Hey, I wanted to address the mini-controversy over the bonus part about ablution. I wrote this bonus, which was then edited by Trygve and Andy. I haven't seen the final form that the bonus took, but I assume it was relatively similar to what I originally wrote:
For 10 points each, answer the following questions about circumstances that make practicing Islam complicated.
[10] If you live north of the Arctic Circle and Ramadan falls during the summer, you’re kind of screwed. Fortunately, one fatwa-sanctioned solution is to fast according to the position of the sun above this holy shrine in Mecca.
ANSWER: Ka‘ba
[10] If you are standing on Mecca’s antipode, it’s hard to find this direction in which you should pray. A simple solution is to take one step forward, after which this direction will be in front of you.
ANSWER: qibla
(note: this is sort of theoretical because Mecca’s antipode covered by water)
[10] Finding the qibla is even more difficult on a space shuttle, but perhaps a more serious problem is that, with a water shortage and no gravity, it is almost impossible to perform this action required before prayer.
ANSWER: ablution [or wudu'; be generous and accept ghusl too]
First of all, "bathing" is very much not acceptable, as Muslims do not bathe before every prayer (this would be an awfully unreasonable tax on the environment in Saudi Arabia, if you think about it).
I do, however, see how one might make the argument that "washing the feet" is worthy of a prompt. It did not occur to me that that answer might be given, which was a bad oversight; obviously, I should have discussed it with Andy and Trygve and should have specified whether to prompt or to disallow it explicitly. I apologize for the confusion that my bonus caused.
The argument that one might make that "washing the feet" is deserving of a prompt relies on the fact that washing one's feet is in fact part of the process of the particular form of ablution that occurs before prayer. It is, however, only the fourth part of a four-step process that involves the invocation of God's name and the ritual washing of other parts of the body as well. You can see ablution performed for yourself in this YouTube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpHcw9uvU6EIt is my understanding that "reverse prompts" on given answers that give a very specific part of a more general line are generally applicable only in the rarest of circumstances. In this case, the protesting team identified a particular action that comprised part, but not the whole, of a larger ritual. As such, my personal opinion is that the team should not have been prompted on the answer of "washing the feet." Had I been asked my opinion on the protest, I would have given this explanation and advised that the protest be denied.
Charles Meigs wrote a tossup on several different forms of ablution (different Arabic words refer to different forms of ritual washing) for the 2008 Minnesota Open. Here is the text of his tossup:
11. One special form of this act involving soil was once performed by 'Amr Ibn al-Aas when he had a wet dream on a particularly cold night. In that form, whose name translates as purpose, the act can be violated by the sight of water. The more full form of it is required upon ejaculation, though a lesser form of it is required if one only ejaculates pre-seminal fluid, and the more full form is not required if the penis penetrates to the point of circumcision. Abu Rafi' related that the prophet Muhammad would perform the full form of this each time he visited one of his wives on the same day, although one fatwa recommends only the lesser form of this between goes as it is "more energizing for the second time." If Andy Watkins performed the lesser form of this and punched the wall of a mosque, leading to blood, he would have to repeat it. Tayammum is done without water, while ghusl and/or wudu' are necessary before performing salat. For 10 points, name this Islamic act of ritual washing.
ANSWER: Islamic ablution [prompt on wudu', ghusl, tayammum or taharah, they are all different things and there is no Arabic overarching term for them; prompt on washing or equivalents]
This answer line does include a prompt on "washing," but not explicitly on "washing the feet." You can make of this what you will.
Again, I'm sorry for any confusion that my bonus part may have caused and I apologize for not including more specific directions in the answer line.