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.

[Boazo]

Forgot you pinged me,was scrolling down reading your ad thought it was real!

[BlackVeil]

This looks like a good option. I've seen women at the beach who would've looked much better wearing these bathing suits than the bikinis they had on.

Funny you should say that. I went back to this thread, because just today, I saw a whole series of ladies - not even on the beach, on the street - in very scanty tight clothes. Some with g-strings showing. They were extremely large women. Like here: