Muslims are to get there *OWN SPECIAL* cars

[steelwind101]

Hello Guys,



Came across this news report over on the BBC. Special cars for Muslims are possible being made with features like a compass pointing to Mecca.



Read it for yourself:

BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | Malaysia firm`s `Muslim car` plan (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7089707.stm)



I wonder if some of our detailing products are Islam friendly with regard content or production methods.



:usa Geoff :brit

[Paulie Walnuts]

Not even going to go there or I will be banned =)

[paul34]

Unless someone is using animal fat, pork fat in particular, I don`t see why it would be "islam-unfriendly." IMHO and no offense but I really don`t see what this has to do with this forum whatsoever.



I`m not Muslim, so maybe I`m not qualified to speak on the topic, but yea. I think the "Muslim" car is a little silly, but some people think muscle cars are silly.



Really, it all just boils down to being a business and building whatever people will buy, and thus, what will make you money. It goes without saying that there is a significant portion of the Malayasian and surrounding population that is Muslim, and thus, there is a massive market there for this type of thing.



Can you imagine if Rolls Royce or Bentley produced special features for Muslims? I think we`re all aware of just how much business these types of car companies have in the Middle East - it certainly woudln`t hurt.



But yea, again, unless someone like David goes to his backyard every morning, slaughters a pig, and washes his hands in its blood before packing up shipments to ship out, I don`t think its a big deal, eh? ;)

[dave40co]

Not even going to go there or I will be banned =)



I agree!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[imported_paradigm]

interesting, but not surprising...merely marketing to sell more cars. if i could charge an extra $50 or $100 per detail just by laying a small bible on the driver`s seat when done, sure, i`d do it. :)

[imported_truzoom]

From what I have read (I`ve been reading up on the Islam religion lately), there is a very strong.. I guess you would say "bond" for someone who actively practices Islam.



On another forum I read about a guy who went out to eat and when he arrived at the restaurant, there was a group of Muslims doing their Salah prayers in the parking lot. From his wording, they had laid out some carpet on the parking lot asphalt and were praying on it.



I think the idea of a car for Muslims is really not a good idea simply because it seems to further the notion that religions must be kept separate or that certain ones are better or worse, etc..

[todd@bsaw]

I think some of you are reading way too far into this.



Muslims are regular people just like all of us. In their religion, one of their practices is to pray 12 times per day (or at least 6, depending on the person) facing Mecca, no matter where they are in the world or what they are doing. If you were a Muslim man in an unfamiliar city... anywhere in the world... how are you going to know exactly which direction that is all the time? I think it`s a great idea. It`s not like the car is going to have a "Praise Allah" badge and a Crescent moon etched into the steering wheel.



If your GPS unit in your car tells you where all Christian churches are, does this mean the vehicle is just for Christians?



Truzoom, your post makes me wonder... are you reading into Islam just to be a little more sensitive to other religions and lifestyles? Because your post still sound very rude. It`s like me saying, "One Sunday I was driving around and saw a bunch of Christians filing into a church! They were all dressed very nice and wearing the same "T" necklaces!"

[dave40co]

[quote name=`todd@bsaw`]I think some of you are reading way too far into this.

If your GPS unit in your car tells you where all Christian churches are, does this mean the vehicle is just for Christians?



So why do we need a car just for one religion? And why do we need to have special places for certain religions to wash specific parts of their body? I am going to risk getting banned because I believe all religions should have some rights but when it attacks the rights and freedoms of the masses then we have gone to far. So we should have special cars for vegans that avoid all hamburger joints? Where has this nation and world gone to? Political correctness has gone to far and we need to get it back under control. What a bunch of CR**! Sorry about the rant and I hope I don`t get banned because of it!

[imported_truzoom]

Truzoom, your post makes me wonder... are you reading into Islam just to be a little more sensitive to other religions and lifestyles? Because your post still sound very rude. It`s like me saying, "One Sunday I was driving around and saw a bunch of Christians filing into a church! They were all dressed very nice and wearing the same "T" necklaces!"



