Tim Blair is en Fuego: Fisk Fisked; Muslim Bathroom Apartheid; Germans Seek Order

>Remember Robert Fisk? Fisked.

>A secret push-button code is necessary to enter Australia's Muslim-only Bathrooms, at LaTrobe University. This is the sort of story that is just so utterly out there that you think must be fake when you first hear it, but it's from a reputable Aussie journalist and it does include an almost-plausible quote defending the policy from a "moderate" Muslim "community leader", Yasser Soliman, who appears to be real (and who defends Hezbollah).

These are not just bathrooms designated for use--these are bathrooms that have a lock on the door with a secret code so only Muslims can enter them. It's the new trend of politicized Islam: they want facilities that are separate and just a little more than equal.

In the USA, this would get busted out on an Establishment Clause beef so fast they wouldn't have time to flush. I doubt it will last for long in Australia, under the Howard policy of opposing Islamic irredentism.

>And finally, how about all those German converts to Islam?

It's hard to find a common denominator for what exactly makes Islam so attractive to people from a Christian background. Salim Abdullah speaks of "defiant reactions" in the face of the constant criticism brought against Islam, although he's also familiar with converts who appreciate the "clear rules for behavior" provided by the Koran. Lühr, who always carries a prayer mat in the trunk of his Alfa Romeo GT, laments the "decline in values" that Western society, in his view, has suffered: "In Islam, values still count for something," he says.

Germans are big on order, I guess. But as for the "decline in values" thing, I just don't see why that demands a switch from Christianity to Islam. One can probably find a strain of Christianity that gives proper emphasis to the values you, um, value. Even, if you look around, some fairly old-fashioned ones.

All these links from Aussie blogger Tim Blair, who has tons more good stuff.