The toilet is without any doubt the single most important part of a bathroom. All the other functions of the bathroom can be done, albeit, without the same level of comfort, elsewhere. The toilet on the other hand is a special place that guarantees the user a good dose of privacy.
This is one of the really tough things about prison life, because while there are many reasons why going to prison is a bad idea, the toilet issue is one that stands out. In prison there are no doors in front of the toilets, so when you are going about your business, or some other inmate is going about his, the entire group that happen to be in that cell get to share inn the sights, sounds and smells of that visit to the toilet.
The toilets used by Muslim people are also not designed for a long and comfortable visit, though they say that once you get used to it , you can spend hours on one of those toilets. The Muslim toilets are designed without any bowl, as the westerners are used to, and what is needed when you pay a visit to the toilet, is for one to gather all your robes about your waist (this one of the reasons why trousers are not part of traditional Muslim dress) and assume a squatting position over a hole in the ground. There are places for you to out your feet, but otherwise the entire design is very Spartan.
The design if the toilet is such that it facilitates the bowel movements and by spreading the sphincter the amount of left over mess is minimal. This is why Muslim people are quite at ease with using their hands and some water as opposed to toilet paper. This idea might seem a bit gross to those who are not used to this kind of thing, however when you consider the physics that are involved the whole operation makes perfect sense. The toilet is always going to be a special place in the home and this is across any culture.