The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments, or GAIAE, the United Arab Emirates' religious watchdog, has issued a fatwa, or an official Islamic ruling, to warn Muslims against a Mars mission, according to CNN.
In the past, Abu Dhabi's Aabar Investments teamed up with Richard Branson's Virgin group to create Virgin Galactic to provide space flights for tourists, starting this year, but a mission to Mars, it seems, is one step too far, CNN reported.
The mission is being planned by the Dutch nonprofit foundation Mars One and in April 2013, it announced its ambitions to establish a human settlement on the Red Planet by 2025, according to CNN.
But the GAIAE likens the journey to a suicide mission, CNN reported. On the authority's free 24-hour hotline, the issue was deliberated by the center's specialized muftis, or scholars, who released the following statement: "It is not permissible to travel to Mars and never to return if there is no life on Mars. The chances of dying are higher than living."
Taking one's life willingly is against Islamic principles, according to CNN.
In response, Mars One issued a statement asking the UAE's Islamic authorities to cancel the fatwa, saying every precaution would be taken to reduce the risk to life, CNN reported.
"If we may be so bold: the GAIAE should not analyze the risk as they perceive it today," the statement says, according to CNN. "The GAIAE should assess the potential risk for humans as if an unmanned habitable outpost is ready and waiting on Mars. Only when that outpost is established will human lives be risked in Mars One's plan."
The statement includes a verse from the Quran that "encourages Muslims to go out and see the signs of God's creation in the 'heavens and the earth,' " CNN reported.
It goes on to say the first Martian settlers would walk in the footsteps of great Muslim explorers like Ibn Battuta, the 14th century Moroccan journeyman whose travels took him across North Africa, the Middle East and Asia, according to CNN.
