(December 20, 2013 at 11:41 pm)kılıç_mehmet Wrote: My good friend, when a Saudi Businessman signs anything with a western company, he surely does not use the Hijri calendar while doing it.
The gregorian calendar is the most widely used calendar in the world, so its the most practical calendar.
I understand the skepticism and sarcasm by everyone btw. Also -- I know China, Israel and Saudi all use the Gregorian calendar for business purposes -- I meant in their official government docs do they use their respective cultural religious years as well? I have lived in the Middle East and done business with Saudis and many elite are quite secular.
I'm just trying to be provocative. Let me put it another way -- practically no one will change the calendar system now without some exogenous event. BUT every long lasting ideology and identity (theist Hebrew-Muslim etc or atheist nationalist Chinese), tends to have a calendar system and though they don't use it for everyday purposes -- it exists within their communal rituals. The Gregorian just puts Christianity at the center of the entire modern world. 2000 years is arbitrary and we all use it because of European Empire and now US dominance etc.
The calendar won't shift anytime soon without some huge cataclysmic event or space travel or something crazy like aliens, but I'm just saying -- when I'm arguing with a religious Christian, Muslim or Jewish human being, its a fun argument to use ... its really the year 12000. Your prophet's significance is zero and your short timeline is irrelevant. I mean let's use year 8 billion for Earth... now that's impractical.
