Mosques and Bathrooms

Over the years I have visited mosques in Makkah, Medina, Riyadh, Pakistan, England, Spain, and USA.  Invariably, I found the cleanliness of the bathrooms much to be desired.  Now I make sure that I do not have to use the bathroom in a mosque.  If I am traveling, I may even stop at McDonald or Starbucks to do the wadu or use the toilet facilities before I go to the mosque.

It is so discouraging to see Muslims dressed in their best clothes come to the mosque and then how they treat the bathrooms and wadu areas.  They leave water all over including the toilet seats and wadu area seats.  They litter the place with toilet papers, coffee cups, stones etc.  Some of these things block the toilets which eventually cause huge disruption and inconvenience to the organizers.

I always wonder why the mosque establishments and Imams do not come and address this issue in their speeches and comments.  We always talk that Islam teaches you be clean and their are laws and regulations specified in the Quran about cleanliness,  I do not why we do not practice them when it comes to the bathrooms.  At times, I am tempted to post a rude note in the mosque which says, "Please clean the bathroom area after you finished unless your mother is going to come afterwards to clean it."   In Pakistan, I will modify the note to say, "please clean after yourself unless you have arranged for your christian maid to clean after you."

The worst experience about bathrooms I have encountered is when I fly into Pakistan or Saudi Arabia.  The plane bathrooms are usually in a terrible shape and not accessible.  The dirty water from the bathroom flows out of the bathroom on to the plane seating area.  I learned my lesson the first time I went for Umrah flying from Cairo to Jeddah.  There was no way I could go the bathroom and change clothes and wear Ihram.  I now tell everyone to wear Ihram before you board the plane when traveling to Saudi Arabia.

I believe, we need to have a training for bathroom use every few months in each mosque.  In addition, in Pakistan, every one who is flying out of country first time should be asked to take one day course on things to watch for overseas.  When I lived in Korea some 20 years back, the government will not issue a passport until the applicant has taken such a course.

What They Do NoT Preach in the Mosque

"If you avoid the great sins, which you have been enjoined to shun, We shall efface your (minor) bad deeds, and shall cause you to enter an abode of glory." Chapter 4, Verse 31. Then how come preachers in the mosque talk about things length of the pant should be above the ankles, which step should be placed first when you enter in the mosque, type of haircuts, length of beard, timing for Iftaar and Sehar etc.

These preachers do not tell their so called devout merchants and businessmen that: "O You who have attained the faith| Do not devour one another's possessions wrongfully -not even by way of trade based on mutual agreement." Chapter 4, Verse 29. These merchants and businessmen in Pakistan inflate the prices of commodities required by common man during Ramadan and charge ridiculous profits of 100 to 300 percent. The same merchants in USA sell halal meat products at the double the price of non-zebiiyah products at the super market. I know from experience that it does not cost 100 percent more to procure zebiyah meat. Costco Warehouse profit margin is uniform 12 percent.