Submitted without comment: how to pray facing Mecca from low-Earth orbit. An excerpt from "The Determination of Prayer Times and Direction of the Qiblah in Space," by Dr. Zainol Abidin Abdul Rashid, translated from Malay by Jessica Ramakrishnan, published in the November issue of Harper's, and also here. Presented at a conference on Islam and Life in Space.
As trips to space become commonplace, human civilization will no longer be tied to the surface of the Earth. But Muslims, wherever they are- whether on Earth or in space - are bound by duty to perform the obligations of worship. A Muslim who wants to travel must study the techniques of determining prayer times and the direction of the Qibla ahead of travel in order to achieve complete worship. I will elaborate the method of determining prayer times and the Qiblah direction in space, primarily on the International Space Station (ISS). ...
