Fundamentalist Geography: Mecca Time and Other Misadventures

At a conference a group of Muslim clerics and scientists declared that Greenwich Mean Time was forced upon the world by the British (not quite true but an understandable point-of-view) and therefore Mecca should be declared the international time standard.

The group claims Mecca is the center of the Earth. One of the few "proofs" published is the claim Mecca aligns with the magnetic North Pole. However, 1) right now it does not and 2) the magnetic North Pole moves around.

Islam is a religion historically open to science. Many Muslims and non-Muslim look back to periods of the Islamic past as a golden age of knowledge. The Koran even teaches one to investigate and have an open mind. However, certain scientifically wrong passages and false teachings by Muhammad have led to fundamentalist scientists to teach errors whether it is making up joints in the body to prove their prophet correct or teaching Mecca's God-produced radition has been noticed by NASA or the Earth is a flat disk larger than the flat disc Sun.

Islam is not the only religion to have bad geography. Interpretation can lead Mormons to believe in Latin American Hebrew Indians, Christians believing in a flat earth with four corners, and Hindus believing in monkey-made land bridges.

Some may say why not change to Mecca time or why not let Muslim countries use it? The simple answer is standards are standards. The whole point of setting one time as key was to avoid confusion internationally. A person is free to think and use whatever he wants; however, in a globalized world comprehension is needed by all. Remember the Tower of Babel...