A crusade against Moslem personal hygiene
Is it me, or has the Star Tribune columnist Katherine Kersten used her forum at the paper to vent fear of Muslims Americans in our communities? These range of political venoms from various topics related to the “flying imams” fiasco at the airport, to the cab drivers facing off with MAC about transporting alcohol to the current flurry of articles about plumbing adjustments to accommodate foot washing at MCTC. Kersten’s “interest” strikes me as less than genuine concern in the topics, and much more as paranoia, or even out-and-out phobia. In a culture like the United States” said my wife with expansive experience in culture training (married to me) said. “We have a very few requirements for cleanliness beyond “wash your hands”, this topic may indeed be a mystery”. Whatever her motive, Kersten is consistent in her attempts to agitate the reader about Moslems living in US and their perceived “threat” to “western civilization”, her zealous coverage of issues of the Muslim community is both puzzling and rather frightening. From a local concern at a community college, the foot-washing topic has reached national levels. Will the shock jocks be ranting about it before long? What else could occupy the content of her columns other than the consistent reporting on Moslems all over town? Should any other communities garner as much of her attention? Shouldn’t she give more attention to students who bring guns or drugs to schools than those who want to wash their feet and stay clean? Kersten seems intent on stirring up negative public opinion on relatively minor topics in her apparent crusade to save American culture from the Moslems. If this is “just the beginning” as she worn Americans of Moslems washing requirement threat, what other culture threat could a Moslem brings to schools, Lord forgive, Arabic books!
Let’s consider this assault on Western values and North American culture through issues of Muslim personal hygiene. To understand the topic, Kersten really needs to understand the importance of the washing rituals of Moslems, which may have something to do with praying (in Arabic this is called wudu) or not. Some Moslems may complain about a lot of issues, but I do not think they complain nearly enough about their daily torture at public bathrooms, where they provide you with condoms as an incentive for casual clean sex but are severely under equipped for a thorough washing. Besides lacking a low-level washing area with a drain for washing feet, there is also no bidet-like system for cleaning after using the toilet. Water is the essential element for a thorough cleaning—toilet paper will not suffice. You can say all you want about Muslims, but when it comes to the cultural issues of washing and personal hygiene requirements, we are very meticulous, especially with bathroom rituals. Without going into detail into this “private” topic—we like to keep our private parts private—Moslems usually try to avoid public bathrooms. Muslim students at a college will, however, spend many hours on the campus and have to make do with the facilities available to them.
The prayer ritual in Islam also involves washing, or purifying, before prayer. Called “wudu”, Michael Wolf defines the meaning of the ritual in his piece, “Lesson in Washing Moslem-Style.” He writes, ”On one hand, it stands for a set of ablutions people use to cleanse themselves before prayer; on the other hand, it signifies a purified state of being. When you wash, you are said to be performing ‘wudu'; having finished, it is a condition you possess. ... More than a splash of holy water, ‘wudu' cleanses a Muslim's public person.” "Being clean is half of religion," the prophet Muhammad said. Washing and following cultural rituals of cleaning don’t strike me as threats to North American culture. To the columnist Katherine Kersten I would urge, If you are going to trail Moslems wherever they go, at least learn about this community customs and values as much as you urge them to understand your sacred ones. Believe me Moslems washing ritual don’t constitute the threat on our culture that you fumed, your Islamphopic writing does.
Ahmed Tharwat/ Host
Arab American TV show Belahdan