SHOULD MUSLIM GIRLS SWIM?
How do schools cope with Muslim families who want to prevent their daughters from attending swimming lessons? Swiss public television, SRF, talked to school principals and an imam about the controversy. (SRF/swissinfo.ch)
On Tuesday, the European Court of Human Rights upheld a decision by Swiss authorities to fine Muslim parents who had kept their girls from mandatory swimming lessons during school hours.
In 2010, Basel City authorities fined the couple CHF1,400 ($1,382) for pulling their nine- and seven-year-old daughters from swim class. The family had argued that it was against their religious convictions to send their girls to co-ed swimming lessons on account of the required attire.
This was not the first time that a Muslim family had a problem with the swimming lessons that are a standard part of the Swiss curriculum. SRF talked to two school principals to see how they had dealt with the issue, as well as an imam to get his thoughts on whether donning a typical swimming costume was appropriate.
SOURCE: AND VIDEO REPORT:
Categories: Switzerland, The Muslim Times
What a load of B.S. the European court doesn’t tell people how to live there life. Swimming pools have men only and women only days not just for people of a certain faith this shitty lies are pissing me off.
I can see this from the various points of view! I remember when the Christian parents did not allow their kids to take the dancing, acting, yoga, etc classes!! Just brought a Note from home, and were given alternative activities!
Perhaps these Parents can be allowed to hire own swim teacher, and bring a Certificate upon completion!? This is allowed in our Western schools who cannot/ don’t want to take a certain gym class for whatever reason! Why not here?
When all said and done, I need to conclude that this Court Decision was overly too Heavy-handed! And a Financial Penalty is ludicrous!!
Why Christian and Secular kids allowed to skip, but not another Religion????? Perhaps because they are Muslim??
I find this decision quite frightening. But isn’t there a more important principle at stake here? Parents are responsible for bringing up their own children – and it is parents (not the state, or ECHR) who are best placed to make these decisions in their children’s best interests, until they are old enough to decide for themselves. How is it hurting anybody else if a couple of girls don’t go to school swimming lessons? Some schools might not even offer swimming lessons. Leave them alone! Surely there are more important issues to make a fuss about! I wonder how much money was spent on all the legal fees…. In any case, ECHR decisions are only morally binding, not legally binding. (ie it looks bad if a country doesn’t comply – but if the country does refuse, then ECHR can’t do much about it).
Having been a teacher in a multi-cultural school I have first-hand experience of this. The pupils go to the pool together but when changed the Muslim girls go with female coaches to one end of the pool whilst the boys stay at the other end. Also, the girls usually wear leggings and tee-shirts beneath their cozzies, which literally must be a bit of a drag when in the water and learning to swim. Also, it’s not unusual for Muslim mothers to accompany them and to oversee the activities from the sidelines. Surprised to read this as when I was young and that wasn’t yesterday, the boys and girls never had swimming at the same time. No one can force what the others didn’t want to do! You Europeans you have own culture and we have own culture. So you can not teach and force us to deal how the Muslims will swim.
Everybody has right to practice his/her own religious code. If you want to put pressure upon somebodies spiritual feelings eventually it will give birth of fanaticism. Today you ban Islamic dress code, Muslims will get angry, tomorrow they will make decision for revenge and after couple day they bomb on you- this is the cycle. Same thing will happen if I force a Christian to give up his religious practice, he will bomb upon my mosque. This EU court decision is nothing, but straight way to irritate a peace loving community and convert them into Frankenstein.
It’s observed that most of the terrorists are from moderate educated Muslim families rather than Madrasah. It’s because Madrasah students know about history of Islam therefore don’t react when true face of Islam revealed to them as they accept it as part of Islam. But moderate Muslim families children grow up with the learning of greatness of Islam and it’s prophet. They give prophet highest honour evaluating him in the light of western as well as school level Islamic learning which taught them how to judge a person character based on certain traits. Their believe about Islam gets serious thrust when true face of Islam presented to them as it directly collides with their learning about western values of judging a person . They feel it’s conspiracy against Islam and the whole world is against Islamic values which let them to transform to terrorists.
In the West we give parents the freedom to choose how they want to bring their children up. We do not require conformity like other cultures.
Various parents decide they don’t want their children learning about sex in school or they insist their children cant eat certain things because of their beliefs. You must think these privileges should be stopped to?
IA
http://www.londonschoolofislamics.org.uk