At a conference called "Mecca, the Centre of the Earth, Theory and Practice" and held in Qatar, Muslim religious and scientific leaders called upon the world to change Coordinated Universal Time from being based on the Greenwich, England time zone to that of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The delegates agreed that Mecca is the "true" center of the Earth. The BBC has more. What do you think?
Explore Geography
Comments
I think its possible that Mecca is the true center of Earth just like Sheikh Youssef al-Qaradawy said. But, still it need more proves, such as exploration and research to make it stronger argument
An international meridian in the Middle East isn’t unreasonable, especially considering the historically arbitrary assignment of prime meridians. Keep in mind that the Greenwich Meridian is a relatively recent development and has seen challengers in Paris, Brussels, Antwerp, Giza, Alexandria, Jerusalem, Rome, Washington DC, Stockholm, Warsaw, the Canary Islands, etc.
Seeing as well over half the world’s population views various cities in the Middle East as holy, why not move it? Jerusalem, Mecca, and Medina are all within 15 degrees of longitude of one another and could all be at UTC, satisfying Muslims, Christians, and Jews all at the same time.
Maybe in exchange for lower prices on oil? Maybe back to $70/barrel?
I fully agree to Tya and Shane. Those who have knowledge on astronomy should share their scientific reasonings. Hoping that it will be further discussed soon.
Who cares if it is or isn’t? Time has been “zeroed” in Greenwich for decades, at least. To change it would cause problems all over the world. Kind of like when they reset the year back in the 1700′s–when were those people really born? But the date needed to be reset; the time doesn’t.
National hegemony changes, and often one civilization will leave a residue. Circles have 360 degrees because of some ancient civilization (don’t remember the details right now); I understand our 60-minute hour and 60-second minute go back to the ancient Babylonians. Wouldn’t base 10 be easier? But we keep it. And our month names! The ego of a Roman emperor saddled us with September (root meaning: 7) being the 9th month; October (octo =
the 10th; November (nov = 9) the 11th; and December (dec = 10) the 12th. For pity’s sake, why couldn’t he add the two extra months after December?
So why don’t the Muslims just understand that the need for a universal time arose during England’s hegemony, and Greenwich go the honor. Live with it. We do.
Heck, we call our numbering system “Arabic,” even though it’s really Indian (Hindu?). So they get that honor, and the honor of inventing the zero, forever. That’s not enough?
Oh yes, and Jesus wasn’t born in AD 1, despite the number. It’s off by a few years. Do we Christians throw a hissy fit and insist the rest of the world endure a 2-3 generation confusion by changing which year starts our AD counting? No; we just make the adjustment privately and go on.
I guess I’m not as geographically savvy as most, but aren’t longitude lines sort of arbitrary anyway? Any of them could be 0. Is there a “center” on a sphere? Also, since the prime meridian and the equator separate the hemispheres, if it was going to be moved, wouldn’t it be more logical to move it more west to include all of Europe and Africa in the eastern hemisphere?
Is this scientific fact or religious belief? I would like to see some evidence, not hearsay, of Makkah being the centre of the Earth.
The muslims must creates some kind of ideas that will course human unrest all the world I am not a racist ‘ the reason I see is because it Mecca
I wonder why the need history went time is follow well at present
I find this interesting; I wonder why the culture/faith doesn’t do more for world peach and unity?
Why not just do you own thing anyway if you feel so strongly about it, like the Ethiopians and their calendar?
I agree with Mary. It’s a convention like agreeing what to call the year we are in. According to the BBC, the justification for Mecca being the centre is: “One geologist argued that unlike other longitudes, Mecca’s was in perfect alignment to magnetic north” – whatever that means! What are they going to do next time they measure it when magnetic north has shifted? Select another prime meridian?
Screw ‘em!
Why change? The world-wide upheaval that would follow a change from Greenwich to Mecca would cost an immense sum. Will the Saudi Government pay everyone’s bills? The present “zero line” has no political significance today but to alter it to Mecca would be a move designed to boost the already high profile of that oil producing nation. It would create an opportunity for the oil produces to raise their prices again.
