Prayer Rooms at AFL venues??????????

[swantastic]

I assume from your comment that if you are there to watch the footy ONLY, you don't drink while you are there? Because if you do, you are doing more than "just watching the footy that's it".

drinkin piss and watchin footy go hand in hand...not duckin for for a bit of prayer time at qtr time

[swantastic]

I work with a Muslim woman at work. She feels it is important to be able to pray. I feel that her dignity should be respected, and should be able to pray in privacy. Like others have mentioned, the timing of the prayer is not so strict, but it would be considerate if the appropriate place was offered to people to do something that is important to them and doesn't harm others.

mate she gets paid to work not bloody pray if she wants to do it,do it on her breaks

[swantastic]

You sort of shot down your argument with this statement.....you can't please everyone.

no i didnt,why should they be accomodated and not every other minority.I say stuff em all,like it or lump it

[Lucky Knickers]

drinkin piss and watchin footy go hand in hand...not duckin for for a bit of prayer time at qtr time

You have got to be joking???? WHat on earth were you doing in the last 5 minutes of the Grand Final???

I'm not at all religious but I was praying to every god that existed and some that didn't. I think I sold my soul to the devil and agreed to be Mal Colston's sex slave! Anything for the siren to go!

I agree with Nath and Kirkari. You want to pray go to your place of worship. The ground is for the Footy Gods.

[swantastic]

You have got to be joking???? WHat on earth were you doing in the last 5 minutes of the Grand Final???

I'm not at all religious but I was praying to every god that existed and some that didn't. I think I sold my soul to the devil and agreed to be Mal Colston's sex slave! Anything for the siren to go!

I agree with Nath and Kirkari. You want to pray go to your place of worship. The ground is for the Footy Gods.

hahahahaha steff i was poopin my pants and biting my nails down to the quick

[Kirkari]

Y...The ground is for the Footy Gods.

And the God of Thunder, of course. ;-) Well, I suppose he IS a Footy God.

[Danzar]

That's when it gets tricky, and that's the kind of thing that does @@@@ me. Like the banning of Xmas decorations by councils and that sort of thing. This IMO is a PR stunt by the AFL that will probably have a minuscule impact on the number of Muslims that attend footy matches. I would think the % ( again I have no stats to back this up) of Muslims who actually pray 5 times a day in Australia wouldn't be all that high. Of all the Muslims I've worked with, went to school with, socialized with, I've never known any with that strict an interpretation of Islam. Im sure those that love footy and want to attend have found ways around the Prayer issue if they are the devout type. Bachar Houli himself said he prays before and after, not during the game. It's an AFL stunt, and at this stage it's not hurting anyone and I honestly think it will have close to zero impact on people's decision o attend the footy, the Muslims that do need to pray just have somewhere cleaner than a stairwell or carpark to do it.

I reckon you and Melbourne_Blood have covered both sides of the argument just nicely.

Has anyone noticed a subtle increase in the number of Indians attending matches in Sydney? Great stuff sharing a love of both cricket and AFL.

[Swansinger]

My friend in Bay 7 at the Roos game , Sheikh Yabooti , says he approves
Swannies Akbar !!

[AnnieH]

As for the norf supporter (Hi Kanga) they just make sure the leash is properly attached and the shots are recent

Kanga!!!!

The silence is golden, isn't it?

[cruiser]

How is having prayer rooms at all AFL grounds a problem? I'm an avowed atheist but I have no problem with providing this facility for all beliefs to use.

[timthefish]

if we provide a handful of tiny little rooms a rapidly growing population in australia may feel more accommodated at the footy? this just makes so much sense. don't forget that afl grounds are also workplaces for a few hundred people and that this is a common workplace requirement now.
it cracks me up when people putting forward absolutist and intolerant positions throw in a little "IMO" just in case you had any doubt that they are reporting a consensus.

the Muslims that do need to pray just have somewhere cleaner than a stairwell or carpark to do it.

nicely put, especially when you consider what those spaces get like on a wet day at the footy.

[swantastic]

as it seems 1 rule for them another for us...people are scared to tell them no because it mite offend them..HTFU....or they scream racist they get away with blue murder our rules/laws they dnt like it go back to your own country...and yeh im racist against those people that dnt tow the line here and i dnt give a toss wot people think

[timthefish]

as it seems 1 rule for them another for us...people are scared to tell them no because it mite offend them..HTFU....or they scream racist they get away with blue murder our rules/laws they dnt like it go back to your own country...and yeh im racist against those people that dnt tow the line here and i dnt give a toss wot people think

clearly, you do give a toss what people think. sometimes what people think is less important than what people know. muslims have a strict requirement to pray five times a day and at quite specific times. if we want to welcome them into the game then providing a small modest space in which they (and others) may pray with dignity will assist their inclusion.

if you think it is more important that they "tow [sic] the line" then i think you may have a limited grip on how the world can work.