Too sad to be funny

Submitted by Rebecca Moulds (United States), Apr 19, 2008 at 22:25

As a member of a club in a hotel in Jakarta where I lived in the 1980's, we often saw Muslim women dressed not in swim suits, but these one-piece black leotard-type outfits, covering the arms and legs. I used to shake my head in disbelief, because not only was it nearly 90F, but they just looked silly, swimming amongst the other women and men in their swimming trunks, bikinis and maillots.

Because Indonesia is a largely Muslim country, it was the prerogative of their female population to cover up if they so wished. My driver in Egypt told me that Muslim men aren't really supposed to bare their chests! However, when these rules and regulations spill over into Western countries, not allowing non-Muslims to swim at the same time as Muslims, then something must be done to stop this. If the sight of flesh bothers these people, then perhaps they should stay home.

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