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Finding Islamic Toilet (2): Muslim Urinal?

This is the second article in this series (read the first article here if you have not read it yet).

Again, I am not joking with the title. There is such a thing as a Muslim urinal. I knew it many years ago when I work with the interior designers at Matahari Dept. Stores on toilet stuff, and they said we usually choose Muslim urinals for our stores.

Say what? Up till that time I have not heard such a term. Of course I have seen such urinals, but I have no idea that they were actually called a muslim urinal.

If you have not seen one, here is one example (a product of TOTO, located in one of the toilets at Batam Airport).

See that little hook-like metal sticking out under the flush pipe? Supposedly, that is what makes this urinal “muslim”. As discussed in the previous article, water is very important element of a muslim toilet.

The reason that I did not realize that this is a muslim urinal is because I do not use the water coming out of that hook to clean myself after urinating, EVER. Not before I know that it is a muslim urinal, not even after I know what it is.

The main reason is that the hook is usually installed as the picture above. It can be rotated, but most of the times, it is exactly like that. Which means that the water coming out of that hook will flow away from anybody using that urinal.

With water flowing away from you, trying to wash your genital with the water involves a lot of circus of trying to peek where the water actually is, and at the same time trying to reach further away (deeper) into the urinal. Which of course will make you look weird if there is somebody else in the toilet.

Well, the the hook can be rotated of course. If you rotate it 90 degrees, then the same problem happens, only that you either have to move to the left or to the right end of the urinal to be able to catch the water from the hook.

All this circus, of course, assume that you are in the right height. If you are higher or shorter than the assumption of whoever designed the toilet, then the circus will involve some body movement to make yourself shorter or higher. And you will certainly look pathetic.

My solution is simply to forget about the hook. This is of course too bad. Somebody has tried to accommodate the need of muslim consumers. And this somebody is not just anybody, but a leading manufacturer like TOTO.

But then, nobody has ever understand how to use the hook in muslim urinals. Is it supposed to be a hands-free sprayer to the genitals? Or is it just providing additional water “on site” for whatever the user will use it for? [NOTE: that this is certainly my own ignorance. If you know how to use it, please use the comments to enlighten myself and other readers].

For further information, check the product description from TOTO Indonesia. Note that there may be other products from other brands, please let me know in the comment section below.

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Other than the above, is there any other solution?

Yes, of course. Here is one example from a mosque in Singapore.

This is a typical urinal with automatic flush. The difference is the hand-sprayer on the side. I have to warn you though, that the water pressure varies depending on the building. To avoid any surprise, try to spray some water away from you, just to test the water pressure and spraying pattern. I found one case that the pressure is so high that I cannot use it without getting myself wet.

Another, much simpler solution is from a mosque in Pasar Baru, Bandung, Indonesia.

[note: I have to find the picture]

Just a long gutter/drain with one water tap each, with a knee-high barrier as a splash protection. If you need to clean up or to flush, just open the tap.

Of course, there are many other solutions, and I will add along the way. If you happen to know other solutions, please send the link in the comment section.