Mop sink mistook for Muslim washbasin in Tenn. building

NASHVILLE Tennessee lawmakers had to be reassured this week that recent renovations at the state Capitol do not include a basin for Muslims to wash their feet before prayer.

The concerns came up after the nearly $16 million renovation of the 150-year-old building, which was mainly done to upgrade the electrical, mechanical and plumbing systems, including the replacement of a utility sink with a mop sink in the men's restroom.

The mop sink is positioned lower on the wall, apparently raising concern among some staffers who believed the sink was positioned in order for practicing Muslims to be able to wash their feet before praying, as is customary in Islam.

The act of ritual purification, otherwise known as ablution, requires Muslims to wash their faces, hands and feet before prayer.

Forms of ablution are practiced in almost all religions; Christians see it as a sign of humility and emulating Jesus Christ, who was said to have washed the feet of his disciples before the Last Supper.

Republican Sen. Bill Ketron, R-Murfreesboro, confirmed that he had spoken to Senate Clerk Russell Humphrey about whether there were religious reasons for the new sink after the issue was raised by Rep. Judd Matheny, R-Tullahoma.

Matheny and Ketron were also behind a 2011 bill that sought to make it a felony to follow Islam's strictest moral code, Sharia law.

Hundreds of Muslims came to the Legislature to express fears that the bill would ban praying five times a day toward Mecca, abstaining from alcohol or fasting during Ramadan -- all central to Islam.

References to religion were eventually removed from the law.

In response to concerns about the new sink, legislative administration director Connie Ridley wrote in an email, "I confirmed with the facility administrator for the State Capitol Complex that the floor-level sink installed in the men's restroom outside the House Chamber is for housekeeping use. It is, in layman's terms, a mop sink."