Muslim women don’t want to have half-naked men around them. Fair enough; many non-Muslim women would agree. However, is this just a matter of universal sexual mores (irrespective of religion), or is it, once again, the desire to be true to Islamic law? According to Daniel Pipes, “[R]ather than instill internalized ethical principles [Western notion of sexual responsibility], Islam establishes physical boundaries to keep the sexes apart and punishes transgressions harshly…. Resistance to Western influences has less to do with morality than with fears of unleashed forces that would destroy Islamicate society” (In the Path of God, 181).
“Netherlands: Muslim orgs want separate rooms in hospitals,” from Islam in Europe, April 24:
Muslim organizations in Breda (Netherlands) insist on separate rooms for men and women at Amphia Hospital. “Many Muslim women don’t think it’s nice based on religious conviction to have a half-naked man in the bed next to them,” says Driss Siraji, who spoke with the hospital on behalf of the Immigrant Council and the Aarahman mosque.[…]
Sirajij says that he often meets women who want to be cared in a separate room. “Not in emergency cases, but by regular admission.” In 2006 there were plans to build a Muslim hospital in Rotterdam, but nothing came of it yet.
Amphia, who also has a branch in Oosterhout, will soon appoint a Muslims chaplain for the first time. This is after urging from the same Islamic organizations. Other hospitals already have such chaplains in service.