I don’t get why putting in foot baths for Muslims at schools is such a problem. I guess its because most people don’t really see the point in washing their feet. Well, why don’t places just start putting in bidets. Muslims can use them to wash their feet and everyone else can use them to wash their bums. Everyone is happy. That’s synergy, people.
Back when I was in college and the Shah was still in power, we had several Iranian students living on my dorm floor.
It was interesting to see them in the washrooms bathing their feet in the sinks. Unfortunatly, this was the only parts of their bodies that was routinely washed… know what I mean?
Nothing worse than a stinky Islamic…
Why don’t they bring their own buckets and fill them in the sink?
I can go for the bidet thing as long as my brother-in-law doesn’t install them. He is being sued in Indiana for hooking up some old woman’s bidet to the hot water.
Back when I was inventing college and the Sultan was still in power, we had several Persian students living in my row of huts. No one bathed, because back then we didn’t need it.
But since they had to go to the temple five times a day, and they didn’t want to track dust all over the rug, the Zoroastrian Magi insisted they wash their feet before they would burn any entrails or whatever it was they did in there. Funny how stuff like that gets twisted into some kind of spiritual virtue.
You know, most public toilets are easily accessible to someone limber enough to lifr hi or her foot. And, they are often high pressure flush toilets…problem solved.
Totally OT but doesn’t this guy look like he could be Frank J’s granddaddy?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/leastwanted/1067164758/
(I’m not referring to the criminal part, just the physical resemblance, based on a couple of photos I’ve seen here.)
[That’s me when I bleached my hair, put a ton of gel in it, and went back in time to steal from a Piggly-Wiggly. Seemed like the perfect crime, but as you can see it didn’t work out. -Ed.]
“lifr hi or her foot”
Gaaaah! Proofread, you eediot!
$25,000 could buy a lot of Wet Naps…
We could just cut their feet off. That cost nothing except a sharpening stone and a blade.
When I worship, I need mead and virgins. I’ll bring the mead, do you think the school will supply the virgins?
PS, #9 they’d just grow back.
The “prophet” didn’t have footbaths. Go find a stream or something you filthy apostates! And why are they even allowed into the restrooms? Aren’t they supposed to follow the “prophet’s” example and wipe with their hands or pebbles or something?
(If you want to live in the 7th century, live in the 7th century!)
I thought that they already had something installed in bathrooms for muslims to use to wash thier feet. I believe the Arabic word for them is yurinal or something like that.
I am sure these new footbaths will come in handy. They can use the new Wolverine logo prayer rug/foot towel now on sale at the student book store.
In all seriousness, I can see the school’s point of view — below a certain threshold, spending a few bucks to alleviate possible future lawsuits by showing “due diligence” just makes sense. I’m not sure where the cutoff is (if it was 10 bucks, obviously do it; if it’s a million, don’t), but I think installing a few extra sinks isn’t too far out of line. You can’t control the wacky things your customers/students are going to do, you just have to react appropriately. Once there’s a critical mass of people who could hurt themselves (and possibly sue you when they do), it makes sense to at least evaluate the cost of taking action. The most sensible would actually be to install a small shower stall with a handheld sprayer, so other students would have some use for it as well, IMHO, but that might be a great deal more expensive than what they’re actually doing.
That said, I want to clarify that I only show any support for this as a liability issue, not as a “sensitivity” issue — if it was spending money on e.g. separate “prayer” rooms so they can isolate themselves from the infidels or whatever, I would tell them where they could cram it.
I guess the best way to combat this is to just use them as another urinal or regular toilet.