the booklet.
Muslims are required to eat food that is halal, which rules out pork and its by-products, alcohol and animals not slaughtered according to Koranic procedures are forbidden -- but again in Space there is flexibility.
"If it is doubtful that the food has been prepared in the halal manner, you should eat just enough to ward off hunger," the booklet said.
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animals not slaughtered according to Koranic procedures are forbidden
Let's be explicit: the animal has its throat cut and slowly bleeds to death. A bolt to the head is bad enough, but halal slaughter procedures are even more barbaric.
So how do you face towards Mecca while in an orbiting spacecraft?
Err... Rendevous with Ramadan would've been a much funnier title for the entry.
@#2: Hahaha
Also...
I always wondered... if we ever colonized another planet and Muslims emigrated there... how would they face Mecca during prayers?
About how to find Mecca in space: They could use "Celestia", the GPL-licenced planetarium-software.
I was wondering how to decide when the sun sets in space. As I understand it, during ramadan, one is supposed to fast in the daytime.
I don't understand this flexibility - either God said "You have to do things this way" or he didn't. Being in space should not be an excuse to ignore what are supposedly ineffable, supernatural laws. If god says that you need to perform some ritual, or observe somke arbitary rule, and you can't do that in space, then obviously god doesn't want you going into space.
If I find myself in McDonald's and I am hungry, can I eat just enough non-halal food to ward off hunger?
If one can do without water or dust, I'm sure the general direction of Mecca (Earth) will suffice. Also, one will certainly come up with a way to decide when the sun sets (after which it's ok to eat food) during Ramadan in space.
@EDGORE:
Yes, if you're at a McDonalds in space and there's no halal food nearby.
@phasor3000
I believe that if you aren't sure which direction Mecca is, you'd pray towards each other (provided that there's more than one person).
In Pitch Black the Muslim character mentioned preying towards 'New Mecca'.
Edgore you are spot on with "I don't understand this flexibility - either God said "You have to do things this way" or he didn't"
Precisely the point that undermines so much in religion. Doctor friends say that they ARE allowed to eat during the day in Ramadan if means their patients will suffer if they don't. An admission that the practice is inadvisable, so there are exceptions. Likewise with space, the reason all these quandries occur is that whoever wrote these holy books wasn't God, cos surely God would've realised we'd get into space one day and put a clause in about that?
@Mikko,
Are the rules for halal and kosher close enough that in a pinch I could eat at that Carnegie's Deli they opened in the Oort Cloud?
@Edgore
I don't know about either, really, but I've heard that Ramadans fasting(is that the english word for not eating?)-rules are not law for pregnant or old/sick/weak people. Use common sense.
Besides, many people are as much muslim as I'm a christian, i.e. not at all. In the eyes of people in other places, western European people may be lumped together as "christians" just as "we" might see "them" as muslims. (Also also, nowadays being muslim is just one more way of being a westerner, actually.)
But, to answer your question: Yes, I bet you can eat whatever in a pinch. God knows.
There's a difference between religious ritual and moral law. It's not, "Eating before sundown during Ramadan is inherently evil"...it's "You should make every reasonable effort to fast during Ramadan, as a symbol of your devotion to God and of your membership in the community."
The community leadership has to figure out how to define "every reasonable effort" and "sundown" in these situations.
I do agree that God should have anticipated future technologies and put the rules for them into the holy books in advance. If this were a one-time mistake then I wouldn't mind so much, but He does this every single time He sets up a new religion.
Or She.
Or They - let's be fair to all of the polytheists out there. At least they have an excuse for contradictory heavenly mandates.
Why don't people want to see flexibility in the Muslim religion? Is it easier if they remain inflexible and unchanging for other people to hate them?
If you are orbiting the earth in a fucking spaceship, what are you doing following bronze age rituals in the first place? The very last thing that needs to be done is to allow that kind of horseshit to go on outside the gravity well.
The bronze age was in the 7th century AD?
Mikko says ...
>I don't know about either, really, but I've heard that Ramadans fasting(is that the english word for not eating?)-rules are not law for pregnant or old/sick/weak people. Use common sense.
