40-year-old Anousheh Ansari entered the International Space Station today. All of the newsfeeds I read bill her as “the first female space tourist,” but al-Jazeera (via Reuters) also notes that she is the first female Muslim and first Iranian in space. I have to admit that I have a little web-crush on her: she’s Persian, a space exploration advocate, and one of her goals is to “inspire youth, and especially girls, around the world to fulfill their dreams.” Plus she looks really good in a spacesuit.
She also wants to set an example for young Iranians: “I think my flight has become a sort of ray of hope for young Iranians living in Iran, helping them to look forward to something positive, because everything they’ve been hearing is all so very depressing and talks of war and talks of bloodshed.” She’s right; it is refreshing to hear Iran mentioned in the news without being paired with words like “nuclear” and “terrorism.”
Iran’s Islamic Republic News Agency sees fit to scroll “Iranian Engineer Invents Anti-Snoring Pillow in Germany” across the top of their main page, but there’s no mention of Ansari. However, this other state-supported information agency has a pleasant write-up.
5 responses so far ↓
1 pilgrimgirl // Sep 21, 2006 at 10:00 pm
So how does one pray to Mecca in space? Does weightlessness complicate matters?
2 Misty // Sep 22, 2006 at 12:57 am
And she is also my best friend’s (Mercedeh’s) cousin! No kidding!!!!
3 Miko // Sep 22, 2006 at 8:33 am
Ms. Pilgrim: I read an essay on that very topic written by an imam who believed that we would eventually establish colonies on the moon. His thesis was that the angels who surround the Ka’aba (but obviously higher up than earth) would form a column of holiness and so, when the moon is directly over the Ka’aba the spot that that column would hit would be the lunar equivilent of Mecca. I found this fascinating, but I suppose it doesn’t answer you question…sorry. :-p
4 John // Sep 22, 2006 at 11:24 pm
Misty, welcome! And whoa–small world!
5 John // Sep 22, 2006 at 11:25 pm
Maybe when human reach the stars, future Muslim colonists will pray towards Sol?
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