Monday, January 29, 2007

If we can't share a toilet, can we share a country?

Herald Sun reports How to make trouble for moderate Muslims with noisy “tolerance” for the extremists:

A row has erupted over Muslim-only washrooms at La Trobe University that can be accessed only with a secret push-button code.
What are they doing in there that they need to make sure that non Muslims can't get in?
Muslim students have exclusive access to male and female washrooms on campus, sparking claims of bias and discrimination.
What possible reason could there be for going to this expense in dividing Muslim students from everyone else, reinforcing the unhelpful notion that the two are so dangerously different?
Victorian Muslim community leader Yasser Soliman said the washrooms were necessary…“Muslims need to wash their feet before prayer and in the past there have been complaints about them washing their feet in sinks, so this is a happy medium,” he said.
Let’s pretend we actually believe Soliman. Solution: Just put up notices explaining the feet-washing. Or install a separate sink in the communal toilets, at a handy foot-washing height.
That makes a lot of sense.
But insist all faiths share the same toilets. If we can’t even share them…

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