U. of Michigan Will Provide Muslim Footbaths

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The New York Sun

When Majed Afana needs to pray while attending classes at the University of Michigan at Dearborn, the 19-year-old Muslim usually will duck into the campus library’s bathroom, strip off his shoes, and awkwardly strain to wash his feet in the sink.

Water often pools at his feet, he says, making it slippery to balance on one foot. Some of the sinks have started to pull away from the wall, in part from years of use by others like him — who, according to their faith, must clean their feet prior to praying five times a day. So when the school recently approved installing two footbaths in a pair of new unisex bathrooms, to accommodate the needs of both male and female Muslim students, the local Islamic community started planning ways to raise the estimated $25,000 cost.

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