I did some research on Islam because I had no idea what it was about. I knew it was a prominent religion in the Middle East and I heard a lot about it in the news, but that was it.



Now, I`m sure I don`t have all of it down because there is a lot to the Islam religion, but I think at least now I understand some of the major assumptions and the rigorous lifestyle that accompanies it.



If I come off as rude, I apologize, but I think you misread/misunderstood my original post. I pointed out the scenario about the Muslims praying in public because it was something that someone on another forum witnessed. The guy thought it was sort of weird to see, and I don`t blame him for feeling that way because Christianity and Catholicism don`t exactly go that far when it comes to prayer. It would seem that most Americans are used to seeing people give grace before a meal, right?



Anyway, it isn`t my place to judge religions because people can believe whatever they want. I have no problem with Muslims and I actually give them some well-deserved "props" because the Islam faith takes a lot of commitment to follow according to the book.



My opinion still holds that a "car for Muslims" just seems unnecessary. dave40co`s rant aligns well with my current feeling about the state of this nation. I don`t see anyone proposing there be a car made for Christians that has a built in GPS to tell them where the nearest church is, and I don`t ask the world to create cars and houses especially for me because I suffer from year-round allergies.

[steelwind101]

OH BOY!! Someone will be cashing in big time no doubt, some people seem to hint maybe it will sell well!!



No doubt it will make the ideal target for vigilanti action and certantly make it easy to identy someone who is quite "outstanding" with there relgious beliefs. It might might be more covert to place all your prayer gear in a normal car and assimilate crowd! We shall see!!

[Mark77]

Not even going to go there or I will be banned =)



:chuckle: I was thinking the same.

[DaGonz]

What is the point of this entire thread?



A Muslim`s money is just as good as a Christian`s, Jew`s, Hindu`s, Bhuddist`s, Shintoist`s or atheist`s/agnostic`s money when they are paying me to detail their vehicle!

[Rob22315]

What is the point of this entire thread?



A Muslim`s money is just as good as a Christian`s, Jew`s, Hindu`s, Bhuddist`s, Shintoist`s or atheist`s/agnostic`s money when they are paying me to detail their vehicle!



Finally - some common sense. I think this item is noteworthy because it is the first time I`ve heard of a car having built-in features to appeal to a particular religious interest. Because it happens to be Islam isn`t really important from my perspective (but is likely to be more so for those practicing . . .).



Free market is driven by appealing to potential customers needs religious or otherwise.



RG

[steelwind101]

Finally - some common sense. I think this item is noteworthy because it is the first time I`ve heard of a car having built-in features to appeal to a particular religious interest. Because it happens to be Islam isn`t really important from my perspective (but is likely to be more so for those practicing . . .).



Free market is driven by appealing to potential customers needs religious or otherwise.



RG



I thought it was intreasting reading, hence i posted the link! Plus its topical etc, makes for good chat.

[the other pc]

Not that I know anything about the local automotive market in that corner of the world, but I don’t see it as a particularly viable business plan.



Every car I’ve ever been in has enough room to carry a copy of the Koran (or a Bible or any other holy text people tend to carry around with them) and a few headscarves somewhere in it. So that part of the product definition sounds like trivial marketing hype.



The Mecca pointing device would be handy. But any GPS receiver and a compass will do that. Finding a viable market for an entire car based on one onboard device that can easily be replaced by small gear that will fit in your pocket (that you can take with you anywhere) seems highly unlikely.



Plus, every car maker has nav systems available these days. Adding a one-button Mecca finding feature would be easy and cost almost nothing.



If there is s sizable market for faith featured cars they might get the first-to-market advantage. But since the faith specific features are easy and cheap for any manufacturer to include, the other makers would add them fast. The car would still have to compete as a car.





PC.