Preserving modesty in the pool (Muslim women in Seattle)

Seattle Times ^ | July 19, 2005 | Lornet Turnbull

[Mrs. Don-o]

It's Saturday evening, the end of a hot day, and a group of women and children have gathered at North Seattle's Meadowbrook Pool for their monthly swim.

Most of the pool staff has left, except for two female lifeguards, who on this day will be on duty for the next two hours.

The women and children — all Muslims — have been swimming in private once a month at Meadowbrook as part of a program organized by the North Seattle Family Center.

Because Islam requires Muslim women to fully cover themselves in public, swimming in pools or the ocean is largely off-limits for many.

But across the Puget Sound area, that's starting to change as public and private pools at times are sending home their male staff members, covering up their windows and allowing women of faith to swim alone and in private...

Access to these pools is not free; the groups, like all others that use these facilities, pay a rental fee....

[Tax-chick]

Unnngh! I spit bagel crumbs all over the keyboard. Now I'm going to have ANTS in the computer!

[Candor7]

*****This is not the imposition of Shari'a in Seattle. In fact, maybe the gals'll get enough physical strength and confidence out of the deal to look their husbands right in the eye and say, "Bermuda shorts, baby --- and I don't mean maybe."

---

This is ultimate naiveté. DO you know what, “"Bermuda shorts, baby --- and I don't mean maybe,’ represents to these women? It represents a beating administered to their bodies that we will never know about because they are always covered in public. The black and blue marks are covered up and no one reports them. Sharia law is enforced inside these households. This is done with the blessings of the mullahs and husbands are expected to beat their wives if necessary.

Take a step into their world and stop the bleeding heart liberal crock! And you want us to accept such a cover up?

I say we tear down the whole social initiative they have in this country and demand that they be Americans or keep their sharia and purdah inside their homes, so that victims like you do not presume to enable it. This social system is the same one that turns so called peaceful moderate Muslims into terrorists. When a woman is beaten one too many times , she is all the more happy to give herself over to Allah and strap on a suicide vest, because her God is her only refuge.

Its time we stopped allowing any of our pools to be temporarily converted into community harems.

Let them get their own pools and see if you would be invited to swim there in a burkah.
Then you can admire them up close without allowing purdah to be a "quaint" accepted social custom in the USA, rather than a social process that produces killers of innocent men, women and children. While your at it why not go whole hog and have your husband beat the crap out of your body, so you can wear a burkah in swimming and know one will know! That should satisfy your intrinsic liberal need to show them acceptance in the context in which it occurs, rather than in the false context that you, and others who think like you imagine.

Wake Up!

[delacoert]

As to their attire, I got it from the article as posted in #347. Since the article was supportive of the Muslim swim, I have no reason to doubt the reporting.

Pardon me for resorting to common sense to interpret the intent of masking the windows on the indoor pool with brown paper. By masking the windows, the women could then relax from the requirement to wear the burkas required to preserve public modesty dictates. Post #388 clearly supports that conclusion:

...in private, these women whip off their coverings and they are beautifully dressed and made up. Obviously, they do seek to be attractive, just not publicly

So I stand by my assertion - the women that swam in the pool behind the masked windows didn't have to wear the multiple layers of clothing to swim. Why mask the windows if they were going to wear burkas? As I said before. I'm sure they wore modest swimming attire though - and who cares.

[SunnySide]

"I regret having offended your delicate sensitivities with a single, sarcastic line in a single post"

Well darn it, it's the least you could do (laughing).
Don't tell anyone (Gold Star tax-chick might get peeved), my guess is Hillary's going to treat you to a cruise trip on the Rosie O'Donnell Fun Line with Janet Reno as the ships captain. Just a hunch.


;)

[SunnySide]

" This is done with the blessings of the mullahs and husbands are expected to beat their wives if necessary."

I wager beating the wives is a weekly "ritual". Ya know, give them a taste of what will happen if the wife ever decides to step outside the mullahs line of slavery. I choose to keep my sights focused on the big picture (problem).

[delacoert]

Don't tell anyone (Gold Star tax-chick might get peeved), my guess is Hillary's going to treat you to a cruise trip...

At least I'll have tax-chick to pal around with. ;)

[Tax-chick]

When are we leaving? Alaska would be nice, this time of year!

[delacoert]

Yeah, we could watch the effect of global warming on glaciers. :rolleyes: :)

[Tax-chick]

Heh heh! We could hop up to Barrow and agitate for drilling ANWR.

[HitmanLV]

As a man who has dedicated much of my lifeling attention to getting women out of their clothes, I can't share in that sentiment. ;-)

[delacoert]

LOL

I hadn't thought of that. The possibilities are endless.

We could wear NRA caps while shooting skeet - accidentally aiming at the odd seagull (did I say that out loud).

[swarthyguy]

Before 911 it was very hard to convince people of the insidious nature of fundy islamism.

Prior history, cooperation with the US against the Soviets, and more importantly, a domestic US campaign talking about "revealed religions", "peoples of the book", conservative social values all helped disguise the true nature of the poisonous ideology and theology.

What's simply amazing and mindboggling is after 911, how Americans have responded in an openminded and tolerant manner, only to have the shariapurdah lifestyle insidoously permeate and infiltrate society.

With huge dollops of PC ness both on the left and right.

The Islamis certainly have our number.

[SunnySide]

"At least I'll have tax-chick to pal around with."

I'm not the "least" bit interested in who you pal around with. Now go build a bridge and get over your immature self while us grown ups discuss the terrorist problem.

[Tax-chick]

My daughter wants to shoot skeet, and we already have NRA caps!

[Ciexyz]

I have no problem with groups renting the pool for private pool parties.

[delacoert]

Americans have responded in an openminded and tolerant manner, only to have the shariapurdah lifestyle insidoously permeate and infiltrate society.

With huge dollops of PC ness both on the left and right.

This thread deals with public access and private use in the context of a Muslim group. Some posters seem to be confused about the issues and laws regarding the situation. The applicable constitutional principle would seem to be:

Bill of Rights

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

On the other hand, if the context of thread were to be immigation policy and home land security, then I would advocate:

1. Eliminating lax immigration policies
2. Securing the borders.
3. Effective monitoring of terrorists activities in Mosques.
4. Allowing racial profiling at airports.

Banning swimming pool rentals by Muslim women and children is just ridiculous.

[delacoert]

...while us grown ups discuss the terrorist problem.

Then go to a thread that deals with the terrorist problem.

[Iron Matron]

I have no problem with groups renting the pool for private pool parties.<<<<

Neither do I.

My comments reffered to the opression muslime wmen still live under while living in this free country. That kinda tells me something unpleasant about islamic control..

[swarthyguy]

Inshallah! Allahu AKBAR!

[ClearBlueSky]

This all comes down to ONE thing.
For the MONEY- there can be- and ARE-places in this country where SHARIA LAW is enforced!
For those dollars, a piece of America was rented out to Islam so IT'S rules could apply there.
Do we KNOW those women and children AREN'T praying/howling/caterwauling to allah before/during/after swimming? If they are- we just rented public space for religious rites!
Isn't it odd that Islam can have it both ways?
Be PROTECTED as a 'religion' when they support barbarism and terrorism, but be EXEMPT as a 'religion' when they want to use public property to follow their 'religious' law?