A Saudi cleric by the name of Sheikh Bandar al-Khaibari rejected the theory of ‘Earth revolves around the Sun’ in a recent video, and claimed that the opposite is true, according to a foreign news agency.
His statements sparked a wave of social media remarks from all over the world.
When a student questioned him about the Earth being ‘stationary or moving’, Sheikh Bandar
al-Khaibari responded with ‘stationary and does not move’.
Khaibari quoted some clerics and chose to present some religious statements. He also used some visuals to strengthen his argument.
He argued that if a plane stops still in the air, “China would be coming towards it in case the Earth rotates in one direction. If the Earth rotates in the opposite direction, the plane would never reach China, because China is also rotating,” he explained.
A wave of controversial remarks flooded social media, following the clerics video, so much so that a new hashtag began trending on Twitter: #cleric_rejects_rotation_of_Earth
RT @ZaheerHuss Now we know the source of Saudi #moonsighting problem, #cleric_rejects_rotation_of_Earth
— Hammad Anwar (@manihammad) February 17, 2015
Please tell me you’ve seen this @ThinkAtheist http://t.co/V8eRiwPxwj #cleric_rejects_rotation_of_Earth — Rob (@robc1981) February 17, 2015
Ignorance is bliss..the next would be ‘Saudi at the centre of flat earth’. #cleric_rejects_rotation_of_earth : http://t.co/47yPO88roW — Sooraj R (@sooraj_rit) February 17, 2015
Be ready for some more criticism to Islam. #cleric_rejects_rotation_of_Earth
— ╰☆╮ⒽⒾⓇⒶ╭☆╯ด้้้้้็็็็ (@hrhirabatool) February 17, 2015
#cleric_rejects_rotation_of_Earth People are looking at the world from outer space,but looking at the world from the imam world.
— serdal (@serdal_polat) February 17, 2015
@aleemuddeenkhan Women dont need to drive.They can jump in 1 place n wait 4 the market to ‘rotate’ to them #cleric_rejects_rotation_of_Earth
— Usman Zafar (@zafarsmu) February 17, 2015
Now I understand why women not allowed to drive cars. #cleric_rejects_rotation_of_Earth
— Aleemuddeen Khan (@aleemuddeenkhan) February 17, 2015