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View Full Version : MCTC foot bath draws a broad response



stephanie
04-19-2007, 12:18 AM
:dunno:
A Minneapolis Community and Technical College proposal to install foot baths for Muslim students provokes action at the Legislature and the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities board.
By Jean Hopfensperger and Dan Wascoe, Star Tribune
Last update: April 18, 2007 – 10:09 PM

Phil Davis, president of the Minneapolis Community and Technical College, never expected his "plumbing issue" to become a national controversy.
However MCTC's plan to install foot baths for Muslims has prompted reaction from both a state legislator and the board overseeing Minnesota colleges.

On Wednesday, the board of Minnesota's State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) system decided that it will discuss the possible creation of guidelines for all of its campuses on these types of cultural and religious accommodations at its May meeting.

And today Rep. Jim Abeler, R-Anoka, said he planned to introduce an amendment to the House Higher Education bill that would allow MnSCU workers to display religious symbols at their desks and cubicles.
"I didn't expect a plumbing fixture would become a board issue or national news," Davis said.

The foot-washing proposal sprang from an incident last year when a Muslim student slipped and hit her head while trying to wash her feet in a sink in a bathroom, MCTC staff said. There was also the potential hazard of slippery floors for other MCTC students because of the water that spilled on the floor .

The proposal was the subject of a column by the Star Tribune's Katherine Kersten, which was picked up by conservative bloggers across the country. It became the subject of a nationwide "action alert" by the American Family Association, which urged its Minnesota readers to contact their legislators regarding the MCTC proposal. Davis, bombarded with 3,000 e-mails, in turn sent letters to every Minnesota legislator and Gov. Tim Pawlenty this week.

The proposal has been misconstrued as a government institution favoring Islam over Christianity, Davis said. He noted that MCTC has a Christian Student Organization as well as a Muslim Student Organization, and that there's no preferential treatment for either.

MCTC staff said foot-washing facilities are available at colleges ranging from Stanford University, the University of Houston, Boston University, St. Cloud State and the University of Minnesota-Duluth.

In 2001, St. Cloud installed a bench and some ground-level faucets in a bathroom-sized room in the student union, said Ed Bouffard, interim director of the student center at St. Cloud State. The idea was to prevent puddles of water and slippery floors in the other restrooms, he said.

The facility, paid for by student fees, generated no controversy, he said. Most days, a handful of people use it, he said. But 30 to 40 people use the facilities on Fridays, the Muslim holy day. About a dozen Christian groups also use the student union for activities, he added.

"We're very happy to be part of a solution," Bouffard said.

A visit to the MCTC campus on Wednesday showed a major reason for the foot-washing facilities -- there are 500 Muslim students among MCTC's 8,000 total. Hundreds of young women, covered head-to-toe in traditional Muslim dress, can be found in the classrooms, library, computer labs and across campus.

Suleiman Isse, president of the Somali Student Union, and the college's Somali student adviser, Jamal Adam, said they were shocked by the opposition and hate mail that the foot-washing proposal has generated. "I thought the American people were more knowledgeable," Isse said.

At the MnSCU board meeting Wednesday, MnSCU attorney Gail Olson said the foot-washing issue raised potential constitutional issues regarding the free exercise of religion versus the establishment of religion. It might be difficult to devise a general policy for the systems' 32 institutions, she said.

Board member Cheryl Dickson said a foot-washing accommodation for Muslims at MCTC "is a safety issue and a religion issue" and could set a precedent with unforeseen consequences.

Abeler said his amendment would clarify what can be permitted in MnSCU workplaces, in light of the Muslim foot-washing issue.

"The foot-washing thing is absolutely a religious accommodations which they should do.," Abeler said. "My point is that as we accommodate one faith, we shouldn't suppress the rights of people of other faiths."

Abeler said he is likely to offer an amendment on the House floor today to send a legislative letter to college officials urging them to remember that as they might accommodate one group, they should accommodate others as well.


Staff writer Mark Brunswick contributed to this report. Dan Wascoe • 612-673-4436 Jean Hopfensperger • 612-673-4511
http://www.startribune.com/462/story/1130217.html

manu1959
04-19-2007, 12:20 AM
hand out buckets...