THE CHAOS THAT SUCH A CHANGE WOULD CAUSE WOULD BE ENORMOUS. THE GLOBAL GRID SYSTEM AS WELL AS TIME IS BASED ON GREENWICH BEING THE ZERO MERIDIAN. CHANGE THE TIME LINE AND YOU CORRUPT EVERY GEOGRAPHIC RECORD ON THE PLANET.
NOT TO MENTION THE IMPACT ON AVIATION, SHIPPING, GPS AND MUCH MORE.
SORRY, THIS IS ONE OF THE FEW THINGS THAT THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY HAS BEEN ABLE TO ACCEPT/AGREE UPON. IT HAS NOTHING AT ALL TO DO WITH RELIGION. IF IT AIN’T BROKE, DON’T FIX IT.
I agree, but the oil price should drop to 50 cents, and Muslims should leave Europe. That would be a fair price, don’t you think?
So Muslim leaders are discussing a problem that they see concerns their integrity while millions of poor Muslims are starving and dying in wars. Why don’t they focus on lowering the birth rates and preaching peace.
This is all religious based and an attempt once again for Muslims to set their own agenda and imposed it on others. Why can’t they ever be happy?
Interesting that no one has referenced the “geologist”(?) who fails to understand that the position of Magnetic North changes over time. Mecca may be Zero Declination today but it will not be in the years to come. Changing magnetic declinations is one of the problems with old topographic maps whose stated magnetic declination are incorrect. Also, the center of a sphere is deep inside, at the core, about 4000 miles away for this Planet. Tell me where is the center of a bowling ball, or a baseball, or an orange? At each of their cores. Replace Greenwich with Mecca? Vanity linked with insanity.
They are only 400 years too late.
I agree with #14, Dave. This Muslim menance and their heretic, so called religion, is no more then a subversive political idealogy that has no respect for life. Now they want time to begin with them!
If the Prime Meridian were changed to go thru Mecca, this would leave the corresponding 180 degrees cutting thru more land than it does now. Placing the Prime Meridian where it is now involved more than British vanity; thought was also given to the opposite side of the globe.
I think there is no matter like Muslims, Christians, and Jews faith. If it is proved by the modern science then every body should accept the truth. Now science is enough mature to decide what is right or wrong.
Mecca is NOT the center of the world. Period. It is merely the center of the Muslim faith, which is, like all religions, a man-made institution. It is ARROGANT and DISRESPECTFUL to the rest of the world to even imply that non-Muslims have some sort of obligation to make Muslim points of interest a focal point in their lives. If Muslims want the rest of the world to respect their customs, then they need to be respectful toward traditionally accepted Western customs and not presume that the world is obliged to follow the tenants of one faith.
Mecca is a religious center of faith – not to be confused with a Prime Meridian which is albeit an arbitrary location but is establihsed and an international benchmark – Rabid Islamists have already caused enough world discord – is it too much to ask that they take all of their negative energy and desire to change the rest of the world and try to do something positive for their people – a change for good not evil! Yes – I know – its a rhetorical question – it is too much to ask – too high a mental and cultural hurdle for the ever- myopic
The Islamic faith has nothing to do with, or an obligation to make, Mecca the center of the world. It is merely a religious city, the pilgramage site, and possibly the center, of Muslims. Yet if Science actually proves that Mecca is really the center of the world, then we should change and adapt to that. Science is Science. Greenwich was placed athe center from a long time ago, when science wasn’t that precise and accurately reliable. We need to forget and abandon our bias, prejudice, and ignorant remarks on Muslims and how they are trying to “dominate the world” for example by trying to open up scientific debate on whether Mecca is te center of the world. Let us see the whole truth, not just darkly veiled pieces, and understand the Islamic faith (possibly by asking and learning from Muslims themselves), if it to you, actually collides with geography and science. Politics and misunderstanding, and religion have nothing to do with science and geography. Having Mecca as the center of the world will be disastrous, as it is a known city that draws humongous populations for Hajj and such. It is also very well-cared for by the Saudi governemnt. On the other hand, Greenwich is a town!
This is just more Arabic (not Muslim) arrogance. They believe, since the Koran was dictated to Muhammed in Arabic, that it is God’s prefered language, and that the Arab Peninsula is Holy Land and that Makkah is particularly Holy. They demand absolute respect for their beliefs but have no respect for others.
The truth behind the rhetoric shows in the charge that Greenwich time was imposed when Britain was a colonial (exploitive) power, and is beautifully symbolized by the “Mecca watch” that turns counterclockwise. They wabnt to turn back time to the era of Muslim dominance.
Let’s develope alternative energies to the point that their petroleum is worthless.
The Islamic faith has nothing to do with, or has any obligation to make, Mecca the center of the world. It only is a modest religious center and pilgrimage site for Muslims. If it truly is a scientific and geographical fact, then we need to adapt to it, and flexibly change. We cannot stay ignorant for eternity! Science is science, so is geography. Greenwich was placed as the center of world a long time ago, when the science of that time was not precise and accurately reliable (scientific). We need to abandon our bias, prejudice, ignorance, and misunderstanding, especially for people that are rock-hard about Islam being an un-peaceful, radical religion, and that all Muslims mean harm, and actually view the facts. We need to see the whole truth, not just darkly veiled, biased pieces of it, in order to understand the faith (possibly by even asking and learning from Muslims themselves), if that to you, collides with a mere scientific debate (that could be legitimate). Politics and religion have nothing to do with, and shouldn’t have anything to do with science. Besides, Mecca is a modest city, in the Middle East (known as the center/middle of the world), attracts humongous populations at times, and is very well-cared for by the Saudi government. On the other hand, Greenwich is a town!
i’m sorry for those two comments, it was by mistake. I thought it wouldn’t coem so I did another one!
I strongly disagree with # 26. as an Arab, we feel no and we don’t have any supremacy because of our language. True, the Quran is in arabic, yet arab christians are equally proud of their heritage and their language. Yet to say that this humongous geographic change, if proven by Science, is just because of Arab arrogance and the supremacy of the arabic language, or as well as Islam, is simply absurd! There was and is no Muslim dominance, and Muslims are very respectful to other religions and people. shadow a Muslim, and/or ask him/her about her feelings, and you will discover the truth. Muslims and Islam teach respect!
NEVER!!!!
Theories are there to be affirmed or refuted by research so if the need has arise for change why don’t we embrace it. Hypocricy should not take centre stage in this.No religion is superior to the other only the creator who is somewhere knows what is going on in this world of ours. please elders of today give we the younger generation a break so that we will not be confused in the already confused world.
Great!!! I have barely mastered the time system based on the Greenwich meridian. Now you want to change the prime meridian ! The resulting world confusion will cause wars and famines and earthquakes !!
Yeah, and the Catholic priests used to teach that the sun revolved around the earth. Leave it alone.
Oh, and Sameer, there are 3,000 dead New Yorkers and their families who would strongly disagree with you.
The true center of the earth is at too vulgarly a hot core for us to even bother arguing about. Let’s focus our polemics and subsequent action on global climate change, not an arbitrary longitude for clock time orientation.
In response to #29,and to the nation of Saudi Arabia, all I have to say is “Take your Islamic religion and SHOVE IT!!!”
Makes no difference where the center of the earth is to be but better leave it where it is , the Muslims or Islam is just trying to score some more points.
Ummm I may be wrong but isn’t the “center” of a circle or sphere the point around which everything revolves? That being the case wouldn’t the poles be the centers? I mean nothing revolves around London or any other point on the Prime Meridian right? Or am I hopelessly confused?
Also I suspect that neither a majority of Arabs or Muslims really care that much about moving the Prime.
Quote: “The delegates agreed that Mecca is the “true” center of the Earth.”
Mecca is the “true” center of the Earth???
As far as I know Mecca is the “true” center for TERRORISM on the Earth!
For 38, the real terorist and expansionist is your uncle Sam. Every country including Japan, Korea, Germany in addition to Arabic countries are under his control. Are you also controlled? Be clever and more rational!!!!!!!!
Absolutely agree. I hope all muslim leave Europe and all western countries. And all christians have to leave all muslim countries. That’s fair.
Well, Mecca is dubbed as the center of “terrorist” of the world. Vatican is center of evil peoples who ordered colonialsm all over the world. And Jerusalem is the center of state- terrorist in the world.
Get over it. Yet another example of ethnocentric egomaniacs trying to coopt what is not theirs. Leave well enough alone.
Well, I don’t think moving the center of the world is such an important issue. Instead scientists, geographers, and geologists should focus on global warming and major environmental issues that will affect our future. Also, what does religion have to do with this? If some Muslim scientists want to open a scientific debate, is that bad? Also, only 43% of Amereicans know what Islam really is. That is compared to 76% to other main religions. By the looks of it, most of the commenters have proven that fact. American-Muslims should not be subject to all that nasty stuff. I think that this is a minor issue, that should not be taken too seriously because it will never happen. Religion and politics should not be part of this debate. The center of the Earth should actually be the core of the Earth! Who put Greenwich as the center of the world? Let’s think rationally before we say stuff, because america plays a huge role in this (as well as expansionism)!
I would be confused if the center of the earth is changed, and time is flipped over. But I doubt it will happen, it is only a mere opinion, that should be taken too seriously, serious enough to reach anti-Islamic slurrs. Yet if it is a scientific fact, we should adapt to it. You can’t argue with sound science!
well, for those who say that mecca is the centre of terrorism, i know a lot of muslim fellows who are actually so peacefull, and against lots of things that other “so called muslims” do, fanaticism occurs in all religions and all over the world, now i think one should really study the religion itself not the people, cuz ppl are full of shit, and so easily can turn anything for theirown sake despite what it really is about!, let’s be civilised and judge them not for what the other “so called muslims” did..
For 39, 41, 41: Touchy aren’t you all.
So it’s the Yankees I see, and the Vatican too, and of course those pesky Jews – never forget them! How silly of me not to have realized and to blame those peace loving Meccans, the centre of world peace! Of course, of course its always the Yanks, Christians & Jews – and perhaps those Hindoo kafirs too. Yes, I should be clever and more rational!!!!!
Anyway, if those Muslim RELIGIOUS and SCIENTIFIC leaders are so brilliant that they can discover that Mecca is the centre of the Earth, perhaps it would not be asking too much of them to take up Dr. Ali Sina’s challenge at http://www.faithfreedom.org/challenge.htm and prove that Islam destroyer WRONG once and for all.
How do you know that Mecca is not the center of the world? Do you have scientific proof to back up your fiercely offending (to some people) opinion? Have you went into depth into this mere intro to a simple scientific debate to see if the Muslim scientists’ proof, or if religion and politics have anything to do with it? And I don’t see any mention of Mecca being the center of world peace in any of the comments you are replying to, worldpeaceplease. Yet nobody mentions the Vatican as the center of shady dealings, secret powers, veiled ambitions, etc. And you are true, the Yanks, and the Jews have a say, a big one, in world matters, possibly this petty one too which I doubt will happen. Let’s focus on better things please! Also, worldpeaceplease, from your comments you don’t sound like you really want world peace.
I respect the Islamic religion, but I don’t think the change is logical. With many problams in our world starvation, wars, and enviromental isseues. Is the next thing we need is the prime merdian changed on top of all that? Is it really worth it to please 21% of the world population where 79% will proably dissagree or unhappy with the decition? Who really cares where the center of the world is?! Save ourselves the extra stress, keep it at Greenwich!
