Thursday, August 30, 2007
Footbaths for some, nothin' for others
In case you haven't heard, the University of Michigan-Dearborn has installed footbaths in some of its bathrooms:
"The latest battle of religion in the public square is unfolding in Dearborn, Michigan, a city with one of the highest Muslim populations in the country. At the University of Michigan's local campus, administrators have recently refitted several school bathrooms to include small footbaths in the corner -- an accommodation for Muslim students who must perform ritual washing as part of their daily observance. The issue has more than a few of the usual suspects [see: ACLU] trying to explain their way out of their usual positions on the separation of church and state."
Errol Phillips, a self-described Independent Jewish Conservative, asks an important question:
"Where then are ritual baths for Orthodox Jewish women, confessionals for Catholics, meditation rooms for Buddists ...
"When are we going to finally say enough is enough?"
When, indeed?
"The latest battle of religion in the public square is unfolding in Dearborn, Michigan, a city with one of the highest Muslim populations in the country. At the University of Michigan's local campus, administrators have recently refitted several school bathrooms to include small footbaths in the corner -- an accommodation for Muslim students who must perform ritual washing as part of their daily observance. The issue has more than a few of the usual suspects [see: ACLU] trying to explain their way out of their usual positions on the separation of church and state."
Errol Phillips, a self-described Independent Jewish Conservative, asks an important question:
"Where then are ritual baths for Orthodox Jewish women, confessionals for Catholics, meditation rooms for Buddists ...
"When are we going to finally say enough is enough?"
When, indeed?
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Thursday, August 30, 2007 
