Hundreds of thousands of social media users worldwide are sharing a post claiming that planes cannot fly over the Kaaba in Mecca because it is the center of the Earth and gravity. This claim, which has circulated for years as a scientific fact, is actually a figment of imagination, according to the fact-checking service of France Press. The post asserts that the Kaaba is the center of the Earth, located in a spot free of any tilt or deviation, and that it is the center of Earth's gravity. Therefore, "it is impossible for birds or planes to fly over it because it is a magnetic center," according to the posts that discuss instances of converting to Islam due to this information.
The post elaborates on physical advantages of the Kaaba, including that it is "the first point to receive the sunrise" and that it is "the center of cosmic radiation convergence." These posts have garnered hundreds of thousands of shares and interactions worldwide, in several languages, across Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
### The Kaaba in the Quran
The Quran mentions the Kaaba as the "first house established for mankind" for the worship of the one God, and that the Prophet Ibrahim built its foundations (with Ismail) to be a place of worship for pilgrims. Beyond that, the Quran does not mention any supernatural physical characteristics of the Kaaba as noted in the post.
### The Truth
From a scientific perspective, these alleged properties are baseless. The author of the post conflated Earth's gravity with its magnetic field, which are completely separate concepts. Gravity is the attractive force that masses exert on each other, as the Earth attracts everything on it, or flying above it, or orbiting around it. The magnetic field is a "field" that surrounds magnetized bodies.
The post claims that the Kaaba is the center of Earth's gravity, which contradicts the simplest principles of physics. In a statement to France Press, Vincent Losur, responsible for magnetic observatories at the Institute of Earth Physics in Paris, said: "Gravity is the force of attraction one mass exerts on another, and for the Kaaba to be a center of gravity, it would need to have a massive mass, which, relative to the mass of Earth, is negligible." Additionally, stating that the Kaaba is the center of Earth's magnetic attraction is also a claim that goes against basic physics.
Julien Aubert, a researcher at the French National Centre for Scientific Research specializing in fluid dynamics, noted: "It is true that the Earth has a magnetic field, but its center is the planet's molten core." The Earth's core, rich in molten metals, creates electric currents through its rotation, generating Earth's magnetic field, as explained in specialized scientific studies.
### Is Flying Over the Kaaba Really Prohibited?
Yes, Saudi authorities do indeed prohibit flying over Mecca. This information has been confirmed to France Press by the French pilots' union and has also been verified by Saudi aviators. However, this measure has nothing to do with the reasons mentioned in these misleading posts, but rather is a matter of respecting the holy city.
The "Anti-Misinformation Authority" in Saudi Arabia previously released a video explaining through a Saudi pilot and air traffic controller that the reason for prohibiting flights over Mecca is to respect sacred places and not disturb the pilgrims and visitors. However, there are some exceptions to this prohibition. Helicopters sometimes fly over the city, especially rescue helicopters, as occurred in 2006 after the collapse of a building housing pilgrims that resulted in 76 deaths and around sixty injuries.
According to the French pilots' union, Mecca is not the only place in the world where flying is prohibited; there are also other sites where flying is restricted or regulated for religious reasons or other factors, such as the presence of a nuclear reactor, as detailed in a report distributed by the International Civil Aviation Organization.