I agree with anonymous, # 48!
THIS COMMENT IS BEING SENT IN PARTS.
FOR SOME REASON IT HAS FAILED TO BECOME POSTED DESPITE MANY ATTEMPTS TO SEND IT OVER THE PAST TWO DAYS. I AM REPLYING AS I’VE BEEN ACCUSED BY ONE COMMENTER (NO. 47) OF POSTING A “fiercely offending (to some people) opinion”. I DON’T BELIEVE THAT ANY OF THE CONTENT OF MY COMMENTS (NO. 38 & 46) CONTRAVENES THE USER AGREEMENT.
PART 1 OF 5
To Pierre (43):
Quote: “Well, I don’t think moving the center of the world is such an important issue. Instead scientists, geographers, and geologists should focus on global warming and major environmental issues that will affect our future.”
I totally agree with you on this.
Quote: Also, what does religion have to do with this?
Nothing of course, but everything(!) if you look at it from a Muslim perspective.
Quote: “If some Muslim scientists want to open a scientific debate, is that bad?”
Of course not! It’s extremely good indeed. But did you read the article carefully, dead Sir, especially the full BBC article? Did the Muslim scientists “want to open a scientific debate”, or publish their findings for peer review?
To quote from the BBC article (all emphasis are mine): “Muslim scientists and clerics have CALLED FOR the adoption of Mecca time to replace GMT”.
This does not sound to me like opening a scientific debate, which would have been much welcome I’m sure by those competent in the relevant fields.
To quote again from the BBC article: “A prominent cleric, Sheikh Youssef al-Qaradawy, said modern science had at last provided evidence that Mecca was the true centre of the Earth; PROOF, he said, of the GREATNESS of the Muslim “qibla””
Enuf said!
interesting debate
ERRATA…..
Dear Pierre (43), the words “dead Sir,” on lines 16 & 17 should have obviously read “dear Sir,”. It was a horrible typo mistake. Extremely sorry. I hope you can accept my apologies. No malice was meant. Thank you.
P.S.: Still trying to send part 2 of 5 of my message.
After 11 comments on this page we see that all those that have no desire in study, but much desire in conflict, flooded this little commenting thingy.
Personally I’m not happy that the reports forgot to link a study or paper to the research behind the conclusion by these so called “Islamic leaders”.
Mecca is only the “center” of the world to followers of Islam, not to the rest of us. It’s true that GMT was an arbitrarily decided thing when it was established. However, I find the fact that a group of Islamic scholars are the ones to call for this time change to be highly suspect and yet another another arrogant attempt to push the rest of the world around. As for Mecca being the true center of the world? Well, prove it to the rest of us in modern scientific terms that would hold up under scrutiny. And no, you can’t quote the Koran as proof.
Agree with 54. Don’t quote Koran as proof.
First, of all, worldpeaceplease, I find that the center of the Earth has nothing to do with Muslims and Muslim perspectives. As number 53 said, many commenters are trying to start conflict, and have no desire for study. Therefore, I recommend you to research information before commenting and jumping into conclusions, often full of bigot. Also, the Muslim scholars opened up scientific debate, and finding their own results, published their ideas for “peer review.” Is that wrong? No! If the American mentality constantly stays the same, with all Muslims being fanatical terrorists, and Islam is arrogant and violent, then we cannot uphold our international image. Not all Muslims are fanatical terrorists, most of them aren’t. So why are we branding all Muslims, including, American Muslims as fanatics, if only a few, worldwide, are? How do you think American Muslims are feeling? Our bigot, racism, ignorance, misunderstanding, and bias, is making us think that if some Muslim scientists suggest moving the center of the Earth to Mecca, due to their scientific evidence, then they are being arrogant, and radical. Also, who is the competent in the relevant fields? The BBC article mentioned no government responding to the notion, nor competing against it. Another thing, have you looked at, or researched the scientific evidence and proof of the Muslim scholars? How do you know they are false? They may have scientific evidence and proof to support their claim. Mecca actually does look like the center of the world, on a globe or map, better than Greenwich. Greenwich, England, was the center of the Earth, placed by the British at the height of their empire. Could Greenwich be proof to the greatness of the British and their colonial British Empire? Could Greenwich be a symbol to the muscle of the British Empire?
