For a very complete discussion of qibla definition and determination, see:
http://www.patriot.net/users/abdali/ftp/qibla.pdf. Very briefly, the quibla from any point is defined as the great circle between the point and Mecca. This is, however, a subject of some controversy within the Muslim community for those living far from Mecca. There is a huge amount of material on this topic on the net. Best regards, Jim From: Frank Evans <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Thu Sep 29 03:19:29 CDT 2005 To: Sundial <[email protected]> Subject: east and west, an afterthought Greetings fellow dialists, I showed the east west problem of the Belfast Muslims to an old sea captain acquaintance of mine (we were shipmates sixty years ago) and although he did not offer a solution he came up with the following: Belfast to Mecca Rhumb line: 133.2 deg true, 2913.5 nautical miles Great circle: 115.1 deg true, 2874.9 nautical miles. This raises the question for the faithful, when facing Mecca should one use the rhumb line or the great circle direction? Not much of a problem at the time of the Prophet but perhaps more important now! Frank 55N 1W -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.344 / Virus Database: 267.11.8/114 - Release Date: 28/09/2005 - James E. Morrison [EMAIL PROTECTED] Astrolabe web site at astrolabes.org -
