Minnesota installing foot-washing facilities for Muslims?

[Martok]

Lately, I'd almost swear that my state seems intent on remaining the focal point for American Muslim issues.....


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MCTC foot bath draws a broad response

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.

So what do the rest of you guys think about this? I confess I have mixed feelings myself.

On the one hand, we're a state that's well known for our "Minnesota nice", which I admit is (mostly) a source of pride for us. Over the last several decades, this statewide attitude has included us trying to be as welcoming to minorities as possible -- we're generally considered to be a fairly progressive state in this regard. (That admittedly may be a conceit, but I'm not going to get into that argument here.) We genuinely like making people feel welcomed in our state, and that they belong here.

On the other hand, this particular incident feels like we might be going too far in trying to acommodate them. Where does one draw the line between wanting to make people feel at home, and spending public money for seemingly religious-related purposes? *Is* it even religious-related, or is more of a cultural issue? I'm not sure, but the question troubles me.

This situation reminds me of an earlier incident from several years ago when Minnesota's Supreme Court ruled the Amish people in our state didn't have to wear bright orange reflectors on their horse-drawn buggies, as it went against their religious beliefs. I can certainly respect that, but at the same time it's a real safety issue as well -- those buggies can be hard to spot in the evenings, even with orange reflectors. Since our Supreme Court ruled they didn't have to use them, it puts everyone at risk -- car owners and Amish alike.

Seriously, where should the line be drawn? What's the difference between simply trying to acommodate & embrace different cultures, and actually bending over backwards for them? Is this simply a case of us being good citizens and helping people different from the majority population, or is it hyppocritical kow-towing?