Clerics claim a colony on Mars would be unIslamic.

Muslims are forbidden from living on Mars according to a recent ruling (fatwa) issued by the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowment (GAIAE), a group of imams in the United Arab Emirates.

The ruling states that anyone making such a “hazardous trip” is likely to die for “no righteous reason.”

The committee argued that an attempt to dwell on the planet would be so hazardous as to be suicidal and killing oneself is not permitted by Islam.

Last October Saudi Arabia’s board of religious scholars issued a similar fatwa forbidding Muslims from traveling to Mars.

The fatwa is a result of concerns and criticisms coming from Islamic scholars about Mars One, an ambitious attempt to organise a manned mission to the Red Planet. The mission has drawn applications from more than 200 thousand people worldwide.

The Mars One Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that will establish a permanent human settlement on Mars in 2023. The group plans to set up a reliable surface habitat before the first crew lands, with more settlers and cargo following every two years.

Mars One will launch its first unmanned mission to the Red Planet in 2016. Readers can join the global effort by sharing the Mars One vision with friends, supporting the Mars One Foundation and perhaps even becoming a Mars astronaut themselves. Applications are available here.