There is plenty to be proud of in Saudi Arabia. The world's newspapers are providing copious coverage of the “world's largest clock”, which has begun ticking as it overlooks Makkah's Grand Mosque. The clock seems to have attracted the admiration of virtually everyone, a sharp diversion from some of the criticism that greeted announcement of plans to erect a complex of skyscrapers in Makkah's holy area. Not only will the tower upon which sits the clock be the world's second largest building after Dubai's Burj Al-Khalifa, one of the buildings will tie Dubai Airport's Terminal Number Three as the world's largest building in terms of floor space. Criticism of the project, much of which centered on the ultra-modern design of the complex and luxury accommodations overlooking the mosque, seems to have morphed into support for making the world's largest clock the touchstone for a new world time system to replace the Greenwich Mean Time standard proposed more than 100 years ago. There may be a good reason to criticize what was initially GMT – now, it's called Universal Time – but sometimes decent standards emerge from a starting point that may not represent historical fairness. GMT has served the world fairly well since its inception, and there should be some very serious thought given to any campaign to make Makkah the reference point for the world's clocks. The tendency for Muslims in recent years has been to live in unity with the rest of the world, respecting everyone's religious rights while celebrating the defining guidelines of Islam. The establishment of GMT was an admirable resolution to the problem of time zones, one which has served the world relatively well. __
