Paris pool bans Muslim woman in 'burqini' swimsuit

Google News ^ | 12-Aug-2009 | AFP

[Cronos]

A Paris swimming pool has refused entry to a young Muslim woman wearing a "burqini," a swimsuit covering most of the body, officials said Wednesday, adding to tensions over Muslim dress in France.

The incident came as French lawmakers conduct hearings on whether to ban the burqa after President Nicolas Sarkozy said the head-to-toe body covering and veil was "not welcome" in France, home to Europe's biggest Muslim minority.

[Cronos]

Even the commies understand..

[Cronos]

A Paris swimming pool has refused entry to a young Muslim woman wearing a "burqini," a swimsuit covering most of the body, officials said Wednesday, adding to tensions over Muslim dress in France.

The incident came as French lawmakers conduct hearings on whether to ban the burqa after President Nicolas Sarkozy said the head-to-toe body covering and veil was "not welcome" in France, home to Europe's biggest Muslim minority.

Officials in the Paris suburb of Emerainville said they let the woman swim in the pool in July wearing the "burqini," designed for Muslim women who want to swim without revealing their bodies.

But when she returned in August, they decided to apply hygiene rules and told her she could not swim if she insisted on wearing the garment, which resembles a wetsuit with built-in hood.

Pool staff "reminded her of the rules that apply in all (public) swimming pools which forbid swimming while clothed," said Daniel Guillaume, an official with the pool management.

Le Parisien newspaper said the woman, identified by her first name Carole, was a French convert to Islam and that she was determined to go to the courts to challenge the decision.

"Quite simply, this is segregation," the newspaper quoted her as saying. "I will fight to try to change things. And if I see that the battle is lost, I cannot rule out leaving France."

The newspaper ran a photo of the woman sporting her three-piece "burqini" which she said she purchased in Dubai during a recent holiday.

"I bought it thinking that I could enjoy swimming without having to uncover myself," she said.

Local mayor Alain Kelyor said "all this has nothing to do with Islam," adding that the "burqini" was "not an Islamic swimsuit; that type of suit does not exist in the Koran," the Muslim holy book.

France has set up a special panel of 32 lawmakers to consider whether a law should be enacted to bar Muslim women from wearing the burqa.

In an address to parliament in June, Sarkozy said the burka was not a symbol of religious faith but a sign of women's "subservience" and declared that it was "not welcome" in staunchly secular France.

The country has had a long-running debate on how far it is willing to go to accommodate Islam without undermining the tradition of separating church and state, enshrined in a flagship 1905 law.

In 2004, it passed a law banning headscarves or any other "conspicuous" religious symbols in state schools to defend secularism.

The burqa debate in France has drawn chilling warnings from Al-Qaeda that it was ready to "take revenge for the honour of our daughters and sisters."

Communist MP Andre Gerin, who heads the National Assembly's burqa commission, called the "burqini" ridiculous and said pool administrators were right.

"We can't allow this. This is proof that there is a political agenda behind such dress," Gerin told Le Parisien.

[Perdogg]

understand what? How micromanage people’s lives? It’s not the govt’s business.

[sushiman]

Good on Sarkozy . When in France ...or get the f*** OUT !

[Perdogg]

France has set up a special panel of 32 lawmakers to consider whether a law should be enacted to bar Muslim women from wearing the burqa.

Sounds like an 0bamaCare committee

[Perdogg]

Why doesn't Sarkozy just deport the illegals? He doesn't have the balls to do so. So he inacts laws to interfewr with people's business.

The first lady of France

[sushiman]

Yea , but at the very least they are considering banning it . I am so sick of these Muslims in europe and illegeal Mexicans , etc. in the USA and those who pander to their every whim . Obama MUST NOT be allowed to pass an amnesty bill . This is as important as the health care deal . Kiss America goodbye if the Amnesty bill passes . The final nail .

[Perdogg]

I don’t want the govt of feminzis and relgious extremist dictating to people in this country what to wear at the pool.

[Dixie Yooper]

Anytime one culture feels another culture is encroaching on their society, it is their inherent duty to make the other culture as uncomfortable and unwelcome as possible.

[R. Scott]

The 1st Lady of France is a lot easier on the eyes than the 1st Lady of the USA.

[R. Scott]

[BuffaloJack]

They even want to pervert or language. Burqini? When, in ENGLISH, do you ever use a “Q” without a “U”? Isn’t the “K” sound supposed to be spelled with a “K” or sometimes a “C”?

[scoobysnak71]

I think the muzzies should riot.

[scoobysnak71]

I’d probably hit it.

[StatenIsland]

“I will fight to try to change things. And if I see that the battle is lost, I cannot rule out leaving France.”

The law of unintended consequences? Or maybe not so unintended...lol.

[Naspino]

I’d probably hit it.

Probably? Did your heart stop pumping blood?

[sand lake bar]

I say ban the veil, the burqa, and the damned bathing suits in public. Ok, the bathing suit is a little problematic—but ban it anyway for “health reasons.”

Women wearing any of these things are like Jews walking around wearing swaztikas.

[rovenstinez]

but the whole POINT in going SWIMMING is that the largest organ of the human body the SKIN, can lap up the sun’s rays and we absorb vitamin D... To me it is more of IN YOUR FACE culture that thinks they are holier than thou, and that is what has the Prez of France upset.

[alreadythere]

I was a lifeguard at a town pool as a teenager.

Our training sessions required us to be able to bring someone who is fully clothed and drowning to shore, while being fully clothed ourselves. That takes an enormous amount of strength, not to mention a risk for the lifeguard.

If women want to swim in such a ridiculous costume, it should be their own risk. Have them sign a waiver relieving the facility of all responsibility if they drown.

[Red in Blue PA]

France is growing cajones while the USA is losing theirs.