Islamic Religious Practice in Outer Space

Abstract

In October 2007, Malaysia sent its first astronaut into space. The thirty-six year old orthopaedic surgeon, Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, was sent to the International Space Station on 10 October 2007 and returned to earth on 21 October 2007. As the astronaut was a practicing Muslim the Malaysian space agency provided him with advice on religious practice in the form of a guideline for performing the Islamic rites at the space station, and adapted classical legal opinions on religious practice during travel to the new context of outer space.