Via Daily Mail:
From next week, shoppers in Rochdale who push open the cubicle door expecting the reassuring sight of a modern, clean lavatory could instead be faced with little more than a hole in the ground.
Bosses of the Greater Manchester town's Exchange mall have installed two as part of an upgrade costing several thousand pounds after attending a cultural awareness course run by a local Muslim community activist.
A familiar sight in parts of the Middle East, and still sometimes seen in France and Italy, the toilets require users to squat above them, rather than sitting.
This article was prepared by the Islam in Europe blog - islamineurope.blogspot.com
With one in ten of Rochdale's population of Pakistani or Bangladeshi origin, centre managers say they have been told some members of the local Asian community prefer them for cultural reasons.
News of the introduction of squat toilets was met by disbelief, however.
'This strikes me as a classic case of excessive pandering to a politically correct minority,' said Philip Davies, Conservative MP for Shipley.
'We in Britain are rightly proud of our toilets, and the onus is on people who come to this country to appreciate them for what they are.
'It's absolutely ludicrous - Thomas Crapper would be turning in his grave!'
The Exchange shopping centre is in the process of refurbishing its ladies' and gents' toilets, and the changes were made after managers went on a cultural training course.
It was hosted by Ghulam Rasul Shahzad, a retired Rochdale Council training officer who runs courses for the groups including the police on cultural understanding and community cohesion.
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