In addition, responding to the claim, “and no, you can’t quote the Koran as proof.” First of all I partially agree with you. The Quran must not be the only proof to the claims of the Muslim scientists. There has to be some science, too. Yet, the Quran, has many, many scientific evidence and facts, and has a plethora of knowledge. Actually some of the science in the Quran is now being discovered by modern scientists. I recommend you to read the short book, “A Brief Illustrated Guide to Understanding Islam” which contains many references to the Quran and science. It covers some aspects of science, though the Quran has much more not covered by the book. The book also contains scientists’ comments on the scientific miracles in the Quran. On its website they even have videos of the comments. Therefore, in conclusion, having the Quran and Quranic scientific evidence as one of the proofs is not so horrible, intolerable, and weak/not good. Let’s abandon our bigot!
Quoting from my last comment, # 44, “…that should be taken too seriously,..”
Sorry! I made a mistake. It should be, “..that should NOT be taken to seriously..” Thanks!
well, ppl hv noted all yr comments.
West.world mustnt mention terrorist word for muslim. coz they dont hv authority to certi/or judge others. coz islam cleaning the deadly virus……muslim neva pur…in yr plate so Y w.world go n pur…bloody puppet nation…….even yr media r false..messin da innocent ppl s head…..go n find out how many jewish died in 9-11 then u wl get yr. answer who was the culprit…..pls dont talk about religion.. islam teaches u cleanliness,science is part of our holibook. ….other wise fork n knief nation doesnt was PP after!……1 more thing those ppl calling themself hindoo.. pls note whoeva is non beliver is kaafir. why u shy to accepting that….kaafir= non beliver.
non-beliver mean doesnt belive in 1 god.. they belive in 360million god…..even check yr oldest religion that it has mentioned in vaida(ved) that there wl be 1 man coming ” god messanger Mohammad’. (do yr home work before give any comments about muslim world)
we are not finish yet>>>>?
(this message is being sent by worldpeaceplease)
PART 2 OF 5
Quote: “Also, only 43% of Amereicans know what Islam really is.”
That’s the scary part if the percentage of just 43% is correct. As the saying goes, ‘a little knowledge is a dangerous thing’. To know more about Islam just visit http://www.news.faithfreedom.org/index.php. It is not a hate site – follow the arguments there carefully and make your own conclusion.
Quote: “Muslims should not be subject to all that nasty stuff.”
Totally agreed, albeit with the qualifier that it should apply only to those of them who respect other people’s rights, beliefs and ways of life – which unfortunately is the minority.
Quote: “I think that this is a minor issue, that should not be taken too seriously because it will never happen.”
Tell that to those Muslim religious and scientific leaders of the conference, whose motivation is obviously not science but ….. Islam.
Quote: “Religion and politics should not be part of this debate.”
Of course, of course, we all know that. But what about a religion that IS political?
The 43% is correct. Don’t worry! I think it symbolizes something that we should be worried at.
Also, the number of Muslims that tolerate and respect others is the majoruty – not the minority, ironically. The extreme minority would be the “fanatical terrorists.”
I have Muslim friends. Islam is not a political religion. It is a simple one.