Yes you are right. Children, those who are sick, or pregnant need not fast. Women also do not fast during their menstrual period. Except for the children, the others have to count their missed days and "make it up" later. Since most women usually can tell approximately which and how many days they will be menstruating, many will "make it up" in advance (they will fast on some days in the month preceeding Ramadan).
All these people who are not fasting are not supposed to advertise the fact (ie, don't go eating in public; buy the food, bring it home or to your office, and eat in private).
In Islam, fasting is not just abstaining from food and water. The fast can be invalidated by lying, lustful thoughts, fighting, etc. These "lost days" have to be "replaced" after Ramadan, same as the above "missed days".
I know all these stuff not because I am a Muslim (I am Christian), but 95% of my colleagues at work are Muslim.
Daniel: You are right, I am a Muslim and thanks for that clarification.
Islam is a flexible religion and not as rigid as some might think. For the weak or young ones, the rules are there but can be considered if there are excuses such as sickness, etc.
Prayer timing would actually be BETTER, Moslems in space could choose to pray at exactly the same time as prayers are done in Mecca, rather than compromising to local time as people do on Earth.
But the facing toward Mecca would be a problem. If you're orbitting the Earth every 88 minutes or so, then in the space of 22 minutes, the compass has rotated 1/4 of the way around, East becomes North, North becomes West, or whatever. How long do prayers last?
Think I'm gonna start-up a company to make Mecca-tracking rotating gyro-stabilized zero-G prayer platforms.
The comments concerning "holy books" do not exactly refer to the Bible. The Mosaic law concerning kosher food was given, not to all mankind, but only to Israel. Daniel and his friends kept kosher in Nebuchadnezzar's court by avoiding doubtful food and requesting a vegetarian diet.
It was Solomon's prayer, not the Lord's command, that prayer in certain circumstances be made facing the temple. Obviously this would not be possible after the temple's destruction.
In the New Testament, in Acts 10, the Lord tells Peter to eat even the non-kosher foods, for what the Lord has called clean, Peter is not to consider unclean.
Just trying to keep the record straight.
This guidence to astronauts seems moderate and flexible - why is this even newsworthy? If Islam is going to be a religion that can live with modernity, then this is exactly the sort of sensible compromise that is needed. It must be great to be completely "free" from social and religious strictures - but most people actually aren't - whether they live in Brooklyn or Mecca.
The US military already has contractors that produce kosher and halal MREs - so the diet section could be a moot point. As to direction of prayer, washing, etc - what is done with good intentions and a good heart should suffice.
Gilbert Wham (15): You're almost 40 years too late -- the Apollo 8 astronauts did this whole King James Bible Christmas thing from lunar orbit.
That is, engaged in Christian religious ritual while orbiting the Moon in a fucking spaceship.
Bill: even after the Temple's destruction, Jews still to this day pray facing the direction towards where it stood. that's what i spent most of today doing, actually, since it was Yom Kippur.
I don't understand this flexibility - either God said "You have to do things this way" or he didn't. Being in space should not be an excuse to ignore what are supposedly ineffable, supernatural laws. If god says that you need to perform some ritual, or observe somke arbitary rule, and you can't do that in space, then obviously god doesn't want you going into space.
If I find myself in McDonald's and I am hungry, can I eat just enough non-halal food to ward off hunger>>>>
Well...if you would have some more insight on Islam, you'd know that things are not as strict as you think. Flexibity and 'doing the best you can' are major aspects.
For instance, fasting is not obligatory on children, elderly, menstruating women, pregnanent women or the sick.
Also this religion is about using your brain....if you think that u can eat enough non-halal food as Mcdonals to ward off hunger...then clearly you have missed the point. What is meant is...that is there is NO OTHER FOOD and you are in dire need...you can eat just enough non-halal food to satisfy the hunger, but to satisfy you appetite. This is only in emergency type circumstances and if you're AT a McDonals and dying of hunder...you can always find something which is halal and better for your health to fill your stomach....fries for one.
I though this was kind of a straight forward issue.
Besides I found out...non-halaal food is forbidden for a reason...for example in meat, non halaal meat is not allowed because of the way the animal is slaughtered, not allowing ALL the blood to drain properly. It's been found out recently that this blood in meat, by people eating it, has caused major health problems for people. It was on a news program once. It didn't say anything about halal, it was just reporting.