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French Swimming Pool Bars Muslim Woman Wearing Full-Body "Burquini"

By Howard M. Friedman

In France, a public swimming pool in Paris has refused to allow a young Muslim woman to swim wearing a "burquini"-- a wet suit and hood designed for women who want to swim without revealing their body. The suits are becoming increasingly popular in the West. The AP and today's Kuwait Times both report that pool staff told the woman-- a French convert to Islam-- that hygiene rules prohibit swimming while clothed. The incident comes as members of France's Parliament hold hearings on whether to ban wearing of burqas in public. (See prior posting.) The woman involved in the incident says she will go to court to challenge the pool's decision as discriminatory. She attempted to file a complaint with local police, but they refused to accept it saying it was groundless. [Thanks to Scott Mange for the lead.]

Full post as published by Religion Clause on August 13, 2009 (boomark / email).