Mainstream media has recently covered the ‘burqini’ phenomenon, extolling its virtues and gushing over the lifesavers who are adopting its use in what is, unashamedly, a PR exercise to dim the Anglo face of beach culture. For those living under a rock, the burqini is a “Muslim-friendly” swimsuit for women, which apparently covers the body without being clingy and shape-revealing.
The reactions to the burqini are, not surprisingly, quite mixed amongst Muslims.There is no doubt that the maker of these suits has done Muslim women a service by providing them with swimming attire that does not compromise their modesty, as even among women, there are certain standards of modesty that should be observed. Perhaps it may even be viewed as a suitable alternative for those not adhering strictly to Muslim dress; it could be seen as better than, say, a one-piece or a bikini.
But it raises some issues too. Some observant Muslims wouldn’t feel comfortable going to a crowded beach for even a walk, what with the semi-nudity and all, let alone a swim (male or female). So covering up doesn’t address the greater and more pervasive problem of how others dress, bearing in mind Islamic views on modesty.
Let me preface the following by saying that I’m not offering any sort of Islamic edict on its permissibility or suitability. I can definitely see there are benefits to having the burqini, but there are ‘buts’ to consider. A major issue is whether people wearing it will see the burqini as a permission slip to start doing things they wouldn’t ordinarily do.
But what say you all?
35 comments ↓
I think that the swimming costume is a great idea. Recently there have been several deaths by drowning of Muslims immigrants who were unable to swim. It is essential therefore that Muslims learn how to swim and swim regularly, and that Muslim children are taught to swim. Swimming is a great way to get fit, (something that seems to be forbidden amongst some Muslim immigrants).
The burkini allows that to be possible. It is available here:
http://www.ahiida.com/
The second issue is what is an appropriate context to wear it? This is not simply an issue for Muslim women as the proliferation of women’s only gyms shows.
http://www.fernwoodfitness.com.au/About.aspx
I am sure that most women prefer their privacy when they are swimming (whatever costume they wear) like they prefer their privacy when they are exercising.
As to whether Muslims should go to the beach, the same question maybe asked about a mixed gym or increasingly even down the street on a hot sunny day, when people become allergic to clothing.
I have a personal list of Muslim friendly (i.e. empty) beaches in Australia that I may put up soon.
I also think that a sizable group of the purchasers of the burkini will be women who are not Muslim.
What if some Lebanese tomcats get all confused about meat on display? Then you’d have the problem of who to blame, the cats or the meat. Or the butcher. Probably not the cats though. Whaddaya think, Skippy? Some of us Muslims in Blighty are as open-mouthed with incredulity at the behaviour of some of your Lebanese brethren as you must be at the misuse of rucksacks amongst some of our northern communities.
”even among women, there are certain standards of modesty that should be observed.”
I see.
I have a personal list of Muslim friendly (i.e. empty) beaches in Australia that I may put up soon.
Please consider the risks of swimming at an isolated beach.
Beaches are not friendly to Muslims or anyone else. An empty beach is a dangerous one, because it is empty of the very thing you need to make it safe - other people who can come to your aid or raise an alarm if they see you struggling in the water.
A cubic metre of water weighs a tonne. You have no chance
of keeping your balance if you wade into a strong undertow by accident. Your only chance of escape - unaided - is to swim across the surface of the water. If you’re in the surf zone then that will also be difficult.
I recall swimming at Bondi as a child. The water pulled me off my feet, then the surf knocked me down as I tried to stand up, then the water pulled me down again. Bondi is traditionally seen as a safe beach, and if I hadn’t excaped after a few more attempts I would have been helped by a lifeguard. I might not have been so lucky if I had been swimming somewhere else.
I don’t have any problems with the “burqini”, but if modesty prevents you from swimming with other people then you shouldn’t be swimming in the sea at all. The other people at a beach are not your enemies. They may be the ones who save your life.
One wonder why these women need to go to the beach to learn how to swim, if that is the argument being put forward for these “burqini’s”?
The beach is the least ideal place for a Muslimah to be in, despite being covered or otherwise
The burqini may be useful for women who want to learn to swim in a swimming pool but are not comfortable wearing bikinis or swimming costumes or whatever it is that women wear to swim these days. It’s something that can be used for good (learning to swim in an appropriate environment) or it can be used for bad. In that sense, it’s just like pencils, computers and box cutters.
I do agree though that beaches such as Bondi or St Kilda are not the most appropriate places of Muslims of any gender to visit. As Baybers said though, there may be other alternatives for Muslims who want to visit the beach. In Melbourne, for example, there is the so-called “halal beach” in Port Melbourne which is popular with mostly Lebanese and Turks. I am told that people dress more modestly there than at the other beaches so that may be an option for people who feel they must go to a beach in summer.
