# Which way to Mecca? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 7, 2000, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-way-to-mecca/36083 "2000-10-07T18:42:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cabbage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@Cabbage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cabbage)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-way-to-mecca/36083/21 "2000-10-10T08:07:56Z")
Sofa King: No, I was a Radford Bobcat, graduated in '88. Thanks for the info on the mosque, it’ll be interesting to get to the bottom of this. On my end, I’ve emailed the college and, as we’re both on AOL, noticed my email was read about 6 this evening. No word yet, though, so I don’t know if I’ll hear anything or not. Was Ijaz a professor of physics at Virginia Tech? I was talking to my dad earlier this evening and asked him what he remembered of the story. As he recalled it, a physics prof. at Tech was having it built. After construction was underway, he did some calculations and it was he who realized it was facing the wrong direction. My dad didn’t mention a name, so I was wondering if he was the Ijaz you speak of. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-way-to-mecca/36083/22 "2000-10-10T15:07:39Z")
IF facing the wrong direction was the reason I am _certain_ it would be mentioned in the press at the time. Can anyone find a press clipping that would mention it? ---
**Author:** ![alibey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@alibey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alibey)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-way-to-mecca/36083/23 "2000-10-10T16:30:27Z")
the way to Mecca (Makka). down the hwy, past the Mcdonalds at exit 9 and go south of Riyadh, then follow the signs. no problem ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-way-to-mecca/36083/24 "2000-10-10T16:54:39Z")
Yeah, Dr. Ijaz taught at VPI: “[He] was a stoic, reverent man who taught nuclear physics for 26 years at Virginia Tech. He also built a small fortune by buying, improving and selling land. He sponsored more than 100 Muslim students to study in the United States. And he helped 50 relatives relocate here.” --from [this site](http://www.vitrade.com/who_is_who/ijaz/ijaz_970428.htm) In a further twist of absurdity, it turns out my acquaintance foiled a coup attempt against Benazir Bhutto. Awesome, dude! Dr. Ijaz died in 1992. I did speak to the folks last night about it, and here’s a little more information: It was more than a mosque. It was intended to be a K-12 private religious school. Acording to Dad–uh, Radford Rocket, the plan was to bring over children from the home country, Pakistan, and give them a traditional religious education with a heavy dose of English and mathematics. The payoff would be that the enrollees were to be guaranteed admittance to Virginia Tech. They said that the plan fell through because Dr. Ijaz couldn’t elicit any guarantees from the University for his students, and therefore couldn’t amass a profitable student body. My folks were unaware of the misalignment of the school/mosque. Holy Hannah was good enough to correct me as to the alignment of the place, though. It faces south_east_, according to her sense of direction. That’s all for now… ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-way-to-mecca/36083/25 "2000-10-10T17:02:08Z")
As usual, I left out the most important part from that unusual article: “His parents, who had lived in Saudi Arabia in the early 1980s, had returned to the United States with a vision of building an Islamic school here. But Mujaddid didn’t understand interest rates or inflation, both of which were skyrocketing. Family finances were squeezed.” ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2000, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-way-to-mecca/36083/26 "2000-10-13T18:11:34Z")
**Cecil Adams** on [How do Muslims know which way to face when praying?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/001013.html) You guys got it right, as usual. ---
**Author:** ![Montfort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Montfort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Montfort)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2000, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-way-to-mecca/36083/27 "2000-10-13T18:55:22Z")
So, Manny, does this get transferred to COCA? ---
**Author:** ![Cabbage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@Cabbage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cabbage)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2000, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-way-to-mecca/36083/28 "2000-10-13T19:08:17Z")
Well, in case you were wondering, I never did hear from the L.I.F.E Bible College. As for newspaper clippings, I’m pretty sure there was an article in _The Roanoke Times_ about the mosque facing the wrong direction. I don’t live in the area anymore, but I still visit, so I suppose I could go to the library and and try and hunt it up on one of my trips. Honestly, though, don’t hold your breath on me doing that, it’s not that important to me to go to all that trouble. I will point out, however, that Sofa King mentioned the former mosque in Christiansburg faces southeast. In his column, Cecil mentioned the proper direction in North Amercia is _northeast_. I’m satisfied. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2000, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-way-to-mecca/36083/29 "2000-10-13T20:21:15Z")
In the early 17th century, the Ottoman Turkish theologian Katip Celebi published a book titled _Mizan al-haqq_ with all sorts of interesting little topics. One of them was: Is there a point on the globe where the distance to Mecca is equal in all directions–so that the qiblah could be in any direction? Well, of course there is, and although Katip Celebi could not have obtained this information in 1610, there is an atoll named Tematagi in the Tuamotu Archipelago (about midway between Pitcairn and Tahiti) that is the antipodal point to Mecca. You really could pray in any direction there. The inverse of this question is: which direction do you pray when _inside_ the Ka`bah? Since prayer has to be directed toward the Ka`bah, and people do open the door and enter inside once a year, then where’s their qiblah? The answer is you offer four prayers, once toward each wall from inside. ---
**Author:** ![scratch1300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dfb087/32.png) [@scratch1300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scratch1300)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2000, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-way-to-mecca/36083/30 "2000-10-13T20:35:38Z")
Man! **BadAfrican** gets his _very first post_ into Cecil’s column? Ceicl had better do my “Meow Mix” question next! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2000, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-way-to-mecca/36083/31 "2000-10-13T22:33:16Z")
I have posted [url=“[http://www.geocities.com/alfgon.geo/mecca.htm](http://www.geocities.com/alfgon.geo/mecca.htm)”] **here** an azimutal map centered in Mecca so you can find the azimuth to mecca from any place in the world. Just print it and carry it with you in your travels. If you need to find out where you are, I suggest a GPS. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2000, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-way-to-mecca/36083/32 "2000-10-13T22:34:27Z")
I have posted [here](http://www.geocities.com/alfgon.geo/mecca.htm) an azimutal map centered in Mecca so you can find the azimuth to mecca from any place in the world. Just print it and carry it with you in your travels. If you need to find out where you are, I suggest a GPS [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-way-to-mecca/36083.md?page=1)