Mecca Time
Encyclopedia
Mecca Time is a time standard that uses the line of longitude that goes through Mecca
, Saudi Arabia
(39°49′34″ E of the Greenwich Meridian) as its Prime Meridian
. Its proposed use as a global standard is based on the claim that the city is the true center of the Earth and thus should become the basis of the world's timezones. A clock based on this meridian would be at approximately UTC+02:39:18.2.
The proposal was made by Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi
and other Muslim
clerics meeting in Doha
, Qatar
on April 21, 2008 for a conference titled "Mecca: the Center of the Earth, Theory and Practice."
, AH 1431), the world's largest clock (at Mecca)
started to operate. Some Muslims hoped that this would establish "Mecca Time" as the world's defining timezone. While officials had originally expressed the conviction that the clock might help to establish Mecca as prime meridian, the decision to set it to Arabia Standard Time, a time zone based on Universal Coordinated Time and thus in coordination with Greenwich, suggests that these hopes might not bear fruit.
and other Islamic scriptures — a trend called "Ijaz al-Qur'an" (Miraculous nature of the Qur'an). The conference promotes the belief that Islamic scripture also revealed scientific details, which Islamic scholars seeking to unearth and publicize the textual evidence.
The conference revived a decades-old controversial issue, contending that the Greenwich Meridian was imposed by Britain
and Western civilization
during the colonial period
and that Islam, unlike other religions, does not contradict science. One of the contentions was that unlike other longitude
s, Mecca was in perfect alignment with the magnetic north. Muslim clerics hail this as evidence of the greatness of the qibla
—the direction determined to be towards Mecca that Muslims across the world must turn towards while reciting prayers.
. As the geomagnetic field of the earth continuously changes the deviation of the compass needle from true north (known as the magnetic declination
) also slowly changes. In the past there were epochs when the compass needle at Mecca pointed true north (and there will be future epochs when this is true again) but at the moment the line of no compass deviation is located somewhat to the southeast of Mecca. In 2012 the magnetic declination
of Mecca will be 3.10° East and will continue to increase at about +0.07° per year.
Nor can Mecca claim to be the "true center of the Earth", presumably meaning "located at the center of the terrestrial hemisphere containing the largest area of land". The center of the land hemisphere
is actually located in France, near the city of Nantes (about 4700 km from Mecca).
During the 1884 International Meridian Conference
, when Greenwich was established as the initial meridian
, the Ottoman Empire
, at that time controlling Mecca, voted with the majority for Greenwich.
The concept of Mecca Time was described as "a beautiful example of cargo cult science
" by PZ Myers
in reaction to the news of the building of the Mecca clock.
networks, particularly Al Arabiya
, refer to Saudi Arabia Time (UTC+03:00) as "توقيت مكة المكرمة" (Tawqīt Makkah al-Mukarramah), i.e. "Mecca Time."
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
(39°49′34″ E of the Greenwich Meridian) as its Prime Meridian
Prime Meridian
The Prime Meridian is the meridian at which the longitude is defined to be 0°.The Prime Meridian and its opposite the 180th meridian , which the International Date Line generally follows, form a great circle that divides the Earth into the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.An international...
. Its proposed use as a global standard is based on the claim that the city is the true center of the Earth and thus should become the basis of the world's timezones. A clock based on this meridian would be at approximately UTC+02:39:18.2.
The proposal was made by Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi
Yusuf al-Qaradawi
Yusuf al-Qaradawi is a controversial Egyptian Islamic theologian. He is best known for his programme, ash-Shariah wal-Hayat , broadcast on Al Jazeera, which has an estimated audience of 60 million worldwide...
and other Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
clerics meeting in Doha
Doha
Doha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar...
, Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
on April 21, 2008 for a conference titled "Mecca: the Center of the Earth, Theory and Practice."
Mecca clock
On 11 August 2010, (1 RamadanRamadan
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which lasts 29 or 30 days. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex during daylight hours and is intended to teach Muslims about patience, spirituality, humility and...
, AH 1431), the world's largest clock (at Mecca)
Abraj Al Bait Towers
The Abraj Al-Bait Towers, also known as the Mecca Royal Hotel Clock Tower, is a building complex in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The complex holds several world records, including the tallest hotel in the world, the tallest clock tower in the world, the world's largest clock face, and the world's largest...
started to operate. Some Muslims hoped that this would establish "Mecca Time" as the world's defining timezone. While officials had originally expressed the conviction that the clock might help to establish Mecca as prime meridian, the decision to set it to Arabia Standard Time, a time zone based on Universal Coordinated Time and thus in coordination with Greenwich, suggests that these hopes might not bear fruit.