Salams Sumera,
Crowded beaches like Bondi are not good for any Muslims, but as Amir said, there are other places we can go. I didn’t say anything about the Muslimah lifeguard on my blog, because I wanted to see how people would respond (no one has responded at all!). I don’t agree with her choice to do it, simply because although she is covered everyone else is in bikinis and speedos and she also will be responsible for helping people of both genders. That said, I admire her spunk for getting up and doing it, we do need to interact with the wider Aussie community, just perhaps not in this way.
Personally I think burqinis are great, I will feel quite comfortable going to my local pool (which is thankfully not a strutfest like Bondi) with my kids and I’ll just keep my gaze lowered and do what I am there to do and swim!
Austrolabe, I hope you don’t mind but I linked to this post on my blog.
I like the idea of sporty outfits for Muslimahs that cover. Before Islam I was very active in sports and continue to play sports so it’s nice to have clothing designed that takes the concerns of Muslim women into account.
Amir said:
Actually, the US State Department has officially classified box cutters as “Pure Evil,” so they must be.
It’s revealing, I can still she her shape
As Jamila, I’d like to know what she will do when she has to rescue a male or give him mouth to mouth. Will she do as our sister officer who refused to shake a man’s hand?
http://www.theage.com.au/news/.....ntentSwap1
To Jamila and bint will.
Bint will says:
“It’s revealing, I can still she her shape As Jamila, I’d like to know what she will do when she has to rescue a male or give him mouth to mouth. Will she do as our sister officer who refused to shake a man’s hand? ”
That is a very silly way to look at the situation.
I read an article on the BBC a while back about a Saudi school catching fire and young Saudi girls (5 years of age) dying because the Saudi religous police prohibitted men to go in to their rescue as the young girls not having reached puberty didn’t have scarves on.
When another human’s life is in danger, it becomes incumbent on the Muslim, male or female, to go to their rescue.
If she has to resuce a human who has to be male, or give mouth to mouth, then so be it. The gender becomes irrelevant.
i think she was joking, hence the smiley face
Law Student,
The situation you described in Saudi is a bit different. Obviously it was completely necessary for those men to go in and save those girls. However, the question one could validly ask here is whether it is necessary for a Muslim man or woman to become a surf lifesaver.
If it’s an issue of integration and getting along, there are other ways Muslims can and should do that — it doesn’t have to be through beach culture. So, it might be incumbent on a Muslim who is passing by someone in trouble to assist, but is it necessary for a Muslim person to take on a job as lifesaver and all that it entails?
I should add here that I commend those who do work as lifesavers, so I don’t anyone to interpret these comments as me being critical of them. But realistically, it’s not really difficult to understand why Muslims would shy away from being lifesavers knowing what it involves.
Well, isn’t it up to each person themselves to decide if they feel it is a good job for them to have or not?
dezhen,
My question is in response to Law Student’s argument. I personally don’t care if a Muslim becomes a lifesaver, but I am asking, not determining, whether or not it’s Islamically permissible.
So yes, it’s up to that person, but a factor to consider is whether or not that person is practising and is concerned with the Islamic position on the job.
There is absolutely no way that being a lifesaver is an appropriate job for a Muslim man or woman.
I also think that a sizable group of the purchasers of the burkini will be women who are not Muslim.
I’ve often wondered if climatic differences were a key factor in the cultural clash between Islam and the West. For example “People in cloudy northwestern Europe long to expose their bodies to the sun, and therefore think covered-up Muslim women must be oppressed.”
Now Australia of course is a sunny country, but one which inherited its culture from cloudy Britain. The mismatch makes itself clear in Australian skin cancer statistics - for this reason I wondered if Australians might move in the direction of greater modesty in dress, Islam or no Islam.
BTW, I find the word “burqini” oh-so icky…
George, there was a report produced by Netball Australia that showed that a significant number of women were put off playing the sport by the revealing clothing
http://www.theage.com.au/artic.....64114.html
My wife recently wore a burkini to a public swimming pool to teach the kids how to swim. She was mobbed by other women (not Muslims) who wanted to know where to buy it.
I think that you are right and there will be a move to more modest clothing (even though even using the word modest is likely to produce outrage)
Amal,
It is unnecessary for people to do many things that they do.
I personally think making that Muslim life saver team is a good step.
If a Muslim sitting all day watching people swan around in bikinis and speedos is a “good step” for Muslims, then why stop there?
What about encouraging young muslimahs to take up employment as barmaids in pole dancing establishments, Law Student? Or Muslim men working as doormen in brothels and nightclubs? Muslims have long been underrepresented in the backyard abortion game so maybe that’s a good step too.
Amal,
I guess Muslims shouldn’t become doctors, paramedics or nurses either, seeing as they have to give mouth to mouth, resuscitate both men and women and preform other medicial procedures.
In fact, I hope if you ever have the unfortunate circumstance of being ill or needed mouth to mouth, from a doctor of the opposite sex. Or you are prepared to risk injury or death.