These are good, reccommended websites, that give you a clearer, more honest image of Islam:
http://www.islamicity.com/
http://www.religioustolerance.org/islam.htm
http://www.islam-guide.com
Also, how would you know that the motivation of the Muslim scholars/scientists is not science. They did mention scientific evidence. Are you jumping into conclusions? Are you showing off your bigot? Yes you are!The same issue is with your saying “those of them who respect other people’s rights, beliefs and ways of life – which unfortunately is the minority.” Actually it isn’t. I have been to many Islamic countries, I have seen, reported, and interviewed many Muslims – most are respectful, tolerant, friendly, and curious to/about other religions. They do not have the bitterness to Christianity as most Americans do have against Islam. Maybe you are one of the remaining 57% ignorant to the true Islam and its followers – Muslims. You shouldn’t call all Muslims terrorists, you know, because they’re (99%) not!
I thought we learned that the earth was round 2000 yrs ago. mecca cant possible be the center of the earth the center of the earth is inside the erath in the core not on the surface. and if you look at flat map the prime meridian perfectly goes down the middle. even on both sides. separte the coneccted continents from the connected continents. and beside greenwich is a good place to mark time (gmt) i mean like you could choose a part of the desert in africa some plains and small towns in spain and france or a famous observatory in england
Here are some recommended, credible, and good websites that offer clear, honest information to people keen on learning the true Islam:
http://www.islamicity.com
http://www.religioustolerance.com
http://www.islam-guide.com
Also, how do you know that the motivation of the Muslim scholars/scientists is not scientific? Didn’t they mention scientific evidence in the article – didn’t the scientists use it? Are you trying to jump into conclusions, brand them with a bad image? Are you trying to display your bigot? I think you are! Your saying, “those of them who respect other people’s rights, beliefs and ways of life – which unfortunately is the minority” is totally wrong. I have been to Islamic countries, and I have interviewed, saw, reported, and observed many Muslims. Most are tolerant, respectful, and friendly to other religions. They are also curious. Ironically, they also do not have the bitterness to Christianity, as most Americans have the bitterness to Islam. Yet, sometimes the info they get on other religions isn’t accurate, similar to our American dilemma, with the media, and other factors distorting Islam’s image, preventing us from knowing its pure essence. Could you possibly be one of the remaining 57% of American that are ignorant of the true Islam?
sorry for the extra comment. I have been having troubles with this lately. thought it didn’t work! Sorry!
As a retired physics / science teacher, I oppose the proposal of Mecca time as the standard one. I support the GMT as a standard one because of following reasons. First, earth is SPHERICAL not circular. NO town, city can be at its centre, that is about 6400 Km below the surface of earth. One can prove this using school physics. Second, we are concerned with rotation of the arth, not the magnetism. The present IDL passes through the Pacific but if the muslim proposal is accepted then the new IDL will pass through Canada. This will create two days in Canada simultaneously, making confusion especially in Canada and America. Lastly, choice of GMT has NOTHING to do with the British colonialism.
FOR THOSE WHO EMOTIONALY HATE ISLAM AND USING THIS AVENUE TO TOTALLY OUTBURST THEIR HATRED … ONLY THIS ADVISE… TURN YOURSELF AROUND AND OBSERVE…
… AND THAN TURN TO YOURSELF AND OBSERVE DEEPLY INSIDE…
…WE ARE TRAVELLING FROM SOMEWHERE FOR SOMEWHERE…
… SIMPLY NOWHERE COMPARE TO THE CREATOR…
… OOPH! CALM DOWN… ANSWER TO YOURSELF…
… KEEP ON SEARCHING…
it’s true that, scientifically, mecca is the gravitational equilibrium of earth, but i oppose changing time as it is because all of our memories of the past will be offset by hours and nothing will occur annually on time.
also, all religions are against hate.. so whats with these accusations in the comments? dont accuse the religion: accuse the people who misinterpret it or claim that they are taking action in the name of it.
to know more log on to aswatalislam,net , nooremadinah.net,islamicacademy.org no islamic website and no muslim show disrespect to any of the prophet as the christians and the jews show. u keep primemaradian at london or mumbai or tokyo or mandalgarh does nt matter truth will remain truth u say or i or he or she
I am unable to understand why that such scientific discussion turn into relegious discussion.Just prove scientificly that Muslim claim is wrong or right.We need to understand each other better as a human not as a relegious fanatic.
