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Buying a one-way ticket to Mars has officially been declared as un-Islamic by the United Arab Emirates.

Even promoting trips to the red planet are forbidden after a fatwa ruled they could not be justified because trips are so hazardous.

The General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowment declared: "Such a one-way journey poses a real risk to life, and that can never be justified in Islam.

"There is a possibility that an individual who travels to planet Mars may not be able to remain alive there, and is more vulnerable to death."

The fatwa was issued less than a year after plans for a human colony on the planet were drawn up by Dutch company, Mars One.

(Image: Mars One)

According to Khaleej Times, professor Dr Farooq Hamada said: "Protecting life against all possible dangers and keeping it safe is an issue agreed upon by all religions and is clearly stipulated in verse 4/29 of the Holy Quran: Do not kill yourselves or one another. Indeed, Allah is to you ever Merciful."

Mars One hopes to establish a permanent human settlement on the planet with crews of four departing every two years from 2024.

The first unmanned mission will be launched in 2018