Muslim Swimsuit Draws French Ban

While the Brits are allowing some of their municipal pools to impose Islamic dress codes, officials from a pool in France have taken a stand against special rules for Muslims. Good for them!

Muslim Swimsuit Draws French Ban

PARIS (AP) — A Muslim woman who tried to go swimming in a head-to-toe swimsuit called a “burquini” has been barred from her local pool in the Paris suburbs in the latest skirmish between religious practices and secular authority in France.

Officials on Wednesday insisted that they objected to the woman’s use of the burquini, popular with some conservative Muslims, because of France’s unusually strict hygiene standards in pools — not because of official hostility to wearing overtly Muslim garb. Under the policy, swimmers are prevented from wearing any street-compatible or baggy clothing.

But the woman, a 35-year-old convert to Islam identified only as Carole in the French media, complained of religious discrimination.

French lawmakers recently proposed a ban on the burqa and other voluminous Muslim attire, and President Nicolas Sarkozy backs the move.

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