Neither Greenwich nor Mecca should be the center of the world. Let me explain it in a way everyone would understand… First, just take a map of the whole world (google for one online, for example): What do you see? You see that the geographer who drawed the map did the “cut” of the Earth somewhere near or across the Bhering strait so you’d see the whole North America at far left and the whole East Asia at far right… Now, if it’s a common sense for geographers to seek for doing the “cut” on an equidistant point between Alaska and the Easternmost Siberia, you will be lead to conclude/realise that the actual “center” of our globe should lie on an antipode meridian to Bhering Strait’s meridian… It would fall about the meridian 11ºW of Greenwich, which runs, by the way, very near the city of Florence, Italy.
Logic, and not politics should had ever defined the placement of the prime meridian.
Sorry for my mistake above, it should read 11º EAST of Greenwich, wich is near Florence, Italy.
I went through above comments and I found it that most of the comments by very much extremist in response to the call rather those should be logical, many of them decided in their washrooms that Makkah is the center of muslim and pilgrimage and equally enforced that it cannot be the center of the earth and rules out any possibility that this can coincide altogether.
I will really appreciate if any of them all proved it scientifically wrong and exchange some logical reasons what why the Mekkah cannot be the center of the earth, I found here more extremism in non-Muslim then for what some Muslim blamed for.
Please, please please, bang your mind and come up with a logical response to the call. For you kind information I must say here that Geologist are also called scientist and no scientist has yet proved it wrong that Makkah is the center of earth.
o.k don’t see it because you’are as a follower of a certain religion, believer, or an atheism lets prove that. a truth or untruth as a scientist.
If it is not true what for?
If It is true why not?
I am afraid everyone is missing the point here.
A) there is no need to change time to zero Mecca, since it will have numerous consequences that is dificcult to deal with.
b) Mecca is the center of the earth and by center i mean on surface and not the core. Why people where traveling to mecca to preform religious practices for thousands of years and we all know it but most dont want to believe it and deny it. look at mecca on tv and think for a second to yourself why all these people are there together at the same time at the same place performing the same religious practice.
I am afraid some of you did not and will not have the chance to go there and feel the peace that you cannot find anywhere in the world, and believe me i have traveled to the most beautiful places in the world, but nothing compared to this. why did people go there thousands of years and still do is for the only on simple reason THEY ARE NATURALLY ATTRACTED TO IT (INSTINCT). those of you who didnt and will not its because they have lost that feeling.
I have no interest in what any of you will say to me, i am glad i could go and hope to go again. But even happier that the FILTH of this world cant step foot there.
No emotion ! muslims will change time according to science conclusions and their religion. And the rest of world (ROW) do what they want. With more than 1.5 billion people, ROW will find comprmise to live with muslims.
That’s it.
The earth moves from right to left. Anti-clockwise. The Muslims tawaf – circumbulate the Kaabah in Mecca – also in anti clockwise. Does not that show that The Kaabah in Mecca is indeed the centre of the earth?
Our Last Prophet Muhammad prophecied that the end times would be full of Fitnah – Lies, Deceit, dishonesty, scandals and the likes. We, the masses, were lied to about 911 and the economic/financial situation. Could it be that we were also lied to about Greenwich being the centre of the earth?
Fail
What a load of crap.. As usual the muslims want the world to revolve around them..
There’s no such thing as the “center of the earth” when you’re on the surface. The surface of a ball has no center. It’s just Muslims being Muslims: They think the world revolves around them. Nothing so dramatic as changing UTC meridians should be done in the name of any religion since all religions are detrimental to humanity and always have been, especially Islam and Christianity.
the true center of the earth is u or I stop looking outward for the center and look inward
The earth is a sphere therefore the ‘centre of the earth’ is the core. A centre cannot be established on the surface of the earth as it is round and has no ‘centre’ .
Either way changing the location of the CUT wouldn’t make a difference to anyone.