Muslims have signed up to travel to Mars on the outrageous one-way journey being proposed by Mars Ones. People of all faith from nations around the world have signed up, including Israelis, Turks, Egyptians, Iranians, Iraqis and those from Saudi, the UAE and Qatar. But a Muslim-issued fatwa may bar any Muslims from entering the red planet.
Mars One is aiming to send an initial four people to Mars by 2024, ten years from now. The first people will go there to start a colony. According to local press in the United Arab Emirates, the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowment of the United Arab Emirates is publicly barring any Muslims from embarking on the mission to the red planet.
Because the trip will be one way and no doubt stressful, the fatwa says that any Muslim passengers who would go on the trip would be sacrificing their lives for no good reason. And that the punishment that awaits them in the afterlife will be akin to those who commit suicide.
Travellers to Mars will be expected to terraform, and undergo all sorts of manual labor to prepare a future colony for more humans.
The Netherlands-based Mars One replied and encouraged people of all faiths to apply. The organization said it would be a great service to humanity to set up a colony 39 million miles from earth. Prayer times as well as providing the direction to Mecca for those prayers will be provided for Muslims, it was asserted.
If making the commitment to Mars is too much, there is always Charles Branson’s Virgin Galactic offering flights to space on track for this year at a cost of about $250,000 a ride, with Branson and his family to be among the very first passengers. If it works, the flight could make the trip between Dubai and LA a mere 45 minutes, according to some estimates.
If we want to make news of every insane “religious” guy would open their highly-moronic mouth , it will be the end of humanity as we know it.
As a guy born in this specific religion, I would say: Nice.. No need of any moronic guy who would listen to such stupidity in any new happy colony.. whether on earth, or on mars 🙂
Good to see a native respond to this post.
I’m so sorry to say that this made me, literally, laugh out loud. Why? Service to humanity is sited as for “no good reason” according to the Fatwa issuers? Young people strapping a bomb to their bodies and walking into a crowded area is? Very messed up values.
All the applicants are clearly adventurous people who have future foresight with a clear understand that anyone anywhere can lose their life at any moment. Otherwise, they would not have made serious application to the program. So I have to ask the Fatwa issuers–if a Muslim passenger is chosen, goes to Mars and is killed during the settlement of the planet (every passenger faces this probability) will he then go to heaven because he was killed on the job by uncontrollable forces? Seems to me if he died of old age, then it would be suicide under the Fatwa. Bottom line: I don’t think God concerns himself with rock you live on when you pass away.
“Sacrificing their lives for no good reason.” So let me see. a good reason would be….?
Starting a new colony for humanity when earth becomes too polluted to live in?