Officials in the world's most populous Muslim country admitted on Monday that they made a mistake when issuing an edict in March saying the holy city in Saudi Arabia was to the country's west. The Indonesian Ulema Council, or MUI, has since asked followers to shift direction slightly northward during their daily prayers.
"After a thorough study with some cosmography and astronomy experts, we learned they've been facing southern Somalia and Kenya," said Ma'ruf Amin, a prominent cleric of the MUI. "We've revised it now to the north-west."
He said Indonesians need not worry, however. "Allah understands that humans make mistakes," he said. "Allah always hears their prayers."
Well, the above diagrams should be helpful. Perhaps the Islamic authorities have not yet caught up with the fact that the Earth is round -- a rather more serious problem than Indonesian two-dimensional geography. Clearly, Islamic prayer in most parts of the world needs to be on a slope, and at times on such a slope that the worshipper would require to be tethered, or somehow fastened on Velcro.
The inter-faith chapel at Auckland International Airport actually has an arrow on the floor, pointing to Mecca I presume. Presbyterians should ignore this. I profoundly hope the pilots don’t rely on it.
Someone will surely upbraid me now for poking fun at other religions. Well, tough. Humour has become one of the most important correctives we have.
