- Location
- Luton Airport
The initial landing site for a given planet would make sense there, as the symbolic link to the original on Earth, so everyone would technically still be praying in the same direction.
Cliches you can't stand
- Thread starter Mithras
- Start date
The Victorian
Elven Supremacist
- Location
- Canada
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I'm reminded of Uhura from TOS. In many ways she was a "token" character, her role being little more than a bridge secretary, but merely the act of having a black woman on the bridge crew was vital in itself. Nichelle Nichols once described in an interview how Whoopi Goldberg saw an episode of TOS as a child and exclaimed "Mama! Mama! Come quick! There's a black lady on TV and she ain't no maid!"
Representation is not about "whining" or "wanting to be pandered to." It's about about acknowledging the existence of groups who have otherwise been ignored or maginalised by popular culture.
serra2
Himouto! Sylvanas-chan
The only time I have seen Muslims appear in Sci-Fi (without being generic Jihaidis that manly Space Marines punch to death) was in Anne McCaffery's Acorna. It was not a very good representation, but it was fascinating in it's "Muslims 6 centuries and multiple religious schisms later" appearance.
For movies, Pitch Black/Chronicles of Riddick comes to mind (which is... I think the only movie SF example I know), and there's the Thirteenth Warrior about a muslim poet alongside vikings, plus a few Robin Hoods have given Robin a Moor friend. But there's not a lot!
It's pretty sad that I think comic books have the edge here.
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Mortis Nuntius
Theon Killjoy
- Location
- United Kingdom
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves ended up surprisingly thoughtful. What with starting showing Crusader Prisoners being starved, tortured and mutilated and Robin barely escaping with his life from the cruel Saracens but then having his Moorish companion not only be brave and skilled and reliable but also more worldly and "civilised".
Yea, good point!
This applies to fantasy too. One thing that's cool about Pathfinder's Golarion is it has heresies. Like "This god is lawful evil, most of it's priesthood are LE or NE, but there are LN who are considered heretics by the others," and the gods which objectively exist don't, of course, communicate enough to settle this themselves. There's one notable sect of the major Good goddess Sarenrae, the 'Cult of the Dawnflower,' which is significantly more aggressive and militant in it's approach. And even then, it's honestly not near as varied as RL religions, even as it's the most varied I can think of in a D&D type setting.
Hm, Oglaf has different takes on Sirak, come to think of it...
- Location
- The Old Dominion
Christopher Stasheff Warlock series certainly made use of splintering in Christianity in the background. It might have had a resurgent and strong catholic church in the background but it also made mention that some of the colonies that had been cut off got some rather odd ideas which were sometimes with an example being given of a planet of where the catholic church and the local hierarchy excommunicated each other because the local church had gotten the idea that plants somehow had souls.
Also the series had a catholic saint of electronics and computers which is always cool.
Also the series had a catholic saint of electronics and computers which is always cool.
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- Location
- Luton Airport
Dune's got the Zensunnis and Orange Catholics.
You know, I feel like this may have some official answers, it sounds familiar...
*Searches* Ah yea!
Mecca in orbit ('07 article) / the rules for Islamic Prayer in space ('14 article)
Which so far only really covers up to orbit, of course, but seem like a starting point.
- Location
- BaWü
We already have someone that has a high chance to be the saint of the internet with Isidore of Seville, so that doesn't seem too far in the future.
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
And the other Third Islam groups, among others.
NemiTheNen
Perpetual Phone Poster
Pretty much this, alternitivaly, Mosqus migh have tilted boards to point you at earth. Circular mosqus relying on centerfugal force so you can pray at Mecca.
I'm really interested in the fasts, like when do you not eat when you're in space?
Reveen
Castro-Trudeauist
Nah, I'm pretty sure most Space Muslims will just hedge it and pray in the general direction. That's what they already do, they don't get booted from the faith for not breaking out google maps and a compass to make sure they're pointing at the exact heading. Like, maybe the most devout Muslims will do that, but that's their problem.
Vyslanté
The self is a prison
- Location
- European Union
I'm finding the idea of some super-devout space Muslims breaking the starcharts to determine where the hell is Earth exactly to be vaguely amusing.
The Victorian
Elven Supremacist
- Location
- Canada
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I've heard that the science of determining the Qibla was, in some ways, the impetus for a number of scientific and mathematical innovations during the early Middle Ages, so it stands to reason the same idea might apply in the future, too.
Isn't checking maps to figure out just what direction Mecca is in encouraged? Like, there were huge amounts of effort gone into mapmaking in the past to figure out what way to face Mecca?
