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Sama Wareh wears an example of swimwear designed for Muslim women. |
- Going into effect late last month, a city ordinance bans the burkini as well as any swimwear that "ostentatiously displays religious affiliation, when France ... [is] the target of terrorist attacks."
- The burkini ban is far from the first such ban in France. In 2011, the country became the first European nation to ban the face-obscuring burqa. And earlier this week, a water park in the city of Marseille canceled a burkini-only event scheduled for September after complaints, according to the BBC.
- French secularism was established by a 1905 law that strictly separated the church and state. At the time, the law aimed to keep a powerful Catholic church from dictating policy. While secularism is meant to ensure the state's neutrality with regard to religion and ensure that all religions can practice freely, many feel it is now being exhorted to discourage religion."