A pool party planned by a Muslim group in southern France that encouraged participants to wear “burkinis” has been canceled by the town over fears it would cause “public disorder.”
The mayor of the town of Pennes Mirabeau, near the southern city of Marseille, said on French radio he had pulled the plug on the event to “calm the situation,” following scathing reactions from local residents and far-right politicians who claimed it ran against French secular values. The burqa is banned in France in public places.
The Muslim community group Smile 13 had advertised the event as a chance for Muslim women to swim in private with their kids—including boys under the age of 10—provided they wore swimsuits covering the body from chest to knees, in accordance with Islamic rules of modesty. (“Burkini” is a portmanteau of “burqa” and “bikini.”)
A poster for the event read: “We count on you to respect the AWRA (the body parts that must be covered according to Islamic law) and not come in a two piece.”
But Smile 13 organizers said they began receiving insults and death threats after news of their plans received wide coverage in French and international media. One member said she received an envelope in the mail containing bullets.
France was the first European country to ban the full-body Muslim veil (burqa) in public spaces in 2010. Although Islamic dresses and headscarves are still legal, the question of Islamic clothing remains a highly contentious one the country, which has the largest number of Muslims in western Europe.
Marseilles, France’s second-largest city, has about 220,000 Muslim residents.