Posted on 02/13/2008 4:42:27 AM PST by fweingart
There's an uproar in the U.K. over recent comments by the Archbishop of Canterbury that, given the country's growing and restive Muslim population, it is "unavoidable" that certain aspects of Islamic law would, at some point, have to be accepted in Britain.
What many Americans do not realize is that there's a concerted effort by some in the American Muslim community to move slowly in a similar direction right here in the United States.
While this effort is not necessarily about Sharia law, it is an attempt by some Muslim Americans to force the rest of us to enable their cultural and religious practices in the public sphere. Instead, they should be assimilating and abiding by general U.S. norms.
One of the front lines of this fight: footbaths.
Growing numbers of Muslims living in the United States are seeking to wash their feet in the sinks of public rest rooms. The foot-washing is part of wudu, the ritual ablutions a Muslim performs before the five prayer sessions he or she observes every day at intervals from morning till night. The ablutions can take several minutes and involve repeated washing or rinsing of the hands, mouth, nostrils, face, arms, forehead, hair, ears and, finally, the feet.
There is nothing wrong with a devout Muslim seeing it as his religious duty to wash his feet. I take no issue with the practice whatsoever.
But I do not accept the notion that large, primarily secular institutions - or society as a whole - should invest time and money building facilities expressly to make it easy for people to perform the ritual.
Yet that is precisely what is happening. Not surprisingly, it is universities - bastions of open-ended tolerance - that are on the leading edge of the trend. Last year, it was reported that the University of Michigan-Dearborn, where more than 10% of students are Muslim, announced it would install $25,000 foot-washing stations in a number of rest rooms.
In contemplating this, the school was following in the footsteps of other institutions including Stanford University, the University of Houston, Boston University, St. Cloud State University and the University of Minnesota at Duluth. Indeed, right here in New York, NYU is considering installing footbaths in the Islamic section of its planned interfaith center.
Somehow, the American Civil Liberties Union - normally given to howls of execration at the mere thought of a creche in any semipublic place at Christmastime - is not challenging any of this. Why? Because, it says, it's not a matter of religion but of "cleanliness and safety." Foot-washing in regular sinks can be a messy business. It can also be off-putting for non-Muslims who must use the sinks and rest rooms for ordinary purposes.
But the question of whether footbaths improve cleanliness and safety is beside the point. What is at issue is the extent of public accommodation of religion. And furthermore, while the Council on American-Islamic Relations is specifically recommending that Muslims perform their ablutions in rest room sinks, it turns out that elaborate foot-washing at every prayer time isn't even required under Muslim law.
Indeed, a perusal of Islamic Web sites reveals some flexibility regarding the washing - for example, simply wiping over the sock is sufficient, rather than soaking the bare foot.
But this seems not to matter to those who want to thrust Islamic practices into the public sphere or to the politically correct officials who refuse to draw the line.
Foot-washing done in public places, whether in sinks or footbaths, sets Muslims apart from larger society. Rather than facilitating that, we should ask members of the American Muslim community to adapt their behavior to the country in which they live.
So is scrubbing out one's nostrils in a public lavatory sink.
This is all political correctness gone wild. The simpletons who promote this accommodation will have a surprised look on their face after their head is removed and held aloft for all to see.
Muslims make up around 1% of our population. Why is it this nation is so interested in catering to the vast minorities?
Footbaths today, black hoods and swords tomorrow?
You just know someone is going to pee in it
LOL
I could care less if a venue chooses to install foot baths to accommodate its patrons. And if it is so bad to witness (I never have) then I will take my business elsewhere.
And a contrary attitude does seem to be bias against the faith of others.
I do think it is hypocritical of the ACLU and the atheists to not challenge public institutions for funding the installation, but not sure that a stance has yet to be taken on the issue.
We need to lower that percentage to 0.
I wonder what will happen the first time these “foot baths” are used by a non Muslim for a non Muslim purpose.
I wonder why washing one’s pee-pee isn’t part of the ceremonial cleansing by these rag-headed followers of the prophet?
Uh, oh. The unclean infidels daring to wash their tootsies in a wholly contaminated foot bath.
Because it is another way to attack “the establishment,” that is, America’s Judeo-Christian heritage. The Leftists who have been infiltrating American institutions since the days of Woodrow Wilson know that they cannot conquer America by open revolt, so they have been trying for decades to accomplish that through attrition.
The goal of all these Leftists is to strip down everything that is “established” in this country: pride of our founding, of our history, of the wars we’ve fought, of our influence in the world, and strong Judeo-Christian values and ethics and a God-centered worldview. Their goal is to remove all that through ridicule (satire in entertainment and the arts), moral relativism, multiculturalism, and Leftist activism. This is the motive behind the “anti-establishment” movement of the 60’s.
Once all that is established has been removed, chaos follows that vacuum. Stalinist-type government officials then enforce order by imposing a bloodthirsty Marxist government upon the people.
That is uncalled for. You realize that Jesus Christ followed the custom of cleansing, right?
I don't. The ACLU has always been an anti-Christian organization first and foremost. In that light, it will always take on issues that "promote" Christianity in the public square but shy away from issues that have nothing to do with Christianity.
It is. My sisters in law work with Somolian muslims in Minnesota and they said they wash their privates in the sinks in the restroom sinks. But if anyone complains, they tell them to leave them alone.
I think you are right. It is not that the ACLU is pro-Muslim. It is that it is something different than mainstream and thus something to be tolerated and protected.
Activists seem to get off on protecting the different.
I agree, but that doesn’t redefine the hypocrisy. It only explains it.
Let's take what another poster mentioned about holy water stalls being paid for by public money and the "outrage" that would follow. Say these stalls were in fact built. What would happen if a non-Christian person decided to urinate in one? Would that person be charged with a hate crime? Heck, would that person even be charged with any crime? We all know the answer is a firm "NO." Heck, Congress might even fund the act as a work of art (not my original idea, but it applies anyway).
Now I guarantee that if a non-Muslim decided to defile one of these footbaths, they would be charged with every hate crime imaginable.
High Volume. Articles on Israel can also be found by clicking on the Topic or Keyword Israel. or WOT [War on Terror]
----------------------------
Foot-washing in regular sinks can be a messy business
Turn around, there's water in the toilet.
Or spend your loose change on
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.