‘Burqini’ pool party in France called off after death threats

From the French edition of The Local

A hugely contentious private swimming pool party planned by a Muslim womens’ group that had encouraged guests to wear “burqinis” will now not take place after all after bullets were sent to organizers.

The event, which was planned for mid-September, was cancelled after a decision by the town’s mayor and the swimming centre in a bid to “calm the situation” following a strong reaction from the public. According to the organizers that reaction also included death threats being made to the Muslim organizers. One letter sent through the post contained bullets.

The initial reservation had been made by Muslim organization Smile 13, which presents itself as a sports and social group for women and children. The group advertised that the pool park had exceptionally allowed bathers to wear burqinis and jilbab de bains, referring to partial and full-body swimsuits that can cover a woman’s body from head to feet and are popular among female Muslim bathers.

The local mayor Michel Amiens told the local France Bleu radio station on Tuesday that he had pulled the plug to “calm the situation”.   “The manager of the pool had not considered the sheer emotion that organizing this event could generate,” he said.