Islamic-Style Swimsuits Give Women Freedom to Dive In

LA Times ^ | August 21, 2005 | Amberin Zaman

[echoBoomer]

.."Not in all my years had I ever seen anything quite so bizarre," Muhtar wrote in a recent column in the daily Sabah newspaper.

The women were wearing Islamic-style swimwear, which is becoming increasingly popular among Muslim women who want to bathe without baring their flesh. The outfit consists of a full body suit and hood that is pulled over a tightly fitted bonnet. A long vest completes the ensemble.

Muhtar's column has touched off a debate about the merits of such outfits in a country where most women wear Western-style swimwear, and some even go topless.

Yet the flurry of discussion has remained free of the politics engulfing the Islamic-style head scarf, which is banned in all Turkish government institutions and schools as a symbol of religious militancy. Rather, the emphasis has been on style.

"Silly, tasteless and weird," commentator Ahmet Hakan wrote in the daily Hurriyet.

Hakan's assertion that modest women should forgo swimming rather than make themselves ridiculous in such gear has angered some conservatives. Mustafa Karaduman, founder of Turkey's biggest Islamic-style fashion chain, Tekbir Giyim, or God Is Great Clothing, went so far as to suggest that Hakan was not a good Muslim.

All of this is welcome publicity for Mehmet Sahin, who while attending law school in 1993 designed his first modest bathing suit — not for women, but men.

"As a pious Muslim, I wanted to wear a bathing costume that did not cling to my genitals," he said in a recent interview. His baggy, mid-calf-length shorts became an instant hit with similarly religious-minded students. Sahin, who abandoned law, has since branched out into women's swimwear and now commands the country's largest Islamic swimwear empire, Hasema. His customers include the Turkish foreign minister's wife, Hayrunnisa Gul.

[MadIvan]

These pictures should be shown to every teenage boy in the Western world. They should be told: "Lads, if Osama wins, this is what you're going to see on the beach every summer from then on."

The resulting tidal wave of enraged hormones should ensure swift victory.

Regards, Ivan

[MilspecRob]

Actually, I think they're kinda cute. The colors are nice. I just wouldn't want to get wet in 'em.

I'm a guy, living in LA, with a sister thats a former bikini model, and we both agree they are kinda cute. Sis chimed in with the suggestion that they be made with semi UV permeability material to get the vitamin D benifit.

[Avenger]

"As a pious Muslim, I wanted to wear a bathing costume that did not cling to my genitals..."

Seems a bit weird but definitely preferable to German men hanging out on beaches wearing brightly colored speedos.

[Larry Lucido]

Oops.

1.) Can a woman wear red/bright colors if they are broken up (i.e. as flowers/patterns/stripes)?

1. A woman can wear bright-coloured clothing however these should not be worn in front of strangers.

[CROSSHIGHWAYMAN]

Circa 1890s Victorian fashion.

After the technology of war, seems like Islam is slowly approaching the 19th century in fashion and ideas.

[montag813]

How can women accept a religion which considers the very flesh they were born in as something evil and perverted, having to be covered up? If male desire is the problem, then why not hold Muslim men responsible for controlling their desires? I just cannot understand why women accept this. There should be a mass sex strike among Muslim women, refusing to put out until Islam is reformed.

Then again, I guess the true love of any Muslim man is his goat.

[PLMerite]

"...the potato goes in the *front*!"

[antiRepublicrat]

Pretty cute. Not as a bathing suit, but pretty cute anyway.

I wonder what the latest in Hasidic swimming fashion is. But then a Google for "Hasidic swimwear" turns up nothing.

[ASA Vet]

This hasn't been posted a few years, but seems related.

[Luke21]

This is funny. It's worse than the stuff Granny Clampett wore in the Beverly Hillbillies.

[montag813]

These pictures should be shown to every teenage boy in the Western world. They should be told: "Lads, if Osama wins, this is what you're going to see on the beach every summer from then on." The resulting tidal wave of enraged hormones should ensure swift victory.

I love it!

[rageaholic]

Cute yeah. The palestinian baby dressed as a suicide bomber was cuter.

[DogBarkTree]

"Obligatory picture ...."
The suits still dont hide their mustaches.

[Luke21]

Thanks for the laugh. Very appropriate. I can't believe the number of people who defend these muslims but who slander Christians.

[AnAmericanMother]

[Luke21]

Well said. If that was a trip to the beach, there wouldn't be very many men around. We could win the war on terror in half the time by threatening young men with these hideous swimsuits.

[Junior_G]

She looks like an Oompa Loompa.

[Brilliant]

It's that reformed style of Islam... You can see their faces.

[ASA Vet]

I wanted to wear a bathing costume that did not cling to my genitals...

Do not go to this page unless who want to be offended.
You've been warned, don't come whining to me if you go there.
(If you do go, turn up the volume.)

[anonymous_user]

"As a pious Muslim, I wanted to wear a bathing costume that did not cling to my genitals,"

"Camel toe?"