Awash in Feet

Living in a religiously diverse society can be difficult. For years, the ACLU and other like-minded groups have fought tooth and nail to de-Christianize American society in order to make life easier, or at least more comfortable, for non-Christians and Christians who seem to have a problem with seeing their own religion (or some rough approximation thereof) promoted in public. There have been pros and cons to the de-Christianization campaign waged by various liberals in the past several decades, but end result has been a widespread transformation of many Christians into comparatively toothless versions of their old selves. It's hard to find Christians dedicated enough about their religion to make conversion attempts during casual conversation or to use their religion and/or denomination as a way to undermine somebody else's. Granted, some of the bible-thumpers have taken their game online to protect themselves behind a veil of anonymity, but such tactics in and of themselves show how modern Christians have lost confidence in the public face of their religion. Those within the Christian community who have watched the public become less doctrinal in their approach to religion and less willing to discuss or practice their faith in public often lament these seemingly-irreversible changes. Those without a recognizably Christian religious background are probably feeling more comfortable living in the US with a kinder, gentler, and quieter Christian majority. Moving towards a secular society that supports the private practice of religion certainly has made life easier for those who have long been in a religious minority.

Unfortunately, there is one religious minority that seems to want to fill the void of power created by Christianity's slow withdrawal from the public eye. Islam, a religion every bit as expansionist as Christianity, is slowly spreading across the United States and leaving its mark in many communities. The latest issue that has upset Christian conservatives who feel whipped like dogs as they lose one battle after another to keep their religious symbols in public view is the issue of public foot baths for Muslims. Those not familiar with Islam might be confused as to why Muslims might need foot baths in the first place; simply put, Islam requires its followers to wash their bodies five times a day before prayers. Such a feat is no simple matter in a standard American public restroom with toilets and sinks (never mind that they could probably use portable sanitary wipes, but oh well). Americans are generally kind and considerate folks, so it should come as no surprise that the University of Michigan-Dearborn and the Minneapolis Community and Technical College have both dedicated public funds to the installation of public foot bathes to accommodate Muslim students. This might seem like a good idea until you look at it from the perspective of a Christian whose religion has been taken out to the woodshed time and time again by public institutions fearing lawsuits from the ACLU.

If you think about it, the conservative Christians have a point of sorts, not that it makes much sense for them to make it. A secularized society is pretty cozy and comfortable for just about everyone, even Christians once they learn that they can still follow their religion without rubbing it in everyone's face at every possible occasion. Those who remain bitter about the rollback of their own religion's public facade are now spitting and hissing loudly at the advance of Islam's public presence in America, which makes very little sense; logically speaking, the advance of Islam should justify a slow return of Christian religious displays in public facilities funded by taxpayer money. What's good for the goose is good for the gander, right? Strangely, in America, that's not how it works. The conservative Christians who should logically want to return their religion to its former place of publicly-ensconced glory are instead playing a sour grapes game of "if I can't have it, nobody will" when it comes to public displays of religion. The ACLU and their ilk are stupidly promoting the installation of Muslim-oriented prayer aids in public buildings using taxpayer dollars. So, in a bizarre twist, the Christians are fighting for secularism while the ACLU is fighting against it.

The controversy does confirm a few suspicions that some have had about the ACLU: they are blatantly anti-Christian to a fault. How you can justify shooting down Christian religious displays of every shape and size for years on end while promoting foot bathes for Muslims is beyond reason. As one who rather enjoys our current secular society, I am bothered by the installation of any plumbing aimed to assist anyone in their daily prayer ritual whether it be funded by public money or not. The fact that it is Islam that receives such accommodations is worse still, considering that it is an extremely aggressive and expansionist religion compared to other minority religions, such as Wicca, Buddhism, Santeria, and so forth. Where are the public facilities to accommodate Druids, Scientologists, and Hindus? I don't seem to have noticed any (and I'm sure the Christian zealots would cry foul if there were any). What is the one religion with the temerity to assume the position that Christianity has lost in American society? The answer is Islam. Of all America's minority religions, Islam and only Islam wants to be a publicly-recognized and accommodated religion to aid in its expansion. In the name of further marginalizing those evil, wretched, hated Christian conservatives, some liberals are willing to abandon secularism by promoting Islam.

Were the ACLU truly interested in fostering multiculturalism and religious diversity, they would treat Islam the same way that they treat Christianity by insisting that it remain a privately-practiced religion. One stark difference between modern Christians and Muslims, however, is in the way that each group reacts to secularism in general. Christians gripe, moan, connive, and ultimately retreat. Muslims, on the other hand, react differently, at least according to some of those who seem oddly desperate to meet their religious needs. According to the President of Minneapolis Community and Technical College, "The foot-washing facilities are not about religion, they are about public safety. Christians and Jews aren’t going to kill anyone over this issue. Muslims are different. We’ve already received threats saying the college will be bombed if we refuse to build this facility. So, as anyone can see, we’re not promoting the Muslim religion. We’re saving the lives of our students and faculty". Those are strange words spoken in strange times, and what they really mean is anyone's guess. Do liberals want to promote Islam's expansion to use it as a weapon against America's Christian majority, or are they simply afraid of Muslim radicals that will kill at the drop of a hat? It is a mystery. Perhaps both motives drive the ACLU and other de-Christianizers to spread Islam, bit by bit, into every nook and cranny of American society.

It should be noted that foot bathes, in and of themselves, are no matter of significance. The question is, why build them? Bathing so religiously is not standard practice for Americans, and it is not logical or appropriate to assume that we will all change our daily hygiene to match that of Muslims by choice or by coercion. Public facilities always have and always should reflect the basic needs of the people. Those needing to wash themselves a staggering five times per day can very well provide themselves with their own facilities if necessary. The bathing schedule required by any religion, Islam or otherwise, is not the problem of the American public, nor will it ever be. Anyone threatening to bomb a university over the matter should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. Your religion is a private matter, and the requirements of your religion are yours to fulfill; get used to it. Why can't the ACLU agree with me on that point? Hopefully, by now, we have some idea, but I'm still waiting for an honest answer from them.