Malaysian Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor was not the first Muslim astronaut/cosmonaut in space

Malaysian Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor was not the first Muslim astronaut/cosmonaut in space, he was probably the first one to had prayed in space. He had traveled to space as the ninth Muslim astronaut in year 2007 to show how a prayer could be made in space.

"My trip to space took place during the holy month of Ramadan. Time for fasting and prayer depends where you are situated in space. As the space shuttle was launched from Kazakhstan, we took into consideration the local time in Kazakhstan. I had prayed five times a day by taking into consideration the time in Kazakhstan. You had to turn your face towards the earth in order to pray in the direction of Makkah. The Space Station was in a position from where you could see the earth directly. One needed to tie his feet during prayers as there was no gravity. One needed to act very slowly during the whole prayer, Dr. Shukor noted."

Everyone will experience a miracle in space. I heard a "call to prayer" in space. I actually heard the "call to prayer" in the Space Station. Other astronauts had no idea about the "call to prayer" but I physically heard the call.Allaahu Akbar! You do not get much surprised about the call in space as you feel the presence and strength of Allaah in every second you are in space. I felt very close to Allaah while in space. We did fast in space. While performing my religious duties, I did not feel hungry, thirsty or tired, Dr. Shukor said.

Sharing his life in space, Dr.Shukor said that life there is much different.The first time I went to space, I looked at the earth and was shocked to see how small it is. Your heart stops and you appreciate how beautiful earth is. You feel the power of the Creator. When you look at earth from space, you realize how small the world is. We see millions of galaxies in space. As such, it is crucial to protect our world, Dr. Shukor said.

Dr. Shukor underlined.When one looks at earth from space, he can see the impact of air pollution and how the world is (negatively) changing due to certain reasons such as the deterioration ozone layer. When you do return back to earth, you want to deal with global problems rather than local ones. You deal with issues such as the hunger of children and wars. As an astronaut who returns to earth, your mission is to visit youth in different countries and change their perspective and let them have a vision. I have dedicated myself to this mission. I dream of Turkey sending an astronaut to space and working on space programs one day, Dr. Shukor said.

Shukor was born in Malaysia in 1972. He completed his elementary and high school education in Malaysia. He received medical training in India. He graduated from medical school in 1997 as a surgeon. He worked as a researcher at the Space, Science National University. Shukor loves to dive in deep waters and hike on mountains. He wanted to realize his dream of going to space. In 2006, he joined the space flight program "Ankgasawan". On October 10, 2007, he travelled to space and was recorded in history as one of the Muslim astronauts in space.