It points towards Mecca (Flight 93 memorial)

Politicalities ^ | Sept 11,2005 | Jonathan Haas

[spycatcher]

It points towards Mecca

Today is September 11.

Michelle Malkin and other bloggers are buzzing about the proposed Flight 93 memorial, which bears a striking resemblance to an Islamic crescent. Zombie produces an animated image consisting of the memorial (rotated so the arms of the crescent point to the right) overlapped with the crescent of the Tunisian flag. The juxtaposition is nearly perfect.

Zombie also links to this image credited to "Etaoin Shrdlu". What you're seeing is an azimuthal equidistant projection of the globe centered on the Flight 93 crash site. On such a projection, the concentric circles represent a fixed distance from the center, and the angle of a straight line from the center to any point represents the azimuth between the two points. Etaoin's image shows that a line perpendicular to the endpoints of the crescent (that is, the direction the crescent faces) appears to pass very close to Mecca. Mecca sits near Saudi Arabia's western coast with the Red Sea, and as Etaoin's image shows, the crescent points right at it.

But I've always been one to go for cold calculations over pretty pictures, so I set to find out if indeed the crescent points towards Mecca. Here's what I came up with:

According to this site, the latitude/longitude coordinates of Mecca are 21.4234, 39.8262 and the coordinates of the Flight 93 crash site are 40.052, -78.8963. Using the calculator from this site, I determined that the azimuth between the two points is 124.80°.

Next I went to the Flight 93 National Memorial website and found the biggest overhead view of the memorial I could find with north oriented up. I measured the distance from tip-to-tip of the crescent and came up with 64px east-west and 90px north-south. The arctangent of 64/90 is the angle between north and a line drawn between the tips, which works out to 35.42°. Adding 90° to this angle gives the direction the crescent faces as 125.42°.

Conclusion: the crescent points towards Mecca with an error of 0.62°, or 0.17%. If you take a circle and divide its circumference into 580 equal arcs, the angle subtended by one of those arcs is the error. (Bear in mind that any error in my figures could change this value; the figure most open to interpretation is the distance in pixels between the tips of the crescent.)

I don't know if the architect deliberately made his design look like an Islamic crescent, or if it's coincidental. I don't know if the architect deliberately made his crescent point almost directly towards Mecca, or if it's coincidental. What I do know is that a memorial in the shape of a swastika would never be permitted, whether the resemblance was intentional or a coincidence. Nor would a memorial resembling a Confederate battle flag.

The strong resemblance of this memorial to an Islamic symbol, whether intentional or accidental, is grossly insensitive to those of us who find it offensive. The commission needs to go back to the drawing board.

[cookcounty]

"What I do know is that a memorial in the shape of a swastika would never be permitted, whether the resemblance was intentional or a coincidence. Nor would a memorial resembling a Confederate battle flag."

........if it turned out there was an "Embrace of the Cross" with an "accidental" cross, these same dishonest architects would have their erasers flying in a flash.

[ebiskit]

I was just addressing the post to you...fyi. No derision in your direction was intended. Apology offered. My comments were wholly reserved for his so-called incompetent analysis.

I am a designer/photog. and never have I been witness to a government sponsored design/memorial, especially those that involve national tragedies and millions of $$, that have any elements present that are not specifically put in the design for a reason; even if said design is butt-ugly as most govt. sponsored works are. Good designers know every aspect of their designs and must be able to stand up to informed, critical analysis of each element that composes the design.

The whole subversive nature of this memorial really gets my knickers in a twist and I hear very little from the powers that be, except El Presidente' Tancrado.

My off-the-cuff idea for an apropos design would be keeping the 'impact crater' intact and the shape maintained by some form of Pennsylvania granite, black being preferable w/ each name carved large and highlighted by its own spot lite.
That area is a grave site and must be maintained. This crescent B.S. does not do that. The design looks to allow the public the ability to walk where those heroes died.
In addition, my idea would have one taller American flag and 50 individual state flags flanking both sides symbolizing many Americans, previously unknown to each other, coming together to defend their own liberty and by grace ours. At the base of the main flag, a representation of the first words of the Constitution. . . "We The People. . ." The symbolism of those words, seems to me, captures the ideals of the American Heroes on board Flight 93.

peace....Deets

[D-fendr]

Thank you. That was very considerate. I appreciate it and our discussion..

[SauronOfMordor]

The irony is that the enabling legislation says that this is supposed to memorialize the heroism of the heroes of 93. Every single one of the finalists addressed only their deaths.

The original Vietnam Memorial was just the wall. A lot of vets thought it an insult, and referred to it as the "black gash of shame"

To fix it, a statue was commissioned and added to it, The lefty artist who designed the original wall (Maya Lin ) was upset because it changed the whole thrust of the memorial. DAMN RIGHT

What's missing and needed, instead of this crap, is a statue of some passengers in the same spirit of the vietnam memorial (possibly by the same artist), with the inscription "Let's Roll!".

Have THAT face Mecca

[King Prout]

appreciation is reciprocated.
I believe it is possible for honest men to disagree without rancor.

[ajolympian2004]

Before everyone has a panic attack over the memorial design you need to listen to this interview today by Dan Caplis and Craig Silverman of KHOW. They talked with the wife of the flight 93 pilot and she was also on the board of the design committee.

http://www.khow.com/mpdownload/9-14_sandydahl.wma
(Windows Media Player)

She says the memorial design should go on as planned. None of the families members of the folks who died in the crash object to design either.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Forget it. The last thing America needs at the sight that memorializes a fight against Islamic terrorists is a giant CRESCENT that can be seen by every Muslim airline passenger whose plane passes close by. What a vindication for the Muslims that actually support terror!

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

sight = site (d-oh!)

[Jeff F]

None of the families members of the folks who died in the crash object to design either.

Tom Burnett Sr does: http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=520821&catid=14