Qatar conference
The "Mecca: the Center of the Earth, Theory and Practice" conference was organized and attended by Muslim theologians and other religious officials from across the world. The Qatar meeting was the culmination of efforts to seek answers for scientific questions from the Qur'anQur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
and other Islamic scriptures — a trend called "Ijaz al-Qur'an" (Miraculous nature of the Qur'an). The conference promotes the belief that Islamic scripture also revealed scientific details, which Islamic scholars seeking to unearth and publicize the textual evidence.
The conference revived a decades-old controversial issue, contending that the Greenwich Meridian was imposed by Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Western civilization
Western culture
Western culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...
during the colonial period
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
and that Islam, unlike other religions, does not contradict science. One of the contentions was that unlike other longitude
Longitude
Longitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east-west position of a point on the Earth's surface. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees, minutes and seconds, and denoted by the Greek letter lambda ....
s, Mecca was in perfect alignment with the magnetic north. Muslim clerics hail this as evidence of the greatness of the qibla
Qibla
The Qiblah , also transliterated as Qibla, Kiblah or Kibla, is the direction that should be faced when a Muslim prays during salah...
—the direction determined to be towards Mecca that Muslims across the world must turn towards while reciting prayers.
Criticism
Mecca is not aligned with the North Magnetic PoleNorth Magnetic Pole
The Earth's North Magnetic Pole is the point on the surface of the Northern Hemisphere at which the Earth's magnetic field points vertically downwards . Though geographically in the north, it is, by the direction of the magnetic field lines, physically the south pole of the Earth's magnetic field...
. As the geomagnetic field of the earth continuously changes the deviation of the compass needle from true north (known as the magnetic declination
Magnetic declination
Magnetic declination is the angle between magnetic north and true north. The declination is positive when the magnetic north is east of true north. The term magnetic variation is a synonym, and is more often used in navigation...
) also slowly changes. In the past there were epochs when the compass needle at Mecca pointed true north (and there will be future epochs when this is true again) but at the moment the line of no compass deviation is located somewhat to the southeast of Mecca. In 2012 the magnetic declination
Magnetic declination
Magnetic declination is the angle between magnetic north and true north. The declination is positive when the magnetic north is east of true north. The term magnetic variation is a synonym, and is more often used in navigation...
of Mecca will be 3.10° East and will continue to increase at about +0.07° per year.
Nor can Mecca claim to be the "true center of the Earth", presumably meaning "located at the center of the terrestrial hemisphere containing the largest area of land". The center of the land hemisphere
Land hemisphere
The land hemisphere, sometimes capitalised as the Land Hemisphere, is the hemisphere on the Earth containing the largest possible area of land. It is centered on or on ....
is actually located in France, near the city of Nantes (about 4700 km from Mecca).
During the 1884 International Meridian Conference
International Meridian Conference
The International Meridian Conference was a conference held in October 1884 in Washington, D.C., in the United States to determine the Prime Meridian of the world. The conference was held at the request of U.S. President Chester A...
, when Greenwich was established as the initial meridian
Prime Meridian
The Prime Meridian is the meridian at which the longitude is defined to be 0°.The Prime Meridian and its opposite the 180th meridian , which the International Date Line generally follows, form a great circle that divides the Earth into the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.An international...
, the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, at that time controlling Mecca, voted with the majority for Greenwich.
The concept of Mecca Time was described as "a beautiful example of cargo cult science
Cargo cult science
Cargo cult science refers to practices that have the semblance of being scientific, but are missing "a kind of scientific integrity, a principle of scientific thought that corresponds to a kind of utter honesty". The term was first used by the physicist Richard Feynman during his commencement...
" by PZ Myers
PZ Myers
Paul Zachary "PZ" Myers is an American biology professor at the University of Minnesota Morris and the author of the Pharyngula science blog. He is currently an associate professor of biology at UMM, works with zebrafish in the field of evolutionary developmental biology , and also cultivates an...
in reaction to the news of the building of the Mecca clock.
Other uses
Pan-Arab satellite televisionSatellite television
Satellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...
networks, particularly Al Arabiya
Al Arabiya
Al Arabiya is a Pan-Arabist Saudi-owned Arabic-language television news channel. Launched on March 3, 2003, the channel is based in Dubai Media City, United Arab Emirates, and is majority-owned by the Saudi broadcaster Middle East Broadcasting Center ....
, refer to Saudi Arabia Time (UTC+03:00) as "توقيت مكة المكرمة" (Tawqīt Makkah al-Mukarramah), i.e. "Mecca Time."