biofuels - harem
Well that kind of puts a spanner in the works for developing alternatives to petrol and diesal, unless some workaround can be found for the middle east.
http://cleantech.com/news/4196/muslim-cleric-says-biofuels-are-sin
Islamic scholar calls for further study as he notes that any use of alcohol is prohibited, even as fuel.
Adaptation of biofuels could be limited in Muslim communities after an Islamic scholar yesterday called for religious groups to study whether biofuels violate the ban on alcohol in the religion.
Sheik Mohamed al-Najimi of the Saudi Islamic Jurisprudence Academy told the the Saudi newspaper Shams that the prophet Mohammed prohibited all dealings with alcohol—which would include buying, selling, transporting, drinking, serving and manufacturing.
Ethanol is derived from ethyl alcohol, which al-Najimi said would fall into the prohibited category. In the process to make ethanol, sugar or starch from plants is converted into ethyl alcohol through yeast fermentation (see Tweaking corn genes to boost biofuel yields).
Biofuel "is basically made up of alcohol," he said.
Al-Najimi said his opinion on biofuels should not be considered a fatwa, or a legal pronouncement in Islam, but should prompt Islamic leaders to study the issue.
Al-Najimi said he thinks a ban on biofuels should extend beyond predominately Muslim countries to include Saudi and Muslim youth studying abroad who ride in vehicles using biofuel. Many Western and Eastern governments have established mandates for biofuel to be blended in petroleum based fuel in increasing percentages (see India, EU affirm new biofuels and Ethanol blend increases while oil reaches new low).
maybe he's saying that because he knows saudi will be useless when people stop using petroluem
Perhaps the simple answer is that he wants to head a think tank , get funding and spend a couple of years on this study..
Similar to the quangos in the UK :)
Roadtester thanx for the info, i enjoyed reading....be back from time to time to see other folks opinion!
Alternative fuels must be stopped at any cost.....
Many claim falsly....it will lead to food scarcity....
This "harem" thing is another reason
There are 3 levels of Fuel use:
1. Residential Use.
2. Industrial Use.
3. Automobile use.
1st and 2nd are the easiest to address and there are ready proven solutions.....but everybody is focused on the 3rd which is very difficult with the present technology...
The hybrid car and electric car are almost unpractical options.....India already has an electrical car production & sales from year 2001.....REVA:
http://www.revaindia.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/REVA
These cars are practical only if you have a carpark with socket to park and then to recharge....now howmany people have a carpark with socket here or elsewhere?
Brazil was using bio-fuel during the 1970s
Bio-Fuel is not the way forward....atleast
Are you suggesting that a man whose country is reliant on the production and export of petrol is against the development of alternatives because his wellbeing might be at stake.
Nooo......
I'm sure he's only acting out of concern for the, umm, the...
Not to mention that pesky cure for Global Warming fubar. After all we all know that bio-fuels are just a luxury because petroleum doesn't hurt the enviornment and will last forever. :P
No harm. I just would have thought in today's world Islamic scholars have bigger fish to fry than studying the theological implications of renewable energy.
But I guess since the Middle East is now a peaceful zone, and a solution has been found to the Israel/Palestinian situation, and women are no longer oppressed in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Saudi etc, then sure, this is a top priority.
sorry...to Roadtester
I didn't make the topic. :S
"Al-Najimi said his opinion on biofuels should not be considered a fatwa, or a legal pronouncement in Islam, but should prompt Islamic leaders to study the issue."
Let them study the issue. Where's the harm ?
interesting topic gypsy. even the oil barrons in US might support this.
What about the alcohol based hand sanitizers that you find everywhere here?
And the alcohol in perfume?
You can't use yeast to make bread rise without alcohol being created as a by product, so should we also ban leavened bread?
Surely Islamic scholars have something better to study than the use of corn to fuel buses?
But alcohol is found in many many things here. It's in hair colour, it's in face cleansers, it's in shampoo, cleaning products....