Ahad, 23 September 2012
Time to bust this famous myth
Fifty years on and the biggest myth of all is not that the moon landing is fake (busted in Mythbusters last year BTW). The biggest myth surrounding the moon landing to me is the Neil Armstrong is a Muslim.
So what's the myth? The story goes a little something like this;
"When Neil Armstrong landed on the moon he started exploring the lunar surface for geological samples. While jumping around in almost zero gravity he found a large trench that seems to go on forever. While inspecting the trench he started hearing someone singing in his earpiece. After a while the singing ceased and he was sure that was just radio interference coming from earth. Fast forward a few years later while on holiday in Egypt, he was shocked to hear the same song in Cairo. He then tried to find the source of this singing and suddenly realised that the "singing" was actually the Muezzin calling for prayers. He then met the imam and told him about his experience on the moon. The imam told him that the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) once split the moon in half. Neil converted to Islam then and there. NASA and the USA was furious that the first man on the moon converted to Islam. He was subsequently kicked out of the space programme and revoked of his ambassadorial privileges. This is why he is no longer in the public eye. The US hates Muslims "
This story is quite famous in the 80’s. Back then we don’t have Wikipedia or Answers.com to verify the story. The story was told to me by a school teacher and naturally I believe everything that he said. I mean, would a teacher lied to me? Seriously! A couple of days ago I stumbled upon this story again through an email. After all this years I totally forgot all about it. With the power of the internet I decided to investigate this Myth just like Jamie and Adam from Mythbusters!
First of all let’s discuss the “trench on the moon” part of the story. Anyone can Google the surface of the moon from their PC (or Mac for you Apple snobs!) these days. Just click here and look at the landing area for Apollo 11 yourself. Can you see any trenches there? Sorry people but the trench on the moon myth is busted. Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) might have cleaved the moon in half,but no trenches can be found where the moon fused back together. So this busted the first part of the Myth.
How about his “disappearance” from the late 70’s until now? This is easily explainable to be honest. Neil shied away from the limelight when he feared that his celebrity status might harm the space programme. Even back then there are people who think the space and moon exploration was a complete waste of funds. He decided to stop making public appearances so that people will concentrate on the scientific aspect of NASA’s programmes. He further shied away from public when he found out that people are making money out of his memorabilia. His signed autograph can fetch thousand of dollars on EBay. As a result he no longer signs autograph these days. This bust the myth that he was sacked from NASA when in fact he voluntarily shied away from making public appearances. Second part of the myth busted!
The best way to bust this myth is obviously to ask tuan punya badan himself. Back in 2005, Armstrong visited Malaysia for the Global Leadership Forum. He was asked about this by a journalist. This was his answer;
So there you have it folks. A myth that has been going around since I was about 8 years old is finally BUSTED. So please stop spreading this myth to your kids. Personally I think the myth was created because the Muslim world was lacking any positive role models at that time. Not surprisingly this myth resurfaced just in time for the 40th anniversary and at a time where the most famous Muslim in the world is Osama ben Laden. This shows how we desperately need a positive Muslim role model to look up to. Coincidently this is why the MJ rumour also started as well. After seeing how millions looked up to him some Muslims decide to take him as ONE OF OURS. Roll back around 5 years ago we have another equally stupid rumour. At a time when Pottermania was at it peak, emails started circulating that Emma Watson converted to Islam. This coincided with the time where she threatened to quit the franchise over pay dispute. Instead of the pay dispute the rumour claimed that she refuse to star in future Potter movie due to its “Satanic content”. A few weeks later another rumour came out this time claiming that Emma was killed by her parents because she refuse to revert to Christianity! As Ronald Weasley might say;
“Bloody hell! That was mental!”
What can we learn from today’s moon themed entry? Rumours and myths are created for the lulz. Everyone love a good conspiracy theory but in the age where Google is your friend please think twice before forwarding that email!
IN B4 ILLUMINATI JEWS OWNS THE INTERWEBS
Other sources to debunk this Myth
Armstrong Myth Debunked
p/s : Christopher Columbus, Charles Lindbergh, and Neil Armstrong. Ha, ha, ha. Neil Armstrong!
