Examining controversial aspects of Islam, Muhammad, Allah, Muslims
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Nowhere in the Quran are there instructions for determining the direction in which to pray.  As a result, many mistakes have been made over the centuries by Muslims in trying to determine the proper direction. Was Allah wise in omitting instructions?

2/21/2016

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Many, many questions have arisen over how to properly determine the qibla prayer direction, that is, in what direction does Mecca lie.  Debate Question: why did Allah choose not to provide the answers in the Quran?

2/12/2016

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Some of these questions are found at http://www.moonsighting.com/faq_qd.html an include the following:
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1.    Question: What is correct Qibla direction from North America, North-East or South-East? Some people show on the flat map that Qibla should be South-East. 
2.    Question: Some people talk about shortest distance concept about Qibla. What do you have to say about that?  
3.    Question: If we keep going west from Makkah we pass over Africa then the Atlantic ocean then we arrive at Florida. Doesn't it make sense in this case for Qibla to be EAST.  
4.    Question: What is the importance of Magnetic North Pole and True North Pole. Which one is marked as the North Pole on the globe that we have at schools.
5.    Question: What is the direction of a line from Vancouver Canada to Makkah that goes straight through the earth (not on the surface) using the North, South, East and West orientation, and why?
6.    Question: Most of the mosques in Montreal pray at 320 grad from North. Since all Muslims here pray at 320 grad I also pray in the same direction. I have a booklet bought from Medinah in 1992 which says 270 grad from North and which seems logical geographically if seen from the map. What do you know about this matter. Please guide me in this regard.  
7.    Question: I live in St. Louis, Missouri. What time can I observe the sun on those two dates to convince myself about the controversy of South-East and North-East?  
8.    Question: I think, it does not matter whether the earth is flat or round, the direction for Qibla as I see from North America is South-East. I bought a globe and tried to look from Alaska, I see that Makkah is still down somewhere, therfore, it should be South-East, not North-East.  
9.    Question: What is Qibla from San Francisco? I was told to rely on the sunset to find Qibla. But I think that is only effective in Pakistan.
10.    Question: If accurate angle for Qibla is known, why is it not advisable to use it?  
11.    Question: If I can see the sunrise, would that be East? Turning 90 degrees left from that direction should be True North; am I right?  
12.    Question: How a person would find Qibla direction from another planet or from space?  
13.    Question: How is it possible that you can see the sun rising from North-East direction (058degrees East of North) at Nova Scotia, Canada and Maine , USA on the dates May 28 and July 16 when the sun is right above Makkah, Saudi Arabia at noon time. The sun never goes North of the Tropic of Cancer which is 23.5 degrees North of Equator. The sun comes over the Tropic of Cancer on June 21 and then starts moving southward towards the Equator.  
14.    Question: What is the latitude and longitude for Makkah? Can I use those coordinates to find Qibla or more accurate coordinates are available for Ka'bah? 
15.    Question: Let’s says that the circle around the Qibla kept growing very large. Let’s say that it kept growing so large that somehow it covered North America. Would those in North America (Eastern part) still be facing North-east?  
16.    Question: Does the Quran or Hadith offer any guidance for usng shortest distance to Makkah in determining the Qibla direction?  
17.    Question: Muslims who came to North America in the parts of the last century built their mosques facing South-east. Were they doing this on the false premise that the world is flat?  
18.    Question: Scientists at NASA said December 2004 earthquake in the Indian Ocean affected the shape and rotation of the Earth, and shifted the position of the North Pole about 2.5 centimetres, or one inch, closer to 145 degrees east longitude, roughly in the direction of Guam. Would this "shift" have an impact on Qibla calculations e.g., True North vs Magnetic North?
19.    Question: Is the Ka'bah really at the centre/heart of the Earth geographically?  
20.    Question: What is Polaris or North Star?  
21.    Question: How one can find True South with Just an analog Watch


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For at least a century after Muhammad's death, Muslims constructed their mosques not to face Mecca, BUT TO INSTEAD FACE PETRA.  So with regards to the proper prayer direction, who is correct, the early Muslims or the Muslims of today? View the videos:

7/31/2015

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Suppose a Muslim was on a long airplane flight, for example, New York to Hong Kong (16 hours).  Would it be impossible for the this Muslim to pray at the correct times (i.e., just before sunrise, sunset, etc.) & to kneel in the right direction to Mecca?

4/7/2015

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It is not just airline passengers who would have difficulty obeying Allah's commands to face Mecca while praying.  Muslims may well have to avoid any space travel in order to comply with Allah's demand, as it would be virtually impossible to kneel toward Mecca while being weightless and traveling at 
28,000 kilometers per hour.
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In the Quran, Allah does not tell Muslims how precisely to kneel facing Mecca in this situation.
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At 28,000 km per hour orbiting the earth, weightless astronauts will not be able to face Mecca.
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Debate Question:  Is there a logical reason why a god (Allah) who is everywhere wants humans to pray facing Mecca?

12/8/2014

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The Quran informs us that Islam's Allah is everywhere.
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