Burkini Banned in France
A French Muslim woman, identified only as Carole, was banned this week from her local pool, after trying to swim in a burkini. The full-body suit, also spelled ‘burqini’, was designed specifically for Muslim women, so they could maintain Islamic modesty while swimming in public.
“I thought that it could enable me to enjoy the pleasure of bathing without uncovering myself, as Islam recommends,” Carole told Le Parisien newspaper. “I understand that it might shock people, but I am annoyed because I have been told that it is a political matter. I didn’t set out to cause a stir. My only aim was to be able to go swimming with my children.” [1]
The Burkini was designed by Aheda Zanetti, a Lebanese-Australian.
Officials say it’s not a matter of religious discrimination, but rather an issue of hygiene. It’s illegal for anyone to wear street clothes or loose-fitting swimwear in French public pools. “The lady was almost fully dressed,” Daniel Guillaume, the head of sports facilities for the Seine-et-Marne département, said. “The personnel simply applied the rules that are in effect in all pools in France.” [1]
While many westerners disagree with the Islamic dress code for women, France has been among the few to take legal action against it. France is predominately Roman-Catholic, but has the largest Muslim population in Western Europe, so racial tensions are nothing new.
French President Sarkozy
In 2004, Islamic headscarves were banned from French state schools. The law passed by a Senate vote of 276-20, and prohibits any religious symbols from being worn on public school grounds, categorizing the headscarf as one such symbol. Muslim groups spoke out against the ban, saying it was motivated by anti-Islamic sentiments. A top lieutenant of Osama Bin Laden even released a tape shortly thereafter, in which he called it “another example of the Crusader’s malice, which Westerns have against Muslims.” [2]
The debate flared up again in June of this year, when French president Nicolas Sarkozy publicly supported a ban on burkas altogether. “We cannot accept to have in our country women who are prisoners behind netting, cut off from all social life, deprived of identity,” he said. “The burka is not a sign of religion, it is a sign of subservience. It will not be welcome on the territory of the French republic.” [3]
Whether or not the restriction of burkinis is a political choice, there is no doubt that it’s only fueled further tension between Christians and Muslims in France.
Sources:
[2] “France Bans Headscarves in School” (Bootie Cosgrove-Mather) CBS/Associated Press. March 3, 2004
[3] “Sarkozy Speaks Out Against Burka” BBC News Online. June 22, 2009
This article has really offended me .. how can this be a health and saftey issue due to fact that thiers plenty of swim suites out thier that are exactly the same which most professional swimmers and divers wear this is just an excuse so that the muslim women cannot foloow thier religion and are placed through hardship by specfic ignorant narrow minded people.
There just is no logic behind the ban. This is truly stupid. But so is the religion that requires it.