Reveen
Castro-Trudeauist
Sounds like rich people and clergy with too much time on their hands. Like the Conquistadors getting a rodent classified as a fish so they could eat it on lent. I seriously doubt the vast majority of working class Muslims worried about that shit.
Hykal94
Orange Estus Kitteh
- Location
- Firelink Shrine
Muslims who live in the very northern parts of the world, the kind where the days or nights are long, arbitrarily use Saudi Arabia's timezone for pragmatism's sake.
Yes! But most Muslims don't really mind as long as you face West/East. Some of course, like to use compasses because compasses are cool.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
https://makkah.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/a_guideline_ibadah_at_iss.pdf
I don't recollect knife fights during the drafting of that document, but maybe they never made the news.
NemiTheNen
Perpetual Phone Poster
The problem is that the general direction might be downwards, or upwards
Hykal94
Orange Estus Kitteh
- Location
- Firelink Shrine
https://makkah.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/a_guideline_ibadah_at_iss.pdf
I don't recollect knife fights during the drafting of that document, but maybe they never made the news.
Oh, I'm just hyperboling it. There's always some hullabaloo when Ramadhan comes and that uncle of yours argues the first day is after or before the actual day. I reckon actual imams engage in slapfights in which is never made known to the public.
I'll toss in that Uhura was more than secretary- she was an extremely competent polygot who did her share of repairs and so on, treated as a peer to the others. As was Sulu, another important icon!
But she was a role that could be anyone, and was a black woman.
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- Location
- Malaysia
I think it's mostly because it's their job to determine these issues. They are the experts. For some(most) devout, the ambiguity brings hesitance and hesitance in ibadah is not encouraged. The average Muslim won't know half the things these people do, which is why when these sort of issues crop up they are going to ask the ulamas and sooner or later they are going to have to tackle this anyway. Just because it seems too complicated for average people doesn't mean it's not useful. Religion is serious business yo.
And really, it's like science in a way. You won't know these things if you don't try to tackle it one way or another. Innovation and new field of studies came up from the efforts of figuring things out. Maybe one day the falak and qibla-in-space studies will actually help us chart galactic maps, who knows. I think @Vyslanté 's post describes it best, especially when you are in the middle of space travel. Star chart is certainly going to help.
- Location
- The Old Dominion
I am reminded of It:Terror from beyond(it helped to inspire one of the writers for Alien apparently) space a scifi 1950s B movie which was notable not just for its better funding than usual for such films but not only did it have female astronauts without them trying to justify it but one was a doctor at a time when women were expected to be nurses not doctors and no big deal was made about her being a doctor.
The Victorian
Elven Supremacist
- Location
- Canada
- Pronouns
- He/Him
"Humanity, fuck yeah!" in any of its forms.
I'm churning a WH40K fic over in my head, one focussed on the Eldar. Like everything else I write, it's going to be incredibly self-indulgent, so it will most likely end up being a "Humanity, fuck no!" type of story. The human characters will be, for the most part, ignorant, superstitious, fanatical, bloodthirsty, genocidal, or just plain stupid.
Everyone hates elves (or species with elf-like characteristics, such as the asari) because they act "superior." But I guarantee you that, in any work of fantasy or sci-fi, it will be humans that are shown to be superior time and time again when the rubber meets the road. Humans learn faster, adapt quicker, master things in decades what took other races centuries to master, and are far more individualistic, free-thinking, and progressive than other species, who are invariably hidebound and stagnant.
Look at this quote from Mass Effect 3:
Now, this could be just Shepard blustering, but it's obvious to me that the writers want us to agree with his point of view. But the implication is that other races don't fight and aren't willing to make sacrifices.
I'm churning a WH40K fic over in my head, one focussed on the Eldar. Like everything else I write, it's going to be incredibly self-indulgent, so it will most likely end up being a "Humanity, fuck no!" type of story. The human characters will be, for the most part, ignorant, superstitious, fanatical, bloodthirsty, genocidal, or just plain stupid.
Everyone hates elves (or species with elf-like characteristics, such as the asari) because they act "superior." But I guarantee you that, in any work of fantasy or sci-fi, it will be humans that are shown to be superior time and time again when the rubber meets the road. Humans learn faster, adapt quicker, master things in decades what took other races centuries to master, and are far more individualistic, free-thinking, and progressive than other species, who are invariably hidebound and stagnant.
Look at this quote from Mass Effect 3:
Now, this could be just Shepard blustering, but it's obvious to me that the writers want us to agree with his point of view. But the implication is that other races don't fight and aren't willing to make sacrifices.