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Towns on the French Riviera have banned ‘burkinis.’
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‘Burkinis’ in America

Chris Carlson/AP

‘Burkinis’ in America

Swimming while covered is about fitting in, not standing out

“It’s because of my religion” was my answer to the girl in gym class who wondered why I was wearing pants and a baggy T-shirt to class when we were expected to run four laps in 80-degree heat. Sizing me up, head to toe, with her head dropped, she looked concerned and baffled in her spaghetti-strap tank-top and her bootie shorts. Her legs were smooth and tan, and her hair, a silky blonde pulled back in a pony tail.

I was strange to my fellow students, a shy, modest, polite, brown-skinned girl with caterpillar eyebrows and frizzy black hair always pulled back in a bun.

“Aren’t you hot?” “Do you always wear pants?” “Is something wrong with your legs?” “Why do you have to cover them?”

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I remember hoping and praying before gym class, as we were all changing in the locker room, that at least one other girl would wear pants besides me, just so I would not stand out all by myself. Just so they’d spare me all the questions.

But it was when swimming became part of the curriculum that I felt even more isolated.

My Iranian Muslim parents wanted nothing more than to have their first-born Muslim-American daughter experience the freedom of playing sports in America. Freedom — it’s why they immigrated to the United States. So we decided, with equal amounts of excitement and apprehension, that I should wear a full-body swimsuit to middle-school swim class. As I was putting on my suit in the locker room, I noticed that the other girls were putting on one-piece bathing suits. Several of them began to stare. After a few looks and whispers, I became self-conscious.

I began swimming with the other students, but I was having trouble following the teacher’s instructions. When my teacher directed us to stand in line to dive into the deep end and swim across the pool to the other side, I confessed to her that I was too scared to do it, hoping she’d provide some guidance. But there were no words of encouragement. Instead, she told me I didn’t have to do the dive. I stayed in the shallow end and watched the other students dive in one after another. I didn’t mean to isolate myself; unfortunately, my teacher allowed it to happen.

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On Friday, France’s highest administrative court suspended a Riviera resort town’s ban on the “burkini,” a women’s swimsuit that covers the whole body, except the face, hands and feet, in accordance with Islamic modest dress. The ruling sets a precedent for some 30 other French towns that have banned burkinis, prompted by Muslim immigration and recent terrorist attacks. The action stems from France’s interpretation of secularism, or laïcité. The burkini, French officials argued, shows that Muslims are incapable of assimilating to French culture and, thus, pose a danger to the country’s core values.

Recently, a photo of three French police officers ordering a Muslim woman to remove her burkini at a beach in Nice went viral. With the officers standing over her, she carefully removed her top, as onlookers stared. Some even applauded.

The photo triggered something deep within me — memories of my own experience being scrutinized by my peers.

What French authorities fail to realize is that Muslims seek to belong and to be a part of society as much as everyone else. Bans on religious dress do nothing but further isolate Muslims and cast them as “the other.” Worse, they advance the narrative of terrorists that the West is at war with Islam — a dangerous idea that serves as a powerful recruiting tool for extremists everywhere.

My parents did not want me to miss out, so they adapted their beliefs and customs to American culture. I hoped I could keep my Muslim identity, while also swimming and having fun with my peers. And while I was lucky that I was permitted to swim in a full body suit at school, I was not so lucky in that it left me feeling like even more of an outcast than before. I wish my teacher had treated me like everyone else, despite my extra layers.

The burkini does not represent an inability to assimilate. Rather, it suggests that assimilation is possible for Muslims just as it’s been for generations of immigrants. It shows the extra effort many Muslims are willing to make so they can play an active part in their communities.

It’s often not easy. All that is asked in return is understanding and tolerance of our religion.

I love being a Muslim and I love being an American. There is room for both.

Maryam Khatami is a social worker and therapist living in Wilkinsburg. She grew up in Shaler.

First Published: August 30, 2016, 4:00 a.m.
Updated: August 30, 2016, 5:39 a.m.

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Towns on the French Riviera have banned ‘burkinis.’  (Chris Carlson/AP)
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