A video appearing to show a Saudi
cleric saying the Earth does not rotate has gone
viral, generating humour and criticism. In the
clip, a man identified as Sheikh Bandar al-
Khaibari appears to respond to a student’s
question on whether the Earth is stationary or
moving by saying that it is “stationary and does
not move”.
He illustrates his theory with a sealed water cup,
trying to explain how a stationary plane would
have trouble reaching China if the country was
rotating away from it.
“First of all, where are we now? We go to
Sharjah airport to travel to China by plane, clear?
Focus with me, this is Earth,” he said, holding up
a sealed cup of water.
“If you say that it rotates, if we leave Sharjah
airport on an international flight to China.
“The Earth is rotating, right? So if the plane
stops still on air, wouldn’t China be coming
towards it? True or not?
“If the Earth rotates on the other direction, the
plane will not be able to reach China, because
China is also rotating as the plane rotates.”
The video of his comments has sparked ridicule
online with Twitter users posting using the
hashtag #cleric_rejects_rotation_of_Earth.
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