A.D 1543 is the year De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres) – the influential and pioneering book of Nicolaus Copernicus – was published. Copernicus died the day or few days after the book was published but provided the basis for a model that would reshape astronomy, as a branch of science, forever.
It received scornful treatment back then especially from the clergy and why wouldn't it? The scriptures, thought to be divine, proclaimed Earth to be the center of the Universe and here was Copernicus, claiming the absolute opposite and ''demeaning'' Earth and the human race. Later the works of various scientists including calculations of Kepler and telescope of Galileo cemented the truth (or may be partial truth, but a major chunk anyway) of Copernican Model.
We are talking about a period of time when the Middle Ages had come to an end, however the Roman Catholic Church still had its control and authority. Thus it doesn't come as a surprise that Galileo was brought before Inquisition (ecclesiastical tribunal established for the suppression of heresy) and was made to renounce his belief (in scientific truth which would nevertheless find universal acceptance in times to come). Galileo was also put to house-arrest for the last eight years of his life.
Over the course of centuries, ''they'' understood and accepted it however that ''we'', more than four and a half centuries later, need to perform conferences, seminars and debates with the title ''Ac infinita in stultitia cleri'' meaning ''On the limitless stupidity of clergy'' in further explanation of the Heliocentric Astronomical model of the Solar system as expounded by Copernicus and in symbolic protest of what happened to Galileo back then. However we live in the present so how about renaming and calling it ''Ac infinita in stultitia Sheikh Bandar al-Khaibari'' meaning ''On the Infinite stupidity of Sheikh Bandar al-Khaibari''. (Thanks to Google Translate).
A little explanation to the aforementioned paragraph is anticipated, I know. A Saudi cleric Sheikh Bandar (please resist the urge to laugh; his name wasn't meant to be understood in Urdu) has come out in blatant rejection of the Heliocentric model (the Sun to be the center and the planets revolving around it) and has reiterated the (erroneously) long-held belief that the Earth is “stationary and does not move”.
Reversing the English expression and taking away all the credit (with its left-over shreds, bits and tads) from Bandar, the idea of Earth being stationary isn't new. The Geocentric Model has its roots in the Greek era and Ptolemy (A.D 90-168) is accredited with it mainly, though it’s even older.
But then again, to be actually honest, Bandar didn't claim to have come up with the idea rather he subscribed to it in the 21st century. That's even more idiotic. The problem is that these clerics think of themselves as masters of every field of knowledge. While in reality, they don't even know how to write their name properly. It doesn't resonate with them whether they are informed of a modicum of what they are going to discuss or what's asked. What really resonates with them is that they have to answer questions beyond the sphere/scope of their field in order to maintain their self-obsession and outward appearance of being ''learned people''.
Further, they don't understand or are unwilling to submit to the fact that their unproven, inflexible and nonsensical set of beliefs/dogmas/superstitions, driven by self-interest, are inferior to the ever-evolving, super-flexible scientific process majorly concerned with the welfare of mankind.
The latest and up-to-date research in the field of Astronomy proves that even the Copernican model wasn't self-sufficient. NASA's website states: ''It was not until the twentieth century that it was finally established that neither we nor our galaxy formed the center of the universe.'' This in turn means that we aren't even remotely in the neighborhood of the Center and perhaps must give up on our penchant of being at the center of attention just because we believe in a set of unproven beliefs.
Why are these ''believers'' so obsessed with themselves? Why do they want the sun to be revolving around them? Why do they want to be at the center of the Universe? Why do they act so selfish? The answer is that they are selfish. They want everything for themselves. Evident from the fact that they don't obey God or prey to him for being their Creator (taking that for granted as well), they do it all to have a luxurious and sensuous life in the hereafter. They cannot accommodate anything else. They are too ignorant to think of anybody/anything else but themselves.