Actually it reminds me of when I was in Saudi Arabia, all the female doctors there were from overseas, due the non-existence of home-grown female doctors. I saw women waiting for hours for doctors. It seemed absurd to me. Especially when their injuries were severe, but hey that’s just me.
Fuzz, I think you are missing the point. As long as there are women willing to be lifeguards then its not necessary for Muslim women to compromise their beliefs by doing it.
Being a lifesaver is not the same as being a doctor and, if you bothered to look, you’d see that there are lots of female Saudi doctors and nurses (more than in the past) so your example is just stupid.
Oh come on, Fuzz. How on earth can you equate those professions?
It’s really simple, a beach with half-naked people is not the best place for Muslims to find employment. Being a doctor or a nurse however is not going to clash with Islamic forms of propriety in the same way. In fact, if anything we need more female doctors and nurses to cater to women who would prefer to go to them.
Actually, just saw Bartholomew’s response: what he said.
Oh well… I guess it is a case of let’s go to the beach, have a bbq there, kick balls around, swim in the water and so on - let our young boys “let off steam” and all that - but God forbid someone in our community actually wanting to give something back to the wider community and actually work at saving peoples lives, possibly even Muslim lives (if anyone has seen the ruckus kids, teens and others often cause in the water then you know what I mean).
There are several “professions” that are inappropriate for Muslim women, for example a “exotic” dancer (stripper), surely your not going to argue that A Muslim woman in Hijab should be an exotic dancer, just so that she can break down barriers, or save the human race or provide a worthwhile public service.
A doctor is not one of them, a doctor provides a daily lifesaving role and can treat both genders without any problem, the fiqh (religious rulings) is very clear on that. The difference in nudity in a medical setting and on a beach are entirely different.
So if muslim women want to save lives they should work in the medical professions, there is a wide variety to chose from.
Fuzz, if you have ever been to the UK you will realize that half of the NHS is run by doctors whose ethnic origins are in the sub continent, and a substantial portion of whom are Muslim women who have no problems seeing male patients.
So your Saudi analogy is patently false, there are many more muslims then saudi muslims and there are tens of thousands of female Muslim doctors.
now Fuzz, how is this for another gross generalization?:
when I was in Australia, all the patients who had chlymidia were white, ergo: only white people get venereal disease. I saw them all sitting around with severe itching problems waiting for treatment. It seemed disgusting and dirty to me, but hey thats just me”
Fuzzy logic perhaps?
“What about encouraging young muslimahs to take up employment as barmaids in pole dancing establishments”
Bartholomew,
why only dance with poles? why discriminate against other eastern europeans, gypsies, slavs and armenians?
I was simply reffering to the argument, concerning CPR. You proved my point, in saying that being a doctor is fine, because of course it is.
I’m not sure why you are telling me all about the ammount of doctors in the UK and Saudi. The reason I used that example was to infer that the irrational logic being applied by some is not dis-similar to the logic used in Saudi- ie women must see female doctors, but a very small % of females in Saudi attend medical school, even finishing High School is difficult.
Fuzz,
You make Saudi Arabian sound as if it is the ‘ideal’ Muslim society. Saudi society is far from being Islamic.
Fuzz I’m not sure where you get your info from but there is hardly a lack of qualified female doctors in Saudi. I live in Saudi and I have not personally ever heard of a problem where women are lacking in the medical field. They are available everywhere.
And just to clarify - you don’t HAVE TO to see a female doctor in Saudi. Male doctors see female patients as well. However the majority of women feel it is better to see a female when you are able to.
And what is this rubbish about finishing high school is hard? Or attending university? More than 50% of those at university in Saudi are women.
Bartholomew Stiggins says:
“If a Muslim sitting all day watching people swan around in bikinis and speedos is a “good step” for Muslims, then why stop there?”
If your concerned by the high amount of flesh they’ll see, might as well not leave your house.
Law Student,
That must be one of the most moronic arguments I’ve read yet. Walking into a shopping centre, for example, you’re likely to see people dressed skimpily, but guess what? You don’t have to look at them! You keep walking, or buying your groceries.
It’s not even in the same vicinity as taking a job at a beach which necessarily entails watching half-naked people, just as taking a job as a bouncer at a strippers’ club can be easily avoided by a Muslim.
You have the derisive attitude of someone considering himself enlightened, looking down on Muslims who, quite fairly, have the opinion that being a surf lifesaver is not a suitable career choice for Muslims because of what the job entails. Given that there are many others who can very ably fill those roles, I don’t see the issue.
As for the clap-happy, feel-good multicultural handholding you think it’s achieving, I’m pretty sure, as others have stated, there are other ways to do that without compromising religious beliefs. Otherwise, I suppose we can expect you to endorse a pub visit by local imams, or a BBQ for understanding sponsored by Tooheys.
Sara Tancredi,
You dont star in Prison Break by any chance, do you?
No, they just named a character after me. I preferred season 1.
So do I.
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