Caption these Islamic women shopping for swimsuits

Yahoo!News ^ | 8.16.02

[mhking]

Two Turkish women look at Islamic bathing suits in a shop in Istanbul, Turkey, in this Aug. 9, 2002 photo. Islamic bathing suits fit loosely so as not to show off the outlines of women's body and are made of a synthetic material that dries quickly. The overwhelming majority of women at beaches in secular Turkey wear western-style bathing suits. (AP Photo/Osman Orsal)

[tomkat]

no tk, just bite your tongue and go back to the ballgame ...

[monday]

"I hope that my sense of humor is a bit too sophisticated to enjoy stupid, insensitive attacks against simple, pious women from a culture vastly different than ours. "

If you have no since of humor you really should try to stay away from the humor forums. Your posts tend to look a little silly and out of place:)

[independentmind]

I hope you noticed my moniker. You don't know me and I don't know you, and I could care less whether you think my posts are silly or not.

[Senator Pardek]

Have you ever worn makeup? Perfume? Heels? A knee-length skirt? A sleeveless blouse?

If someone from a strict Muslim country suggested that you are dressed like a harlot, would you tell him/her to mind his/her business?

Keep that in mind when you act "holier than thou" around women who wear bikinis.

[FITZ]

Your statement seems to imply that it is only a "value judgment" and completely relative.

Modesty is a value judgement. Most American women you see on the street are perfectly modest because they're dressed according to American culture. Arab women aren't more modest just because they're covered from head to toe. That's be like saying those African women in the National Geographic who weren't wearing a top were being immodest ---they weren't.

[Don'tMessWithTexas]

This thread goes to show that liberals ain't the only folks who can lack class. If this picture had been of Hassidic women,Amish/Mennonite ladies or other Christian ladies, I don't think there would have been so many snide comments. On second thought, maybe there would have been. Seeking to uphold modesty and decency have so fallen out of favor one is one step removed from being a Nazi or a terrorist if one thinks these virtues are admirable.

[FITZ]

So would you condemn an African tribal woman who isn't wearing a shirt as immodest because she's not dressed like an Arab? To me they're equal.

[Mortimer Snavely]

Piety, to be valid, must be voluntary. The coercive nature of Islamist family structure allows these women no alternative but compliance.

[FITZ]

It's all cultural ---to Europeans, Americans seem like prudes, they don't think that much about topless beaches and we don't want them, to Arabs we seem very loose because our women aren't in burkas.

[Don'tMessWithTexas]

Indie ain't acting holier than thou. Ain't saying that anyone wearing a bikini is a whore. Indie is merely asking why modesty is such a laughing matter. These Turkish women weren't acting holier than thou either. They were simply going about there business. I guess folks on this thread think their modesty is a laughing matter.

[RightOnline]

"You're going to wear this????? Fatimah, you slut!!!!! LOL!!!"

[tomkat]

[it's commercial time already !]

these guys are NOT salamis, male or female,
but dollars to donuts anyone on this board would make fun of them !

after all, they're human too, with all those pwecious self-esteem feelings http://24.137.12.6/tomkat/pics/images/chipendale.jpg...

[tomkat]

... they don't think that much about topless beaches and we don't want them.

says you !   

[tomkat]

yeesh, nice codin', kid ...

[Senator Pardek]

...why modesty is such a laughing matter.

For the record, I'm one of those who does not find that graphic in any way funny.

In fact, I find it to be rather sad. It's natural for a young woman to want to gussy herself up - that can be done quite innocently.

However, they cannot because their male counterparts in their respective societies cannot control their hormones (yes, believe it or not - they're worse dogs than Western men).

[Don'tMessWithTexas]

No I would not condemn the African woman for wearing what she does or does not wear. I imagine that no one would condemn the African woman either. However, unlike many of the jokesters on this thread, I am not condemning the modesty of this Turkish women.

[Don'tMessWithTexas]

Unfortunately, our society is not much better. I find the types of clothes young women wear today pretty sad. Many wear what they wear in order to fit in or attract the stares of young men.

[Don'tMessWithTexas]

Actually, Turkey is not an Islamist state. It is a secularized country. There is no coercion to adhere to a Muslim dress code. Therefore, they do have a choice. They are choosing to be modest.

[Thinkin' Gal]

Islamic bathing suits<<<

???

[a_Turk]

Full-body swimsuits for devout Muslims making a splash on Turkish beaches
Sat Aug 17, 8:04 PM ET
By JAMES C. HELICKE, Associated Press Writer

ISTANBUL, Turkey - Hafize Erdogan, a devout Muslim, proudly sports her new blue swimsuit — a full-body outfit that covers her arms down to her wrists, her legs to her ankles and even much of her head.

The 30-year-old mother of two said she bought the suit so she could swim with her family while also observing religious rules about modesty.

"I used have to stand by and watch my family in the water," Erdogan said at Kilyos Beach on the outskirts of Istanbul. "I would watch my kids like a cat looks at liver ... But now I can swim, too."

Erdogan is evidence of a growing trend in Turkey, where devoutly religious consumers are looking to combine their beliefs with Western pastimes.

"Islamic circles have traditionally understood beaches as something sinful," said Murat Cemrek, who teaches sociology at Ankara's Bilkent University. "But Islamic circles have become modernized. They've got money. They want to go to the beach and keep their Islamic values."

Bathing suits are only part of Turkey's flourishing Islamic market. There are also Islamic camping sites, spas and beach resorts that segregate men and women. Caprice Hotel on the Aegean Sea coast, for example, advertises "a modern vacation complex ... where the sound of prayer is heard five times a day."

Erdogan's dlrs 25 bathing suit includes a headscarf, a long-armed top and full-length pants. It fits loosely so as not to show off the outlines of her body and is made of a synthetic material that dries quickly. It features a design that looks like denim dotted with yellow shooting stars.

With all that fabric, the suits still aren't perfect for swimming.

"Water gets inside and it sticks to you," Erdogan said. "But I don't have any other choice."

In the past, religious women in Turkey either didn't go to the beach or wore regular street clothing into the water. Most women at beaches in secular Turkey wear Western-style bathing suits.

The top company producing Islamic bathing suits, Hasema, says it sold 25,000 bathing suits last year and can't produce them quick enough to keep pace with demand. The company exports to Egypt, North America, England and Australia.

Mehmet Sahin said he founded Hasema (pronounced Ha-shay-ma), because of his own problems on the beach as a university student.

Thirteen years ago, there was no company that made men's swimming trunks that extended from the bellybutton to the knees according to Islamic precepts, Sahin said.

"We used to have to cut off long pants. But we didn't find that very aesthetic," the bearded businessman said. "We developed the company according to our own needs ... but we found a place in the market."

The company expanded to include women's suits, now the company's top seller. Hasema's glossy catalogue shows more than a half-dozen different colors and floral patterns.

Sukur Dolek, who sells the suits in Ankara, Turkey's capital, said his customers are well-off and religious. Most are professionals or university students.

"Demand for the suits keeps growing. We can't keep enough in stock," Dolek said.

Dolek said some of his customers are secular Turkish women, who apparently take off the removable Islamic headscarves and wear the suits because they're embarrassed to show their bodies on the beach.

"Bathing suits don't have a religion," Dolek said. "Just like some women want to wear bikinis, others want to wear Hasema ... whatever the reasons may be."

The company, meanwhile, is still working on new products for eager beachgoers.

"We're even trying to develop a suit that the sun can penetrate, so women can get a suntan," Sahin said.