Better not mention Lepanto

It is not widely known beyond the faithful, but Muhammad was quite the oceanographer, despite his failure to warn about the maneuverability of Venetian galleys. That aside and long before Jacques Cousteau made his splash, the Prophet had been tipped by Allah to the fact that sea water arranges itself in layers of various densities and, if that was not enough of a revelation for one day, that the waters of the Mediterranean and Atlantic are distinctly different. Islam-guide.com lays out those revealed truths here and here — two pages which may come in handy as the RAN’s Recite the Koran Team prepares for the next scriptural memory challenge in Saudi Arabia.

Navy Times has all the details, including a gush from Mona Shindy — yes, that Mona Shindy, the one who had her Twitter account cashiered — about the kudos that may some day come Australia’s way.

“With early planning and preparation it is possible that in the not too distant future, a Muslim member of the Australian forces might just win this goodwill Quran memorisation competition on the international stage while simultaneously gaining much personal reward from this highly appealing representational and spiritual opportunity.”

Pity the RAAF. While the Koran also offers briefs on meteorology and clouds, our Air Force is not known to have cast its cap into the religion-by-rote ring. Then again, you never know. Perhaps, in the interests of national defence, our aviators are swotting up on St Paul’s advice on recovering from a flat spin.

The Navy Times story can be read in full via the link below. While there is no need to commit the text to memory, it might be handy to bear in mind if you are tuning in to Q&A tonight, where David Morrison, Australian of the Year, will be appearing. He was formerly a nob in the defence establishment. This may explain quite a lot.

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