Muslim scholars ask the tough questions. Not content with exploring the deep mysteries of whether or not it is forbidden to take a dump facing Mecca or whether the sunna forbids talking while taking a wiz (no word yet on whistling) comes news that Malaysians are worried about Sharia in outer space.

TMC:

How do Muslim astronauts pray five times a day in space when a "day" in orbit is only 90 minutes? How does one determine where Mecca is in a constantly moving space station?

These were some of the questions Islamic scholars and scientists wrangled with in a seminar Tuesday, as Malaysia, a Muslim country, prepares to send its first citizen into space next year....

"Our astronaut will stay in the International Space Station for about seven to eight days. Among the important needs of this astronaut, should he be a Muslim, is a guide on how to perform the prayer ritual in space," Mohamad Ruddin Abdul Ghani, permanent secretary of Malaysia's Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry, said in a speech at the "Islam and Life in Space" seminar.

But as Zainal Abidin Abdul Rashid of Malaysia National University pointed out at the seminar, the space station circles the Earth 16 times in 24 hours, with a sunrise and sunset occurring about every 90 minutes.

"Does this mean we have to perform 80 prayers a day," he said in his seminar paper.

He proposed that Earth time, especially the time zone in Mecca, be used as the reference point to determine the prayer schedule.

On the issue of "qiblat" or the direction of Mecca, suggestions range from installing a special rotating seat so that the Muslim astronaut could turn easily toward Mecca, to using calculator that can determine qiblat direction and the prayer schedule.

Then there is also the question of how to perform ablution, a ritual cleansing of the body, with water-rationing in space.

Also, how does one do the prayer ritual of kneeling and prostrating under zero gravity?

Brilliant.

This goes a long way in explaining the myth of the 'Golden Age of Islam'. Never. Happened.

One important question not addressed at the conference is this: Does the prohibition against eating pork extend to outer space? And if it does, is there at least a Miss Piggy exception?

Hat tip Joel who found it at Nobody's business.

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One of the stories being widely circulated right now is that the King of Nepal has ordered that protesters would be shot on site. What the headline does not say, is that Nepal is in the midsts of a civil war with Maoist rebels. And that no protesters have, in fact, been shot on site!Guardian:

Protesters demanding a return to democracy postponed a rally that had been expected to draw thousands on Saturday, after the king imposed an all-day curfew and ordered violators shot on sight.

One person was killed and at least two wounded when security forces fired at demonstrators in Pokhara, a resort town 125 miles west of the capital, Katmandu, said Gangadhar Baral, who was among those wounded.

"We were protesting and some of us were throwing stones at the soldiers. Suddenly, the soldiers fired shots at us. One of my friends was killed instantly,'' Baral said. He spoke from the town's main hospital.

And why the imposition of the restrictions?

The rebels bombed government buildings and attacked a jail in the southwestern town of Taulihawa on Friday night, freeing 104 prisoners, officials said. Insurgents also attacked security bases in the nearby town of Butwal.

Officials said the curfew was in response to information that the rebels would try to infiltrate the rallies and wage terror attacks against government targets.

Impending geek alert: Interestingly enough, last night's episode of Dr. Who featured a Prime Minister of England ordering the Doctor shot on site. Which is neither here nor there, but I just figured you ought to know a little about Macktastick Rusty Wicked's geek factor. It's off the scale.

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