# Muslims in space **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 27, 2009, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muslims-in-space/497806 "2009-05-27T16:41:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muslims-in-space/497806/21 "2009-05-28T02:27:56Z")
I don’t see any mention of calculating the direction to Mecca: > **[Algebra](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algebra)** > > Algebra (from Arabic ‏الجبر‎ (al-jabr) 'reunion of broken parts, bonesetting') \[ʔldʒbr\] (listeni) is the study of variables and the rules for manipulating these variables in formulas; it is a unifying thread of almost all of mathematics. > Elementary algebra deals with the manipulation of variables (commonly represented by Roman letters) as if they were numbers and is therefore essential in all applications of mathematics. Abstract algebra is the name given, mostly in education, to the study of... Do you have a citation for that? ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muslims-in-space/497806/22 "2009-05-28T03:33:14Z")
If you’re facing Mecca, doesn’t that also mean you’re mooning Mecca since it’s widely accepted that the Earth is a sphere? ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muslims-in-space/497806/23 "2009-05-28T04:39:39Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > I don’t see any mention of calculating the direction to Mecca: > > [Algebra - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algebra) > > Do you have a citation for that? > **[Mathematics in the medieval Islamic world](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_mathematics#Islam_and_mathematics)** > > Mathematics during the Golden Age of Islam, especially during the 9th and 10th centuries, was built upon syntheses of Greek mathematics (Euclid, Archimedes, Apollonius) and Indian mathematics (Aryabhata, Brahmagupta). Important developments of the period include extension of the place-value system to include decimal fractions, the systematised study of algebra and advances in geometry and trigonometry. > The medieval Islamic world underwent significant developments in mathematics. Muhammad ibn M... Of course a decent argument could be made that the Islamic Golden Age was simply due to the introduction of cheap paper and anyplace with that is going to advance all sciences fairly well. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muslims-in-space/497806/24 "2009-05-28T07:34:58Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > I read it wrong. I thought Sapo agreed that it was found weird in “sci-fi.” He didn’t, so I apologize. > > Of course, I consider “sci-fi” to be movies and comic books and the like, not mainstream print authors, and I stand by my statement there. Fair enough - you’re drawing a line between science fiction and “sci-fi”, and I understand the distinction, and would put the authors mentioned above on the same side of the line as you do. 🙂 > [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Supposedly, algebra was invented specifically to solve the problem of calculating the direction to face to pray to Mecca. In a way it would just be coming full circle. Yeah. Easy as p. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muslims-in-space/497806/25 "2009-05-28T11:29:36Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > If you’re facing Mecca, doesn’t that also mean you’re mooning Mecca since it’s widely accepted that the Earth is a sphere? Unless you are exactly opposite Mecca on the globe, you are always more facing than mooning so the mooning gets canceled out. Plus there is the matter of intention. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muslims-in-space/497806/26 "2009-05-28T11:34:43Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > I read it wrong. I thought Sapo agreed that it was found weird in “sci-fi.” He didn’t, so I apologize. > > Of course, I consider “sci-fi” to be movies and comic books and the like, not mainstream print authors, and I stand by my statement there. Ok. Although by sci-fi I did mean the heavey hitters of print. In fact, this thread was inspired by just having read “Halo” by Charles Stross. Maybe not a heavy hitter yet, but well on his way there if I go by what little I have read of him. Has there been any mention of muslims in space on pop sci-fi (movies, tv, comics, etc)? ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muslims-in-space/497806/27 "2009-05-28T13:22:06Z")
Maybe, Sage Rat, but I find that a little strained. The argument appears to be that mathematics advanced during the time of medieval Islam because it was necessary for the calculation of various Islamic ceremonis. Maybe it went the other way. Because the math had been developed, it was possible for the Islamic-related calculations to be made. It’s hard to say what influenced what in such periods. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muslims-in-space/497806/28 "2009-05-28T15:28:38Z")
I guess Muslims in space would have similar problems to Jews in space. I once wrote to a rabbi, asking a bunch of questions about observing Judaism in space. I remember him saying that in space you pray towards earth in general, and that you pray according to the clocks on the spaceship. I don’t think I got an answer to “What arm would a four-armed Martian use to put on tefillin?”, though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muslims-in-space/497806.md?page=1)