Italian philosopher, physicist, mathematician and an astronomer Galileo played a pivotal role in the scientific revolution and the renaissance era in this world. He was a very strong advocate of the heliocentric model that places the sun at the center of the universe, with the Earth orbiting around it. The Catholic Church, at the time, declared that his theory contradicted the holy Bible, Psalm 5:104, which states that God "set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved". Galileo wasn't even aware that this type of conflict would arise; he stated that the holy verse shouldn't be followed literally. However his ideas came under violent attack and he fell victim to religious inquisition. He was sent to Rome in 1616, to defend himself. He asked the church not to ban his books, but he failed to convince them. He received an order from Cardinal Bellarmine to stop believing or advocating the heliocentric model. Galileo complied for a while, but after sixteen years returned to his former position and wrote a book named ‘Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems'. A year later, in 1633, he was tried for infidelity and heresy by the Roman Church. Galileo faced the religious inquisition because he declared that the earth revolved around the sun. He was also imprisoned, but the sentence was reduced to house arrest. His book ‘Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems' was banned, and so were all his other books. It is also said that after he publicly repented in church he whispered ‘but it still revolves', as the famous Egyptian actor Naguib El Rihany portrayed in his movie. We will speak next about Galileo's godfather, the Polish Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543). He was a priest, an astronomer, a mathematician and a lawyer. He is the real detonator of the modern astronomical revolution. Copernicus was the first to put forth the heliocentric theory, with the planets orbiting around the sun as shown in his book ‘On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres', where he discussed the older geocentric theory that put the Earth at the center of the universe and was widespread in Europe from 1400 to 1600. Copernicus' fame soared when he adopted the idea that the sun and not the earth was a stationary body at the center of the Solar system, contrary to the prevailing beliefs at the time. Copernicus confronted the Ptolemaic geocentric that withstood ant contradiction for a very long time. Modern day Wahhabis, though, seem to uphold the Ptolemaic view. Advocates of the Wahhabi Brotherhood still insist on denying the rotation of the Earth around the sun and negate that man has made it to the moon. A Wahhabi advocate said on a Muslim Brotherhood-owned satellite TV channel that, "the theories of Wahhabi scientists like Sheik Al Baz and Al Fawzan confirm that the earth is stationary and does not move." This Wahhabi person managed to abolish all scientific bases in just one sentence saying, "if the earth were in motion, then China would come to us. Planes wouldn't have to cover long distances to reach it." He also said "the Earth is immobile, it does not even revolve around itself, but the sun does revolve around the earth. That is what our good ancestors and scientists teach us. Do not believe the heretics and infidels of the West." Ibn Baz and Ibn-Othaimeen call everyone who believes that the Earth is round an infidel and a non-believer. Conclusion: Abdel Aziz ibn Baz issued a fatwa that it was sinful to say that the Earth revolves. He said that it was a false statement and that a person believing that would be excommunicated as it contradicts the Holy Quran. The Holy Quran says that God anchored the Earth with "mountains as pegs". It also says that the Earth was ‘flattened', that it is not round and does not revolve. However, its revolution may be the result of God's wrath as stated in the meaning of some holy verses.