Samantha
04-19-2007, 12:39 AM
Well, IMHO, if Christians complain about Muslims needing certain things for their religious beliefs, I'll have to call Hypocrite. Christians are the loudest voices demanding what they need for their religious beliefs. Personally, I think all these religious beliefs are a bunch of hooey. But if you need it, go for it. Just don't stop others from practising their way. It's not atheists that are all out against letting Muslims worship their own way, it's Christians putting up the big fight. You're going to have to learn to separate terrorism from Islam. It's a very small percentage of all the Muslims in the world that are the exremist fundamentalists. Just like its a very small percentage of Christians that are the extremist fundamentalists.

Pale Rider
04-19-2007, 12:52 AM
Well, IMHO, if Christians complain about Muslims needing certain things for their religious beliefs, I'll have to call Hypocrite. Christians are the loudest voices demanding what they need for their religious beliefs.

Ya know... you're going to have back that up with something. Simply bashing Christians because it's you liberals favorite past time isn't good enough.

Hobbit
04-19-2007, 12:53 AM
I really don't see a problem with adding foot-baths, as they can serve non-religious purposes, too. I could see somebody having a First Ammendment issue by installing, say, a baptistry, but geez, even I have a foot-soaker in my bathroom. It's for rough days at work.

stephanie
04-19-2007, 01:00 AM
I really don't see a problem with adding foot-baths, as they can serve non-religious purposes, too. I could see somebody having a First Amendment issue by installing, say, a baptistry, but geez, even I have a foot-soaker in my bathroom. It's for rough days at work.

Well..I guess you could ask...will any other group, besides Muslims, be able to use them?? I'm not sure what I feel on the issue, but it has caused a stir because it is used for religious purpose in a school..

Pale Rider
04-19-2007, 01:01 AM
I really don't see a problem with adding foot-baths, as they can serve non-religious purposes, too. I could see somebody having a First Ammendment issue by installing, say, a baptistry, but geez, even I have a foot-soaker in my bathroom. It's for rough days at work.


And could double as a... you know... when ya gotta go, and all the other holes are full, you gotta use what's available...:pee:

Samantha
04-19-2007, 01:11 AM
Ya know... you're going to have back that up with something. Simply bashing Christians because it's you liberals favorite past time isn't good enough.

OK, here ya go:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/28/AR2006032801632.html

http://www.jeremiahproject.com/prophecy/warxian.html

http://mediamatters.org/items/200511210003

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/09/AR2005120901357.html

http://www.stateline.org/live/details/story?contentId=40065

All a bunch of Christians demanding their religious symbols and practises be displayed in public. I'm not complaining. Let them have it. It doesn't bother me.


And could double as a... you know... when ya gotta go, and all the other holes are full, you gotta use what's available...:pee:

And what would you do if a Muslim peed on a Christian religious object? Are you a hypocrite or a mean atheist?

stephanie
04-19-2007, 01:21 AM
Sammi I hear what your saying...But it reminded of a thread that was posted awhile back..
http://www.debatepolicy.com/showthread.php?p=33642#post33642

Despite concerns over rising secularism in the country, Christians still far outnumber any other faith group. According to the poll, released on Friday, 82 percent of American adults identify themselves as Christian. Religious non-Christians make up only 5 percent of the public.

So of course you hear more of a Christian voice in America...No?

Samantha
04-19-2007, 01:29 AM
Sammi I hear what your saying...But it reminded of a thread that was posted awhile back..
http://www.debatepolicy.com/showthread.php?p=33642#post33642

Despite concerns over rising secularism in the country, Christians still far outnumber any other faith group. According to the poll, released on Friday, 82 percent of American adults identify themselves as Christian. Religious non-Christians make up only 5 percent of the public.

So of course you hear more of a Christian voice in America...No?That's true. Will the louder Christian voice squash the small Muslim voice? I'm happy to see that so far only one poster (is Pale Rider a Christian?) would pee on the religious object. To tell the truth, I expect Christians to be against this. Maybe they will show me I am wrong about them ;)

stephanie
04-19-2007, 02:17 AM
That's true. Will the louder Christian voice squash the small Muslim voice? I'm happy to see that so far only one poster (is Pale Rider a Christian?) would pee on the religious object. To tell the truth, I expect Christians to be against this. Maybe they will show me I am wrong about them ;)

I think the question here is.....The Christians in this country are feeling they are being attacked...Everybody is complaining about Christmas, Easter, etc, etc....and about the display of anything Christian in a school..Everybody seems to say....No Christian religion in a school.........But any other religion is OK..??

So..Why is it OK for a school to install a foot washing station for the Muslim Religion...????


In the article I posted above....80% in the United States say their Christian, so that makes.....20% of all other religions...

Just a thought??