Mosques Facing the Wrong Way -- Indonesia

The Ministry of Religion has done a survey of Mosques in Indonesia and has determined that at least 20% of them are getting worshipers to face in the wrong direction. Muslims are required to face Mecca when they pray no matter where on the globe (or presumably in the galaxy) they are.

It seems that the majority of the Mosques that are in error are also located in areas that have frequently suffered earthquakes. Nevertheless, the Ministry has suggested that rather than wholesale renovations, or the tearing down of Mosques, that the responsible parties make the necessary corrections by informing worshipers that they need to face in a slightly different direction in order to be facing Mecca.

The Ministry survey team relied on the use of GPS devices to plot the exact location of Mecca relevant to each Mosque.

This "oops" moment follows close on the heels of a statement from Mutoha Arkanuddin, an Islamic scholar, who claimed that as many as 80% of Indonesian mosques and graves (for Muslims) were not facing in the 'right' direction.

I am not a Muslim, so I really do not know how big a deal this is in the big scheme of things. But, I would imagine that if you were the family member of a Muslim whose grave was facing in the wrong direction, the you are like to be a little concerned about what this means for your deceased loved one.

I wonder if there is going to be widespread exhuming and repositioning of loved ones with the use of GPS?

"Scandalous" Advertising...

This could be an interesting debate, "What constitutes scandalous advertising, and should it be banned?"

Some of the names that have been approved as trade marks recently include: Knut clothing (Kunt clothing was rejected -- wonder why? Reminds me of FCUK), Hot Cock foods, Porn Star clothing, and as the picture above shows, Cocaine, which has been approved for some time as I recall.

Funnily enough, the Trade Marks Registrar would not approve religious related words as trade marks. So, words like: Jesus, Mecca, and Hallelujah did not make the cut. I wonder if Muhammad could be trade marked?

What constitutes scandalous and what scandalizes is going to very from person to person. Scandalous is clearly subjective and therefore who should be responsible for determining what is likely to scandalize us or offend us.

I am not sure that I am into eating Hot Cock foods or wearing Porn Star clothes (last time I checked porn stars tended not to wear a whole lot of clothes). Yet, I am also not scandalized by the names being trade marked or if others decide to purchase the products on offer.

Interesting times we live in.